A staple of the UFC bantamweight division has announced that they have requested their release from the promotion after 12 years in the cage. Taking to his Instagram page, “The Young Punisher” Pedro Munhoz announced that he has asked for the UFC to release him from his contract as he looks to begin a new journey in his career, while also noting that just because he wants to leave the UFC, doesn’t mean he will be retiring.

Munhoz wrote: “Since 2014, I’ve been part of the UFC, building my name, proving myself, and showing what I’m capable of inside that octagon. After 32 fights, I can proudly say I’ve never been submitted or knocked out. I’ve always stepped in there with heart, discipline, and respect for the game. There comes a point in life when you don’t just stay comfortable, you take control of what’s next. Right now, I feel it’s time to take a new direction, explore different opportunities, and focus on other important areas of my life. I’ve asked the UFC to release me, and I’m currently in the process of becoming a free agent I’m not retiring yet. Still hungry. Still focused. Still ready to put on great fights and make statements.”

If the UFC grants Munhoz his release, he will leave the promotion with an octagon record of 10 wins, 10 losses, and two no contests (one of which Munhoz originally won but was overturned due to elevated testosterone levels), with the other 10 fights on his record taking place before his UFC run. He is currently second behind Marlon Vera for most fights in the UFC bantamweight division, third for most post-fight bonuses in UFC bantamweight history, and is joint-first along with the aforementioned Vera for most decision bouts in UFC bantamweight history.

The family of Maya Gebala, a 12-year-old girl critically injured in a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia, Canada, has accepted an offer from Dana White to send her for specialized treatment in Los Angeles. 

Global News in Canada reported that it was White covering the costs of transporting Gebala from BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, with the UFC President having made the offer to her family on March 25. He will also be covering the cost of their stay in LA, although there is no timeline on when she will be moved as of yet. 

Gebala’s mother wrote in an update to Facebook that she has been moved out of Intensive Care and appears to be in stable condition. 

“Maya is out of ICU. She’s aware. She is seemingly stable. Are we out of the woods? Maybe. Maya is making strong strides that far exceed all and any expectations,” she said. “I grieve a child, while I look her in the eye. I grieve the person she knew herself to be. I grieve the girl who never knew the words ‘I can’t.’ Just to be clear, I’m so happy she is with us. My only hope for her, is that she can find peace and love in her life.

“After many nights of research, questioning, and fear of the unknown, we decided to say yes to an opportunity for an aggressive approach to her rehabilitation through privatized health care. We are excited as well as nervous, away from family and resources, an opportunity we couldn’t refuse.”

It’s safe to say that Alexander Volkanovski is closer to the end of his career than the start. The current UFC Featherweight Champion will celebrate a decade in the octagon the next time he fights, and with 32 professional bouts under his belt already, “Alexander The Great” might be nearing retirement in the near future. 

Someone who wants to be the guy to send Volkanovski in to retirement is Steve Garcia, who has won all but one of his UFC bouts via knockout or TKO. Garcia will be facing Diego Lopes at The White House for UFC Freedom 250, and during a recent appearance on the “Smash Cast” podcast, Garcia was asked what would be next for him if he beats Lopes, and retiring arguably the greatest featherweight of all time is at the top of his list.

“Bro I’m calling for that strap. That strap, give me that strap, that’s what I want. Honestly, I feel like Volk should retire because if he doesn’t I’m going to retire him. In my head, that’s what’s going through my head right now. But again, I’ve got a huge tall task ahead of me, I’m not going to look past Diego Lopes, that would be stupid. But yeah, in my head, every time I see Volk, I’m like ‘man…he’s not the Volk of old.’ He’s not, and there are ways to beat this guy, and I think if I can get to him, I can do it.”

Garcia currently sits ninth in the UFC featherweight rankings while Lopes is ranked second. However, given that Lopes is coming off of back-to-back losses to Volkanovski, a win for Garcia at The White House would certainly put him in title contention.

Please credit “Smash Cast” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Pat McAfee appeared on “WWE SmackDown” to announce a discount deal for WrestleMania Saturday and take aim at Cody Rhodes alongside Randy Orton. 

McAfee came out for his scheduled segment, having aligned with Orton in a bid to ‘save the business’ by helping him win the title at WrestleMania. But first he was confronted by fellow celebrity guest Jelly Roll, with Nick Aldis barely managing to keep things cool between them. 

When McAfee came down to the ring, he went into how and why he is trying to save the business and continued to run down the current state of the company. He took aim at CM Punk for his “MAGAFee” jibes, calling him a corporate fraud who takes money from TKO while also claiming to be on the side of fans. 

He then announced that he had paired with RAM and asked them to cover a 25% discount for those who buy WrestleMania Saturday tickets from now until the end of “WWE Raw” on Monday, and emphasized that it would only apply for the Saturday card, set to be main evented by Rhodes and Orton. McAfee described the Sunday card as “a**.” 

Rhodes eventually came out as McAfee turned his attention to him, calling him a “play wrestler” and pointing out that McAfee had spent the past three years dancing on the announcer’s desk. So he would like him to dress up as his favorite wrestler and get it out of his system before going back to whomever sent him and saying, “Thank you daddy.” 

Eventually Orton was shown backstage to have attacked Jelly Roll and the segment ended after Orton beat Rhodes down, posing alongside McAfee with the WWE title belt. McAfee would ultimately leave “SmackDown” with Rhodes’ championship.

Royce Keys made his long-awaited WWE television debut on “WWE SmackDown” from San Jose, California after WWE announced the match on social media with a video package on Thursday. Keys had last been seen on WWE programming when he entered the Royal Rumble match on January 31, but had been wrestling dark matches ahead of both “SmackDown” and “WWE Raw.” One of his dark match opponents was Berto, who he faced Friday night.

Berto slapped the former Powerhouse Hobbs across the head a few times as the bell rung, but Keys quickly overpowered him and knocked him down. He hit a big powerslam that had Berto writhing in pain. Berto rolled out of the ring to regroup with his tag team partner, Angel, but Keys followed. Berto sent him face-first into the ring post, but it didn’t keep the bigger man down for long.

Keys caught Berto mid-air as he attempted to jump from the ropes and hit a fallaway slam. Angel tried to distract the referee as Keys dominated the match, but he was knocked off the apron for his trouble. Keys hit a spinebuster to Berto for the victory, as commentary welcomed him home to the blue brand.

Keys was interviewed by Cathy Kelly backstage after the match. He said his debut was a long time coming and he was happy to debut in front of his people in the Bay area, around 20 minutes from where he grew up in East Palo Alto. He also went face-to-face with Solo Sikoa, who welcomed him to the show, and said he was the one who runs things around “SmackDown.” He told Keys if he ever needed anything, his door was open.