The disparaging remark UFC fighter Josh Hokit made about Michelle Obama during the broadcast of the UFC’s event at the White House continues to prompt reactions.

Including a harsh one from a UFC legend.

Daniel Cormier, a UFC Hall of Fame inductee and part of the promotion’s on-air commentary team, called Hokit’s comment "disgusting," "nasty" and "gross."

Hokit, during a during an interview conducted in the Octagon after he won his heavyweight bout at UFC Freedom 250 June 14, said, "Michelle Obama is a man! Am I right, America?"

Cormier, on his podcast this week, said of Hokit’s remark, "That was nasty. It was gross. It did not need to happen."

Cormier also said, "There was no gain in Josh Hokit doing that and it was disgusting. So get it together, dude."

In January, Hokit targeted basketball star Brittney Griner, saying during a post-fight interview, "And P.S., Brittney Griner is a man."

Cormier praised Michelle Obama, the former first lady, for being "as classy a person as you will ever meet, who has only represented herself, her family and this country with grace and class."

Daniel Cormier presents different side of Josh Hokit

Hokit has angered other UFC fighters while inhabiting different personas and instigating physical confrontations.

But Cormier shared the personal experience he’s had with Hokit and suggested Hokit is a different person than the fighter who has called two prominent Black women men.

"Josh has been in my gym," Cormier said. "Josh was in a fighter meeting last weekend (for the Paramount+ broadcast) and he wasn't doing the whole character thing. He's just a normal dude.

"He's a good fighter and he's a great athlete. But the comments that he made in the Octagon just made no sense. It was unnecessary. It was unnecessary."

Cormier suggested he expected something different from Hokit after Hokit knocked out Derrick Lewis and improved to 10-0.

"He started his post-fight interview and he was going to do one of those gimmicky things that honestly I think it's lame…," Cormier said. "And then he stopped himself and he did like an interview and he was good.

"He could have left and he could have made more fans than he walked in there with because they would have gotten to see Josh Hokit. But instead he goes and says the thing about Michelle Obama…

"I absolutely hated that. He needs to do better. He needs to do better because it looks like he's going to have a good career in the UFC and he's going to have a ton of time to work his way towards the championship or at least fight for it."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UFC’s Daniel Cormier slams Josh Hokit after Michelle Obama comment

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom goes in-depth to break down the biggest fights in the UFC. Today, he takes a closer look at UFC Fight Night 279's main event between Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.

Kyoji Horiguchi Fight Night 279 preview

Staple info:

• Record: 36-5 MMA, 9-2 UFC
• Height: 5'4" Age: 35 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 69"
• Last fight: Decision win over Amir Albazi (Feb. 7, 2026)
• Camp: American Top Team (Florida)
• Stance/striking style: Orhtodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:

• + Bellator bantamweight title
• + RIZIN Bantamweight champion
• + Black belt karate (2nd degree)
• + RIZIN bantamweight grand prix champ
• + Multiple Shooto titles
• + 15 KO victories
• + 6 submission wins
• + 11 first-round finishes
• + KO Power
• + Fast hand and foot speed
• ^ Superb blitzes and lateral movement
• + Solid pocket awareness
• ^ Moves head and counters well
• + Improved wrestling and scrambling ability
• + Dangerous ground striker
• +/- 1-0 in the UFC Apex
• +/- 4-0 in career rematches

Manel Kape UFC Fight Night 279 preview

Staple info:

• Record: 22-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC
• Height: 5'5" Age: 32 Weight: 125 lbs. Reach: 68"
• Last fight:Knockout win for Manel Kape (Dec. 13, 2025)
• Camp: Xtreme Couture MMA (Las Vegas)
• Stance/striking style: Switch-stance/kickboxing
• Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:

• + RIZIN bantamweight title
• + Regional MMA titles
• + Jiu-jitsu black belt
• + 14 KO victories
• + 5 submission wins
• + 10 first-round finishes
• + KO power
• + Solid feints and footwork
• + Dynamic striker
• ^ Works well off the counter
• + Dangerous knees
• + Good bodywork
• + Serviceable wrestling
• ^ Defensively and offensively
• + Solid scrambler
• +/- 4-2 in the UFC Apex
• +/- 1-0 in career rematches

Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi breakdown: Striking the second time around

The main event in Las Vegas features a rematch between men’s flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Kyoji Horiguchi.

Their first encounter, which took place in the RIZIN ring roughly nine years ago, was a fun but foul-filled fight that saw the more seasoned Horiguchi outclass a more raw iteration of Kape on the feet before submitting him on the floor. Although you could argue that Kape has made more improvements since said meeting, Horiguchi’s skills and spirit appear to be shining brighter than ever.

Training in traditional martial arts since he was five, Horiguchi shows the preternatural understanding of combative ranges that you only see from years and years of experience.

Effectively circling on the outside, Horiguchi will typically time counters or blitzes once getting a beat on the action. But what makes Horiguchi an above-average Karate striker is his superb pocket awareness and  lateral movement within the boxing department, as it's not uncommon to see the 35-year-old roll under counters to come back with shots of his own.

Since moving his training camps to American Top Team, Horiguchi has also made improvements with his jab. Not only will Horiguchi flick out jabs more often than before, but he also does a decent job of drawing out his opponent's jab in order to either split it down the center or counter over the top.

Horiguchi could certainly find success in these spaces, but he will still need to respect the counters coming back at him from Kape.

Despite being a dynamic showman with a solid arsenal, Manel Kape prefers to do most of his damage off the counter.

Fluent in both stances, Kape keeps a smoothness to his shifts and lateral movements that open up potent offensive opportunities. From counter crosses to counter hooks, Kape keeps a series of short shots that he's ready to unload on a hair-trigger.

When Kape is feeling in stride, he shows little issue with digging to the body or mixing in the occasional knee up the center to intercept level changes. Kape’s proprioception and speed allow him to make accurate reads in the pocket, but the former RIZIN champ can also find himself on the wrong side of offense due to his sometimes lackadaisical nature.

Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi point of interest: Potential grappling threats

Between the advantages Horiguchi was able to press in their first fight to the fact that this battle will be taking place in the smaller octagon of the Apex, no one should be shocked if this fight hits the floor on Saturday.

Although Kape is the fighter who used to sport wrestling shoes during their days on the Japanese circuit, I'd argue that Horiguchi is the better wrestler who is more likely to go for takedowns between the two. 

Originally coming out of the Krazy Bee camp in Tokyo, Japan, Horiguchi has only further sharpened his wrestling chops since training stateside.

Strong inside of the clinch and against the fence, Horiguchi shows solid head position and situational awareness when working to advance. That said, Horiguchi may find more success with things like singles or open-space shots that he can use to drive his opposition to the fence and floor alike.

Thankfully for Kape, he's no stranger to the wrestling and scrambling dynamics of a fight.

Even when Kape was coming up in the rings of RIZIN, he was having to both defend and finish takedowns in sub-optimal positions on the regular. Kape has always had an impressive reactive sprawl in open space, but the Angola native has traditionally run into trouble when going for submissions rather than defending the position.

Kape has solid and smooth transitions when operating from topside, but he can get lackadaisical or complacent at times when working from his back (which can be maddening for his supporters considering how hard Kape is capable of scrambling).

Although Kape has come a long way since the submission losses earlier in his career, the jiu-jitsu black belt will need to respect Horiguchi’s skills while still staying urgent.

Kape does well when it comes to using his opponent's initial momentum against them, but he may have to take a gamble and turtle out to his base if Horiguchi forces him into any negative positions. Not only can Horiguchi deliver hard ground-and-pound, but the Japanese standout has also improved his top pressure and submission acumen since working with American Top Team.

Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi odds

The oddsmakers and the public are favoring the fighter who lost the first time around, listing Kape -168 and Horiguchi +136 via FanDuel.

Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi prediction, pick

Despite my official pick, it’s nice to see this line getting tighter from a betting perspective considering how hard this fight is to call.

Part of me feels like Horiguchi should be favored given both the first fight’s result and the fact that his skills and speed still appear to be firmly intact at 35. That said, I’m not sure how much anyone can take away from their first encounter given both how long ago it was and how much Kape has improved since then.

In fact, Kape seldom switched stances in their first fight, much less gave the southpaw-primary looks that we’ve seen from him more lately (something that I suspect could trouble Horiguchi, who officially stands 1-1 opposite UFC-level lefties). Couple that with the clear performance and preparation upgrades that have come with working alongside Eric Nicksick and company, and I can’t help but give Kape the edge this time around.

Although there’s likely some admitted bias in this pick on the Xtreme Couture side of the equation, let me also acknowledge that Horiguchi has long been one of my favorite fighters who I don’t think I’ve ever picked against until now.

Horiguchi’s grappling, along with his left hook and body kick, will be the tools to watch out for from him in this fight. But even though I believe that it’s dog or pass from a betting perspective, I ultimately suspect that Kape will be one of the few fighters on the planet who is fast enough to both counter and follow Horiguchi on his exits, creating the extended exchanges that have caused trouble for the Japanese fighter in prior losses.

I will be incredibly happy for “The Gooch” if I’m wrong, but the official pick for a fight I don’t want to make a pick for will be for Kape to find his finish by Round 3.

Prediction: Kape inside the distance

Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi start time, how to watch

As the main event, Kape and Horiguchi are expected to make their walks to the octagon at approximately 10:05 p.m. ET. The fight streams on Paramount+.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Manel Kape vs. Kyoji Horiguchi pick, odds, time: UFC Fight Night 279

The UFC octagon is back in Las Vegas for Saturday's UFC Fight Night 279 event at the Meta Apex. A flyweight rematch between former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion Manel Kape and former UFC flyweight championship challenger Kyoji Horiguchi headlines the fight card. The winner will likely put himself in position for the next shot at champion Joshua Van.

The first fighter is expected on the scales last noon ET.

UFC Vegas 119 Official Weigh-In Results

MAIN CARD (Paramount+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Manel Kape () vs. Kyoji Horiguchi ()
• Ion Cutelaba () vs. Navajo Stirling ()
• Hyder Amil () vs. Christian Rodriguez ()
• Melsik Baghdasaryan () vs. Murtazali Magomedov ()
• Andre Fili () vs. Vinicius Oliveira ()

PRELIMINARY CARD (Paramount+, 5 p.m. ET)

• Kevin Borjas () vs. Andre Lima ()
• Bia Mesquita () vs. Melissa Mullins ()
• Allan Nascimento () vs. Mitch Raposo ()
• Michael Aswell () vs. Gaston Bolanos ()
• Karol Rosa () vs. Luana Santos ()
• Levan Chokheli () vs. Leon Shahbazyan ()
• Shane Collins () vs. Otari Tanzilovi ()

Viewership for President Donald Trump’s birthday “UFC Freedom 250” event at the White House was 117 million short of the seismic prediction made by Dana White.

White, UFC’s president, had bullishly predicted “Super Bowl-type numbers” for the fight, streamed live on Paramount+, but figures showed the spectacle averaged 8.2 million viewers—way off the 124.9 million average who tuned in for February’s Super Bowl LX on NBC.

Florida State Sen. Joe Gruters, chair of the Republican National Committee, also falsely claimed that more people tuned in to watch the Trump event than the Super Bowl.

“Joe Gruters was only off by 117.4 million,” quipped NBC Sports’ Mike Florio.

Still, the event was the largest exclusive live event ever for Paramount+, according to the company. The show reached a total of 17 million viewers, which represents the number of people who watched for at least a minute during any point in the broadcast, per Variety.

At the unprecedented event on the South Lawn, seven UFC fights played out to celebrate 250 years of the United States, in addition to marking Trump’s 80th birthday.

Trump sat cageside with White, a good friend of his, as the night ended with Justin Gaethje securing an upset stoppage win over Ilia Topuria to become lightweight champion. In the co-main event, Ciryl Gane stopped Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title, although the finish was controversial due to Gane’s allegedly illegal strikes.

In fact, all seven bouts ended with stoppages, as American star Sean O’Malley joined compatriots Josh Hokit and Bo Nickal in picking up victories – although Hokit and Nickal’s wins came at the expense of other US fighters.

In January, Paramount+ took over as the UFC’s main broadcast partner, as the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion moved from a pay-per-view model to a subscriber-based one.

“Since the beginning of the year, 16m subscriber households have watched more than 180m hours of UFC programming on Paramount+,” read a press release on Thursday, “delivering viewership more than 20x the average pay-per-view event over the past two years.

“The inaugural numbered event, UFC 324 on 24 January, broke the record at the time for the largest exclusive live event on Paramount+ with 5m average viewers and 7m households in the US and Latin America, according to Adobe Analytics.” Nielsen was also used to verify figures.

“UFC Freedom 250 [at the White House] was the 6th marquee event in a seven-year deal between UFC and Paramount+ that includes 13 Numbered Events and 30 Fight Nights in the US and Latin America for 2026, with select offerings in Australia. UFC and Paramount+ also recently announced the expansion of UFC Numbered Event Main Card rights to Canada beginning in 2027.”

Viewership for President Donald Trump’s birthday “UFC Freedom 250” event at the White House was 117 million short of the seismic prediction made by Dana White.

White, UFC’s president, had bullishly predicted “Super Bowl-type numbers” for the fight, streamed live on Paramount+, but figures showed the spectacle averaged 8.2 million viewers—way off the 124.9 million average who tuned in for February’s Super Bowl LX on NBC.

Florida State Sen. Joe Gruters, chair of the Republican National Committee, also falsely claimed that more people tuned in to watch the Trump event than the Super Bowl.

“Joe Gruters was only off by 117.4 million,” quipped NBC Sports’ Mike Florio.

Still, the event was the largest exclusive live event ever for Paramount+, according to the company. The show reached a total of 17 million viewers, which represents the number of people who watched for at least a minute during any point in the broadcast, per Variety.

At the unprecedented event on the South Lawn, seven UFC fights played out to celebrate 250 years of the United States, in addition to marking Trump’s 80th birthday.

Trump sat cageside with White, a good friend of his, as the night ended with Justin Gaethje securing an upset stoppage win over Ilia Topuria to become lightweight champion. In the co-main event, Ciryl Gane stopped Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title, although the finish was controversial due to Gane’s allegedly illegal strikes.

In fact, all seven bouts ended with stoppages, as American star Sean O’Malley joined compatriots Josh Hokit and Bo Nickal in picking up victories – although Hokit and Nickal’s wins came at the expense of other US fighters.

In January, Paramount+ took over as the UFC’s main broadcast partner, as the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion moved from a pay-per-view model to a subscriber-based one.

“Since the beginning of the year, 16m subscriber households have watched more than 180m hours of UFC programming on Paramount+,” read a press release on Thursday, “delivering viewership more than 20x the average pay-per-view event over the past two years.

“The inaugural numbered event, UFC 324 on 24 January, broke the record at the time for the largest exclusive live event on Paramount+ with 5m average viewers and 7m households in the US and Latin America, according to Adobe Analytics.” Nielsen was also used to verify figures.

“UFC Freedom 250 [at the White House] was the 6th marquee event in a seven-year deal between UFC and Paramount+ that includes 13 Numbered Events and 30 Fight Nights in the US and Latin America for 2026, with select offerings in Australia. UFC and Paramount+ also recently announced the expansion of UFC Numbered Event Main Card rights to Canada beginning in 2027.”

Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the UFC this month, as he takes onMax Holloway in a rematch 13 years in the making.

McGregor has not fought in five years, having broken his leg in his last outing in the Octagon, a 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier. As such, it’s hard to know which version of the Irishman will appear at UFC 329, where he fights Holloway in Las Vegas.

Holloway has been much more active than his old rival, who outpointed him in 2013, but the Hawaiian enters this fight on the back of a defeat – a one-sided decision against Charles Oliveira in March.

Still, the 34-year-old is a former champion like McGregor, 37, and is deemed one of the greatest featherweights of all time. He has also had success at lightweight, although he will fight McGregor at welterweight, where the Irishman has experience and Holloway does not.

In the co-main event, Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett aims to bounce back from his first UFC loss, but the Liverpudlian faces a stern test as he takes on the heavy-hitting, well-rounded Benoit Saint-Denis.

Here’s all you need to know:

When is the fight?

UFC 329 will take place on Saturday 11 July at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, US. The early prelims will begin at 10pm BST (2pm PT / 4pm CT / 5pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 12am BST (4pm PT / 6pm CT / 7pm ET) on Sunday, before the main card starts at 2am BST on Sunday (6pm PT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET on Saturday).

How can I watch it?

In the UK, the card will air live on TNT Sports and is also accessible via HBO Max, EE TV, Virgin Media, Amazon Prime Video, and Sky Sports. In the US, Paramount+ will stream the action, with CBS showing a segment of the card.

Odds

McGregor – 5/2; Holloway – 3/10

Pimblett – 13/10; Saint-Denis – 8/13

Via Betway.Get all the latest UFC betting sites’ offers. The Independent vets betting sites for usability, security and responsible gambling tools. You can claim free bets here to use across a range of sports. Please read the terms.

Fight card in full

Subject to change:

Main card

Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway 2 (welterweight)

Paddy Pimblett vs Benoit Saint-Denis (lightweight)

Cory Sandhagen vs Mario Bautista (bantamweight)

Brandon Royval vs Lone’er Kavanagh (flyweight)

Gable Steveson vs Elisha Ellison (heavyweight)

Prelims

Robert Whittaker vs Nikita Krylov (light-heavyweight)

Luke Riley vs Kai Kamaka III (featherweight)

Damian Pinas vs Cesar Almeida (middleweight)

Cody Garbrandt vs Adrian Yanez (bantamweight)

Early prelims

Tracy Cortez vs Wang Cong (women’s flyweight)

Ryan Gandra vs Zachary Reese (middleweight)

Ode’ Osbourne vs Cody Durden (flyweight)

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

We must be living in some kind of simulation. There is no other way to describe the staggering amount of duplicity and ignorance of people talking about the UFC White House event like it was one of the defining events in world history. And Joe Rogan is the latest to fall into line.

Going all the way back to the first inauguration of Donald Trump and the obsession over crowd sizes, there has been a decade-long effort to convince the American public that we are living in an alternate reality where the truth is whatever someone decides on any given day in spite of what facts, figures, and the most minute amount of common sense would prove otherwise.

But that ethos is also alive and well in UFC, where head honcho Dana White has made ridiculously laughable claims over the years, including the ridiculous notion that Power Slap is more popular than any other major pro sports league.

When you combine the UFC and the MAGA movement, the potential for astronomical lies and distortions is unlike anything we’ve ever seen since humans first learned how to communicate by using words.

That has almost immediately been the case this week as RNC chair Joe Gruters claimed the UFC White House event was watched by more people than the Super Bowl, the most-watched television event in the history of the United States.

Not to be outdone, podcaster and UFC analyst Joe Rogan put a number on it. He claimed 150 million people tuned in and that the number would grow by 50 million the next day.

Joe Rogan on the UFC White House card: I don’t know what the total overall views are as of now, but I know that it was like…I think it was 150M just by Monday.pic.twitter.com/bmHsZHcqCv

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 18, 2026

“It is one of the most-watched sporting events in the history of the world. I don’t know what the total overall views are as of now, but I know that it was like well over, I think it was 150 million just by Monday. Just by Monday. So that’s like the night of and then people that watched the replay that weren’t there when the fight took place because they heard about it. But between then and now, now we’re dealing with Tuesday. It’s probably another 50 or 60 million people,” Rogan claimed.

This is obviously one of the most ludicrous things that has ever been spoken.

The real numbers for the UFC White House event haven’t been released, but you can reasonably gather from available data that it was watched by several million people. That’s great for the UFC! That’s great for the White House! That’s a good story to tell. There’s absolutely no need to inflate numbers to such a preposterous level that the whole thing is now seen as a total joke.

Paramount+ has 79.6 million subscribers. That means that for Rogan’s numbers to be true, every single subscriber was watching the UFC. show…. plus hosted out-of-home viewing parties… plus tens of more millions of people are either signing up for the service or watching replays.

Netflix, with 325 million subscribers, drew 27.5 million viewers for the much more popular NFL games on Christmas Day. And we’re to believe that a UFC event outdrew that by multiples with an exclusive streaming show on a much smaller platform?

You want to tell us the moon landing is fake, the earth is flat, or that ivermectin is the cure for every ailment known to mankind; that’s one thing. But don’t mess with our sports viewership numbers. That’s one alternative fact too far.

The post Joe Rogan touts bogus UFC White House viewership numbers appeared first on Awful Announcing.

Prosecutors have dismissed the child abuse charge against UFC fighter Tim Means.

On Monday, the Bernalillo County (N.M.) District Attorney's office dropped the charge after a witness did not appear in court, records confirmed after an initial report by New Mexico local news outlet KRQE.

The charge was dismissed without prejudice via nolle prosequi, meaning the DA's office could refile.

Means, 42, was arrested April 22 after police said he head-butted his 17-year-old daughter, grabbed her by the throat, threw a potato at her face, and punched her.

Means told police he only grabbed his daughter in order to stop her from attacking him. The altercation stemmed from an argument over house chores in Tijeras, N.M.

“Let it be known that there were visible hand and red marks on neck, indicating she was strangled,” the police complaint reportedly stated. “There was blood on and in her nose where she was head-butted and several red marks indicated she was hit in the face and on her cheek.”

Nicknamed "The Dirty Bird", Means (33-17-1 MMA, 15-14 UFC) is one of the longest-tenured fighters on the UFC roster. He hasn't competed since October 2024, when he lost to Court McGee in what was his 30th promotional appearance. Means is in his second stint with the promotion, one that's lasted since 2014.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC fighter has child abuse charge dismissed

UFC analyst Din Thomas finds the career of Ilia Topuria to be even more captivating now that he's no longer an undefeated UFC champion.

Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) saw one of the great octagon runs in history come to an end Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 when he lost the lightweight title to Justin Gaethje by four-round TKO via corner stoppage. It was a Fight of the Year candidate that entertained the masses, but was also a far cry from the contest Topuria claimed it would be.

"El Matador" confidently stated he would dispatch of Gaethje inside the opening round on the White House South Lawn. Reality was far more cruel, however, and he ended up on the wrong end up a significant upset.

"It's the one that he needed," Thomas told MMA Junkie. "He has to do some soul-searching, because the same mentality that needed to be so great – he needs that now. To feel like you're invincible and feel that you're so great. That happens when you feel that and you trust in yourself and are drinking wine the night before the fight. Now you have to go back and question yourself, and that's where the soul-searching begins.

"Now you start to have doubt. Do you trust yourself anymore and have these same beliefs? Are you as great as you thought you were? You have to go and have that same level of confidence knowing that it didn't work against a guy like Justin Gaethje, where you were a 6-1 favorite. That's a lot of soul searching. I think Ilia can do it."

So far, Topuria has been nothing short of admirable in defeat. His first public reaction started by congratulating Gaethje and accepting the outcome without any excuses, which Thomas sees as an encouraging sign about Topuria's ability to rebound from this adversity.

"I like it – there's no excuse for him. There's no controversy surrounding his loss," Thomas said. "It reminds of when Conor (McGregor) lost. That to me is a sign of true greatness. You just come out and you own it. It's not like he fought a bad fight. He was moments away from winning that fight – early. Just like we all thought it was going to be. It was playing out like we thought it would. Other than the fact defensively he was more irresponsible than I anticipated.

"He fought a great fight, he showed his toughness, and I think he's going to be better for this. This is the type of fight that he needed to really step his feet into what everyone else in MMA has to experience. ... The fact that Ilia finally got to feel that, he's going to be better from it. And I'm looking forward to seeing his next fight because of this loss. How he bounces back. He could either be better for it, or a lot worse. But my opinion is he grows from this and now he knows what it feels like to dig deep and be a dog, and it still not work out."

The rise of Topuria was a compelling story to follow. His run of knockouts against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira prior to being unseated by Gaethje will stand the test of time. And he has the runway in his career to do much more.

At just 29, it's possible Topuria is even still a few years out from his fighting prime. His best days could potentially be ahead, but it's a crossroads moment, and Thomas is eager to see what unfolds after the next turn.

"That's what we're going to find out about Ilia," Thomas said. "I think his real career just started Sunday night."

To hear more from Thomas, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Din Thomas: Ilia Topuria's 'real career just started' with UFC loss

Islam Makhachev will defend his welterweight title for the first time against Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in August.

The formidable Makhachev (28-1, 5 KOs, 13 submissions) became just the 11th fighter in UFC history to earn two-division champion status when he dethroned Jack Della Maddalena last November on his move up a weight class.

The Russian, 34, previously held the lightweight title from late 2022 until last spring, setting the record for the most successful title-defences in UFC history (4).

He will now face the test of Machado Garry (17-1, 7 KOs, 1 submission), who has established himself in the upper echelons of the rankings at 170lbs.

Machado Garry is on a two-fight win streak after beating dangerous rising star Carlos Prates by decision, before overcoming former champion Belal Muhammad in November, a week after Makhachev became champion.

The 28-year-old has bounced back from his only career loss against Shavkat Rakhmonov which came in December 2024, who is still yet to get his long-touted shot at the title due to persistent injury problems.

Makhachev had previously suggested that there were better alternatives for a title shot, overlooking Machado Garry and hinting that Prates or Michael Morales would offer a more interesting matchup for the UFC.

But the UFC has now pulled the trigger on a first welterweight title shot for Machado Garry, headlining in Philadelphia on 30 August.

In the co-main event, women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern will also make her first title defence against Gillian Robertson.

Dern (16-5, 8 submissions) outpointed Virna Jandiroba for the vacant title in October to claim UFC gold for the first time in her career.

She will be tasked with the challenge of Robertson (17-8, 3 KOs, 9 submissions), who is on a five-fight win streak and most recently beat Amanda Lemos in March.

The rest of the UFC 330 card will be announced in due course.

Joe Rogan certainly had his share of concerns about UFC Freedom 250 leading up to it, but now he's got nothing but praise for the historic event held at the White House.

Rogan, the UFC's longtime lead color commentator, was cageside on the South Lawn to call the fights this past Sunday. Prior to the event, Rogan said it was "crazy" to host a UFC event at the White House in the "middle of a f*cking war" with Iran. He was also worried about how fighters would deal with the heat and bugs on the South Lawn.

Despite day-of-the-event weather forecasts predicting "severe thunderstorms" and possible showers, turns out it was all for naught following a delay to the start of UFC Freedom 250.

"It was perfect. The temperature was perfect," Rogan said on his "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. "I was very concerned about that. I was really concerned that these guys were gonna have to fight in the heat, but it was not an issue at all. It seemed like it was in the 70s, and the storm just miraculously passed us. … Somehow or another, the storm went around the White House. I don't know what that is. I don't know if that's science or if that's consciousness. I don't know what steered the storm or if it was just random luck. It could've been all of the above. But all of my fears of the weather getting in the way, they were null."

Rogan marveled at "the magnitude of the event," which wasn't simply about the fights on the South Lawn in front of roughly 4,500 spectators, mostly military members. There was also the Ellipse across the street from the White House, where tens of thousands of fans gathered to watch the fights on giant screens.

Rogan described what it was like to sit cageside, hear fans at the White House react to the finishes, as well as the roar of the crowd in the distance at the Ellipse.

"The magnitude of the event – I know people saw it on television, and it looked insane. But the magnitude of the event being there live … it was insane," Rogan said. "Just the magnitude of it was insane."

UFC Freedom 250 featured seven fights that all ended by knockout. Capping it off was Justin Gaethje's shocking upset of Ilia Topuria to claim the undisputed lightweight title.

Rogan doesn't see anything topping UFC Freedom 250.

"I'm a hyperbolic individual," Rogan said. "I'm always like, 'this is the greatest, this is awesome,' (but) that was the wildest experience that I've ever had in my 20-whatever years of calling combat sports. There's nothing even close. It was the greatest night of fights of all time."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joe Rogan reflects on 'wildest experience' calling UFC Freedom 250