Expanding further, Paul said that MMA as a sport is struggling.

“MMA hasn’t stood the test of time because the best people wrestle and they just hold on. Khabib. Khamzat. Which is boring. No one wants to watch that. So it hasn’t stood the test of time. Boxing has been around since the 1500s. MMA is 30 years. It’s declining.”

He continued to say that it’s not ran properly, having become a “super-corporate organization” signed with Paramount and a part of TKO under Ari Emanuel, a publicly traded company. He drew a comparison to the NFL to demonstrate his point, saying that UFC pays its fighters 10-15% of revenue while NFL players receive 50%.

“The NFL pays their athletes 50 percent of the revenue, so if the NFL makes a billion dollars, the athletes make $500 million. In the UFC, it’s $150 million out of a billion, but when you exclude Conor McGregor and Jon Jones from that, it becomes like, 5 percent, $50 million out of a billion.”

McGregor is expected to return later this year and has been tested the most with UFC’s Anti-Doping program this year so far, while Jones has been in something of a dispute over the return he wanted.

He had said he was in negotiations to return at the Freedom 250 event at the White House in June 14, but after being omitted from the card White maintained that negotiations were never happening. White went one step further to say he believes Jones is done fighting, prompting Jones to ask for his contractual release. Even still, the belief among fighters and fans is that he will have at least one more bout in UFC.

This past Monday on “WWE Raw,” both Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez suffered an injury during a backstage segment. The incident occurred when Morgan was surprisingly attacked by Women’s World Champion Stephanie Vaquer from behind, causing her to collide with Perez while they were having a conversation backstage. After Morgan had taken to social media to share photos of the welt that formed on her head due to the angle, it was reported that both women had been put in concussion protocol, but according to more news on Thursday, the Judgment Day partners have avoided a serious injury.

Wrestlevotes Radio on Fightful Select is reporting that there is optimism within WWE that Morgan and Perez will both be cleared by WrestleMania 42, which takes place next week on April 18th and 19th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Additionally, the report states that Vaquer does not have any backstage heat for injuring both Morgan and Perez.

Although Perez is not scheduled for a match at WrestleMania 42, Morgan earned the right to challenge Vaquer for the Women’s World Championship after she won the 2026 Women’s Royal Rumble. Additionally, Perez just returned to “Raw” after having been out of action for two months because of surgery she needed to remove a benign mass on her back. If Morgan is successful at “The Grandest Stage Of Them All,” it will be the third time that she’s held a world title in WWE.

The wrestling world is still reeling from TNA President Carlos Silva altering the course of several matches yesterday when it was revealed that TNA was pulling talents from any independent matches that involved their talent wrestling AEW talent. And while the nixed MJF vs. Nic Nemeth match has drawn most of the attention due to MJF’s speaking out against Silva, right behind it is the canceled match between AEW’s Ricochet and TNA’s X-Division Champion Leon Slater, which was set to take place at WrestleCon’s Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow next Thursday.

While WrestleCon confirmed the match was off on Wednesday evening, the convention stopped short of criticizing TNA or Silva for their decision. That changed on Thursday, however, when WrestleCon took to X, posting a tribute video to Hitchcock, the late wrestling superfan whom the Supershow is dedicated to. Also included was a blunt message to Silva and TNA, referencing the report as to why Silva pulled talent and Silva’s statement that it was done due to “partner conflicts.”

“It may be partner conflicts and politics to you, but it’s very personal to us,” the tweet read.

It may be partner conflicts and politics to you, but its very personal for us. pic.twitter.com/vEEPyba9zF

— WrestleCon (@wrestlecon) April 9, 2026

At this time, a replacement match for Ricochet vs. Slater has yet to be announced, though the Hitchcock Memorial Show still has plenty of marquee matches lined up despite the circumstances. This includes AEW star and Ring of Honor World Champion Bandido taking on former Pro Wrestling NOAH luchador Galeno del Mal, Don Callis Family member Mark Davis battling against Japanese star and former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Masato Tanaka, and The Swirl, Lee Johnson and Blake Christian, battling former WWE NXT UK wrestlers Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews.

One of the biggest reasons why CM Punk left WWE in 2014 was because he never had the opportunity to main event WrestleMania, with his match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins last year being the first time that he headlined at the “Grandest Stage Of Them All.” However, looking back on his career, Punk is somewhat grateful that he didn’t get to main event WrestleMania during his first stint with the company, as he recently told Sam Roberts on “WWE Now” that never being able to headline the “Show of Shows” is a key reason he returned to the promotion in 2023.

“If I main evented WrestleMania before I left, I don’t think I would have come back, cause I would have done it, what am I coming back for? … I mean, it’s a little weird that everything happens for a reason. It’s just one of those things, I did it last year,” he explained. “I didn’t win, and it’s far beyond being about that and I was just standing in the ring by myself … if this was the last time I’m ever going to be in a ring, I did it.”

Punk continued by sharing his thoughts on the personal back-and-forth promo battles he’s had with Roman Reigns on the lead up to their WrestleMania 42 main event match for the World Heavyweight Championship, claiming the “OTC” has no one to blame but himself for his frustrations.

“There’s a line and what I do is I blur it. And he kind of threw it back at CM Punk and I think that’s fascinating. For everything he says he’s mad about and he hates me, well then, why did you let me back in man? You did it to your damn self, and I think WrestleMania is going to be a lot of fun.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “WWE” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Royce Keys hasn’t been seen on WWE television since the Royal Rumble back on January 31, despite working dark matches ahead of “WWE Raw” and “WWE SmackDown,” but he’ll officially make his debut on the blue brand on Friday. WWE’s official X (formerly Twitter) account revealed that the former Powerhouse Hobbs will finally take to “SmackDown” ahead of WrestleMania 42.

WWE posted a video of Keys explaining a bit more about his background and where he came from in East Palo Alto, California. In the video, Keys outlines how rough the city was growing up, but spoke about his grandparents who guided him with love, as he stood outside of his childhood home.

“Wrestling brought me so much happiness. I knew I wanted to do this,” Royce said, over video of him in his early days on the independent scene. “Not a lot of people can make it out here. I just want to do my part. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do. This is all I know. This is what brings me peace. This is what motivates me. This is it. I refuse to be defined by where I’m from, but instead by where I’m going.”

“I refuse to be defined by where I’m from, but instead by where I’m going.”

From East Palo Alto to the world stage, @RealRoyceKeys’ journey has shaped him into the man he is today. Keys writes another chapter in his story when he makes his official #SmackDown debut TOMORROW!! pic.twitter.com/8vpYJXDIO8

— WWE (@WWE) April 9, 2026

The last line of Keys’ voiceover played over his debut in Saudi Arabia, as the buzzer went off in the Rumble match before he made his entrance. The words “to be continued” end the just-under two minute video. Keys entered the match at #14 and scored an elimination on Damian Priest before he was thrown over the top rope by Bronson Reed.

Since the Rumble, Keys has wrestled in nine dark matches, mostly on “SmackDown.” His most recent, however, was on “Raw” Monday night in a winning effort over Brutus Creed.