Demetrious Johnson warns Kayla Harrison. Kamaru Usman details his roadmap ahead.
Sean O'Malley calls Merab Dvalishvili the UFC Bantamweight GOAT. Kamaru Usman details his roadmap in his comeback arc. Joaquin Buckley isn't impressed with Khamzat Chimaev. Kayla Harrison responds to Demetrious Johnson. And more!
Mixed Martial Arts
Sean O’Malley calls UFC Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili the greatest UFC Bantamweight of all time. He also discusses the submission that Merab got him with.
“It was weird because I didn’t feel like it was going to be tight. I felt like he was kind of stalling in that position like he does and it just got tight fast. He felt strong last time but this time he felt just freakishly strong. He’s the greatest Bantamweight of all time.”
UFC Heavyweight champion Jon Jones lists himself, Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre as the greatest four fighters in the sport. Jones’ list is in no particular order.
Merab Dvalishvili receives a hero’s welcome as he returns to his birth country of Georgia:
Joaquin Buckley says a win over Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta on June 14, 2025 will catapult him to the No. 1 contender spot in the Welterweight division. Buckley acknowledges that this is a business though and that UFC Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has a massive name as well. Buckley plans on his performance on Saturday to speak for itself and says the fight business is unpredictable. Buckley picks Makhachev in a potential bout against UFC Welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena and believes Makhachev would retire after that fight as obtaining the second title would mainly be for legacy.
“Islam ain’t no big threat to the Welterweight division. This is the deepest weight class that you can get into right now. Islam definitely going to have to prove to the world that he’s ready for this division, period.”
Joaquin Buckley says his performance against Kamaru Usman at UFC Atlanta will be a night and day difference from the performance Khamzat Chimaev put up against Usman.
“Khamzat ain’t really what we think.”
Kamaru Usman says Buckley has done a fantastic job with what he’s been presented so far and to win six in a row makes him extremely confident. Usman says it adds a little more fire to him because of this and he will let his experience take over. When asked about a potential bout with Belal Muhammad, Usman says when Muhammad had the title, it made sense. But now, Usman questions what Muhammad has to offer.
Kamaru Usman plans on finishing Joaquin Buckley and then wait for the winner between Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena. Next would be to vacate the Welterweight title and move up to Middleweight to challenge the champion.
Petr Yan vs Marcus McGhee is announced for UFC Abu Dhabi on July 26, 2025.
In a potential superfight between Women’s UFC Strawweight champion Zhang Weili and Women’s UFC Flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, Rose Namajunas leans towards Shevchenko.
“Valentina is extremely strong and very fast as well. I think it would be a very interesting matchup. I definitely would lean more towards Valentina on that one.”
Demetrious Johnson speaks on a fight between Women’s UFC Bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes.
“If I was Kayla Harrison I would retire from the sport. Don’t fight Amanda Nunes. I think that’s a very very bad idea.”
Kayla Harrison responds to Demetrious Johnson who said that she should retire and not fight Amanda Nunes.
“Big fan of Mighty. Bigger believer in myself.”
Arman Tsarukyan with a message to Justin Gaethje’s manager after he said that Gaethje will retire if his next fight is not for the UFC Lightweight title:
