MMA News

Adam D Martin - May 17, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for two upcoming UFC fights, Darren Till vs. Derek Brunson and Jared Cannonier vs. Paulo Costa. The UFC recently revealed that Till vs. Brunson will headline the promotion’s Fight Night card on August 14, while Cannonier vs. Costa will headline a Fight Night card on August 21. With both fights coming up in just a few months from now, the oddsmakers were quick to get out the opening odds for both matchups. See the odds below (via BestFightOdds).

Adam D Martin - May 17, 2021

UFC lightweight superstar Conor McGregor announced the birth of his third child Rian in a social media post on Monday morning. McGregor and his fiancee Dee Devlin already have two children, four-year-old son Conor Junior and two-year-old daughter Croia. They have now welcomed their third child to the world as “Notorious” took to his Instagram to share a photo of his new son, Rian.

Adam D Martin - May 17, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Jiri Prochazka is in talks about being the backup fighter for the Jan Blachowicz vs. Glover Teixeira title fight. Prochazka is coming off of an incredible knockout win over Dominick Reyes at UFC Vegas 25 to emerge as one of the top light heavyweight contenders in the UFC. Next up, UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz battles Glover Teixeira at UFC 266 in September, we know that as much. But according to Prochazka, he is in talks with the UFC about potentially being the backup fighter for that fight just in case someone falls out of it.

Adam D Martin - May 17, 2021

UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze teased an upcoming fight announcement, saying that “I’m fighting one of the fighters I called out next.” Chikadze is coming off of the best win of his UFC career to date when he knocked out Cub Swanson a few weeks back at UFC Vegas 25. It was Chikadze’s sixth win in a row in the Octagon and his second straight win by a finish. Because he finished a quality veteran like Swanson, Chikadze jumped up big time in the UFC featherweight rankings as he is now a top-10 ranked fighter in the division. It wasn’t long after he beat Swanson that Chikadze began calling out some of the division’s top fighters for his next appearance in the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - May 17, 2021

Dana White reacted after Las Vegas goes mask off and life social distancing Rules, commending Florida and Texas for “leading the way.” The UFC president is a Las Vegas resident and he’s excited to get back home where he doesn’t have to wear a mask now and where social-distancing rules will be lifted. Taking to his social media on Sunday evening, White reacted to Las Vegas lifting its rules, while commending the states of Florida and Texas for leading the way about these changes.

Harry Kettle - May 17, 2021

Beneil Dariush has received a response from Tesla’s Elon Musk after an amusing callout at UFC 262 on Saturday night. Dariush enjoyed the biggest win of his career last weekend as he emphatically beat Tony Ferguson in a three-round battle down in Texas. It gives Dariush the boost he needs in the division, but it also leaves Ferguson with many questions regarding his future.

Adam D Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson issued a statement following his lopsided unanimous decision loss to Beneil Dariush at UFC 262. Ferguson was taken down at will and controlled on the ground by Dariush for nearly the entire 15 minutes of the fight. At age 37, “El Cucuy” appears to have lost a serious step in his MMA game. He has now lost three straight fights to Dariush, Charles Oliveira, and Justin Gaethje, and he lost every single round in all three of those fights. While it wasn’t that long ago that Ferguson was one of the best lightweights in the world, it appears as though he is on a decline and is no longer the championship-level fighter he once was.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC featherweight contender Shane Burgos issued a statement following his scary KO loss to Edson Barboza at UFC 262. Burgos and Barboza opened up the main pay-per-view card at UFC 262 and put on the “Fight of the Night” as the two 145lbers slugged it out for the two-plus rounds the fight lasted, earning $75,000 each in the process. It seemed like the fight was on its way to being a spirited three-round decision, but early in the third round, Barboza landed an overhand right that rocked Burgos and led to him having a delayed-reaction knockout. It was a scary sight to witness, but thankfully, it appears that Burgos is going to be okay.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

Tyson Fury has confirmed that his heavyweight boxing title match against Anthony Joshua will take place on August 14 in Saudi Arabia. Fury took to social media on Sunday to make the announcement official. Promoter Eddie Hearn had already hinted at the fight taking place on either August 7 or August 14, but ultimately they settled on August 14 as the date. The fight will take place in Saudi Arabia.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

Speaking to the media following UFC 262, president Dana White said that “nobody is going to force Jon Jones to fight” in the Octagon again. White and Jones have been involved in very public contract negotiations for a potential showdown with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Jones and Ngannou both want the fight, but Jones wants more than the promotion’s offer of $10 million, with suggestions that he could want $30 million for the fight. With White and the UFC not budging on their offer, the promotion went ahead and booked Ngannou against No. 1 contender Derrick Lewis. It leaves Jones on the sidelines once again, and while he could potentially fight the winner of Ngannou vs. Lewis 2, that’s not set in stone, either.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

Newly-crowned UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira slept with his belt the night after stopping Michael Chandler to win it at UFC 262. Oliveira knocked out Chandler in the second round of the UFC 262 headliner to become the promotion’s new champion at 155lbs. Oliveira has been in the UFC since 2010 so to win the title 11 years later after first making his organizational debut is quite an accomplishment. It’s proof that if you keep working hard and improve your game that anyone in this sport can become a champion. Finding the correct weight class also helps, as Oliveira has clearly been much more effective as a lightweight than he was while competing at featherweight.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC middleweight Chris Weidman provided a health update on his broken leg, saying “Pain is getting way more tolerable while standing.” Weidman broke his leg last month at UFC 261 when the first leg kick he threw against Uriah Hall was checked and resulted in Weidman’s right leg snapping in half. It was one of the most brutal injuries we have ever seen inside the Octagon and Weidman figures to have a long road to recovery from his ailment. “The All-American” has been regularly updating his fans on social media about the status of his leg, and on Sunday he posted a positive health update, where he also shared a picture of his good leg and his bad leg.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev reacted after Charles Oliveira defeating Michael Chandler at UFC 262, telling him “see you soon.” Oliveira pulled off an incredible win over Chandler at Saturday’s big UFC pay-per-view card when he was able to finish him with strikes in the second round for his ninth straight win. With UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring from the sport a few months back and giving up his title, Oliveira is now the undisputed champion at 155lbs. It’s an incredible accomplishment and he deserves to take some time off to enjoy the belt. But there are plenty of contenders who are eagerly waiting to fight him, including Makhachev.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz called out fellow MMA legend Chuck Liddell for a fourth fight between the two, saying “we need to run it back.” Ortiz and Liddell have previously met three times. The first two times, Liddell was able to finish Ortiz with strikes at the height of his career in the UFC. The third time, these two met three years ago in their late 40s and this time, Ortiz got the last laugh when he was able to knock Liddell out. The series is 2-1 for Liddell, but Ortiz wants to even it up.

Adam Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC middleweight Andre Muniz praised Ronaldo Souza after becoming the first man to submit him in MMA at UFC 262, saying “It was a privilege.” Muniz was the underdog heading into the fight on Saturday night against Souza, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, but he defied the odds and pulled off the upset when he snapped Souza’s arm with a nasty armbar at the end of the first round. This is the first time that Souza has ever been submitted in an MMA competition, and it came against a fighter with who many fans may not be familiar. But Muniz is a highly-decorated grappler in his own right, and the 31-year-old Brazilian was able to stop the 41-year-old Souza.

Adam D Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC middleweight Ronaldo Souza “in general, is fine” after having his arm broken by Andre Muniz in a nasty submission loss at UFC 262. The 41-year-old Souza was submitted for the very first time in his legendary MMA career when he was caught in an armbar by Muniz in the first round of their fight at UFC 262. Unfortunately for Souza, he was not able to tap in time and his arm broke. Mics picked up the sound of the bone actually breaking and overall it was one of the worst arm breaks we have seen in the UFC since Frank Mir broke Tim Sylvia’s arm all those years ago.

Adam D Martin - May 16, 2021

UFC featherweight veteran Edson Barboza reacted after odd his knockout win over Shane Burgos in what was the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 262. Barboza and Burgos went back-and-forth in an absolute war that saw both men sling heavy leather and nasty kicks at each other for as long as the fight lasted. After two competitive rounds, Barboza landed a right hand on Burgos in the third round. It didn’t appear to be a particularly hard shot, but almost immediately Burgos stumbled backwards as his brain shut off and he was knocked out by Barboza’s follow-up punches in the ground. It was a very odd knockout and very concerning for medical officials as Burgos was sent to the hospital following the fight for a CT scan, though apparently, he is feeling better already.

Cole Shelton - May 16, 2021

The UFC was back in front of a full capacity crowd on Saturday night in Houston, Texas for UFC 262. The card saw the vacant lightweight title up for grabs as Charles Oliveira took on Michael Chandler. Tony Ferguson also took on Beneil Dariush in a pivotal co-main event. The event, despite losing some big fights, ended up delivering as Oliveira rallied after being dropped in the first to TKO Chandler in the second to become the new champ. Dariush, meanwhile, used his grappling to dominate Ferguson and win a clear-cut 30-27.