It’s a rare off week in MMA, with July 4th meaning there isn’t much major MMA action going on this weekend. But it comes at the perfect time as we’re officially halfway through 2026, and poised to kick the back half of the year off with UFC 329 and the return of Conor McGregor.
So, let’s chat about what the next six months might entail.
Who is your pick to have the best 2nd half of 2026 and surpass Gaethje for Fighter of the Year?
If you read our mid-year awards, you’ll know that Justin Gaethje was the runaway winner for Fighter of the Year. The man had two large upset wins, one among the biggest ever, headlined the White House card, rewrote his legacy, and also had two Fight of the Year contenders. There isn’t much of an argument against him at this point, and even if he doesn’t fight again, he’s still probably going to end the year atop the list.
However, I will say that I firmly disagreed with our voting putting Carlos Ulberg as No. 2, and I’m still not sure how it happened. To me, the FOTY conversation is a two-horse race between Gaethje and Sean Strickland, who also has two upset wins, though they mean a little less, and his win over Chimaev was very close. Still, he should be the obvious runner-up right now.
And the thing about Strickland is he’ll fight again this year. It’s extremely unlikely Gaethje will be willing to put his newly won title on the line before the end of the year, and he has said as much already. But Strickland loves to stay active, and while I think he’s currently pretty far behind Gaethje right now, adding a title defense to the résumé could change things.
And honestly, the only other fighter who might be in the mix is Josh Hokit. Hokit already has three wins, two over ranked guys, and a Fight of the Year candidate. If Hokit somehow fights for and wins the heavyweight title this year, then he’d have a real case to top Gaethje, but otherwise, not sure anyone else has a realistic shot.
If I had to throw out two more names, though, I guess there are two very long-shot candidates available: Mackenzie Dern and Joshua Van.
If Dern beats Gillian Robertson, that won’t be anything too special, but if she then somehow beats Zhang Weili, that becomes a much bigger deal. And for Van to do it, he’d need to add two title defenses to his sheet this year, one over Alexandre Pantoja, and then beat Manel Kape in December, and that’s a very strong résumé.
But realistically, this is Gaethje’s award to lose.
Do you still think Jon never fights again, or is he coming back to the UFC next year?
Heavyweight is still very bad and it seems that having Jon back makes business sense for the UFC and because his options are limited, for Jones as well. Thoughts ?
Guys, did you hear? Jon Jones is, once again, talking about maybe not being retired!
In my many years in this industry, I’ve found that the best way to think about Jon Jones is as a stereotypical high schooler from a teen movie.
Why is he so mean to the new kid (Tom Aspinall)? Because he’s threatened by their hotness (talent) and worried he might be unseated from the role of Prom King (GOAT).
Does he ever get in trouble for being a belligerent wacko who is constantly arrested? Of course not, he’s the captain of the football team! Consequences are for nerds. And, like the football player, he’s also going to talk a lot about his faith afterward, and maybe quote some scripture … before doing it all over again.
And does he even have to do his homework (defend his title against the interim champion) like everybody else? Not a chance! That man gets to do a science project about bananas (fight geriatric Stipe Miocic, who had not fought in three years).
And so, bearing all that in mind, let me point you to a piece of advice that many a high schooler has shared with their distraught friend after that person’s love interest hurt them with indifference: If he wanted to, he would.
If Jon Jones wanted to fight again, he would. But the UFC met his demands, and he said no. And that’s the end of it. Now he’s just teasing a return because he likes the attention, the same way every high schooler gets led on by someone who isn’t actually interested in them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, if the UFC would allow Jones to pick the fights he wanted and pay him a king’s ransom, he’d do it. Jones would have absolutely fought Alex Pereira or Ciryl Gane, or anyone else he’s 100 percent certain he’d beat. But he’s not going to fight Tom Aspinall, because even if he could win, he also could lose. And Jon Jones is not in the business of taking risks, and the UFC no longer seems willing to indulge him. Eventually, the high schooler has to graduate, I suppose. But it would be nice if he just moved on instead of hanging around the parking lot and trying to relive the glory days.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Dear Jan,
If you had to pick MMA fighters for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live adaptation, who would you pick? Bonus points for picking Casey Jones, April O’Neil, Rocksteady, and Be-Bop.
Your Pal,
Freddy from the Foot Clan
Is this a silly question? Yes. Did I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about it? Sure did. Did I come to an answer I’m pleased with? Sort of.
I briefly contemplated going with a full Team Khabib version of this, as I think you can do pretty well in that regard. But instead, I pivoted to a collection of fighters I like a little bit more.
- Leonardo — He’s the leader (top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport) and all about discipline and skill. Islam Makhachev.
- Donatello — He’s the smart one, and he could probably give Leonardo a fight, but wouldn’t beat him. Alexander Volkanovski.
- Rafael — Raf is the wild card. Super strong, but also can be a head case. Arman Tsarukyan, come on down!
- Michelangelo — The vibes guy. And who doesn’t love Max Holloway?
- Splinter — The wise old master. I just think it would be very funny if this were Daniel Cormier, but Khabib would also be acceptable here.
- April O’Neil — I don’t know why, but Angela Hill instantly popped into my head for this one, so she gets the spot. But Mackenzie Dern would also be acceptable.
- Casey Jones — Total weirdo who does things on his own? Jiri Prochazka.
- Shredder — Shredder is usually depicted as much bigger than the turtles, so I’m going with heavyweights for all the villains. And what man is more of a villain in the heavyweight division right now than Ciryl Gane? Alexander Volkov would also be acceptable, purely based on height.
- Bebop — A mutant warthog bozo. Josh Hokit is almost too obvious.
- Rocksteady — Another easy one. Of all the heavyweights, who seems the most like a big mutant rhino? Sergei Pavlovich.
Welp, there you have it. Not perfect, but a list I’m pretty happy with. I left off Krang because I couldn’t quite find a person who fit the bill. Best I could come up with is Rizvan Kuniev when Krang is in his robot body, but that felt like it wasn’t good enough.
Now, someone finance this thing, and let’s get rolling.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.
