MMA News
Randy Couture on Jon Jones at heavyweight: 'You’ve got to approach them differently'
Drake Riggs - March 25, 2021
Randy Couture knows a thing or two about fighting at light heavyweight and heavyweight at the highest level. Jon Jones looks to do the same. After relinquishing his 205-pound title in 2020, Jones declared that he’s finally going to make the jump up to heavyweight – something fans have been anticipating for nearly a decade.
Dana White: "I'm thinking about doing Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes"
Adam Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC president Dana White confirmed that he is thinking about booking UFC women’s bantamweight championship Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena. Nunes is coming off of a quick submission win over Megan Anderson at UFC 259 in a 145lbs title defense, and the promotion is looking to turn her back around quickly in a 135lbs title fight. The one fighter in the women’s bantamweight division who has been the most vocal about getting the fight with Nunes is Pena, the former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner. Pena is coming off of a submission win over Sara McMann and she believes that win should be enough to get her the title shot in what is a shallow division in terms of fresh contenders.
Weili Zhang fires back at Mike Tyson after he suggests Rose Namajunas "destroys" her
Adam Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang fired back at boxing legend Mike Tyson after he suggested Rose Namajunas “destroys” her. Zhang returns to the Octagon at UFC 261 on April 24 when she takes on Namajunas in a fight that’s been in the works for months now. Zhang hasn’t fought since last March at UFC 248 when she won a split decision in a classic war against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Namajunas, meanwhile, is coming off of a split decision win over Jessica Andrade. They are the two top-ranked women’s strawweights in the world right now and this fight should be fantastic.
Stipe Miocic expects to "extinguish" Francis Ngannou again at UFC 260
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Stipe Miocic is confident he will defend his heavyweight title again on Saturday night. In the main event of UFC 260, Miocic and Ngannou are set to rematch three years after Miocic dominated the first fight. In January of 2018, Ngannou was young and inexperienced and after the first round, he gassed himself out and Miocic used his wrestling to win the fight. Now, ahead of the rematch, Miocic expects to extinguish Ngannou again.
Israel Adesanya apologizes for making rape joke about Kevin Holland
Adam Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has issued a public apology after making a rape joke about fellow UFC fighter Kevin Holland. Adesanya came under intense scrutiny this week after posting a video on his Instagram where he said he would rape Holland. Soon after, politicians in New Zealand criticized the UFC superstar for his comments, with Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson strongly condemning Adesanya for his comments. With Adesanya under the spotlight, “The Last Stylebender” took to his social media on Thursday to issue a public apology for the comments. In the statement, Adesanya promised this will be a lesson learned for him.
Dan Hardy says Herb Dean "makes a mistake almost on a weekly basis"
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Dan Hardy doesn’t understand why Herb Dean is considered the gold standard of MMA referees. Dean is often the man in charge of UFC main events, however, Hardy believes he is constantly making mistakes. The two haven’t gotten along since their Fight Island incident last summer where Hardy was seen yelling to stop the fight when Francisco Trinaldo was landing heavy punches against Jai Herbert.
Marion Reneau issues statement following announcement of retirement fight with Miesha Tate
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC women’s bantamweight contender Marion Reneau issued a statement following the announcement of her retirement fight with Miesha Tate. Reneau lost last weekend against Macy Chiasson when she dropped a unanimous decision. At age 43, Reneau is the oldest active fighter in the UFC and she has lost her last four fights, which left her as a potential cut casualty as the UFC continues to trim the roster. Instead of releasing Reneau, however, the UFC decided to give her one last fight, and they booked her against Tate, who is returning from a five-year retirement layoff of her own.
Dustin Poirier turned down title shot for Conor McGregor trilogy, says Dana White
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier turned down the opportunity to fight for the belt, choosing instead to fight Conor McGregor again. Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vacated the belt last week and retired from MMA, which left the division without a champion. Nurmagomedov’s decision to officially retired led to the promotion booking Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 262. Some fans and media were shocked that Poirier wasn’t part of the title fight considering he just knocked out McGregor in his last fight and beat Dan Hooker before that, but now we know that the UFC offered Poirier the title shot first.
Grant Dawson happy to show complete skillset against Leonardo Santos, defends Clay Guida callout: "He has a bigger name than I do"
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Grant Dawson had no clue how the judges were scoring his fight against Leonardo Santos entering the third round. The fight was competitive through two rounds and after the second round, James Krause had a motivating speech to tell Dawson he needs to finish the fight in the third round. Although Dawson was controlling the fight, it appeared the fight was destined to go the distance. However, with 10 seconds left, Dawson started landing heavy ground and pound that knocked Santos out cold, which was a big relief for Dawson.
Israel Adesanya condemned by New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson for rape joke
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was condemned by New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson after making a rape joke. Adesanya had made a comment on an Instagram story, suggesting that he would rape fellow UFC fighter Kevin Holland, who had recently criticized him for losing to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. “Bro, I’ll f*cking rape you,” the now-deleted story read. Although Adesanya did delete the story, it was already widely viewed by that point, and “The Last Stylebender” has been getting criticized online for the comments. Not only are fans not happy about his comments, but neither is Robertson, NZ’s Deputy Prime Minister.
Khabib Nurmagomedov "would be a huge star" for the WWE, says Drew McIntyre
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov “would be a huge star” for the WWE, says professional wrestler Drew McIntyre. Nurmagomedov officially announced last week that he is retiring from MMA and from the UFC. It was no surprise that “The Eagle” decided to walk away, considering he first mentioned the possibility of retirement following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October. But after spending the last six months pondering his future in the sport, Nurmagomedov ultimately made the decision to hang up his gloves. He cited the fact he wanted to spend more time with his mother as one of the reasons why he walked away.
Modestas Bukauskas plans to finish Michal Oleksiejczuk in "spectacular fashion" at UFC 260
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Modestas Bukauskas was eagerly anticipating his next fight after coming up short last time out. Back on Fight Island in October, Bukauskas suffered a first-round TKO loss to Jimmy Crute. In just his second UFC fight, he fought a very tough and dangerous Crute who is now in the rankings and could be in the top-10 after his next fight. Although the loss was disappointing for Bukauskas, he says it helped him grow as he hired a sports psychologist and started to focus more on the strategy for his fights.
James Krause invites Julia Avila to train with him after she was kicked out of her gym
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC welterweight James Krause invited women’s bantamweight fighter Julia Avila to train with him after she was kicked out of her gym. It’s been a tough week for Avila, to say the least. “Raging Panda” was supposed to fight at UFC Vegas 22 last Saturday, but the fight was scratched during the weigh-ins when her opponent, Julija Stoliarenko, fainted twice on the scale. Not only did Avila’s fight fall off, but she also took to social media the next day to announce that she had been booted out of her gym, the Oklahoma Martial Arts Academy, though she didn’t explain why she had been kicked out of the gym. Regardless, Avila is now looking for a new gym to call home.
Miesha Tate gunning for rematch with Amanda Nunes: "I’d love to run that one back"
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
Miesha Tate is coming out of retirement and her goal is to land a rematch with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Tate announced on Wednesday that she is ending her nearly-five year retirement from MMA and is returning to the Octagon this summer when she takes on Marion Reneau. Following a 2016 loss to Raquel Pennington at UFC 205, Tate decided to hang up her gloves and start a family. She also worked for ONE Championship during that time. However, once COVID-19 hit, Tate moved her family back to Las Vegas. It appears as though being around the fight game in Vegas got her fighting spirit back and now she’s coming back.
Neil Magny shuts down Khamzat Chimaev’s request to fight in July
Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny shut down Khamzat Chimaev’s request to fight in July, saying that Chimaev should get healthy first. Chimaev announced this week that he will be returning to the Octagon this summer, and he’s already been busy calling out Magny again. Chimaev is hoping to get a fight with someone ranked near the top-10 and Magny is available. Hopefully, Chimaev has been ill with COVID-19 for the last few months and he hasn’t been able to fight. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel and he plans on making his return this summer, he’s looking to make a splash in his comeback, and beating a veteran like Magny qualifies as doing that.
Dan Hardy fears misconception from Dana White could prevent reconciliation with the UFC
Harry Kettle - March 25, 2021
Former UFC fighter & commentator Dan Hardy is concerned that a misconception from Dana White could prevent him from returning to the promotion. “The Outlaw” departed from the company after a disagreement with one of the company’s employees on Fight Island at the start of the year. It follows another incident last summer in which he visibly got into an argument with referee Herb Dean.
Craig Jones puts career on the line in intergender grappling match with Gabi Garcia
Drake Riggs - March 24, 2021
Gabi Garcia has been looking for a challenge lately. Well, her call has been answered in the form of Craig Jones who puts his career on the line. When it comes to the world’s absolute best jiu-jitsu practitioners, regardless of gender, Garcia and Jones are at the top of the mountain.
Stipe Miocic says Francis Ngannou "won’t be champ until I’m done"
Cole Shelton - March 24, 2021
Stipe Miocic expects to defend his belt once again against Francis Ngannou. In the main event of UFC 260, Miocic and Ngannou will rematch three years after the champ dominated ‘The Predator’ at UFC 220. Entering the fight, the talk was Ngannou would knock Miocic out early, but the champ used his wrestling to control and dominate the fight and win a decision.