HomeAuthor Okafor

CoveragePage 4 of 3592

Author Okafor

The latest coverage from across combat sports.

BKFC lands Kohl’s licensing deal, dropping apparel into 1,200 stores ahead of Sturgis, Mohegan Sun, and Fenway

The bloodiest promotion in combat sports now shares shelf space with Sonoma Goods For Life. The retail play arrives just as BKFC rolls into its most public month, and it fits a Kohl’s brand-partnership strategy the department store has been building for two years.

Andrew WeissmannJul 305 min read

MMA

Walker’s heavyweight debut set for UFC 332, drawing ranked British contender Mick Parkin

The Brazilian moves up after a rough stretch at 205 pounds, replacing an injured Ante Delija booking with a ranked opponent instead. Utah, October 3, first fight announced for the numbered card.

Andrew WeissmannJul 304 min read

MMA

PFL New York preview: Nurmagomedov and Colgan both undefeated, Ditcheva returns in the co-main

Two undefeated lightweights meet for the title at UBS Arena on Friday. One walks in as the standard-bearer of the family name. The other walks in with NCAA wrestling credentials and a shot at the biggest upset the promotion has produced under its current format.

Andrew WeissmannJul 294 min read

Bare Knuckle Boxing

Till gets his Romero fight seven years after asking, BKFC 94 lands in Manchester on September 26

Darren Till first called out Romero the Cuban Olympian back in 2019. A UFC pairing never happened. On September 26 at AO Arena, at 190 pounds, on bare knuckles, they finally settle it.

Andrew WeissmannJul 294 min read

MMA

Jean survives Rodriguez rally to claim PFL welterweight belt, Xavier stops Pedro with a second left in the first

The two-day-notice replacement nearly pulled off the biggest upset of the year. Jean answered with ground-and-pound from the back and captured the vacant title. Rafael Xavier delivered the night’s cleanest highlight one second before the horn.

Andrew WeissmannJul 285 min read

MMA

Makhachev vs. Garry at UFC 330: The stylistic matchup from both sides

The pound-for-pound king walks into Philadelphia at 29-1 and sixteen straight. Ian Machado Garry arrives as a top contender at 170 pounds. The champ is publicly unfazed.

Andrew WeissmannJul 286 min read

Bare Knuckle Boxing

Reyno finishes Krejci in the first round of BKFC’s South American debut with Uruguay’s president at ringside

A sold-out Antel Arena, a sitting head of state at ringside, and a hometown finish at 1:29 of round one. BKFC’s first-ever South American card belonged to Gaston “Tonga” Reyno.

Andrew WeissmannJul 274 min read

Ulberg pushes back on interim title chatter, offers his own light heavyweight bracket

The champion sat cageside at UFC Abu Dhabi, watched Ankalaev finish Guskov, told the Paramount interviewer he saw what he needed, then posted a full matchmaking plan on Instagram. His counter-pitch: no interim belt, one clean tournament, whoever earns it fights him in early 2027.

Jul 275 min read

Boxing

Anthony Joshua survives two first-round knockdowns to stop Prenga in the second, Fury deal holds

When Kristian Prenga landed a heavy uppercut just nineteen seconds into the fight, Anthony Joshua looked like a former champion whose entire comeback could be derailed by a single mistake. However, the narrative shifted dramatically when the second round got underway.

Jul 264 min read

MMA

Ankalaev finishes Guskov in the fifth at UFC Abu Dhabi, calls out Ulberg for the title

Twenty-three minutes of takedowns and grind with the eventual stoppage in the fifth round arriving only after much of the audience had grown disengaged. While Ankalaev secured the victory, the critical reception of his performance is bound to complicate his position in upcoming matchmaking discussions.

Jul 265 min read

MMA

Perry vs. Danis MMA fight set for August 29 as Dual Arena 1 launches new hybrid promotion

A fight that fans have been trying to book for years has seemingly landed, but whether it really goes down is yet to be seen.

Jul 255 min read

MMA

Rodriguez replaces Musaev vs. Jean at PFL Washington D.C. after weight-cut withdrawal

The 2024 PFL welterweight tournament champion is off Saturday’s title fight with 48 hours to go. Cuban prospect Ernesto Rodriguez, originally booked on the preliminary card, moves up to challenge Thad Jean for the vacant belt. It caps a brutal fight week for the promotion.

Jul 245 min read

MMA

The Algorithm Made Him Do It: Inside Guskov’s 15-Second Yes to Ankalaev

The Uzbek light heavyweight took 15 seconds to accept the Abu Dhabi main event, on ten days’ notice, and told Cageside Press the UFC’s AI-driven ranking system factored into the decision. Fighters using an algorithm as leverage in career math is the piece of 2026 the sport has not fully absorbed.