The MMA Archive

Dana White really wasn't happy about Islam Makhachev turning down January, and now we've got Michael Morales vs. Carlos Prates for an interim belt. Whether you agree with needing an interim belt or not, five rounds of Michael Morales vs. Carlos Prates with gold on the line is going to be absolute chaos. 🔥

Georges St-Pierre walking out: what's your energy level?

Most fighters keep their belts and gloves. Paddy Pimblett kept a hand sanitizer bottle. Petty level: legendary. 😂 If Paddy vs. Ilia ever happens, that hand sanitizer bottle deserves its own walkout. 🎶🧴

55 years ago today October 31, 1971 🥊 Koichi Wajima challenged Italy’s Carmelo Bossi for the WBC super-welterweight title at Tokyo’s Nihon University Auditorium. Wajima’s awkward rhythm and unorthodox movement helped him turn the home title shot into a breakthrough. He won the decision and became world champion, beginning one of Japan’s memorable championship careers. A title fight carries a different kind of pressure because every exchange is measured against the standard of a champion. The build-up made the stakes clear long before the result was official. In the aftermath, the performance mattered beyond one night. It changed how the division viewed the winner and became part of the larger story of that championship era.

Who had the better peak: Jose Aldo or Islam Makhachev?

17 years ago today October 31, 2009 🥊 Antonio DeMarco met former champion José Alfaro in Las Vegas for the interim WBC lightweight title. The Mexican southpaw gradually wore Alfaro down as the rounds passed. In Round 10, DeMarco forced the stoppage and claimed the interim belt, moving one step closer to the full world championship in the lightweight division. The decisive sequence was only one part of the story. The pressure, preparation and small adjustments that came before it shaped the opening and made the finish possible. That is why the result stayed important after the final bell: it showed how quickly momentum can change when one athlete recognizes an opening and commits fully. The details remain compelling because they show how preparation, belief and execution can turn a scheduled contest into a lasting piece of sporting history.

Scariest aura walking to the ring/cage? Arman Tsarukyan / Chris Weidman / Randy Couture / Robbie Lawler

52 years ago today October 30, 1974 🥊 George Foreman looked unbeatable when Muhammad Ali challenged him in Zaire. Ali leaned on the ropes, absorbed the champion’s fury and waited. In Round 8, he exploded with a combination that dropped Foreman. The “Rumble in the Jungle” became immortal. Foreman entered looking almost invincible, which is why Ali’s rope-a-dope survival and Round 8 knockout became one of the most famous tactical turnarounds in boxing history. The decisive sequence was only one part of the story. The pressure, preparation and small adjustments that came before it shaped the opening and made the finish possible. That is why the result stayed important after the final bell: it showed how quickly momentum can change when one athlete recognizes an opening and commits fully.

"When I'm free, they aren't interested. When I'm under contract, the offers start coming." Fedor Emelianenko says the UFC only came calling when he couldn't actually sign. 🤔 Do you believe Fedor's side of the story, or Dana White's? 👇

Harder to game-plan for: Ilia Topuria or Yair Rodriguez? #UFC

Paddy wants Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan says Gaethje is ducking him, and Volkanovski wants Gaethje for his retirement fight. Justin Gaethje is the most wanted man in the lightweight division right now. 👀

5 years ago today October 30, 2021 🥋 Glover Teixeira was 42 and getting what many thought would be his final UFC title shot against Jan Błachowicz. Glover took him down, dominated the grappling and forced a rear-naked-choke tap in Round 2 — finally becoming UFC champion after two decades in MMA. At 42 and after two decades in the sport, Teixeira finally reached the top, making the Round 2 choke one of MMA’s great late-career championship moments. A title fight carries a different kind of pressure because every exchange is measured against the standard of a champion. The build-up made the stakes clear long before the result was official. In the aftermath, the performance mattered beyond one night. It changed how the division viewed the winner and became part of the larger story of that championship era.

Conor McGregor vs Tyron Woodley, both at their peak. Who wins?

Two of the best welterweights ever, and we'll never get to see them fight. Kamaru Usman vs. prime GSP would have been an absolute chess match. ♟️ Prime Kamaru Usman vs. prime Georges St-Pierre: who wins? 👇

5 years ago today October 30, 2021 🥋 Petr Yan had lost his UFC title by illegal knee and needed interim gold to get back on track. Cory Sandhagen gave him five brilliant rounds, but Yan’s pressure and counters earned a unanimous decision in one of 2021’s best technical fights. Yan needed a way back after losing his belt by illegal knee, and five high-level rounds with Sandhagen gave him interim gold without any controversy about the winner. A title fight carries a different kind of pressure because every exchange is measured against the standard of a champion. The build-up made the stakes clear long before the result was official. In the aftermath, the performance mattered beyond one night. It changed how the division viewed the winner and became part of the larger story of that championship era.

"The game's not over. Christmas Eve in Dubai. Checkmate." Jake Paul is dropping a chess teaser with no opponent named. And somehow everyone is already guessing who it is. Marketing genius or pure bait? Who do you think Jake Paul is fighting on Christmas Eve in Dubai? 👇

Boxing rules, 12 rounds: Takanori Gomi vs Oscar De La Hoya. Who wins?

5 years ago today October 30, 2021 🥋 Dan Hooker accepted Islam Makhachev on short notice at UFC 267 and entered as one of Islam’s toughest tests. It lasted 2:25. Makhachev took him down, trapped a kimura and forced the tap — announcing that a lightweight title shot was getting very close. Hooker had taken the fight on short notice and was considered a serious test, so Makhachev’s 2:25 kimura made his push toward a lightweight title shot look even more convincing. A title fight carries a different kind of pressure because every exchange is measured against the standard of a champion. The build-up made the stakes clear long before the result was official. In the aftermath, the performance mattered beyond one night. It changed how the division viewed the winner and became part of the larger story of that championship era.