Yeswanth Praveen

2 weeks ago | essentiallysports.com | Aakrit Sharma |Yeswanth Praveen

The UFC and Dana White now market their Apex building in Las Vegas as a proper facility ideal for broadcast events and other media productions. It emerged as a reliable place to hold UFC events during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2025, fans seem to be disappointed with the promotion still investing resources into the project. Dana White, who’s well-versed with the current media landscape, realizes that a massive audience is directly influenced by online streamers and digital creators.

2 weeks ago | essentiallysports.com | Ishan Yadav |Yeswanth Praveen

Earlier this month, the MMA community was left stunned by reports that former UFC champion Francis Ngannou had been involved in a tragic motorcycle accident in his hometown of Cameroon. The incident occurred over the Easter weekend, when ‘The Predator’ was reportedly riding a motorcycle and struck a 17-year-old girl. Emergency surgery was performed on the teenager after she was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries.

2 weeks ago | essentiallysports.com | Aakrit Sharma |Yeswanth Praveen

Dana White has time and again credited Forrest Griffin vs. Stephen Bonnar, the light heavyweight finale for The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 in 2005, for skyrocketing the UFC’s popularity. Even before and after this event, light heavyweight has produced the biggest UFC stars, ranging from Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, and Chuck Liddell, to Jon Jones, Alex Pereira, and Jiri Prochazka.

2 weeks ago | essentiallysports.com | Kanishk Thakur |Yeswanth Praveen

“If someone has done it, I can too. If no one has done it, I want to be the first,” Ilia Topuria said on Joe Rogan‘s podcast earlier this year, explaining the mindset that has led to achieving great things. At the moment, the former featherweight champion is set to face former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 this June, where ‘El Matador’ could become a two-division champ. But guess what? The Spanish-Georgian superstar is just getting started.