MMA News Roundup – UFC Hopeful Retires With Heavy Heart; Stamp Fairtex Relinquishes Titles Before ONE Championship Denver Card; Sandhagen & De Ridder Win Bonus at UFC Des Moines

The MMA world is buzzing with some noteworthy moments from the last 24 hours, and we’re here to help you stay updated. On that note, welcome to another edition of the Daily Roundup, where we bring to you the biggest headlines from our favorite sport. To kick today’s edition off, we’ll sadly talk about a 31-year-old UFC fighter who has decided to call it a career.

Thereafter, we’ll move all the way to the other side of the world as ONE Championship queen Stamp Fairtex, who, unfortunately, had to vacate her atomweight title ahead of the promotion event in the United States. Finally, we’ll sum up this roundup edition with two fighters winning bonuses at UFC Des Moines. Let’s dive into it!

Dan Argueta makes an emotional retirement decision at 31 years old

It’s not everyone who gets to the top of the UFC because the competition is just on another level. You have doubts? Ask Kai Asakura, a Japanese sensation who finished in a dominating fashion on his debut in the world’s premier MMA promotion. While we wait to see how the flyweight star recuperates from his loss, a bantamweight contender has come out to announce that he’s hanging up his gloves.

Dan Argueta, who made his UFC debut in 2022, did not have an impactful career in the UFC at all. With just one win, ‘The Determined’ racked up three losses, in addition to two other fights that ended in no-contests. In an Instagram post, Argueta revealed that Dana White wasn’t going to let him fight out his contract, and in the wake of his underwhelming record, the 31-year-old has decided to call it a career.

“It’s with a heavy heart that today I’ve decided to hang up my gloves. After receiving news of the UFC not giving me the opportunity to finish out the final fight on my contract, I’ve ultimately decided to turn the page and start writing my next chapter,” Dan Argueta stated.

While we wait to see what Dan Argueta endeavors into next, let’s take a look at what’s happening in a rival promotion with a major event coming up. It appears that ONE Championship lost one of its planned fights. Here’s what we know.

Injury forces Stamp Fairtex out of ONE Championship’s Denver card

ONE star Stamp Fairtex, under tough circumstances, had to relinquish her atomweight strap after suffering an injury. One of the best fighters in promotional history, the 27-year-old was gearing up for a title defense against Denice Zamboanga as ONE Championship is coming back to the USA with a PPV in Denver, Colorado. However, those plans met an abrupt end when Fairtex suffered an injury.

According to the promotion, Stamp Fairtex is dealing with a knee injury, and it will take some time before she steps back inside the cage. As a result, she had to drop the belt for the division to keep moving. Additionally, ONE Championship was supposed to come to Denver in August, but in the wake of her injury and the loss of a big title fight, they have been forced to hold the event a bit earlier, as they announced that the event will take place in June. As we wait for further updates on that front, here’s a look at the final story of this roundup edition.

Cory Sandhagen and Reinier De Ridder go home with an extra $50,000

Cory Sandhagen is back with a bang as he demolished former 2-time flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines. After a lopsided loss to Khabib’s cousin Umar Nurmagomedov, ‘The Sandman’ made sure to shut his critics up by putting on a striking clinic against the Brazilian legend. After earning a finish and knocking out ‘Deus Da Guerra’ with vicious ground-and-pound strikes, Sandhagen earned a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ honor.

Along with him, Dutchman Reinier De Ridder also made the cut, taking the same $50,000 honor, as he secured a pretty significant win. One of the most hyped prospects, Bo Nickal, has always been confident about continuing to be in the winning column. However, De Ridder shut him down with a brutal Muay Thai knee strike to the body, earning a finish and handing the former 3-time NCAA Division I champion his first professional loss.

What a night! @CorySandhagenX, Reinier de Ridder, @QuangLeUFC & Azamat Bekoev all won an extra $50K tonight for the #UFCDesMoines POTN!

[ B2YB: @WolfpakTrust ] pic.twitter.com/o3IKcwAHSY

— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2025

Other than these two main card stars, there were a couple more ‘POTN’ winners as well, including Quang Le and Azamat Bekoev, who also earned finishes. Well, it seems like the Fight Night turned out alright for these fighters as they march forward in the division.

Let us know your thoughts on these stories in the comments down below.

The post MMA News Roundup – UFC Hopeful Retires With Heavy Heart; Stamp Fairtex Relinquishes Titles Before ONE Championship Denver Card; Sandhagen & De Ridder Win Bonus at UFC Des Moines appeared first on EssentiallySports.