Eighteen months before he won the UFC’s light heavyweight title, Jamahal Hill lost to Paul Craig by TKO – but it was his dislocated elbow that left his arm dangling while he had a stunned look on his face that was most memorable.
The UFC released its latest compilation video featuring just the sounds of the fighters, the arena and the corners – no commentary – of some of the most famous moments in company history, including Craig’s TKO of Hill, Dustin Poirier’s win over Dan Hooker, T.J. Dillashaw’s adrenaline-fueled grudge match with Cody Garbrandt; and many more.
Check out vintage Craig, as well as some other incredible UFC moments, in the video above. And below, don’t miss more coverage of those legendary fights.
Khabib Nurmagomedov with Dana White
Dustin Poirier def. Dan Hooker, UFC on ESPN 12
Paul Craig def. Jamahal Hill, UFC 263
T.J. Dillashaw def. Cody Garbrandt, UFC 217
Aljamain Sterling def. Petr Yan, UFC 273
Ilia Topuria def. Josh Emmett, UFC on ABC 5
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Ask Luke Riley, and he’ll admit, “It’s been a bit of a mad camp.”
For months, Riley (9-0) has prepared for the biggest fight of his life, though the circumstances changed drastically due to elements outside his control.
“I felt a bit stuck, just a bit lost,” Riley said recently to MMA Junkie. “But I stayed in the gym. Obviously it kept me a bit sane getting there.”
Riley, 25, is the next generation of Next Generation MMA in Liverpool, England, the home of UFC stars Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann.
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To have a Dana White’s Contender Series fight scheduled for Sept. 24 was elating. To have it then canceled due to visa issues was a bitter pill to swallow.
From age nine, preparing for fights has taken priority – over school, over work, over everything.
“When people were studying for exams, I was in Thailand hitting the pads,” Riley laughed. “I’d come back and the teachers would be like, ‘Luke, what the f*ck? Where have you been?’ I’d like, ‘I’ve just in Thailand. I’ve just been fighting in Thailand.’ They’d say, ‘Oh, you can’t do that, Luke.’ My mom was on my side. They knew fighting came first. It wasn’t school and then fighting, for me. It was fighting and then school.
“Fighting is No. 1, and it always has been. … I know people say there’s a lot more to life, but this moment in my life from since I’ve very first started fighting, it’s been a promise; it’s the first thing that comes first, before anything in my life.”
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Riley is confident the issue will be resolved before the UFC circles back, so waiting on the shelf was an option – but it was not a remedy. Riley elected to compete again and will headline Cage Warriors 178 vs. Alexandre Junior (6-2) on Saturday in Manchester, England (UFC Fight Pass).
“I spoke to Graham (Boylan) and basically said I need to get back in the cage,” Riley said. “He got me on the Manchester show and then obviously the title fight. … I’m very happy, mate. … It’s not like I’m done forever. When it comes back around, it’ll all be sorted out. That’s why I’m happy.”
Despite his age, Riley’s level-headedness is beyond his years, majorly due to the influences he’s surrounded himself with professionally.
“Paddy is one of my best mates,” Riley said. “We have a lot in common in life. We’re just two normal lads, mate. Obviously, where he is now in his career, it’s inspiring. Sh*t, it’s more than that. He’s like an older brother, someone to look up to. I love to be in the gym with him.”
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Being “Paddy’s guy” comes with a lot of attention. Whether it’s good or bad, it’s an extra angle of the fight game many youngsters don’t have to deal with. Riley, however, takes it all in stride. Seeing how Pimblett embraced it all made it easier for Riley to do the same.
“Obviously, all the Paddy haters are going to jump on whoever he’s going to mention,” Riley said. “He recently turned all the haters back around to fans again. I think that’s how fickle the MMA fans are. It’s just one of them, mate. You can’t stress over people on Twitter or Instagram or you’re not much of a fighter, are you? … He’s on a much larger scale than me. But even the likes of him, who has never lost, he’s still got haters. I’ve got to take it in stride and not bother me and just carry on going, mate. Back on.”
Like Pimblett, the confidence oozes from Riley, who dreams big and sounds so convincing he’s going to do everything to make them reality.
Even with knowledge the UFC is already interested, Riley aims to exceed the wildest expectations. Perhaps there’s a way he can convince the promotion to sign him, even knowing his travel abilities will be limited (at least for now).
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“A lot of built-up f*cking… I don’t even know what the word would be. It’s not even anger. It’s built-up emotion,” Riley said. “I’m just looking to put a statement on, mate, basically. I want to make a statement to the UFC. I feel like I’m on the radar already. But after the performance I’m going to put on, they’re going to be like, ‘F*cking hell. Let’s sign this kid. I don’t know what we were thinking putting him on the Contender. This Luke, we need to sign him ASAP.’ That’s the type of performance I’m looking to put on.”
Whether it’s tomorrow, next month, or next year, Riley is confident he’ll live out his UFC dream one day. He’s in this to be the best and with an unblemished record, no one has thrown him off that path.
“Today, I could step in the octagon against anyone in the 145-pound division and win,” Riley said. “Mate, I’m willing to f*cking fight anyone. I believe I would beat anyone. I wouldn’t be in this sport to be f*cking having a 9-5.
“… If I was older and I was 35 instead of 25, I’d be honest. You’d see in interviews me saying, ‘He needs to hurry up.’ … There’s only one person you’re racing and that’s yourself. I’m a young kid, so I’ve got a lot of time. So no stress. Let’s see what happens after this one after I knock this kid out.”
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of combat sports.
Taking to Instagram with a response to O’Malley, Dvalishvili trolled the former champion with a video showing him acting as a disapproving father towards O’Malley.
“What the f*ck, bro?! What’s going on? Sean, is that you my friend? What’s wrong with you, bro? Why do you keep smoking, my friend? I thought you were just sleeping now. It’s sleep time for you, bro. Come on, bro.
“Listen son, don’t worry about this Umar Nurmagomedov. I will take care of Umar. You’re not a champion anymore. I’m going to take belt from you again, so you drive safe, son. Let’s go Sean. No more smoking. Drive safe.”
Regardless of O’Malley’s claims, Dvalishvili remains the undisputed UFC bantamweight champion and appears poised to defend his title against either Umar Nurmagomedov or possible Deiveson Figueiredo sometime next year. Meanwhile, O’Malley is headed for surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip and will be out of action for at least six months.
The Scottish FA’s new Key Match Incident Review Panel has determined that the decision not to red card St Mirren’s Shaun Rooney for this incident on Saturday was incorrect.
The five-person panel – three of whom are coaches, former players or from the media, with one Scottish FA and one SPFL club representative – decreed that not showing a red card for violent conduct was a mistake, as was VAR Andrew Dallas’ decision not to intervene.
Rooney was not booked for twice kicking Kilmarnock’s Kyle Vassell and, in fact, was awarded a free-kick by referee Matthew MacDermid.
Anthony Joshua has his chance to become world champion again.
The British star challenges Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, and both fighters successfully made weight at Friday’s official weigh-ins. Joshua weighed in at 252.7 pounds, just a few pounds heavier than Dubois.
Joshua (28-3) enters Saturday’s contest on a four-fight win streak. He has bounced back impressively following a pair of title fight losses to Oleksandr Usyk and now has his chance to regain the IBF title that he dropped to Usyk in 2021.
In his most recent outing this past March, Joshua defeated former UFC champion and current PFL fighter Francis Ngannou via highlight-reel knockout.
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“I look at myself as a gladiator and I’m about to step into an arena tomorrow to perform for the people who love to see blood, guts, and glory,” Joshua said in his post-weigh-in interview. “I’m pumped and I’m ready to perform for the people.”
Dubois (21-2) scored an eighth-round TKO victory over the previously undefeated Filip Hrgovic this past June to capture an interim IBF heavyweight championship. That same month, Dubois was elevated to undisputed status when Usyk vacated his share of the title.
See full Joshua vs. Dubois weigh-in results below.
Oscar De La Hoya doesn’t always compliment the UFC, but his recent attendance at Sphere resulted in an exception.
UFC 306, also known as Noche UFC, took place this past Saturday in Las Vegas and De La Hoya was there – despite his longtime rivalry with Dana White. De La Hoya was among the guests in the box seats of Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian adviser heading “Riyadh Season,” which was a sponsor of the event.
De La Hoya said Thursday in an Instagram post that he head a great time at the event and praised the production – while still taking shots at White.
“Last weekend gave me some good material, so let’s get into it right now,” De La Hoya said. “OK guys, so UFC Noche: I was true to my word. I did attend last Saturday. I sat in Turki’s box upstairs, and I have to be honest with you: It was beautiful. It was spectacular. It looked really cool. The production value was there. Everything was amazing. The fights were actually really good.
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“So congratulations to Turki for footing the bill on this and making his celebration of the Mexican culture come to life. And Dana, I know this wasn’t your idea or vision. Nothing ever is at the UFC. You’re the Fertittas’ errand boy. But I’m always honest and fair, and I want to praise the production. UFC Noche was a good time and I really enjoyed it.”
De La Hoya and White have feuded consistently throughout the years. However, De La Hoya still was included in the UFC’s tribute packages to Mexican combat sports played at the event.
“He’s an asshole, but you can’t deny what he did,” White told reporters including MMA Junkie after the event. “The guy is a f*cking lunatic, but he was a bad boy in his day before he got his fake abs. Yeah, he used to have real abs.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 306.
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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