MMA News

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2020

Henry Cejudo continues to trash-talk current UFC bantamweight, Petr Yan. Although Cejudo retired and vacated the bantamweight title, he still is paying close attention to the division and the current champ in Yan. He has called Petr a rent-a-champ and now is critiquing his recent wins.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2020

UFC president Dana White says he had Anthony Johnson under contract, but that it was “in his best interest” to go to Bellator. When news broke this week that Johnson was making a comeback to MMA with Bellator and not with the UFC, it surprised a lot of fans and media, who assumed that Johnson would want to make another title run in the Octagon. “Rumble” has been testing a comeback to the game for a little while now, and with Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones leaving the UFC’s 205lbs weight class, it seemed like a prime opportunity for Johnson to make a run for the UFC light heavyweight title in 2021.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2020

Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev are expected to headline a Fight Night card on Fight Island. Originally, Edwards and Chimaev were expected to headline the final event of 2020 on December 19 in Las Vegas. However, the fight was postponed after Edwards tested positive for COVID-19 but it appears the promotion is moving quickly to rebook it.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2020

Daniel Pineda doesn’t think the judges will be needed for his UFC 256 fight against Cub Swanson. After Pineda finished Herbert Burns at UFC 252, the hope for the 35-year-old was to get a ranked opponent or someone near the rankings. And, he ended up getting his wish as he was offered perennial contender, Cub Swanson.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2020

ONE Championship’s Demetrious Johnson, the greatest flyweight MMA fighter of all time, says he will never fight at 125lbs again. Johnson is the undisputed GOAT of 125lbs. He was the long-time flyweight champion in the UFC and he’s carried his talents over to ONE Championship, where he hopes to fight out the rest of his career. In ONE Championship there are more weight-cutting regulations, so the flyweight title in ONE is actually contested at 135lbs. That means that the fighters don’t have to cut as much weight. ONE implemented this rule change several years ago in an effort to curb massive and potentially fatal weight cuts.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2020

MMA legend Vitor Belfort says he wants to fight free agent Yoel Romero, promising that it would be a “great fight” for the fans. Belfort has yet to make his debut for ONE Championship and is eager to get back into the cage in 2021. Belfort called out Wanderlei Silva in the past, and he recently called for ONE to sign former UFC legends Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen to fight because at this point he just wants big fights against top-shelf opponents. One of those high-profile opponents just became available on the free-agent market when the UFC cut Romero. If ONE can get a deal done with Romero, then Belfort would take that fight.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

This Friday, at ONE: Big Bang II, Tyler McGuire will make his long awaited return to the ONE Circle when he takes on Agilan Thani. The bout will be McGuire’s first since he came up short in a welterweight title fight with Zebaztian Kadestam in late 2018—his first taste of defeat as a pro mixed martial artist.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

A heavyweight fight between Sergey Spivak and Jared Vanderaa, scheduled for the UFC 256 undercard, has been cancelled after the latter tested positive for COVID-19. News of this bout’s cancellation—the 11th fight cancellation this card has experienced— was first reported by MMA Junkie.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

Multiple combat sports promotions are reportedly interested in signing former UFC middleweight title challenger, Yoel Romero. The UFC has recently cut a number of high-profile fighters, and none came as more of a surprise than Romero, who received his walking papers last week.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

Kevin Lee is hoping to lure unbeaten UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov out of his recently announced retirement. Nurmagomedov, who is 29-0 as a pro, announced his retirement after defeating Justin Gaethje by submission in the main event of UFC 254 in September.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

The war of words between former UFC bantamweight champions Cody Garbrandt and Henry Cejudo isn’t showing any signs of stopping. Garbrandt and Cejudo began going at it on social media after reigning UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, who will return to the cage against Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC 256 this Saturday, divulged that he’d prefer to fight Cejudo next, rather than Garbrandt.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira will be without his head coach Diego Lima for his UFC 256 bout this weekend against Tony Ferguson. Oliveira faces off against the toughest test of his career to date when he takes on Ferguson in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC 256 card. Oliveira is riding a seven-fight win streak into this bout with all of those wins coming by stoppage. During his win streak, Oliveira has won five fights with his trademark submissions, but he has also won two fights by knockout, which shows he is improving in his standup. One of the people who he credits for his improvements is his coach at Chute Boxe, Lima. But he won’t have him at UFC 256.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier looks to be in fantastic shape ahead of his rematch with former two-division champ Conor McGregor. Poirier will collide with McGregor in the main event of UFC 257 on January 23 in Abu Dhabi. While Poirier is always in peak physical condition for his fights, this one seems to have him working particularly hard in the gym.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

Tony Ferguson says the thought of fighting for an undisputed UFC title feels a bit like a “wet dream.” Ferguson is slated to return to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 256 this Saturday, where he will take on streaking contender Charles Oliveira. The bout will mark his opportunity to rebound from a TKO loss to Justin Gaethje, which marked the end of an incredible, 12-fight win-streak.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2020

Matt Wiman has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts after a tough, knockout loss and his exit from the UFC roster. Wiman, 37, returned to action at UFC Vegas 16 last Saturday, when he found himself on the wrong end of a viral, slam-induced knockout in a fight with rising prospect Jordan Leavitt. The loss pushed him onto a three-fight losing-streak, and also marked the final obligation on his latest UFC contract. He did not sign a new deal with the promotion, and will instead be hanging up his gloves for good.

Harry Kettle - December 10, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori has voiced his concerns after Darren Till was promoted to No. 4 in the divisional rankings. Vettori was able to pick up the biggest win of his career so far this past weekend as he edged out Jack Hermansson with a strong decision win. The victory vaulted him into the top five at middleweight, situating him just behind his European counterpart.

Christopher Taylor - December 9, 2020

Former UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Cody Garbrandt got into a heated dispute after Deiveson Figueiredo suggested he wants ‘Triple C’ after UFC 256. During a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the reigning flyweight champion in Figueiredo said that he wanted to fight Cejudo after UFC 256 because he has “talked a lot of shit.”

Christopher Taylor - December 9, 2020

The athletic recovery coach of the Diaz bros, Jose Garcia, recently weighed in on the UFC’s release of Rachael Ostovich. The women’s flyweight fighter, Ostovich (4-6 MMA), endured her third consecutive setback at last months UFC Vegas 15 event, suffering a TKO loss to Gina Mazany.