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Beneil Dariush | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Beneil Dariush resumed sparring in March after taking some significant time off from hard sessions in the gym, Kings MMA coach Rafael Cordeiro recently revealed on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. Dariush had an eight-fight winning streak snapped by Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan in 2023, both via stoppage due to strikes — after which, Cordeiro asked the 34-year-old lightweight to take some time off. It wasn’t the only time Dariush suffered head trauma in 2023. “Benny had a very rough year last year,” Cordeiro said. “He had two knockouts and three knockdowns. He was knocked down twice and knocked out once in the gym, and then fought Charles and was TKO’d. He fought Arman next and was knocked out. He had five situations during the year where his head was hurt. He’s a young kid, and it was a request I made for him to take some time.” Prior to his rough stretch, Dariush only lost four of his previous 27 MMA bouts dating back to 2009, all by stoppage. Michael Chiesa tapped him with a rear-naked choke, while Ramsey Nijem, Edson Barboza, and Alexander Hernandez won by knockout or TKO. Cordeiro said Dariush is financially set and doesn’t need to rush back into the octagon, but will be prepared when time comes. The founder and leader of Kings MMA said Dariush is sparring again in California and feeling great. “I don’t worry as a coach, I worry as a father. I have him as my kid and I don’t need to put him to real test for nothing right now,” Cordeiro said. “Benny won eight and lost two of his last 10 fights and some people want him to retire. That’s absurd. It’s disrespectful with his story, but since we can’t listen to noise or things we can’t control, we’ll focus on his health.” “Let’s see the fights that make sense for him for the moment he’s physically recovered,” he continued. “I’m not talking about confidence. He has confidence. It’s more of a neurological thing. I want him to worry about it for a moment because he was hit a lot.”

Just days away from BKFC KnuckleMania IV, Mike Perry and Thiago Alves came face to face for a tense staredown following the pre-fight press conference. The former UFC fighters headline the first ever BKFC card in Los Angeles after the California State Athletic Commission voted to sanction bare-knuckle fighting in the state. Perry looks to stay undefeated in bare-knuckle competition after he finished former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez in his most recent outing. As for Alves, he also holds a perfect record in BKFC at 2-0 including a middleweight title win back in 2021. In the co-main event, Mick Terrill puts his heavyweight title up for grabs against Lorenzo Hunt, who relinquished both of his BKFC championships to earn the opportunity to win a belt in a third division. UFC veterans Ben Rothwell and Todd Duffee also meet on the card after they were originally scheduled to meet in 2023 but the fight was cancelled just days before the event when Rothwell fell ill. Now healthy again and ready to build on his 2-0 BKFC record, Rothwell welcomes Duffee to the ring on Saturday at KnuckleMania IV.

Thomas Lakes, MMA Fighting The UFC’s upcoming return to Louisville, Ky. has 13 fights booked already with a main event still to be determined. The event, which takes place at the KFC Yum Center on June 8, serves as the UFC’s first card in Louisville in 13 years with the last card there headlined by Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann. While rumors have swirled about the headliner for the upcoming UFC Louisville card, nothing is official just yet. In the meantime, the promotion announced a number of matchups booked for the card including two-time light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes making his long awaited return to action against Dustin Jacoby. A top contender at 205 pounds for most of his career, Reyes looks to bounce back after dropping his past four fights in a row, including a knockout loss to Ryan Spann in his most recent outing in 2022. Following a long layoff, Reyes returns in June to face the experienced kickboxer Jacoby, who also looks to get back on track after he fell to Alonzo Menifield this past December. Teen sensation Raul Rosas Jr. also returns on the UFC Louisville card for his rebooked matchup against Ricky Turcios. The bantamweights were originally scheduled to meet back in February but Rosas fell ill just before walking to the octagon so the fight was scrapped. Now they’ll clash in June instead. Veteran lightweight Thiago Moises also returns on the card as he faces Ludovit Klein while recent Ultimate Fighter winner Brad Katona takes on Jesse Butler at 135 pounds. Here’s the full 13 fight card announced by the UFC on Thursday with a main event still to be determined Dominick Reyes vs. Dustin Jacoby Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios Miguel Baeza vs. Punahele Soriano Thiago Moises vs. Ludovit Klein Charles Radtke vs. Carlos Prates Brunno Ferreira vs. Dustin Stoltzfus John Castaneda vs. Daniel Marcos Brad Katona vs. Jesse Butler Eduarda Moura vs. Denise Gomes Cody Stamann vs. Taylor Lapilus Julian Marquez vs. Zach Reese Andrea Lee vs. Montana De La Rosa Rayanne dos Santos vs. Puja Tomar

Congratulations are in order for Paddy Pimblett. The rising UFC lightweight star announced this week that he and his wife Laura have welcomed two baby girls into the world. According to Pimblett, Betsy and Margot were born April 17. Check out Pimblett’s announcement below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Paddy THE BADDY Pimblett (@theufcbaddy) “[April 17] the day our lives changed forever,” Pimblett wrote on Instagram. “All worth it for yous [two] perfect little girls Betsy and Margot Pimblett.” Pimblett, 29, has won seven straight bouts, including all five of his octagon appearances. After stopping Luigi Vendramini, Rodrigo Vargas, and Jordan Leavitt to kick off his UFC run, “The Baddy” picked up a pair of decision wins against veteran opponents. At UFC 282 in December 2022, Pimblett earned a controversial unanimous decision victory over Jared Gordon. Pimblett made one appearance in 2023, returning just over a year later at UFC 296 this past December where he defeated former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson in a one-sided decision win.

Mike Perry headlines KnuckleMania 4 on Saturday. | Photo by Amy Kaplan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The BKFC KnuckleMania 4 press conference will have all the top fighters for Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. The BKFC KnuckleMania 4 press conference will happen at 6 p.m. ET.