MMA News

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson says that he wished Dana White tried harder to sign him to the UFC when he was shopping around. Following his impressive performance at the Tokyo Olympic games, Steveson was pursued by several companies including the UFC and the WWE, where he eventually signed. However, while speaking to The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani, Steveson admitted that he was hoping White would have tried harder to sign him. Although Steveson is happy to join the WWE, he still wanted to see White make a stronger pitch to bring him to the UFC.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

A boxing match pitting Anderson Silva vs. Floyd Mayweather is the fight to make, suggested Silva’s longtime boxing coach Luiz Dorea. Silva is coming off of a first-round KO win over Tito Ortiz, this coming after a split decision win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. For his next fight, Silva has been connected to a number of potential opponents, including the Paul brothers. But as far as Silva’s coach Dorea goes, the fight to make isn’t Silva vs. Paul, but instead, the fight to make is Silva vs. Mayweather, as the coach told AG Fight in a new interview regarding his pupil Silva.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

MMA legend Demetrious Johnson praised his former UFC flyweight division rival Joseph Benavidez following his recent retirement announcement. Benavidez announced earlier this week that he is stepping away from MMA at age 37 and retiring. Since he announced that he is stepping away from the game, there have been a number of fellow fighters who have taken to social media to express their gratitude towards Benavidez, who was one of the best UFC fighters not to hold a belt over the past decade. One of those fighters who took to his social media to praise his former opponent is Johnson, who competed in a pair of memorable fights with Benavidez several years ago.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is being targeted for January. Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision back in June at UFC 263, and the hope was that the UFC would be able to get the middleweight champ back in the cage one more time before 2021 was up. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel and quarantine rules for fighters in Australia and New Zealand, it has become difficult for the UFC to get this fight booked. In fact, as White told The Daily Telegraph in a recent interview, he is now targeting the Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 fight to take place next year.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2021

UFC fighter Sean O’Malley has voiced his criticism over transgender Alana McLaughlin competing in women’s MMA. This topic has been a source of great controversy over the course of the last few weeks ever since McLaughlin made her professional mixed martial arts debut for Combate Global. After a back and forth encounter McLaughlin managed to secure the win, beginning a conversation about whether or not she should have been permitted to compete in the first place.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2021

Anthony Smith believes that the current crop of UFC light heavyweights have pretty much caught up to 205-pound great Jon Jones. While “Lionheart” may have failed in his attempt to capture the strap from Jones two years ago, he’s still managed to shine through ever since as a big fan favourite in the division. From his personality to his fight style, it’s hard not to enjoy what Anthony Smith does for the UFC.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Michael Bisping believes Conor McGregor was “out of his mind on the pain pills” during his altercation with Machine Gun Kelly at the VMA’s. McGregor (22-6 MMA) was involved in a scuffle with the multi-platinum recording artist at last weekend’s MTV Music Awards. While the altercation did not result in anything serious, it was another incident that had some fans alarmed.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is set to make his return to the Octagon at next weekend’s UFC 266 event opposite Nick Diaz. Lawler and Diaz initially collided seventeen years ago at UFC 47, with the Stockton prospect emerging victorious by way of second round knockout. Since then both men have gone on to have extremely successful MMA careers.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Dan Hooker is in jeopardy of having his UFC 266 fight canceled and has made a desperate plea to US Ambassador Kevin Covert for help. Hooker (20-10 MMA) is scheduled to fight Nasrat Haqparast (13-3 MMA) at UFC 266 in Las Vegas. However, ‘The Hangman’ recently discovered that his travel visa will not be ready until next week, a delay which would result in his upcoming fight being scratched.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2021

Jose Aldo isn’t interested in fighting Dominick Cruz next. After Aldo beat Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265 many fans called for him to fight ‘The Dominator’. Both men were champions in WEC and the UFC and it easily could’ve been a ‘champ vs. champ’ super-fight, but it never happened. Now, as both fighters are competing at bantamweight the possibility remains, but for Aldo, he isn’t interested in the scrap.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2021

Carlos Condit has retired from MMA. Condit is 37-years-old and lost his last fight and now sources told MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Condit was retiring. The former UFC interim welterweight champion’s manager, Malki Kawa confirmed the news to MMAFighting. The JacksonWink MMA fighter has yet to formally announce his retirement

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns accused Leon Edwards of ducking Jorge Masvidal, telling him on social media that “you are scared!” Edwards took to his Twitter this week to announce that he will not fight Masvidal next, and instead, he confirmed that he will wait to fight the winner of UFC 268’s main event welterweight title fight rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. That is leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of one of the division’s top contenders in Burns. The Brazilian took to his social media following Edwards’ proclamation that he will not fight Masvidal to suggest that the Brit is scared of facing “Gamebred” inside the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight fighter Luke Sanders announced retirement from MMA after being recently released by the UFC. Sanders was in the UFC between 2016 and 2021, racking up a 3-5 record during that time with his wins coming against Renan Barao, Maximo Blanco, and Patrick Williams. However, after Sanders lost his last two fights in a row against Felipe Colares and Nate Maness, the UFC decided to release the 35-year-old veteran after his contract expired. Just a few months after the UFC decided to move on from Sanders, he has officially decided to hang up his gloves. “Cool Hand” took to his Instagram this week to officially confirm the news.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2021

Yoel Romero was close to boxing Jake Paul but the YouTuber’s team didn’t want it. When Romero was released from the UFC, he was looking at options and one fight that was offered was to box Paul. At the time, Paul just knocked out Nate Robinson and was looking to fight a real fighter, yet when Romero showed interest in the bout, Paul and his team decided to cancel the fight and went with Ben Askren instead.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno reacted following the promotion’s recent announcement of the Deiveson Figueiredo trilogy fight. Moreno and Figueiredo have been involved in a pair of memorable fights over the past year. The two flyweight rivals first met in the main event of UFC 256 last December, with Moreno and Figueiredo fighting to a majority draw after a point was deducted to the champ Figueiredo due to a low blow. The two then rematched at UFC 263 in June, with Moreno submitting Figueiredo in the third round with a rear-naked choke in order to put some closure to their rivalry. However, Figueiredo has made it clear in the last few months that he wants the trilogy fight with Moreno. While Moreno initially said no to it and was expected to fight Alexandre Pantoja, the UFC decided to book Figueiredo to get the title fight at UFC 269 in December. With the fight now official, check out Moreno’s reaction.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje blasted “quitter” Charles Oliveira ahead of the Dustin Poirier title fight at UFC 269. Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to become the new UFC lightweight champion, and he will put his belt on the line against Poirier at UFC 269 in December. Gaethje has been critical of Oliveira since he won the belt, as he didn’t believe that Michael Chandler should have been the one fighting for the vacant belt. With Gaethje now fighting Chandler at UFC 268, a win there could very well earn him a title shot against the winner of the Oliveira vs. Poirier fight. And if you ask Gaethje, that will be Poirier getting the win.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight contender Yoel Romero says that he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Bernard Hopkins and fight into his 50s. Hopkins last competed in 2016 when he was 51 years old, and Romero hopes to follow in his footsteps. Now 44 years old, Romero will be making his debut for Bellator this Saturday night when he takes on fellow former UFC fighter Phil Davis. Romero has not fought in over a year since a loss to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and given that he is already 44 and has battled health problems that delayed his Bellator debut, one would think that he maybe doesn’t have much time left in this sport. However, as far as Romero goes, he still has several good years left in him. In fact, he believes he can fight in his 50s.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC flyweight contender Deiveson Figueiredo paid tribute to former opponent Joseph Benavidez following his retirement from MMA. Figueiredo and Benavidez fought twice in 2020, with Figueiredo winning both of the fights. In the first fight in February 2020, Figueiredo knocked Benavidez out with punches after a headbutt led to the finish. In addition, Figueiredo had missed weight for that fight and was not able to win the title. The UFC then re-booked the rematch due to the controversial ending, but this time around, the Brazilian proved he was the better fighter with a dominant first-round submission win. It was in the second fight that Figueiredo won the vacant flyweight belt. Overall, the pair had a very memorable pair of UFC title fights.