Demetrious Johnson backs Arman Tsarukyan. Ilia Topuria says he's done more in the sport than Conor McGregor.

Mixed Martial Arts

Robert Whittaker details his plan before he hangs up the gloves.

“I want four more. I see the stepping stones needed to do what I want to do. Four fights gets me into that title shot, gets me into a position to finish on top – to have that fairy tale ending.” 

Robert Whittaker, who has fought both Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, shares his thoughts on their bout at UFC 319 on August 16, 2025 in Chicago, IL.

“I think I’m leaning towards Dricus. Chimaev will take him down – it’s will he finish him before he gets up? Because if he doesn’t finish him on the ground, I think he loses.”

Tom Aspinall compares the UFC Heavyweight division now to not too long ago – says he isn’t too familiar with the current cohort.

“If you look five plus years ago, just the name value in the top 15 was incredible. We’re talking guys like Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez, [Junior Dos Santos], Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Brock Lesnar, Stipe [Miocic] – the list goes on and on. Now, even me who’s a Heavyweight, I look through the top 15 and I’m like I’ve not really seen [these guys] fight before.”

Demetrious Johnson believes that Arman Tsarukyan should get the next UFC Lightweight title shot.

“I think the rightful person is Arman Tsarukyan.” 

The UFC told UFC Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria to not declare his intention to move up to Welterweight so soon despite Topuria’s eagerness to fight with Islam Makhachev.

“[The UFC] personally asked me the favour like ‘don’t tell us after the fight that you want to move to the Welterweight division.”

Ilia Topuria says he’s done more in the sport than Conor McGregor and shares his thoughts on a hypothetical fight between them.

“I’ve done more than Conor. I could’ve beat him without a doubt. The sport evolves every year. It’s like comparing a footballer [soccer player] who shined in the 80s or 90s to today’s game.”

Ilia Topuria says Arman Tsarukyan is the easiest next fight for him.

“Tsarukyan’s the easiest of all. Much easier than Paddy. Imagine having the chance for the world championship and when the day comes, to say that you are retiring because your back hurts.”

Islam Makhachev is picking Dustin Poirier to beat Max Holloway at UFC 318 on July 19, 2025 for Poirier’s retirement fight in New Orleans, LA. 

Sean Strickland shares his thoughts on immigration.

Boxing

Facing backlash from other ranked contenders, the WBA will review Jake Paul's No. 14 cruiserweight ranking at its upcoming convention in Madrid from July 15–18. Paul's placement followed his underwhelming win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., who wasn’t ranked at cruiserweight and hasn’t had a major victory since 2012. Critics also point out that Paul has never beaten a ranked opponent with his only notable matchup being a scheduled bout with 58-year-old Mike Tyson.

Artur Beterbiev says the date for his trilogy bout with Dmitry Bivol is unknown.

Culture

A Bitcoin wallet dormant for 14 years has become active, revealing a staggering 140,000x return on a 2011 investment of 10,000 BTC purchased for just $7,805 – now worth $1.09B. The reason for the wallet's sudden activity is unknown with speculation ranging from key recovery to corporate asset reallocation. The wallet transferred all its BTC holdings, possibly indicating profit-taking or a move to a different storage solution.

Incredible goal from Lionel Messi on Saturday against Montreal. 

‘50 Cent’ is 50 years old. 

Elon Musk to form a new political party.

Top 10 most streamed songs in Apple Music history.

This summer, Earth will spin slightly faster than usual causing some days in July and August to be a bit shorter. Normally one full rotation of Earth takes about 86,400 seconds, but small daily changes can make it a few milliseconds shorter or longer. Since 2020, Earth has been setting records for shorter days, with the shortest ever being 1.66 milliseconds less than 24 hours. This year, on dates like July 9 and August 5, Earth is expected to come close to that record again.

Donald Trump said he plans to begin talks with China on Monday or Tuesday about a possible deal involving the sale of TikTok. He claimed that the U.S. “pretty much” already has a deal in place, but acknowledged it would likely need China’s approval. A previous effort to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations into a U.S. based company was halted after China signalled opposition, especially following Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on Chinese goods. When asked how confident he was that Beijing would agree to the deal, Trump responded “I’m not confident, but I think so” adding that he has a strong relationship with President Xi and believes the deal would benefit both countries. Trump also mentioned the possibility of visiting Xi Jinping in China or hosting him in the U.S. and recently extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets to September 17, 2025.

TikTok users in the U.S. will eventually need to switch to a new version of the app expected to replace the current one by March 2026. This updated version is part of a plan to address U.S. security concerns and will be managed by a group of non-Chinese tech companies, including Oracle, though ByteDance will still hold a minority stake. U.S. users must install the new app to continue using TikTok after the current version stops working. The push for a sale began under the Biden administration after Congress passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or face a ban. The new administration is now taking credit for arranging the deal however final approval from the Chinese government is still needed, which could delay or complicate the process.

Donald Trump with a lengthy post about Elon Musk; Musk playfully responds.

It’s rumoured that The Weeknd and Beyonce will collaborate on a new song for the 2026 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Canada, USA and Mexico. The FIFA World Cup typically releases an official song before the event, and an album. Nothing is confirmed. 

A U.S. government review found no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein maintained a secret client list or blackmailed prominent individuals. The Department of Justice and FBI confirmed that a thorough investigation revealed no grounds to pursue charges against any uncharged third parties. The review also reaffirmed that Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in 2019, consistent with multiple prior investigations and autopsy findings. These conclusions contradict long-standing conspiracy theories and earlier claims by Trump administration officials.