MMA News

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has really been putting in the work as he posted new photos of himself as a heavyweight. Jones vacated the 205lbs belt that he held on-and-off for the past decade last summer when “Bones” announced he would finally be making the move up to the UFC heavyweight division. For years, fans and media wanted to see Jones fight up in weight and see if he could dominate a second weight class. We will finally get the chance to see that as Jones will be making the move up to the UFC heaviest’s weight division by the end of the year.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley explained why his loss to Colby Covington hurt more than his other setbacks inside the Octagon. Woodley and Covington were once training partners, but the men turned into bitter rivals over the last few years. Their rivalry culminated in their fight last September, where Colby Covington beat Woodley down until finishing him via TKO (injury) late in the fifth round. It was the third loss in a row for Woodley, and it hurt even more because he lost to Covington, someone who he used to train with and who he saw coming up the ladder.

Drake Riggs - March 25, 2021

Triller isn’t messing around when it comes to the commentary team for Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren. Adding to the list of stars is Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson. Already set to have a plethora of entertainment acts taking place throughout the April 17 event, it was announced on Thursday (h/t MMA Junkie) that the commentary team was finalized. Joining the likes of Snoop Dogg, Al Bernstein, Mike Coppinger, and Ray Flores will be Pete Davidson, Taylor Hill, Mario Lopez, Dixie D’Amelio, and Charli D’Amelio.

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021

Dana White is not surprised Dustin Poirier is taking the trilogy fight with Conor McGregor over the vacant lightweight title fight. After the UFC officially confirmed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, the promotion booked Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler for the vacant title. Many fans were confused as to why Poirier wasn’t involved in it, but White revealed “The Diamond” was offered a title fight but turned it down to get the McGregor trilogy which White likes.

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.

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.

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.

Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley says he is excited for the “sloppy” boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul and shared his prediction. O’Malley returns to the Octagon this Saturday night when he faces Thomas Almeida at UFC 260. Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s pay-per-view card, O’Malley shared his thoughts on the upcoming Askren vs. Paul boxing match and predicted the winner.

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.

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.

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.

Harry Kettle - March 25, 2021

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman appears to be in the best shape of his career heading into his UFC 261 rematch against Jorge Masvidal. “The Nigerian Nightmare” was able to defeat “Gamebred” last summer on Fight Island to retain his belt in a short-notice fight, and now, they’ll be locking horns again in an absolutely vital fight for the welterweight division.

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.

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.

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.