November 12th, 2016: Conor McGregor put on one of the greatest performances in MMA history when he dismantled Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to become the UFC’s first simultaneous double champ. After the fight, McGregor was livid that the UFC didn’t have a 2nd belt for him, that led to one of the greatest post fight interviews of all time. @TheNotoriousMMA (🎥 UFC YT) – at New York, NY

I could watch these two legends fight each other a hundred times. The pace. The style. The technique. The grit. The heart. Everything. The absolute best that mixed martial arts has to offer.

“The LeBron James of MMA” gets his second straight UFC win at UFC 333. Aaron Pico’s career will always be one of the wildest stories in MMA to me. From dominating NCAA champion wrestlers as a teenager, to winning Golden Gloves titles, to becoming arguably the most hyped prospect the sport has ever seen, only to get KO’d in his highly anticipated pro debut. Between all the hype, setbacks, and comebacks, to me it it feels like he’s been fighting professionally for 20 years. Meanwhile, he only just turned 30 a few weeks ago. And for all the ups and downs, there’s a legitimate argument that he’s in the best position of his career right now.

Love to see this for Reyes! An odd full circle moment. In 2017, Reyes made his UFC debut because Murzakanov pulled out of a fight. Reyes stepped in on short notice and scored a 29 second KO. A couple months later it came out that Murzakanov tested positive for boldenone, earning a two-year suspension. Nine years later, Reyes fights the guy whose withdrawal gave him his UFC debut. And knocks him out too.

The UFC is setting a pretty wild precedent: As long as you’re an “exciting” fighter and easy to deal with, apparently you can get popped for handfuls of PEDs, serve your suspension, and come right back like nothing happened. Meanwhile, go 7-0 in the UFC but aren’t entertaining enough? See ya. Shoot a late takedown in the third round of DWCS? Go kick rocks. Truly bizarre. This isn’t baseball. PEDs aren’t just adding a few feet to a home run. These athletes are literally trying to inflict as much damage as possible on one another and knock each other unconscious. One fight can change someone’s life forever. And obviously, not every positive test is the same. Kuniev, Murzakanov, Temirov, and Lucindo’s situations are not all equal. Context matters. But two guys on this UFC 333 graphic have absolutely no business competing in professional MMA, never mind the UFC.

Remember when Dana White immediately found Alexander Volkov as he exited the cage following his controversial loss to Ciryl Gane, and told him he “got fu*ked” by the judges, and promised they’d “make it right”? Less than two years later, Dana’s like: “Alright, so here’s Rizvan Kuniev in Abu Dhabi at UFC 333. He has zero name value and he’s 2-1 in the UFC. Oh, and his last fight before joining the UFC resulted in a failed drug test for a nice handful of FOUR different anabolic steroid substances. Enjoy!” Making things right, Dana White style 😂

I question whether you ACTUALLY remember Dana’s famous “Do you wanna be a fucking fighter?” speech because, just a heads up, it had nothing to do with boring fights. Nobody had even fought yet 😂 It was in response to contestants questioning why they were expected to fight without getting paid. Some of the veteran fighters then helped organize a protest about not fighting for free, which ultimately led to Dana’s speech. They eventually reached an agreement offering $5,000 for a KO or submission. And as for nothing changing with the UFC, for one, Farid Basharat is only the second fighter in UFC history to start his career 7-0 and not at least get offered another contract. But beyond that, there’s been plenty of other changes.

DWCS is quietly taking over the UFC. For the promotion, that’s great business. For fighters? Not so much. Wildly, 39% of fighters who competed in the UFC this year came through DWCS. That’s 232 of 595, accounting for 42% of all UFC appearances in 2026. Season 10 wrapped tonight with 46 UFC contracts, tying the single-season record. In under a decade, DWCS has gone from a little Tuesday night entertainment to one of the UFC’s smartest financial moves: a virtually risk-free pipeline where prospects compete for the privilege of signing a multi-fight contract at the UFC’s lowest-paying rate. From 2017 to 2019, DWCS alumni accounted for 23% of UFC debuts. Since 2022: 51%. 880 fighters have competed on the show. 428 made it to the UFC before this season’s class, including many who lost on DWCS and were signed afterward anyway. But volume isn’t the same as elite talent. DWCS alumni hold just 26% of top-15 ranked spots, with four fighters reaching the pinnacle and winning UFC gold. Two weeks ago, Dana gave us the perfect example when he told heavyweight contestant Adama Diop: “Your fight was horrible, sloppy, and one of the worst fights I’ve ever seen on the Contender Series.” At the presser, he called it “atrocious.” Then he signed him. Why not? The last widely reported DWCS pay was $5K to show and $5K to win. At that rate, Season 10’s 49 fights would cost about $735K in fighter pay. That’s roughly $16K for every UFC contract handed out, and under 3% of the approximately $25.6M in average per-event media rights revenue from the Paramount deal. That doesn’t stop Dana from acting like he’s taking some massive financial risk every time he hands out a contract. The same Dana who wagered $1 million on a single hand of baccarat two weeks ago. And God forbid a signee doesn’t work out, the UFC can simply cut them and move on within the contract. But if that fighter succeeds, the UFC may have found its next star or champion at entry-level prices. For some management agencies, DWCS has become their main pipeline into the UFC and their biggest recruiting pitch. Some have credited it with growing their rosters from a dozen fighters to hundreds. But when managers are simply supplying the UFC with a steady stream of affordable talent, you sometimes have to wonder whose interests they’re really representing. The result is even more leverage shifting away from fighters. And when there’s a seemingly endless pipeline of prospects who want nothing more than to represent those three letters, U-F-C, it’s the veterans who can take the hit. Every newcomer willing to sign a multi-fight entry deal gives the UFC another option when an established fighter asks for more money, especially in today’s landscape without PPV. The UFC ran this play with TUF two decades ago. Now it’s doing it on an even greater scale with DWCS, somehow with almost identical entry-level pay. The UFC has mastered buying potential for pennies, while fighters sell their leverage for an “opportunity.” Is DWCS the best thing to happen to prospects, or the worst thing to happen to fighter pay?

Anyone know who currently manages Sean Strickland? Or better yet, which MMA management agency represents him?

Payton Talbott made it clear he wants Sean O’Malley next. Back in 2024, Talbott told Ariel Helwani he “hates that sh*t” when asked about the O’Malley comparisons, mostly because he believes a fight between them would show just how different their styles really are: “If you were to see me and him fight, it would be a very different stylistic fight. I’d be pushing the pace, and I’d be trying to be up in his face and make it a dogfight, and he would be drawing out reactions and feinting me and, you know, technically trying to outclass me.” That said, the only comparison he seemed okay with was his “spirit animal,” Dennis Rodman. “He just is 100% himself, like unapologetically.” “I’d rather people hate me for being who I am than to just feel indifferent about me. Indifference is the worst fate of all. I’d rather be hated by 90% of people and loved by 10%.” Now, two years later, after destroying former champs Henry Cejudo at UFC 323 and Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 332 in back to back fights, Talbott is calling for O’Malley himself. Would be one hell of a matchup. 🎙️: @arielhelwani 👊🏽: @PaytonTalbott

That’s a very scary finish between Raul Rosas Jr. and Raoni Barcelos. Barcelos looks to hit his head/neck against the cage during a takedown, leaving him unconscious in the fifth round of an absolute war. Aftermath did not look good. Hopefully Barcelos is okay 🙏🏼 xitter.cf/nothinbutclipss/status…

Fresh off signing a DWCS-record six fighters Tuesday night through the UFC’s cheapest and most efficient talent pipeline, Dana White was asked about Paulo Costa’s contract situation 🤔 Dana reached for a variation of his favorite line over the last two decades: “We have to offer these guys three fights a year.” That line makes it sound like there’s some universal clause requiring the UFC to offer every fighter three fights a year, and like every “offer” is created equal. There isn’t. And they aren’t. A 5 round fight on six days’ notice on the other side of the world is not the same offer as a 3 round fight with a full camp. A 5 round fight at a purse negotiated for 3 rounds isn’t either. But once the fighter says no, the public framing seems to always become: “He’s been offered fights and turned them down.” Costa doesn’t really dispute that. But he says the offers were Doha, Abu Dhabi on short notice, and Salt Lake City. All five-round fights, despite a purse he says his contract set for three. And here’s the part almost nobody knows: saying no isn’t always free. In some UFC contracts, declining an offered bout can extend the contract clock. Refuse an offer, stay under contract longer. And the DWCS setting is fitting. A constant pipeline of inexpensive talent on multi-fight deals is part of what allows the UFC to remain indifferent when an established fighter pushes back. One contract standoff matters a lot less when another six fighters just walked through the door. So “he turned down fights” only tells you half the story. The more important question is: What exactly was Costa being asked to accept? That’s where the leverage lives. @BorrachinhaMMA

Respect to Jon Jones for taking the heat off Gable here, but “first time in this situation” is a little questionable. Jones has cornered fighters before, including when Renan Ferreira finished his fighter Maurice Greene in the PFL, with the corner cam literally locked on Jon. Looks like Jones and Greene were already out of the cage before the official result was announced. Granted, PFL may handle post-fight procedures differently, but fighters don’t automatically leave the cage immediately after a KO. So while the circumstances aren’t identical, this doesn’t appear to be Jon’s first time dealing with something pretty similar.

One would think, but here’s Arman Tsarukyan in December 2025 saying he gets paid “$300k” for a win and around “$100k” for a loss. He then explains ~30% ($90k) goes to taxes and then around 20% ($60k) paid out to his team, including: 5% to the gym, 5% to his coach, and 15% to his manager. So right off the bat, roughly “50%” of his purse is already gone between taxes and payouts to his team.

Jon Jones on oblique kicks and his mentality when throwing them: “I have zero mercy in the ring…I’m a fighter who stomps on other fighters’ kneecaps, and a lot of people find that to be slightly unsportsmanlike, and you could cause somebody a career-ending injury doing that. But the way I was trained was, if somebody’s punching you in the brain, your memory starts to subside, your ability to pronounce a word starts to subside. He’s trying to give you brain damage, so why not give him a limp for the rest of his life? So it’s a very dog eat dog world, and inside the octagon, I think you kind of have to have that mentality…After the event, you know, buy the guy a beer, wish him all the best, but during the event, it has to be eat or be eaten.”

Bilal Hasan taking a page out of Mcgregor’s book while watching Joshua Van get introduced at UFC 331. During the broadcast it was announced that Bilal will be fighting on the main card of UFC 334 at MSG. Big slot for the 25 year old flyweight with only one fight in the UFC. Van vs Hasan in 2027? 👀

And when Dana White sees fighters sign with a couple other managers, they probably “f*cking crack up laughing” too and add something like, “well we are going to get them for cheap.”

“He ran out the ring like a little bitch. How you gonna embarass all motherfu**ing fighters. Like win or lose, we die by the sword.” Rampage Jackson has had some very strong thoughts after Forrest Griffin immediately left the cage after his KO loss to Anderson Silva. Tonight, Gable Steveson was KO’d by Sean Sharaf in 12 seconds and immediately walked out of the Octagon and backstage. Obviously, after a KO like that, Gable himself likely has no idea what is going on. I was more surprised nobody from his team stopped him and kept him in the cage until everything was officially wrapped up. Dana White called it “professional suicide” when Forrest later did it again against Tito Ortiz, leaving before the decision was even read. Leaving the cage early has long been one of MMA’s unwritten no-nos. Will be interesting to see what’s next for Gable.

No matter the result. Pantoja is a fucking legend. This dude is a damn dawg!

Arman Tsarukyan has been on Dana White’s ‘bad guy list’ for basically the last two years, and we all know how that tends to go. Over that same stretch, Arman has turned himself into one of the biggest stars in the sport, both inside and outside of the octagon. And that vicious KO of Mauricio Ruffy just put an exclamation point on it. Title shot next. ‘That’s it. Dot com.’ @ArmanUfc (🎙️: @arielhelwani )