MMA News
Manager: 'God bless whoever has to fight Tyron Woodley next'
Mike Heck - January 3, 2020
After losing the UFC welterweight title to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235, many began to question the motivation of Tyron Woodley. Was he taking on too much? Has he gone “too Hollywood”? Does he still want to fight? All of these questions have been asked by the MMA community. Those questions didn’t just make Woodley more motivated, it’s made him angry heading into 2020, according to his manager Abe Kawa.
Conor McGregor on Khabib rematch “He is trembling”
Mike Pendleton - January 3, 2020
Preparing for his return to the Octagon at UFC 246 later this month, Conor McGregor took questions on all things relative to his career on Thursday. Speaking to The Mac Life after a workout in Dublin, Ireland, McGregor spoke on several topics including a potential fight with Justin Gaethje, other possible opponents, and that he is ready to step-in as a replacement for the lightweight title fight at UFC 249, if need be.
Conor McGregor says Justin Gaethje could be next on his hit list
Adam Martin - January 3, 2020
UFC superstar Conor McGregor says that lightweight contender Justin Gaethje is on his hit list, and hinted that Gaethje could even be his next opponent. Gaethje has been going after McGregor for some time now in interviews and on social media. Gaethje doesn’t believe that the Irishman deserves to jump back into title contention at 155lbs considering his long layoff and the fact his fight against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 is at welterweight.
Conor McGregor interested in Masvidal, Usman and Covington fights
Tom Taylor - January 3, 2020
Conor McGregor is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 246 on January 18 in Las Vegas, where he’ll take on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Though both men have enjoyed some of their biggest successes in the lightweight division, this fight will occur at welterweight. The moment it was announced that this fight will go down in the welterweight division, fans began to speculate what McGregor might be plotting. Could he be gunning for recent BMF champ Jorge Masvidal? Could he have his eyes on UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman?
Conor McGregor confirms that he'll be ready to replace Nurmagomedov or Ferguson at UFC 249
Tom Taylor - January 3, 2020
Conor McGregor plans to be ready to step in should Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson withdraw from the UFC 249 main event, scheduled for April 18. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been booked to fight four times previous to no avail. While the entire combat sports world is hoping this fifth time will be the charm, there is understandably some pessimism and superstition surrounding the matchup. McGregor shares in those feelings, and is actually expecting one of the two men to withdraw from the fight once again.
Chael Sonnen: Jon Jones claiming to be '230 with a six-pack' is 'beyond peculiar'
Tom Taylor - January 3, 2020
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his UFC 247 title fight with Dominick Reyes, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones divulged that he’s now living with his nutritionist, and that he’s packed on a bit of extra size. “Right now, I’m living with my nutritionist and I’ve built a home gym in my garage and I feel really, really good right now,” Jones said. “I’m 230 with a six-pack.”
Justin Gaethje open to filling in for Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson
Mike Pendleton - January 3, 2020
The UFC 249 main event is scheduled to be a lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and challenger Tony Ferguson, a fight that the UFC is trying to book for a fifth time. While the fight has both high stakes and rewards, in what some are calling the most important fight in UFC history, not everyone is completely optimistic that it’ll actually happen. Lightweight star Justin Gaethje certainly isn’t abundantly confident. Gaethje is one of the UFC’s top-ranked lightweights, but doesn’t have a fight scheduled in the near future. While he wouldn’t fully commit to being a replacement fill-in if one was needed for Khabib vs. Ferguson at UFC 249.
Petr Yan says it's 'obvious' Henry Cejudo is ducking him
Adam Martin - January 3, 2020
Top contender Petr Yan says that it’s obvious UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is ducking him and has no interest in fighting him anytime soon. Cejudo knocked out Urijah Faber at UFC 245 for his biggest win to date. On the same card, Marlon Moraes defeated Jose Aldo via split decision. However, the decision was extremely controversial, with UFC president Dana White saying that he thought Aldo won. Cejudo also thought Aldo won and is chasing a fight with the Brazilian legend despite the fact he is riding a two-fight losing skid at the moment.
Dana White reveals "likely" backup plan for McGregor vs. Cerrone at UFC 246
Chris Taylor - January 3, 2020
Dana White has a backup plan for UFC 246, this if something were to happen to either Conor McGregor or Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. McGregor and Cerrone are set to collide in the headliner of next weekend’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.
Donald Cerrone thanks Conor McGregor for suggesting fight occur at 170
Tom Taylor - January 3, 2020
Donald Cerrone was initially expecting to fight Conor McGregor in the 155-pound lightweight division. But then, McGregor suggested they both forgo the weight cut and fight in the 170-pound welterweight division. Cerrone was all for it, and actually offers McGregor his thanks for the suggestion.
Justin Gaethje makes prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
Mike Pendleton - January 3, 2020
As he waits to find out what’s next for him in the lightweight division, Justin Gaethje had an interesting take about the UFC 246 main event fight between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone taking place later this month. After responding to claims from Dana White that he has been turning down fights on “MMA Tonight” on Sirius XM, Gaethje was asked his opinion on the upcoming fight between McGregor and Cerrone and didn’t hold back on his prediction.
Geoff Neal knew head kick would be there against Mike Perry, eyes anyone ranked above him
Cole Shelton - January 3, 2020
Geoff Neal picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC 245 when he knocked out Mike Perry in the first round. He was also the first person to knock out the fan favorite out in MMA. Neal was confident he would earn a finish but was surprised it happened so soon into the fight.
Report | RIZIN 20 does worst New Years Eve ratings in promotional history
Harry Kettle - January 3, 2020
RIZIN 20 was viewed as an objectively fun show by many of the fans that tuned in to watch, and with reports suggesting that all 26,000 available seats were sold out at the Saitama Super Arena for the New Year’s Eve spectacular. Alas, while it may have been a spectacular set of fights for the fans to enjoy, it doesn’t appear as if they were able to translate that into a successful night in terms of viewership ratings.
Darren Till makes prediction for Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
Tom Taylor - January 3, 2020
UFC middleweight contender Darren Till, like most of the MMA community, is very excited for the upcoming welterweight showdown between Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Till, who holds a knockout win over Cerrone and has previously called for a fight with McGregor, weighed in on the matchup on Twitter. He encouraged Cerrone and his team not to sleep on McGregor — having heard Cerrone’s coach claim that McGregor has nothing more to offer than a good left hand — and went on to predict McGregor will win early.
RIZIN champ Seo Hee Ham claims management has been embezzling money
Tom Taylor - January 3, 2020
UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham, who is currently the RIZIN atomweight champion, claims she’s the victim of embezzlement. Ham put forth this allegation on her Instagram account, claiming that manager Hidekatsu Morooka and with his wife have been embezzling money from her since the early days of her career. In that time, she alleges they’ve stolen more than $26,000 from her.
Dana White previews the next decade for the UFC
Harry Kettle - January 3, 2020
A brand new year and a brand new decade has begun for us all, and given the manner in which Dana White and the UFC are about to start the year, it’s understandable that there’s quite a bit of excitement in the air amongst fans and media members alike. A whole host of stars including Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov & Joanna Jędrzejczyk are already booked to compete between now and April, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Conor McGregor responds after Donald Cerrone's coach suggests "He just has a left hand"
Chris Taylor - January 2, 2020
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon at UFC 246 for a welterweight bout with Donald Cerrone. UFC 246 takes place January 18 live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
USADA refutes report that Paulo Costa is the most drug tested fighter in UFC
Chris Taylor - January 2, 2020
According to a recent report from Yahoo Esportes, top ranked UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa was the most drug tested fighter by USADA in the 2019 calendar year. The Brazilian knockout artist, Costa, was very happy with this news and even took to Instagram to celebrate the moral victory with the following announcement.