Joe Rogan will not commentate UFC 318. Max Holloway not too impressed with Ilia Topuria's win streak.
Joe Rogan to be replaced by Paul Felder at UFC 318 for Dustin Poirier's retirement bout. Max Holloway doesn't buy the hype re: Ilia Topuria's punching power & win streak. Donald Trump doesn't want to waste any more time on the Epstein files. And more!
Mixed Martial Arts
UFC Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has won the 2025 ESPY for Fighter Of The Year.
Derrick Lewis defeats Tallison Teixeira in Rd. 1. at UFC Nashville. Dana White says he thought Derrick Lewis’ win at UFC Nashville was stopped a bit premature.
Dustin Poirier wants to put on a show for his final bout at UFC 318 on July 19, 2025 in New Orleans, LA for the BMF title against Max Holloway.
“I want to put on a show. I want to go out with a bang and I want it to be the fight of the night. Fight of the year. I’m expecting stitches.”
Max Holloway says he isn’t that impressed by UFC Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria’s power.
“I felt that Gaethje hits hard. When Ilia hit me, nothing was like ‘Oh man he hits hard or whatever.’”
Max Holloway isn’t all too impressed with Ilia Topuria’s three fight win streak.
“People just look at the names, they’re not looking at the records. Volk was coming off [losing to Islam Makhachev], then me, and what was Charles on? A one fight win streak.”
Joe Rogan will not be part of the UFC 318 commentary team for Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight on July 19, 2025 – he will be replaced by Paul Felder thus it will be Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Paul Felder. This is the first U.S. PPV event that Rogan is missing since UFC 271 due to a scheduling conflict – the reason for this one is unknown.
Dustin Poirier on why he’s hanging up the gloves after UFC 318.
“The reason I’m walking away is: am I going to be a world champion? If not, I’m just showing up for a paycheck and that’s not who I want to be. I don’t want to disrespect the sport and hold up the rankings.”
Max Holloway is sure that Dustin Poirier would stand and brawl during the final seconds of the last round.
“100% sure he would. Last dance. Last ten seconds. Point down to the ground. He might even do it. I’m 100% sure he’s going to bring it.”
Belal Muhammad wants to see more weight classes in the UFC – says fighters will be more active and have more longevity as well.
“Do I think the UFC needs more weight classes? I do. I think there’s a lot of guys that are just stuck in that middle zone from 155 to 170, 170 to 185. I think it’ll give guys more opportunities to fight longer, to fight multiple times a year. The weight cut kills a lot of people. It’s still going to be a bunch of mess but you’re going to get a lot more title fights so why not add more?”
American rapper Azealia Banks leaks DMs in which Conor McGregor sent nude photos of himself.
Conor McGregor seen cozying up with a mystery woman.
Boxing
Shakur Stevenson defeats William Zepeda via Unanimous Decision to retain his WBC lightweight title.
“As I’ve been saying for years – he’s great.” -Terence Crawford
Jake Paul says no one knows who Terence Crawford is.
“No one knows who Terence Crawford is. I think my Mom has more followers than him, not even kidding.”
Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring on July 19, 2025 against Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2 is on July 19, 2025 for the undisputed heavyweight title.
The Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs Lamont Roach Jr. rematch is delayed and won’t be taking place at the scheduled August 16, 2025 – the new date is being finalized.
Culture
Donald Trump speaks on the Jeffrey Epstein files and urges the FBI and public to let go of it.
”Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia’s trading partners if a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine isn't reached within 50 days. These tariffs would target countries like China and India that continue buying Russian oil, aiming to further isolate Moscow economically. Trump made the statement during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, emphasizing it would mark a major shift in Western sanctions policy. He also confirmed the U.S. would supply advanced military aid to Ukraine but clarified that NATO allies – not U.S. taxpayers would fund the effort. Lawmakers from both parties are reportedly pushing for legislation to support such measures.
Elon Musk’s xAI secured a $200 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense. This comes not long after its Grok chatbot drew criticism for antisemitic content in which xAI apologized. The DoD also signed similar deals with Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic to expand AI use across federal agencies. xAI announced it would develop custom tools for government use under its 'Grok For Government' initiative. The deal strengthens xAI’s position against rivals as Musk leverages his tech empire to support the company.
