MMA News
Conor McGregor issues statement following the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov: "Never forget who came in the game and made ye"
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
UFC superstar Conor McGregor has issued a statement following the retirement of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov officially announced on Thursday night that he is retiring from mixed martial arts, nearly six months after he first made the proclamation following his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. UFC president Dana White said that he would do his best to convince “The Eagle” to fly again, but it didn’t work. Instead, Nurmagomedov has officially stepped away from the sport at the height of his career.
Junior dos Santos upset by cold way UFC and Dana White cut him: "I haven't talked to him in years"
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos is upset by the cold way the UFC and Dana White cut him, saying “I haven’t talked to him in years.” White said late last year that the UFC would be making 60 cuts from its roster, and some of them were going to be tough cuts. In recent weeks, both dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, two staples of the UFC heavyweight division for the past decade, were both released. Both men are getting up there in age and both fighters are coming off of TKO losses, to Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov, respectively, but it was still surprising to see two top-15 heavyweights get the boot. White suggested it was due to their age and their recent performances, but others have suggested their paychecks were part of the reason, too.
Frank Mir issues bold win-or-lose prediction for boxing match with Antonio Tarver: “He’s leaving on a stretcher”
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
Frank Mir issued a bold win-or-lose prediction for his upcoming boxing match with Antonio Tarver, saying that “he’s leaving on a stretcher.” Mir makes his professional boxing debut on April 17 on the undercard of the Triller boxing PPV featuring Jake Paul and Ben Askren in the main event. The former UFC heavyweight champion will take on Tarver, the former boxing great who will be returning from a six-year layoff to take on Mir. It’s a big fight between the former UFC champion and the former boxing world champion, and now Mir is issuing a bold prediction about what will happen.
Max Holloway tells Khabib Nurmagomedov he wants to "visit Dagestan"
Harry Kettle - March 19, 2021
UFC featherweight contender Max Holloway has told Khabib Nurmagomedov he wants to visit Dagestan one day soon after the latter confirmed his retirement. The MMA world has known it to be true for quite some time, but now it seems to be official that Khabib Nurmagomedov is staying retired. That’ll come as quite the blow for both his fans and for fans of the sport in, general, not to mention some fighters on the UFC roster.
Pros react to Khabib Nurmagomedov retirement, Chandler vs. Oliveira at UFC 262
Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021
Social media was full of fighter reactions following news that Khabib Nurmagomedov has officially retired and Chandler vs. Oliveira is set for UFC 262. Earlier this evening UFC President Dana White confirmed that despite his best efforts he could not convince ‘The Eagle’ to return for one last fight.
Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira react after booking lightweight title fight at UFC 262
Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021
Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira have shared their respective reactions after being booked to fight for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 262. Earlier this evening, Dana White announced that he was throwing in the towel and conceded that Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be ending his retirement.
Khabib Nurmagomedov issues statement following official retirement
Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021
Khabib Nurmagomedov has issued a statement after news broke this evening that he was officially retiring and vacating his UFC lightweight title. Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA) had announced his retirement from fighting immediately following his submission victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Vacant UFC lightweight title fight set for UFC 262 featuring Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
Drake Riggs - March 18, 2021
It’s official, Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired and vacated his lightweight crown. Now the UFC moves on to Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira. Late Thursday night a wave of news broke from the UFC. Perhaps the most notable of the bunch being UFC President Dana White conceding defeat to Nurmagomedov insisting on calling it a career at 29-0 after a meeting in Las Vegas.
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw set to return on May 8 for five-round main event against Cory Sandhagen
Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has booked a five-round main event for his highly anticipated return to the Octagon. Dillashaw (16-4 MMA) has not stepped foot in the cage since January of 2019 where he suffered a first round knockout loss to then flyweight title holder Henry Cejudo in his bid to become a two-division champion.
Cody Garbrandt staying at bantamweight, faces Rob Font in May main event
Drake Riggs - March 18, 2021
Former UFC champion Cody Garbrandt is set to return after his long battle with COVID-19. For his next time out, he’ll be back in the main event. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the news Thursday that Garbrandt will remain at bantamweight. This is after he was previously looking to make the move to 125-pounds in pursuit of Deiveson Figueiredo’s flyweight crown. Now, he draws Rob Font on May 22 as the UFC fight night event’s headliner. The location has yet to be determined.
Georges St-Pierre believes the UFC doesn't want Khabib Nurmagomedov to go out on top, 'they want a guy to beat him'
Drake Riggs - March 18, 2021
Georges St-Pierre is one of the few fighters in MMA to go out atop the peak of the mountain. Khabib Nurmagomedov recently did the same. Despite the known interest that Nurmagomedov had to reach 30-0 in his career with a victory over the legendary St-Pierre, “The Eagle” instead called it quits at 29-0. With all things considered, the iconic Canada native believes he knows why UFC President Dana White is so reluctant to let Nurmagomedov ride off into the sunset.
Khama Worthy says Ottman Azaitar had steroids in his bag on Fight Island: "He and his brother are like buddy-buddy up in the sauna sticking needles in their butts"
Adam Martin - March 18, 2021
UFC lightweight Khama Worthy says Ottman Azaitar had steroids in his bag on Fight Island and accused him and brother Abu Azaitar of juicing. There was a bizarre incident on Fight Island in January right before UFC 257, where Azaitar allegedly cut off his wristband and gave them to someone outside the bubble. This person apparently got into the fighter hotel and dropped off a bag before being caught by UFC security. Afterward, UFC president Dana White released Azaitar from the promotion for violating COVID-19 protocols, though the fighter was reinstated to the organization a month later. Per Azaitar’s manager Ali Abdelaziz, there were potatoes in the bag.
Kamaru Usman says he won’t grant Colby Covington a rematch until he fights a top contender first
Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021
Colby Covington will need to fight and beat someone in the top-five before getting a title shot, according to Kamaru Usman. Usman, who is the current welterweight champion, is set to defend his belt against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261. With those two fighting, Covington is now on the outside looking in. But, according to Ali Abdelaziz, “Chaos” needs to get another win if he wants a title shot.
Jon Jones fires back at Israel Adesanya over his recent comments: “I love it when opponents realize they can’t hold my jockstrap”
Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021
Jon Jones fired back at Israel Adesanya over his recent comments, saying “I love it when opponents realize they can’t hold my jockstrap.” Adesanya was a guest on Ariel Helwani’s ESPN show on Wednesday and said that he is still pursuing a matchup against Jones despite the fact he just lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. The fight with Blachowicz exposed Adesanya, who struggled with being able to stop the takedowns from a bigger man. Despite the loss, Adesanya said that he still wants to fight Jones, to which the former UFC light heavyweight champion responded on Twitter.
UFC parent company Endeavor files for IPO
Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021
UFC parent company Endeavor has reportedly filed for an IPO (initial public offering) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Endeavor Group Holdings (EDR) is an entertainment conglomerate that owns a number of businesses, including the UFC, the talent agencies IMG and William Morris, and content production for a number of events including Premier League Soccer and the Miss Universe competition, and movies and television shows including “La La Land” and “Killing Eve.” The company’s CEO is Ari Emanuel and its executive chairman is Patrick Whitesell.
Grant Dawson expects to submit BJJ black belt Leonardo Santos, plans to call out Clay Guida
Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021
Grant Dawson is finally making the move to lightweight. After Dawson missed the featherweight mark by 3.5 pounds against Darrick Minner and barely made weight for a 150-pound catchweight against Nad Narimani in July, he knew he needed to move up to 155lbs. The goal for Dawson was to make a quick turnaround but that was not the case. Finally, at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 event, Dawson will make his official UFC lightweight debut against Leonardo Santos.
Junior dos Santos files appeal regarding TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 256
Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has officially filed an appeal regarding his TKO loss to Ciryl Gane back at UFC 256. Dos Santos was recently cut by the UFC after losing four straight fights, the last which came against Gane at UFC 256. In that fight, Gane hit JDS with an elbow that appeared to potentially land on the back of his head. However, referee Jerin Valel did not call a foul and the fight was declared a TKO win for Gane. JDS was not happy about the loss and vented about his frustrations with the result of the fight immediately following the contest, but it wasn’t enough to save his job. After 13 years of being with the world’s leading MMA promotion, JDS was released, and he’s not thrilled the cut came after the loss to Gane.
Patricio Pitbull trashes Tapology for ranking him 21st at featherweight: "You're awful"
Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021
Two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull trashed Tapology for ranking him as the 21st-best featherweight in the sport. Tapology is one of the top resources in the world of mixed martial arts. The website has an incredible record-keeping system in MMA and is generally regarded as the top MMA database going right now. However, Pitbull has a bone to pick with them about the site’s ranking systems. Tapology has its own rankings system where it ranks the best fighters in the world by division regardless of promotion. It’s worth noting that registered users submit their rankings, so it’s not Tapology itself that is doing the rankings, but MMA fans.