Dana White Credit: Gabriel Gonzalez/Cageside Press
We’re resurrecting an old column this week simply because there’s a lot going in the MMA world of late, and it’s time to play catch-up/do a little editorial housekeeping.
From Raoni Barcelos’s scary collapse just over a week ago to Dana White fielding yet more questions about his involvement (or lack thereof) in the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua boxing match, here’s some of the top stories from the past seven days or so in combat sports.
What Felled Barcelos
Raoni Barcelos went down in the fifth round of his UFC Vegas 121 main event against Raul Rosas Jr., and didn’t get up.
Instead, he was taken out of the cage on a stretcher, in a horrific pose, with officials at one point checking his pulse. The worst possible visual after a fight, but luckily, Barcelos is doing well.
Media and fans guessed that he might have suffered a heart attack in the fight (Dada 5000 did in his bout with Kimbo Slice, after all), or a stroke. Per Glover Teixeira, however, what happened to Barcelos was swelling in the brain. While he wasn’t knocked out, it caused him to black out. Teixeira referred to this as the body’s defense mechanism, though any doctor will tell you that’s not the case. It wasn’t a defense mechanism, rather, there was enough trauma to cause him to lose consciousness.
Scary, but the 39 year old appears to be in good spirits. Now, for a lengthy vacation.
RIZIN Landmark 16 Results
RIZIN’s latest card was a little under the radar, despite a somewhat soft week for MMA with UFC 332 being heavily criticized. Still, former UFC fighter Yoshinori Horie, who was one-and-done in the Dana White-led promotion, continued his post-UFC success with a finish of Sho Patrick Usami.
Horie holds victories over the likes of ex-UFC fighter Spike Carlyle, former Bellator star Patricky Pitbull, and has challenged for RIZIN lightweight gold all since parting ways with the UFC. He’s now 16-6 and looks like a fighter the company probably should have kept around.
As for Saturday’s results, well here they are:
Yoshinori Horie def. Sho Patrick Usami by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 2, 3:37
Viktor Kolesnik def. Koyomi Matsushima by TKO (Elbows and Soccer Kick), Round 2, 0:20
Hyuma Yasui def. Ryan Cafaro by unanimous decision
Keito Oyama def. Noeru Narita by split decision
Kyohei Takagi def. Masatoshi Ueda by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 3:26
Seiya Inoue def. Ryusei Ashizawa by TKO (punches), Round 1, 4:56
Hidetaka Arato def. Ken Hasegawa by unanimous decision
Alan Yamaniha def. Seigo Yamamoto by submission (kneebar), Round 1, 3:00
Kohei Sugiyama def. Kaito Oda by split decision
Ryota Oki def. Daisuke Okumiya by TKO (soccer kicks and punches), Round 1, 4:47
Kotaro Mori def. Yuki by KO (right cross), Round 2, 1:42
Ryusei Imamura def. Reon Uemura by standing TKO, Round 1, 1:39
Ayuto def. Kakeru Tsuda by unanimous decision
Dana White vs. Eddie Hearn, Chapter 500
This whole he-said, she-said between Dana White and Eddie Hearn regarding Fury vs. Joshua is getting tedious at this point. Like two grade school kids yelling “I know you are, but what am I?” on the playground. Dana White says he’s producing and promoting the fight. Eddie Hearn says White isn’t, and that Anthony Joshua’s contract forbids White’s involvement.
White was mentioned in the Netflix press release announcing the fight. He was not at the first press conference for the event. White claimed to know where the fight was before it was announced and stated it would be at Madison Square Garden. That proved to be false, as the fight is in Cardiff, Wales this December.
Hearn’s latest video mocked White’s bogus claims, and the Matchroom Boxing promoter has again said White won’t be taking part, even in the production of the show.
🚨 DANA WHITE WILL NOT BE PRODUCING FURY-JOSHUA EITHER
👀 Eddie Hearn responds to Dana White: “He said, ‘We are doing the TV production,’ which again in the contract is prohibited. I actually started to feel bad for him. I spoke to SELA and I said, ‘Have you seen this video?’… pic.twitter.com/tR8OCWWQfr
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) October 4, 2026
White’s response to this at the UFC 332 post-fight press conference was to do his best to avoid the subject, though he couldn’t, not entirely. While stating he wasn’t involved with a planned meeting Hearn had revealed is taking place this coming week, White later stated that “I answered this whole question. It’s the same as it’s ever been since however long we’ve been talking about this.”
“I will be there. We’re producing the show. Just like Canelo-Crawford. Same thing. Craig Bosari, Zach, my whole team. We will be producing the show. I will have my little phone on the table just like tonight and every night and every other show that I produce.”
“I’ll be there. I’m producing it. I’m promoting it. I’ll see you in Wales,” he finished.
Michael Morales Has a Fight
We don’t have an opponent, but Michael Morales has revealed that he has a fight booked. And it’s not Ian Machado Garry or Carlos Prates.
With Morales speaking publicly about having a fight, expect the details to be revealed soon.
🚨 Michael Morales reveals he has a fight set for January, and it’s not against Carlos Prates or Ian Garry 👀
“We were pushing to see if we could fight in December, but it looks like the fight will be in January instead. Against a very tough opponent. It’s neither Prates nor Ian… pic.twitter.com/4t8RHB7TFv
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 3, 2026