MMA News

Cole Shelton - December 31, 2020

Marlon Moraes has responded to Marlon Vera’s callout. After both Vera and Moraes lost at UFC Vegas 17, many pundits thought pairing them up against each other made sense. “Chito” seemingly agreed as he called out the former title challenger.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2020

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is expected to return to the ONE Championship Circle against former title challenger Iuri Lapicus. News of this fight, which is expected to occur in or around April, was first reported by Nolan King of MMA Junkie, and later confirmed by Al Zullino for Italian outlet Fatti Marziali.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2020

UFC President Dana White says the UFC is still keen to book a welterweight fight between top-5 contenders Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington in 2021. Covington and Masvidal, the No. 1 and 4-ranked welterweight contenders respectively, have been linked to a potential fight for months, but as of yet, the matchup has not come to fruition.

Adam Martin - December 31, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones confirmed that he has “no intentions of ever going back to light heavyweight” in his career. Jones vacated the 205lbs title back in the summer with a planned move up to the UFC heavyweight division. Right now, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is set to take on No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou in early 2021, and UFC president Dana White has said that Jones will be next up for the winner.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2020

Jake Paul has made some very surprising comments about his brother Logan’s upcoming exhibition bout with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. The Paul brothers, both YouTube stars, have risen to prominence inside the combat sports bubble after a series of high-profile boxing matches with other celebrities.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2020

UFC President Dana White has provided an update on the potential Octagon return of former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz in 2021. Diaz, one of the most popular fighters in MMA history, has not fought since a 2015 no contest with Anderson Silva, but began teasing a 2021 comeback earlier this year.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2020

UFC light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz has shared his first public reaction to his upcoming title defense against middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz and Adesanya have been linked to a champion versus champion fight for several months, and last night, UFC President Dana White made it official. The fight is targeted for UFC 259 on March 6.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2020

MMA and BKFC veteran Chris Leben isn’t going to hold back when he takes on Quentin Henry on Super Bowl weekend. Leben, who had previously announced his retirement earlier this year, currently holds a 2-1 professional bare knuckle record with his last bout taking place in June 2019. He’s been able to defeat Phil Baroni and Justin Baesman with his one and only loss up to this point being a decision against Dakota Cochrane.

Cole Shelton - December 30, 2020

Leon Edwards will not be fighting on January 20 after all. Edwards was set to headline the card against Khamzat Chimaev in a really intriguing bout. However, it was revealed the Swede was out of the fight due to COVID-19, but Edwards made it clear he still wanted to fight on that date which won’t happen.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

UFC president Dana White named his top three fighters to watch for in 2021, pointing out Khamzat Chimaev, Kevin Holland, and Joaquin Buckley. White was a guest on the “SHOUT! Buffalo Podcast” on Wednesday and he was asked to point out his top three fighters to look forward to heading into the new year. The UFC president named three of the hottest fighters on the UFC roster right now in Chimaev, Holland, and Buckley as his top three fighters to watch for in 2021.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

UFC president Dana White slammed YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, suggesting that UFC women’s champion Amanda Nunes would put him in a coma. Paul has become one of the biggest names in combat sports ever since he scored a viral KO over Nate Robinson on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. PPV. Since then, numerous high-profile boxers, UFC fighters, and even celebrities have called Paul out for a fight. Most recently he was connected to a matchup with Ben Askren, the former UFC welterweight. White has had some choice words about Paul in recent weeks for his choice of opponents, suggesting Nunes would KO him.

Cole Shelton - December 30, 2020

Israel Adesanya will look to become a UFC champ-champ in 2021. Ever since Jan Blachowicz became the light heavyweight champion, UFC president, Dana White has said he wants to make Blachowicz vs. Adesanya. Now, that is what happened as the UFC boss revealed to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that the fight will take place on March 6 at UFC 259.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming heavyweight bout between top contenders Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov. Overeem vs. Volkov is set as the five-round headliner of a UFC Fight Night card that is scheduled to take place on February 6. Overeem and Volkov are two of the top-10 heavyweights on the UFC roster and the winner of this bout will put themselves in a prime position to contend for the UFC heavyweight title by the end of 2021. Ahead of this upcoming bout, the oddsmakers have released the betting odds for the match. Check out the opening betting odds for Overeem vs. Volkov (via BestFightOdds).

Cole Shelton - December 30, 2020

Rob Font is now a top-five bantamweight and he plans on staying ready for the upcoming title fight. At UFC Vegas 17, Font picked up the biggest win of his career as he knocked out Marlon Moraes in the first round. For his head coach, Tyson Chartier, he says the win over Moraes is a big one for Font’s confidence and silencing the doubters.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

The price of purchasing a UFC pay-per-view card is about to get more costly for fans in 2021 as Disney and ESPN are raising their PPV prices. According to a report from Variety, Disney and ESPN plan on increasing the price of a UFC PPV from their current price of $64.99 (U.S. dollars) to $69.99 in 2021, starting with UFC 257: McGregor vs. Poirier 2. This follows on the heels of a price increase in 2018 when the price of a PPV went up from $59.99 to $64.99. Additionally, the cost of subscribing to a year of ESPN+ is set to rise from $49.99 to $59.99 in 2021. In the United States, fans must order the PPV cards through ESPN+, making it a necessity.

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020

British MMA legend Brad Pickett says former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard is a bit of a nightmare in the gym. Speaking to Fightful recently, Pickett looked back on some of his training sessions with Lombard, recounting a time the hulking Cuban flatlined a training partner in a warm-up round.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen opened up as a big betting favorite for his upcoming battle against Frankie Edgar in early 2021. Sandhagen takes on Edgar on the undercard of the upcoming Alistair Overeem vs. Alexander Volkov card that is set for February 6 of next year. With the fight now official, the sportsbooks have released the opening betting odds for this intriguing Sandhagen vs. Edgar bout. Check out the opening odds below (via BestFightOdds).

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk reacted to the potential of Carla Esparza getting a title shot, saying “Rose is next.” We all thought the plan was for UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang to fight Rose Namajunas next, but UFC president Dana White recently got into a public disagreement with Team Namajunas about her desire to actually fight for the belt. According to White, Namajunas doesn’t want to fight Zhang for the belt and the UFC is considering giving the title shot at 115lbs to the former champion Esparza instead. On her end, Team Namajunas has denied that and says that she just wants to fight.