MMA News

Cole Shelton - August 9, 2021

TJ Dillashaw will only be out three months after having knee surgery. In Dillashaw’s return fight against Cory Sandhagen, he appeared to hurt his knee in the first round. It threw off his footwork but he still hung in the fight and ended up winning a split decision. However, Dillashaw knew his knee was injured and on Thursday underwent successful surgery.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Nate Diaz continued to mock his UFC rival Conor McGregor while also suggesting that he will show the Irishman how to beat Dustin Poirier. Diaz took to his social media on Monday afternoon to make two tweets mocking both McGregor and Poirier while suggesting he knows what it takes to defeat “The Diamond.”

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

UFC president Dana White gushed over new champion Ciryl Gane, calling him “a big, powerful, badass heavyweight who moves like a middleweight.” Gane finished Derrick Lewis in the third round of their UFC 265 main event this past Saturday night in Houston, Texas. It was a dominant performance by the Frenchman, who moved to a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career, including a 7-0 mark in the UFC alone, with the win over Lewis. It was the biggest victory of Gane’s career to date and it earned him the interim heavyweight title, and a fight against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is uninterested in fighting Stipe Miocic for his heavyweight debut, according to his coach. Jones is set to move up to the UFC heavyweight division for his next fight, and UFC president Dana White recently confirmed the promotion had offered the fight to Miocic, who accepted it. However, White later said that Jones will not be fighting until 2022, which indicates that he is not interested in fighting Miocic at this time. With UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou set to unify his belt against interim champion Ciryl Gane first, Jones will likely be waiting for the winner, and his coach Mike Winkeljohn confirmed as much. According to his longtime coach, Miocic is not viewed as a challenge for Jones.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan will return to the Octagon at UFC 268 when he faces off with rising contender Nassourdine Imavov. La Sueur first broke the news that Shahbazyan vs. Imavov is on tap for UFC 268, which is scheduled to take place on November 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. With the card already featuring a main event rematch between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and rival Colby Covington, the UFC continues to stack the deck for the promotion’s return to “The Big Apple.” With the addition of Shahbazyan vs. Imavov, this fight makes the undercard even stronger as this should be a very exciting matchup.

Cole Shelton - August 9, 2021

In the main event of UFC 265, the interim heavyweight title was up for grabs as Ciryl Gane took on Derrick Lewis. Gane entered the fight with a perfect 9-0 record and only turned pro back in August of 2018. The Frenchman signed to the UFC at 3-0 and has looked unstoppable. Lewis, meanwhile, was riding a four-fight winning streak and was coming off a KO win over Curtis Blaydes.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Heavyweight Junior dos Santos is disappointed by the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Johnson fight booking, saying that “I don’t understand why.” Emelianenko is set to return to the Bellator cage this October in Moscow, Russia, and when the news first broke that “The Last Emperor” was going to fight again, immediately big names like dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, and even Jake Hager all threw their names in the hat to get the chance to face off with the legend. However, Bellator decided to choose Johnson instead, and that disappointed dos Santos.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Former UFC women’s star Paige VanZant is in a “must-win situation” for her next fight in BKFC, confirmed promoter David Feldman. After leaving the UFC last year, VanZant made the surprise decision to sign with BKFC and made her debut in bare-knuckle fighting. Most fans figured that if she was going to leave the UFC, that she would follow her husband, middleweight Austin Vanderford, to Bellator. Instead, PVZ made the surprise decision to sign with BKFC, and things haven’t gone well.

Adam D Martin - August 9, 2021

Interim UFC heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane says he is thrilled after putting on a “masterclass” performance against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. Gane knocked out Lewis in the third round with strikes to earn the interim heavyweight title in dominant fashion. The Frenchman controlled nearly every minute the fight lasted as he was able to manage his range and distance against the KO artist Lewis, and then knock his opponent out in the third to take home the interim strap. It was another incredible showing by Gane, who improved to 10-0 as a professional MMA fighter, including a 7-0 mark in the UFC alone. The win over Lewis was arguably the best Gane has ever looked.

Harry Kettle - August 9, 2021

Sean O’Malley has claimed that a drunk Luke Rockhold mocked him during a recent interaction with O’Malley’s father. There are many rising figures within the sport of mixed martial arts but you could argue few are as unique as Sean O’Malley. From his fight style to the manner in which he carries himself, he really does stand out amongst the pack at bantamweight.

Adam Martin - August 8, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev explained why he did not enjoy watching Khabib Nurmagomedov fight, saying that “I was never his fan.” Fiziev is one of the top strikers in the UFC lightweight division and he just put on a show against veteran Bobby Green at UFC 265. In a three-round war, Fiziev outpointed Green to take home the decision and improve to 4-1 in the UFC. The pair of fighters also took home $50,000 each for “Fight of the Night.” The talented Fiziev is quickly closing in on the top-15 of the UFC lightweight division and could potentially make an even bigger push should he be able to get a fight against one of the top dogs in the division. And even though he’s retired now, there’s no bigger fish in the sea than the former champion Nurmagomedov.

Adam Martin - August 8, 2021

Top-ranked welterweight title contender Vicente Luque reacted after submitting Michael Chiesa with a D’Arce choke at UFC 265. Luque was coming into this fight against Chiesa off of a D’Arce choke victory over Tyron Woodley in his last fight, and he went back to his signature move here against Chiesa at UFC 265. After Luque was able to thwart off an early rear-naked choke submission attempt by Chiesa, he then locked him up with the D’Arce choke for the victory. It was the fourth win in a row for “The Silent Assassin,” and his 10th win in his last 11 fights inside the Octagon. With the victory over Chiesa, Luque improved to 14-3 in the UFC with 13 finishes.

Adam D Martin - August 8, 2021

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo called out TJ Dillashaw for a No. 1 contender fight in the bantamweight division in December. Aldo defeated Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 265. It was the legend’s second straight win following a unanimous decision victory over Marlon Vera in his last outing. After being left for dead by many fans following a three-fight win streak that culminated in a brutal TKO loss to former champion Petr Yan last summer, “Junior” has bounced back in a big way and is looking like a championship-quality fighter once again. Only this time, the championship belt he is chasing is in the 135lbs division.

Adam Martin - August 8, 2021

Top-ranked UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says that he will never fight his “brother” Vicente Luque inside the Octagon. Burns defeated Stephen Thompson last month at UFC 264 to solidify his spot in the top-five at 170lbs, while Luque submitted Michael Chiesa at UFC 265 to announce that he is a top contender, too. Naturally, with both Burns and Luque coming off of big wins and being ranked in the top-five of the stacked UFC welterweight division, there are some fans who would like to see this matchup next. However, with Burns and Luque being good friends and training partners, “Durinho” says he will never fight against “The Silent Assassin.”

Adam Martin - August 8, 2021

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou said that Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis were fighting for the No. 2 contender spot at UFC 265. Ngannou is the UFC heavyweight champion and he was initially unhappy that Dana White booked this interim title fight between Gane and Lewis for UFC 265 given that he just beat Stipe Miocic back in March to win the title. In any case, Ngannou knows that the winner of Gane vs. Lewis will be next up for the belt, and so he watched the fight on Saturday night. Before the fight started, he shared a video where he made the joke that Gane and Lewis were fighting not for a real UFC belt, but rather for the No. 2 contender spot in the UFC heavyweight rankings, since Miocic is still technically the No. 1 contender in the division.

Adam Martin - August 8, 2021

UFC president Dana White says that he has “abandoned all hope” of former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov ever fighting in the UFC again. Nurmagomedov first made mention of wanting to retire last October after he finished Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. At the time, Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap had just passed away due to complications from COVID-19, and so White told the champ to take a few months off before making any final decision about his future. However, Nurmagomedov decided that he was at peace with his career and made the call to walk away in his prime with a perfect 29-0 record in MMA. But because he is still in his early 30s and has never lost, White has been holding out hope that he would change his mind about his retirement.

Adam D Martin - August 8, 2021

The betting odds have been revealed for the proposed Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane UFC heavyweight title unification bout. Gane defeated Derrick Lewis via third-round TKO to become the new UFC interim heavyweight champion, giving him the next crack at the champ Ngannou. With Gane vs. Ngannou now lined up for their title unification bout, the oddsmakers were quick to release an opening line for the fight. Take a look at the opening odds from BetOnline, which features this heavyweight title bout between Ngannou and Gane opening as a Pick ’em.

Adam D Martin - August 8, 2021

Newly-minted world titleholder Ciryl Gane reacted after knocking out Derrick Lewis to win the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265. Gane stopped Lewis with strikes in the third round of their heavyweight title fight that served as the main event of UFC 265. The Frenchman absolutely dominated Lewis in the fight from bell to bell as he utilized superior striking technique to piece apart “The Black Beast” and then score the finish in the third round with strikes. The win improved the UFC record of “Bon Gamin” to a perfect 7-0 and he’s 10-0 overall in mixed martial arts. At this point, Gane looks like he can give a really tough test to UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, and the two former teammates seem destined for a future title unification bout.