MMA News

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.

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.

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.”

Harry Kettle - April 12, 2021

Daniel Rodriguez has explained cornerman Joe Schilling’s request to throw a kick that the pair had done when they were “on mushrooms”. Rodriguez returned to action this past weekend and put down a dominant performance against Mike Perry, easily winning via unanimous decision on the scorecards. Many felt as if Perry had a decent chance of coming away with a win on Saturday night, but Rodriguez soon should that theory down.

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.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - April 11, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader issued a statement after smashing Lyoto Machida in the main event of Bellator 256. Bader is part of the eight-man Bellator World Light Heavyweight Grand Prix bracket. In the first fight in the tournament quarterfinals, Bader took on Machida in the Bellator 256 headliner. It was a rematch of the pair’s first fight back at UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera in August 2012, a fight that Machida won via KO. This time around, however, the fight was completely dominant for his opponent as Bader won a clear unanimous decision. Though Machida did well in the first round with his striking and won that round on the judges’ scorecards, he was outwrestled the rest of the way as he lost four rounds to one.

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.

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.

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.

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

Kansas City Chiefs superstars Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill responded to the challenge received from UFC’s Julian Marquez. Marquez defeated Sam Alvey in a violent fashion when he choked his opponent out cold in the second round of their UFC Vegas 23 middleweight bout. The last time we saw Marquez win a fight, he asked Miley Cyrus out on a date after he submitted Maki Pitolo at UFC 258. This time around, Marquez used his post-fight speech as an opportunity to call out the KC Chiefs star trio of Mahomes, Kelce, and Hill, to a game of badminton or pickleball. Marquez, born and raised in Kansas City, is training at Glory MMA in KC under James Krause, and the players all responded to him.

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.

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.

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.

Adam D Martin - April 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight Petr Yan shared the Marlon Moraes knockout in his latest jab at Aljamain Sterling: “Actor fought 4 months after that KO.” Yan illegally kneed Sterling in the head while he was a downed opponent in a fight he was dominating at UFC 259. With the knee hurting Sterling badly enough to the point he could not continue, the fight was stopped and declared a DQ win for Sterling by referee Mark Smith. The call was controversial, as it was the first time in UFC history that a title has changed hands via disqualification. Based on the rules, it was a fair call made by the referee. However, Sterling winning the belt instead of Yan has affected the 135lbs title picture.

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’.

Christopher Taylor - April 10, 2021

Professional wrestling icon The Undertaker believes the recent comparisons between Brock Lesnar and Francis Ngannou are justified. ‘The Beast’ and ‘The Dead Man’ are very familiar with one another given their time spent working together under the World Wrestling Entertainment banner.