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Dricus Du Plessis knows the fight game isn’t fair. Du Plessis (20-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) finished Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July to remain unbeaten in the octagon. Immediately afterward, he faced off with then-middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the cage, but a broken foot prevented him from a quick turnaround two months later at UFC 293, and the title shot was awarded to Sean Strickland instead. Strickland dethroned Adesanya to become champion, but it appears Du Plessis isn’t his next fight. Prior to Kamaru Usman stepping in on short notice to face Khamzat Chimaev this past Saturday at UFC 294, Dana White dubbed it as a No. 1 contender fight. Chimaev won the bout , and White reiterated that he’s next. So where does that leave Du Plessis? The South African fighter won’t let being passed up deter him. “When you look at this, I have one of two options,” Du Plessis said in an interview with Fox West Texas . “The first thing I can say is a little bit of a jab is Khamzat’s hand is...

There’s a chance fighting at middleweight was more than a one-off for former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman . Usman, an all-time great at 170 pounds, recently moved up to the middleweight division when he replaced an injured Paulo Costa to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 294. Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) took Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) on less than two weeks’ notice and ended up losing a competitive majority decision . “The Nigerian Nightmare” felt good debuting at 185 pounds and might stay there for the next chapter of his career. “The plans, I don’t know. It’s kind of fogy,” Usman said on his YouTube channel . “I didn’t mind being up at 185. Yeah, of course the size was a bit different in the beginning, but I’m a championship level fighter, so from here on out, we want to make these five rounds and not three rounders. I don’t know, 185 looked good on me, so we might. We’ll get back to y’all on that.” The fight against Chimaev was not only the first time U...

Justin Gaethje says he won’t explore other options for his next fight other than a UFC lightweight title shot. Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) is coming off back-to-back wins over Rafael Fiziev, and most recently a head-kick knockout of Dustin Poirier to claim the “BMF” title at UFC 291 . Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) knocked out Alexander Volkanovski with a first-round head kick to retain his title in this past Saturday’s UFC 294 main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. If the UFC opts to rebook the originally scheduled Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira rematch, Gaethje is happy to wait his turn. “If they want to put Oliveira in there, then I fight (the winner) in September,” Gaethje told ESPN . “Who do I fight? There’s no one. I did what I had to do. I went back, I fought No. 7, fought No. 2, I don’t know what else I need to do. I’ll definitely wait. I have no issues waiting. “Again, as I get older, I get to understand from now until the time I fight him I’...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – John Fury refuses to overlook Francis Ngannou , but he thinks his son will be in full control of the script from the opening bell. Tyson Fury takes on Ngannou on Saturday in a 10-round boxing match. As usual, his father has full confidence in his son – and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. “I see a great fight, but I only see one winner: Tyson,” Fury told MMA Junkie at Riyadh Arena on Thursday. “It will be a masterclass boxing display, but I think Tyson can end it whenever he wants. But you never know. The guy is a big puncher. He’s a big boy, 270 pounds. He could land a bomb and things could be different. It’s landing that bomb. All heavyweights can punch.” “… Tyson Fury (will win) on a nice boxing display. Tyson stops him whenever he likes, I think. He’s going to want to entertain the people in Saudi. They’ve come a long way. They’ve paid a lot of money on the pay-per-view. So he’s going to give them a great show.” Ngannou has yet to compete in a pro...

Chael Sonnen believes UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones could need more than eight months to recover. Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) was forced out of his first title defense against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) at UFC 295 after sustaining a torn pectoral tendon  that requires surgery. In the meantime, the UFC opted to book an interim title fight between Sergei Pavlovich (17-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Tom Aspinall (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC), which co-headlines the Nov. 11 card at Madison Square Garden in New York. White said Jones needs about eight months to heal, but Sonnen thinks that as long as he’s in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug testing pool, which remains the UFC’s partner until the end of the year , that timeframe is unlikely. “Jon Jones, don’t forget they took all his needles, all the good stuff, so that’s going to be a very hard recovery at this age,” Sonnen told The MacLife . “This is a guy that’s already sat for three years. This is a guy that hasn’t taken good care of hims...

RIZIN 45 is officially on the calendar, and it features a handful of names notable to American viewers. The event takes place Dec. 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, the promotion announced at a news conference Thursday. Atop the billing will be two title fights. An inaugural RIZIN flyweight title has been implemented as former Bellator bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi (31-5) battles Makoto Shinryu (16-1-1). Additionally, RIZIN bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta (29-4) looks to defend his title vs. Japanese star Kai Asakura (20-4). Also on the card, former UFC title challenger and current BKFC flyweight champion John Dodson (24-13) takes on Hiromasa Ougikubo (25-8-2). Related Daniel Cormier: Conor McGregor challenging UFC champ Islam Makhachev 'makes all the sense in the world' UFC parts ways with 11 fighters, including former title challenger With Bellator’s future uncertain , Horiguchi makes another appearance for RIZIN, a promotion for which...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Eric Nicksick is aware of the criticism and talk surrounding Francis Ngannou ’s dive into the boxing world, but he assures the critics the former UFC heavyweight champion is in it to win it, not just collect a big payday. Nicksick, head coach at Xtreme Couture, sees Ngannou motivated and dialed in ahead of his colossal boxing match against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury this Saturday. The two clash in a 10-round, non-title bout under professional boxing rules. Nicksick says Ngannou’s mind is right where it needs to be to pull off one of the biggest upsets in combat sports history. “He’s taking this very seriously, and I think that you hear some of those things, and we’re not big on reading the comment section or anything like that, but we obviously are going to feel it, are going to hear it, and I think that’s motivated him extra to work hard,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie. “Being at all his training sessions and watching him put all the work he’s put in,...