A recent UFC event featured several exciting fights with multiple knockdowns and knockouts, with recommended viewing including Vologdin vs Castaneda, Nallo vs Herbert, and Jordan vs Phillips. Gilbert Burns officially retired from MMA following the event. Ian Machado Garry will enter the top 15 welterweight rankings, though the poster expresses skepticism about his ability to beat top contenders in the new generation. Arman Tsarukyan defeated Urijah Faber 13-1 in a grappling match and immediately called out Colby Covington, promising to win 10-0 and stating he will "kick his ass" while making people forget about Covington as a wrestler. The Guskov vs Blachowicz fight was canceled but replaced with Ibo Aslan, with the poster joking that judges won't be needed. Khamzat Chimaev also signed with RAF, prompting an immediate response from Bo Nickal challenging the champion.
Gilbert Burns has officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts following a recent UFC event, drawing the curtain on a decorated welterweight career.
Burns, 39, finishes with a professional record of 22-10. The Brazilian out of Kill Cliff FC spent years as one of the division's most dangerous competitors, landing 3.15 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy while also threatening with 2.12 takedowns per 15 minutes. Ranked 13th at welterweight at the time of his retirement, Burns leaves behind a legacy as one of the sport's more complete fighters.
In a notable grappling contest on the same card, Arman Tsarukyan submitted a decisive 13-1 victory over Urijah Faber and immediately turned his attention to Colby Covington. Tsarukyan called his shot publicly, promising a 10-0 winning streak and stating he would make people forget about Covington's wrestling credentials entirely.
Ian Machado Garry, meanwhile, is set to move into the top 15 of the welterweight rankings. The 28-year-old Irishman, known as "The Future," carries a 17-1 record and currently sits at number one in the division. Standing six-foot-three with a 74-inch reach, Garry produces an eye-catching 4.78 significant strikes per minute at 54 percent accuracy, though questions about how he will handle elite top-contender competition remain a talking point.
Elsewhere, the scheduled Guskov versus Blachowicz bout was scrapped and replaced by Ibo Aslan. And in the middleweight picture, Khamzat Chimaev's reported signing with RAF drew an immediate public callout from Bo Nickal. The 30-year-old American prospect holds a 9-1 record, boasts a 61 percent striking accuracy, and averages 3.1 takedowns and 2.5 submission attempts per 15 minutes — numbers that underline why he views himself as the natural challenger.
Why it matters
- Burns' retirement opens a spot in the welterweight rankings and closes one of the division's longer-running storylines.
- Garry's ranking jump sets up potential matchups with the welterweight elite, though his durability against top competition remains untested.
- A Tsarukyan-Covington grappling clash would carry significant divisional implications given both men's wrestling-heavy identities.
- Chimaev's organizational move and Nickal's callout could reshape the middleweight title picture depending on how negotiations develop.
