Is Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall officially dead?
Will Movsar Evlovev ever get a title shot? UFC Vegas 107 preview, voicemails, more | The Boys in the Back | May 29, 2025
The Boys in the Back kick off with a look at Movsar Evloev's tough road to getting a UFC title shot, before previewing UFC Vegas 107. Plus, the Boys make picks, give their P4P MMA haircuts, listen to your voicemails, and answer Super Chats.
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USA Today
33 minutes ago
- USA Today
Ariane da Silva's team says big UFC 316 weight miss related to pituitary tumor treatment
Ariane da Silva's team says big UFC 316 weight miss related to pituitary tumor treatment UFC women's flyweight Ariane da Silva stepped on the scale Friday morning closer to the bantamweight division, and her team has since provided a shocking explanation. Da Silva (17-10 MMA, 6-7 UFC) is scheduled to face Wang Cong at UFC 316 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) in a preliminary bout at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., but the fight was in jeopardy of not going forward after the official weigh-in session. Weighing in at 132 pounds, da Silva came in six pounds over the flyweight limit. Cong (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who made 125 pounds on the nose, would have been justified in refusing the fight, but decided to keep the bout alive. Renato da Silva, Ariane's husband, told MMA Fighting that a poor treatment plan for a benign pituitary tumor led to complications with the weight cut. According to Ariane's coach, the tumor was discovered during further examination after a blood test during fight camp showed abnormal levels of prolactin and cortisol. The team brought in a new nutritionist to deal with the weight cut for UFC 316, but the plan did not work. "We wanted to get the cortisol levels down so it wouldn't affect her health," Renato told MMA Fighting in Portuguese (translated by MMA Fighting). "By controlling the cortisol levels, we wanted to cause as little stress as possible to her body. And the nutritionist opted for a strategy that would have her hold as much as weight as possible until the end, and it was too much for the final days. He doesn't know her as much as I do, and he thought she would be able to do that. "There was a moment this morning she wasn't feeling good. I know her body. There was still something left there to cut, but at the same time, her reactions weren't normal. She wasn't walking right, she was blinking too slow, she had double vision, and couldn't focus, her voice sounded weak. She was giving us dangerous signs as she dropped weight." After contacting the UFC's medical staff, it was determined that attempting to cut the remaining six pounds would be too dangerous, so the weight cut was stopped. The team places some blame on the nutritionist's plan to get Ariane to the flyweight limit. "It was too much (weight) for such a short amount of time," Renato said. "I think that was the mistake by the nutritionist. We trusted the process, and unfortunately, it didn't work. It's a mistake we made. I also made that mistake as a coach, to have believed and tried something different, but my goal is always to take care of the health of Ariane, an athlete and also my wife. I'll always put her health first." Cong accepted the new terms of the fight after weigh-ins, which included 30 percent of da Silva's purse, and the fight changed to a catchweight at 132 pounds.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Aljamain Sterling doesn't get Sean O'Malley's stardom: 'His personality is a little dry'
Aljamain Sterling doesn't get Sean O'Malley's stardom: 'His personality is a little dry' Aljamain Sterling is confused by UFC 316 headliner Sean O'Malley's star power. O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) runs things back with Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) in Saturday's main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Sterling lost his bantamweight title to O'Malley at UFC 292, before his teammate Dvalishvili dethroned O'Malley to become champion at UFC 306. "The Funkmaster" previously said his fight with O'Malley didn't deliver the pay-per-view buys he expected, and that the idea of him being a big star may be a myth. "I don't really know his personality outside of when he's asking me constantly about my weight, or asking other fighters how much they weigh in person," Sterling told Home of Fight. "That's always been my interaction with him: 'How much do you weigh right now?' So I don't really have much to go of off. "I've always said his personality was a little dry, in my opinion, and I didn't really understand the stardom other than his fight skills. He's a very good fighter. He had a lot of good knockouts and highlights. That's usually good when you're fighting not-so-good people." O'Malley revealed that he went into his first fight with Dvalishvili with a torn labrum in his hip, which he underwent surgery for after the fight. When Sterling fought O'Malley, it was just three months after he had retained his belt against Henry Cejudo in a five-round battle at UFC 288. "Isn't that funny? Isn't that funny that he's all of a sudden healthy, but for some reason I was making excuses when we fought, had to turn around (fast) after just going 25 minutes with a former two-division champion?" Sterling said. "You could say whatever you want. I had to take a whole month off just to let my legs heal, and somehow that had no bearing on the fight in his fanbase's mind. "But anyone, as a combat sports athlete, understands the game. You have to be mentally ready and physically prepared in order to step in there, so I think it's perfect timing with the irony. Karma has a way of playing funny games, and now he sees how it feels. Even if he had two good hips, I really don't think on that day he was beating Merab."
Forbes
an hour ago
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UFC Cuts Hard-Luck Veteran Mired In Nasty Losing Streak
LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 24: Dana White speaks with the press following the event for Power Slap 2 - ... More Wolverine vs Bell on May 24, 2023, at UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) The UFC's roster recycling is still in full effect. Most recently the promotion has parted ways with several featherweight fighters ahead of a major pay-per-view card, including one prospect who never found his footing inside the Octagon. Connor Matthews, a once-promising talent from Massachusetts who entered the UFC with high hopes and resilience after a failed attempt on the Dana White Contender Series, has been released after a trio of tough outings. His removal from the roster came the same day as the releases of Kron Gracie and Hakeem Dawodu from the roster–all were once featherweight hopefuls. ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 27: Connor Matthews poses for a portrait during a UFC photo ... More session on March 27, 2024 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Matthews' UFC journey was a brief and an unforgiving one. Matthews' first attempt to join the UFC roster was a failure as he was defeated by Francis Marshall in 2022. Matthews went back to the indy scene and scored a first-round submission win to earn another shot at the UFC. In his second shot on DWCS, Matthews earned a contract with a unanimous decision win over Jair Farias in 2023. Matthews entered the promotion with a 7-1 record and a reputation for finishing fights, but he failed to notch a single win as a member of the UFC's main roster. What's worse, all three of his losses came in the first round—two by knockout and one by submission. Matthew's final appearance, a tap-out loss to Yadier Del Valle on May 17, sealed his fate with the organization. Despite his fan-friendly style and resilience, Matthews became another example of how tough the UFC featherweight division can be on newcomers. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 07: Kron Gracie of Brazil looks on prior to a featherweight fight ... More during UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by) As I mentioned, Matthews wasn't the only name trimmed from the roster. Gracie, the nephew of UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie, was also released following a dismal stretch that saw him lose three consecutive fights. Known for his grappling pedigree, Gracie never evolved beyond his jiu-jitsu roots and was knocked out by Bryce Mitchell in his most recent bout. ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - SEPTEMBER 27: (L-R) Hakeem Dawodu of Canada faces Zubaira ... More Tukhugov of Russia in their featherweight bout during UFC 253 inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on September 27, 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC) Dawodu, meanwhile, had a longer run with the promotion but couldn't overcome a tough final chapter. After missing weight in a 2022 loss to Julian Erosa and pulling out of a scheduled fight in 2023, he returned to drop a decision to Cub Swanson last August. That marked his third loss in four appearances, and ultimately, his UFC run came to an end this week as well. The timing of these cuts precedes one of the year's most anticipated events. UFC 316 takes place Saturday, June 7, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Headlining the card is a bantamweight title clash between current champion Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley in a long-awaited rematch. In the co-main event, Julianna Peña puts her women's bantamweight crown on the line against Olympic gold medalist and PFL crossover star Kayla Harrison. Other matchups include Kelvin Gastelum vs. Joe Pyfer, Mario Bautista vs. Patchy Mix (who is making his UFC debut following his time as Bellator bantamweight champion), and a welterweight showdown between Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland. Here is a look at the entire card.
