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23+ min ago (669+ words) Dec 8, 2025 | 10:40 PM EST UFC 323 wasn't supposed to end with a collective gasp. It was supposed to be a showdown between the division's most decorated champion and its fastest-rising contender, a passing of the torch of sorts. Instead, 26 seconds in, Alexandre Pantoja's arm folded beneath him, leaving Joshua Van standing in the kind of silence no new champion wants to debut in. What surprised fans was how firmly Joshua Van insisted the belt should be defended again, immediately, against the man he dethroned. Van told Ariel Helwani, "Nobody wants the fight to end that way. He's one of the greatest of all time in our division. I want to run it back." There was no gloating or relying on the result, just a young champion attempting to make things right. And to make things even more interesting, he did something even…...

33+ min ago (245+ words) Speaking to Submission Radio, Aljamain Sterling said Dvalishvili's lack of body-punching stood out immediately. "I guess we were kind of wondering if Merab was seeing something different," Sterling said. "Those body punches he's almost put me down a couple times with those." Aljamain Sterling said even in the lead-up to fight night, Dvalishvili didn't look like his normal self. "The weeks leading up to this fight and even the day of, in the back room, he didn't go to the body with his hands like he normally does," Sterling added. "That could've been a difference maker." He pointed to adjustments from their first fight with Yan where calf kicks helped Merab take control but said this time Yan found success with his left body kick, particularly from southpaw, and Merab never fully disrupted that rhythm. " Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 8, 2025 One…...

42+ min ago (316+ words) Dec 8, 2025 | 10:20 PM EST Image Source " Twitter (X) BoxingScene are saddened to learn of the passing of promising boxer Josue David Hernandez. Hernandez, aged just 20, was killed protecting his four sisters from an attacker with a machete at their home in Mexico City. People quickly started mourning the tragic death. One user showed respect, claiming Hernandez died protecting the people he loved. "A man that did what he must to protect his women, nothing but respect "," the user commented. Still, Hernandez had so much more to offer the sport had this tragic incident not occurred. Another user branded the 20-year-old a true warrior. "So sad. True warrior until the end. May God protect his family. "," the user commented. Some reports also suggest that the attacker may have been a relative of the family. Someone else felt Josue David Hernandez is now a…...

46+ min ago (407+ words) Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has broken her silence. Following a brief but heated backstage exchange with former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill, a moment captured in a nine-second video clip that surfaced Monday on social media. The incident allegedly took place backstage at UFC 323 inside Las Vegas" T-Mobile Arena. In the clip, Hill can be seen shouting toward Jedrzejczyk as security steps between them. With security restraining her, Jedrzejczyk responds: "Yeah? You will?" The clip ends abruptly, leaving the context unclear. As speculation grew, Jedrzejczyk issued a written statement which she also read in an Instagram video firmly denying any wrongdoing and expressing frustration that her name was pulled into an incident she says was unprovoked. " ACD MMA (@acdmma_) December 9, 2025 In her statement, Joanna Jedrzejczyk defended her character and said she was "embarrassed" to be involved in the situation…...

53+ min ago (731+ words) Dec 8, 2025 | 10:09 PM EST Merab Dvalishvili doesn't look like a man content to wait. Days after losing his bantamweight title to Petr Yan at UFC 323, "The Machine' is already back on social media, posting a tongue-in-cheek Instagram carousel that flipped the roles from their careers past and present. He wrote, "And question is what's gonna happen in 2026?" Still, behind the memes and the trilogy chatter, reality is setting in. A brutal five-round fight. A year packed with championship pressure. And a body that has absorbed the workload of four title fights in 2025 alone. So when Merab Dvalishvili talks about what comes next, the most important voice right now isn't his. It's his coach's. Syndicate MMA head coach, John Wood, joined The Ariel Helwani Show recently and pulled back the curtain on what recovery should actually look like for a fighter who…...

57+ min ago (739+ words) Abhishek Kumar Das is a Senior Combat Sports writer at EssentiallySports, known for his sharp extensive coverage of the UFC and WWE. Specializing as the go-to expert on Joe Rogan, Abhishek provides nuanced reporting on the evolving discourse surrounding Rogan's influence on combat sports and its intersection with American politics. Over the past three years, he has built a reputation for delivering timely breaking news and thoughtful analysis, often exploring off-court drama and current affairs tied to the fight world. Before joining EssentiallySports, Abhishek honed his writing skills through various freelance projects and content writing internships with multiple media outlets. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs and has additional certifications in Digital Marketing and content strategies. He also possesses proficiency in Spanish language and literature. His work, blending creative content with strong editorial skills, has…...

1+ hour, 23+ min ago (265+ words) Joshua Van used to sign UFC cards for fans with the promise that he would become champion "by 2026, and he just about made it happen. His win over Alexandre Pantoja that ended the flyweight champions impressive reign was a controversial one. The Brazilian picked up a freak injury less than 30 seconds into the fight resulting in an immediate stoppage, and him losing the belt. At just 24-years-old, Joshua Van is the second-youngest champion in UFC history. He is behind only Jon Jones for the accolade, and regardless of how he did it, Helwani noted that he used to sign cards declaring he would be champion by 2026. His win means that the prediction was correct, and he did it just by the buzzer as that was the final pay-per-view of 2025 and just the second last event of the year. "I manifested…...

1+ hour, 29+ min ago (574+ words) Dec 8, 2025 | 9:33 PM EST UFC events are typically built around predictable tensions such as press conference insults, staredowns, and callouts. But every now and then, something unusual slips through the holes and grows bigger than any scripted moment. That's exactly what happened when Khamzat Chimaev and Jon Jones got into a fun parking-lot scuffle that suddenly looked way less playful than anyone expected. One moment, it was jokes, handshakes, and grins. Next, the energy shifted just enough to make fans question whether something real had ignited. Fans spent days breaking down the footage frame by frame to find out the answer, but now Khamzat Chimaev has finally explained why the friendly wrestling "started to heat up." "Borz' maintained that the encounter began with pure good vibes. "He liked it when he was there, shooting, doing funny things," Khamzat said in a…...

1+ hour, 38+ min ago (773+ words) Dec 8, 2025 | 9:24 PM EST December 6, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: JOSHUA VAN 16-2-0 of Hakha, Myanmar defeats ALEXANDRE PANTOJA 30-6-0 of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by TKO, Round 1, :26 during UFC 323 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Las Vegas USA " ZUMAo117 20251206_zsp_o117_121 Copyright: xMikaelxOnax Even the newly crowned champion looked shaken. "I didn't know what happened. He just stopped. The ref was like "something's wrong.' He's one of the greatest of all time. I didn't want the fight to go that way." Joshua Van told Joe Rogan afterward. Replays showed the arm snapping backward, but whether it was a fracture or a dislocation wasn't immediately clear, only that it was gruesome and serious. The moment cast a shadow over the final ESPN-era pay-per-view and left fans asking a far more important question than "what's next?". How bad is it, really? Days later, that question finally received…...

1+ hour, 48+ min ago (330+ words) Dec 8, 2025 | 9:15 PM EST Merab Dvalishvili took to social media to share a video of himself sharing a ride with a fan named Raul. As the Machine forgot where he parked his car, Raul pulled up and offered Dvalishvili a ride, so they could go car-hunting. The wild part? Raul even pushed his girlfriend to the back seat, so Merab could sit in front. Merab got lost so a fan offered to drive him around and find his car " "I got lost here. That's what happens when you get punched too much." " Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 8, 2025 Dvalishvili said it best, several punches to your face can leave you dazed and confused. But the loss was something that caught the fans completely off guard. The Machine had taken to X to apologize to the fans. He also admitted that he had been…...