Darren is the editorial director of The AllStar and a retired championship-winning point guard who dropped dimes and broke ankles in recreational leagues across the Asia Pacific. Personal sporting highlight: Being courtside under the backboard (and a little to the left) when Vince Carter did THAT DUNK on Frederic Weis at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

The salary gap between male and female athletes has generated much discussion and controversy across the sporting world in recent years. These days, the spotlight has turned more and more to what professional leagues are doing about it. The AllStar examines the issue from the mixed martial arts perspective. 

The title of “best pound for pound fighter” is possibly the highest accolade an MMA exponent could ever earn. It’s a divisive title because there is no single definition for what makes a fighter the best overall in their martial art. In this article, we unpack what it means.

Gloves in any kind of combat fighting are both a necessity and also controversial. They protect the fists of the wearer and help prevent facial lacerations that might lead to stoppages. On the other hand, they allow fighters to throw harder punches with their padded fists, doing little to prevent…

The UFC and Crypto.com made waves in 2021 by announcing the MMA organization’s latest major sponsorship agreement. It’s inevitably raised curiosity over the UFC’s biggest deals and how much they’re worth. The AllStar is more than happy to break them down for you, starting with the much-maligned UFC Reebok deal.…

All major sports organisations form exclusive agreements with big-name apparel makers to outfit their athletes. These partnerships are part of the sponsorship playbook. Exclusive outfitting is one of the major assets that a sports body can offer up to generate millions, if not billions, in revenue each year. And so…

Joe Rogan is one of the best-known faces of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). He is arguably the UFC’s most well-known commentator and cuts a memorable figure with his bald visage and fighter’s physique. Most non-UFC fans know him as the host of the Fear Factor and of the Joe…

Khabib Numagomedov recently claimed that rings girls are “the most useless people in MMA”. We look at their role and what they get paid.