Introduction
What a week to be a fight fan. The fallout from Oklahoma City is still smoldering, Conor McGregor finally put a name to the injury that wrecked his comeback, and the UFC spent the last few days reshuffling half its light heavyweight division just to keep tomorrow's Abu Dhabi main event alive. Add a freshly booked welterweight title fight for Philadelphia and a stacked batch of Paris bookings, and the road into late summer is officially loaded. Here's everything you need to know from the last few days in MMA.
Rountree Out, Guskov In: Ankalaev Gets a New Dance Partner in Abu Dhabi
Saturday's UFC Abu Dhabi card at Etihad Arena nearly lost its headliner. Khalil Rountree Jr. was forced out of his main event with No. 1-ranked light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev due to injury roughly two weeks before fight night, and Bogdan Guskov answered the call on short notice to save the July 25 show.
Guskov was already booked for a rematch with Jan Blachowicz at UFC Belgrade on August 1 before agreeing to jump the queue and face Ankalaev a week early. Blachowicz says the UFC offered him the Ankalaev fight too — but by the time he confirmed, the Guskov deal was done. For Ankalaev, it's a stay-busy assignment with title implications; for Guskov, it's the biggest opportunity of his career on less than two weeks' notice.
Blachowicz Draws Unbeaten Navajo Stirling at UFC Belgrade
The Guskov domino landed squarely on Jan Blachowicz. With his scheduled rematch gone, the former light heavyweight champion will now welcome undefeated prospect Navajo Stirling in the co-main event of UFC Belgrade on August 1 — the promotion's first-ever event in Serbia.
It's a classic legend-versus-prospect setup. Stirling, a City Kickboxing product, is a perfect 10-0 with five straight UFC wins, most recently stopping Ion Cutelaba in the second round. Blachowicz, 43, is winless in his last four and fought Guskov to a majority draw at UFC 323 in December. A fifth straight outing without a win would be uncharted territory for the Polish veteran.
Du Plessis Batters Usman in OKC — and the Eye-Poke Debate Rages On
Dricus du Plessis put on a five-round clinic against Kamaru Usman in the UFC Oklahoma City main event, sweeping the scorecards 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46 in a fight where the former welterweight king absorbed a frightening amount of damage and simply refused to go away.
The story hasn't died down since. Usman insists a thumb found his eye during a key exchange — referee Kerry Hatley briefly paused the action before waving it back on — and he's also taken issue with the judging. Du Plessis' corner isn't having it: his coach dismissed the complaints as 'nonsense' this week and claimed DDP could have finished the fight had he pushed harder. Either way, the South African looks firmly planted back in the middleweight title mix.
McGregor Confirms Torn ACL and Meniscus, Targets Return 'Next Summer'
Conor McGregor's long-awaited return at UFC 329 lasted all of 69 seconds. Now we know why: the Irishman confirmed this week that he tore the ACL and meniscus in his right knee when his leaping kick attempt against Max Holloway went horribly wrong, with referee Mike Beltran stopping the bout at 1:09 of round one once McGregor could no longer stand on the leg.
It's a grim echo of his 2013 knee injury — same damage, opposite leg, same opponent era. McGregor, ever the optimist, says modern regenerative medicine puts a return 'by next summer' within reach. Others are less convinced: Logan Paul said this week that McGregor's days as a viable MMA fighter are over, though he floated a WWE run as a real possibility.
Imavov Says He's Been Promised the Next Shot at Strickland's Belt
Nassourdine Imavov is done waiting quietly. The French middleweight — riding a five-fight win streak with scalps including Israel Adesanya, Jared Cannonier and Caio Borralho — says UFC brass have guaranteed him the next crack at newly crowned champion Sean Strickland.
There are complications. Khamzat Chimaev wants an immediate rematch after dropping the belt to Strickland, Dana White hasn't publicly confirmed anything, and Dricus du Plessis just made his own loud statement in Oklahoma City. Asked whether DDP could leapfrog him, Imavov's response was a flat one-word no. The 185-pound queue is getting crowded — and spicy.
Makhachev vs. Machado Garry Official for UFC 330 in Philadelphia
Islam Makhachev's first defense of the welterweight crown is locked in: the pound-for-pound star meets Ireland's Ian Machado Garry in the main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia on August 30. It's the matchup Makhachev has been building toward since jumping up from lightweight, and Garry — long calling for the fight — finally gets his undefeated-in-the-UFC-at-welterweight moment on the biggest stage of his career.
UFC Paris Loads Up: MVP vs. Ruziboev Leads Eight New Bookings
The UFC's September 5 return to Accor Arena got a serious injection of talent this week, with eight fights added to the Paris card. Headlining the batch: Michael 'Venom' Page takes on surging Uzbek finisher Nursulton Ruziboev, who is 5-1 in the UFC and riding three straight wins. Also added were Losene Keita vs. Muhammad Naimov, Mario Pinto vs. Ryan Spann, Oumar Sy vs. Modestas Bukauskas and more. No main event has been announced yet — but the undercard is already cooking.
That's the wrap for this cycle — check back after UFC Abu Dhabi to see whether Guskov's gamble pays off or Ankalaev punches his ticket back to gold.
References
theScore — Rountree injured, Guskov steps in vs. Ankalaev at UFC Abu Dhabi
Bloody Elbow — UFC Belgrade new co-main event official as former champion gets replacement matchup
MMA Mania — UFC Oklahoma City results: Dricus du Plessis bludgeons insanely tough Kamaru Usman
Bloody Elbow — Kamaru Usman complains about judges and phantom eye poke after du Plessis defeat
CBS Sports — Conor McGregor confirms he tore ACL, meniscus at UFC 329 against Max Holloway
ESPN — McGregor injures leg on opening kick vs. Holloway at UFC 329
Heavy — Nassourdine Imavov shares update on middleweight title shot
CBS Sports — 2026 UFC event schedule: Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry on tap