MMA News

Mackenzie Dern
UFC

Mackenzie Dern issues statement after submitting Nina Nunes at UFC Vegas 23

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight standout Mackenzie Dern has issued a statement following her submission win over Nina Nunes at UFC Vegas 23. Dern was facing the toughest test of her career to date in the form of Nunes when she fought her at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 23. Though Dern was the betting underdog heading into the fight, she showed the odds were completely wrong as she was able to quickly get the fight to the ground and grab the arm of Nunes and finish her by submission. With the win, Dern improved to 11-1 overall in MMA including a 6-1 record in the Octagon.

Ben-Askren
Boxing News

Photos | Ben Askren reveals "boxer or pimp" walkout robe for Jake Paul boxing match

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

Former UFC fighter-turned-boxer Ben Askren has revealed what his walkout robe will look like this Saturday for the Jake Paul boxing match. Askren makes the walk to the boxing ring for the first time this weekend when he takes on Paul in the main event of a blockbuster pay-per-view event promoted by Triller. For Askren, he’s guaranteed a seven-figure payday to take on Paul, who in his last fight for Triller brutally knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson. Askren vs. Paul promises to be one of the biggest boxing matches of the year based on name value alone, and lots of eyes will be on them. So of course, the fighters want to look good during their walkout.

Mike Perry
Mike Perry

Mike Perry takes a shot at Ben Askren: “So a fighter gets KO’d in 5 seconds so he gets a million dollar PPV opportunity”

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

UFC welterweight Mike Perry took a shot at Ben Askren, saying “a fighter gets KO’d in 5 seconds so he gets a million-dollar PPV opportunity.” This past Saturday at UFC Vegas 23, Perry lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez to drop his second straight fight and suffer his fourth loss in his last five fights. Overall, Perry is now 7-8 in the UFC, and after losing to Rodriguez, he posted a statement on his social media that suggested he believes he doesn’t have much left in the tank.

Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier responds after Conor McGregor suggests he signed up for “a donation, not a debt”

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier responded after Conor McGregor suggested that the superstar signed up for “a donation, not a debt.” On Sunday night, Poirier made the stunning revelation that Team McGregor had not donated money to his “Good Fight Foundation” as was previously reported. In January, Team McGregor said that $500,000 was on the way to Poirier’s wife Jolie. However, Poirier claimed that the team never received the money, and after taking social media to reveal that, McGregor piped back by confirming that the money was indeed not sent, with the Irishman suggesting that he signed up for “a donation, not a debt.”

Conor McGregor, Bellator 200
Dustin Poirier

Conor McGregor reacts after Dustin Poirier claims he didn't follow through on promised charitable donation

Christopher Taylor - April 11, 2021

Conor McGregor has reacted after Dustin Poirier accused him of not following through on a promised charitable donation following their rematch at UFC 257. McGregor and Poirier collided for a second time on January 24 in Abu Dhabi. The pair had originally met in a featherweight contest at UFC 178, with the Irishman emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.

Dustin Poirier, UFC
Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier suggests Team Conor McGregor didn’t follow through with promise of charitable donation after UFC 257

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC lightweight Dustin Poirier suggested Team Conor McGregor didn’t follow through with their promise of a charitable donation after UFC 257. Before agreeing to a rematch at UFC 257, both McGregor and Poirier had temporarily discussed a charity MMA fight outside of it, where McGregor was to donate money to Poirier’s “The Good Fight Foundation.” In January, McGregor Sports & Entertainment CEO Alan Geraghty confirmed that Team McGregor made a $500,000 donation. At the time, Team McGregor told MMAjunkie.com they reach out to Poirier’s wife Jolie to transfer the money. However, it appears as though Team Poirier may not have seen the check.

Aljamain Sterling, Cory Sandhagen, UFC 250, UFC rankings
UFC

Aljamain Sterling reveals timeframe for UFC return after opting for neck surgery

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has revealed his timetable for his return to the Octagon after opting for neck surgery. Sterling became the new UFC 135lbs champion last month at UFC 259 when he defeated Petr Yan via first-round DQ after the Russian finished the fight with an illegal knee. The two rivals were fully expected to rematch in the coming months once both men recovered from the fight, but it appears as though the rematch is going to have to wait. That’s because Sterling is opting to get neck surgery. Speaking on his “Weekly Scraps” podcast, Sterling explained why he is getting the surgery now and said when he will be able to fight again.

Khabib-Nurmagomedov-Ali-Abdelaziz
Khabib Nurmagomedov

Ali Abdelaziz praises Coach Khabib Nurmagomedov: "He's one of the best coaches I've ever seen"

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

Ali Abdelaziz praised fighter-turned-coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, saying that “he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever seen.” Nurmagomedov recently retired from mixed martial arts, leaving the competitive aspect of the sport with a pristine 29-0 record. Now that Nurmagomedov is no longer an active competitor, he is transitioning into coaching fighters. We have seen him in the corner at recent UFC and Bellator events, cornering fighters such as Islam Makhachev and Usman Nurmagomedov, as he looks to succeed in this next stage of his career in combat sports.

Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland says he will work on his wrestling with Daniel Cormier at AKA

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland says that he will work on his wrestling with Daniel Cormier at American Kickboxing Academy. For the second straight fight, Holland was taken down and wrestled as the blueprint to defeat “Trailblazer” is obvious at this point. After losing a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson last month, Holland tried to capitalize on a short-notice opportunity by fighting Mervin Vettori on short notice at UFC Vegas 23. But just like the Brunson fight, the Vettori matchup once again displayed Holland’s weakness in his takedown defense. As gifted as he is with his hands and his submissions, his wrestling is the biggest hole in his game.

Daniel-Rodriguez
Mike Perry

Daniel Rodriguez issues statement following lopsided win over Mike Perry at UFC Vegas 23

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC welterweight Daniel Rodriguez issued a statement following his lopsided win over the durable Mike Perry at UFC Vegas 23. In what was arguably the best performance of his UFC career to date, Rodriguez was able to outstrike Perry for 15 minutes and bloody and batter his face as he took home a clear-cut unanimous decision. Though Perry landed some good shots of his own and even had a couple of takedowns mixed in, it was essentially all one-way traffic for Rodriguez in this fight. He controlled the striking range with his jab as his southpaw stance proved far too difficult to overcome. The end was result was a win for D-Rod and another loss for Perry.

UFC-Venum
UFC

Check out the UFC Venum sponsorship payouts for first event under new relationship

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

The first event under the new UFC and Venum partnership took place on Saturday night, and here are the disclosed payouts for the fighters. The UFC and Reebok’s seven-year deal recently ended, and the world’s leading MMA promotion has officially begun its relationship with Venum. As part of the deal, the fighters are required to wear the Venum clothing all week long and during the fight. The athletes are then given a piece of the pie from the UFC Venum deal. The companies have promised to slightly increase the pay for the athletes, and MMAjunkie.com has the full list of payouts for UFC Vegas 23.

Marvin Vettori, Kevin Holland
Marvin Vettori

What's next for Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland after UFC Vegas 23?

Cole Shelton - April 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 23, Marvin Vettori was looking to extend his winning streak against short-notice replacement, Kevin Holland. Vettori entered the fight coming off a dominant decision win over Jack Hermansson in December to put him in title contention. He was supposed to fight Darren Till, but after Till was forced out of the bout, Holland stepped up. Holland was coming off a disappointing loss to Derek Brunson just three weeks ago.

UFC 261-Zhang-Weili
Rose Namajunas

Rose Namajunas takes political jab at Weili Zhang ahead of UFC 261: “Better dead than red”

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

Rose Namajunas took a political jab at UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang ahead of UFC 261, saying “Better dead than red.” Namajunas steps back into the Octagon on April 24 when she takes on Zhang with the 115lbs belt on the line. Ahead of the fight, “Thug” spoke to the Lithuanian National Radio and Television about the fight with Zhang. Namajunas suggested that because of her background as an American – Lithuanian and Zhang’s background as a Chinese fighter, there is extra motivation going into this matchup at UFC 261.

Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moraes
MMA News

Dominick Cruz breaks down TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz broke down the upcoming fight pitting TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen. Cruz recently returned to the Octagon with a split decision win over Casey Kenney at UFC 259 last month. He’s one of the top contenders in the 135lbs division, and one fight that he has his eyes closely fixed on is the upcoming 135lbs bout between his rival Dillashaw and the top contender Sandhagen, which goes down on May 8. Speaking to James Lynch ahead of this big bantamweight fight, Cruz broke down the matchup between Dillashaw and Sandhagen, explaining how he thinks Dillashaw has to game plan for him to get the win.

Sam Alvey, UFC
Sam Alvey

Sam Alvey releases emotional video minutes after being choked out by Julian Marquez

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC middleweight Sam Alvey released an emotional video just minutes after being choked out cold by Julian Marquez at UFC Vegas 23. Alvey suffered another tough loss in the Octagon when Marquez choked him out in the second round of their UFC Vegas 23 middleweight fight. After a strong first round that saw both men land some big shots on the feet, Marquez was able to rock Alvey badly in the second and then find the submission. Referee Mark Smith was late to save Alvey and “Smilen Sam” was choked out cold. He is now 0-5-1 over his last six UFC fights.

Anderson Silva
UFC

Anderson Silva gets choked up following news DMX has died: "DMX is part of my life... I'm very sad"

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC legend Anderson Silva got choked up following the death of his friend DMX, explaining how devastated he is by his death. DMX, real name Earn Simmons, died at age 50 on Friday, April 9, a week after being administered to the hospital due to a drug overdose seven days earlier. DMX was on life support for the past week after suffering from a heart attack, and ultimately, the doctors could not save him. Since his passing, which has been mourned by millions of his fans all over the world, a number of MMA athletes took to their social media to share their memories of the legendary rapper. One of the fighters who his death has hit the most is Silva, who used to walk out to his music. They were good friends and this death hurts him.

Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo introduces new nickname following Demetrious Johnson’s knockout loss at ONE on TNT

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

Henry Cejudo introduced a new nickname to his former UFC flyweight rival Demetrious Johnson following his knockout loss at ONE on TNT. Cejudo and Johnson had two memorable fights in the UFC. The pair first met back at UFC 197 in April 2016, with Johnson knocking out Cejudo with knees to the body to defend the UFC flyweight title. They then rematched at UFC 227 in August 2018, this time with Cejudo besting Johnson via split decision. There have always been talks of a potential rematch between these two rivals, but with Johnson now in ONE Championship and with Cejudo retired, we haven’t heard much back-and-forth between these two in a few years now.

Darren Till, Mike Perry
Mike Perry

Darren Till sends sincere offer to Mike Perry: "I would more than be willing to accommodate him and his family"

Christopher Taylor - April 10, 2021

Darren Till has extended an offer to Mike Perry, this after ‘Platinum’ suffered his fourth loss in his past five fights at UFC Vegas 23. Perry (14-8 MMA) squared off with Daniel Rodriguez in the opening bout of today’s main card from Las Vegas. While the Florida native once again showcased his toughness, he proved no match for the striking of ‘D-Rod’.