MMA News

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

In response to the talk of a Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match where he too called out Paul, Phil Baroni came out to claim an old employer fixed Askren’s fights as well as one of his own. Baroni, 16-19, has enjoyed a fruitful 19-year MMA career that has seen him compete around the world. Most notably fans will remember him for his runs with the UFC from 2001 to 2005 followed by his time in PRIDE FC.

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

Since moving to ESPN from Fox, UFC events have primarily been watchable via the ESPN+ streaming service. That won’t be the case to start in 2021. According to MMA Junkie, the UFC’s January 16 Fight Night event will air on the ABC network instead of any ESPN channels or the ESPN+ streaming service. No reason for why this is happening was given. But speculation has already begun surrounding exactly what the reasons could be.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington claims that Jorge Masvidal won’t sign the UFC’s contract to fight him due to a “bad style matchup.” Covington and Masvidal were former teammates and friends at American Top Team, but they are heated rivals these days. With both men gunning for a title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, they will likely have to go through one another in order to get another crack at Usman and his belt. There have been whispers that the UFC would like to match up Covington and Masvidal for early 2021 and possibly have them serve as coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter,” but so far, the fight has not been booked.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington says that former teammate Dustin Poirier is “gonna be crying” after he loses to Conor McGregor. Covington and Poirier were former teammates at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and there is no love lost between these two and they truly do not like each other. Both Covington and Poirier have had negative comments to say about one another over the last year, and with Covington no longer a member of ATT, the trolling hasn’t stopped. With Poirier set for one of the biggest fights of his career next month when he takes on McGregor in the main event of UFC 257, Covington continued to take shots at Poirier.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Jake Paul hasn’t been shy on calling fighters out, and fighters haven’t been shy calling him out. On Tuesday, it was revealed Paul would be boxing Ben Askren in March in a very intriguing bout. It is the first time the 23-year-old YouTuber will be facing a real fighter but he got some backlash for fighting Askren who is considered a wrestler.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Christos Giagos thought he wouldn’t get a fight in 2020. Giagos lost a close decision to Drakkar Klose at UFC 241 and since then, he was looking to fight. He was expected to fight in April but due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Since then, he was bugging his manager for a fight, and out of blue, last Wednesday, he got a fight offer to fight on three days’ notice against Carlton Minus and took it.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has decided to take his talents over to PFL, signing with the promotion as a free agent. Pettis announced on Tuesday that he had parted ways with the UFC and was going to test free agency. Pettis recently mentioned that his brother Sergio Pettis is in Bellator, so many fans and media figured that he might sign there, too. However, Pettis has now joined the likes of former UFC champions Fabricio Werdum and Rory MacDonald in signing with PFL. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported the breaking news about Pettis on Wednesday.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz, now a city councilman in Huntington Beach, California, was recently involved in a heated confrontation with one of his constituents. It’s not entirely clear what led to this incident, but tempers flared quite quickly. While the Huntington Beach citizen in question was undoubtedly pushing Ortiz’s buttons, the former UFC champ also didn’t respond in the way you’d expect from an elected official.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after Saturday’s UFC Vegas 17 card, and there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, Rob Font has taken a huge climb of the bantamweight list after dominating former title challenger Marlon Moraes on the main card. In defeat, Moraes has tumbled down the list.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan sent a message to top-ranked contender Aljamain Sterling, telling his rival that he will see him soon. Yan and Sterling were supposed to fight at UFC 256 earlier this month but the bout fight apart and was rescheduled for early 2021. There is no confirmed date for the re-booking as of yet, but it could happen somewhere in between February and April based on the UFC’s upcoming schedule. With the fight still in the works, both Yan and Sterling continue to trade jabs with each other on social media. After seeing that Sterling had a successful wrestling match, Yan took to his Twitter to congratulate him and also send a message.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul is not shy when it comes to trash talking the stars of the mixed martial arts world. On Wednesday, Paul took to his social media channels with a video that featured impersonations of UFC stars Nick and Nate Diaz, Bellator MMA star Dillon Danis, former two division UFC champ Conor McGregor, UFC President Dana White, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, and former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Megan Olivi, a long-time commentator and reporter for the UFC, says running for mayor in her home of Las Vegas is on her bucket list. Olivi revealed this ambition during an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. 

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has emphatically shut down rumors that he’s been released by the promotion. The rumors began on Wednesday morning, after Woodley allegedly posted on Snapchat about being released from the UFC.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos did not appreciate a recent comment from MMA superstar Conor McGregor. Earlier this week, McGregor took to Twitter to congratulate the UFC on a successful year. In his Tweet, McGregor claimed that his January fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view of the year. He also gave Cerrone props for tapping Rafael dos Anjos at last Sunday’s Submission Underground 19 card.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren says to “bet the house” after opening up as the betting underdog to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Askren confirmed on Tuesday to BJPenn.com that he has accepted a boxing match with Paul that is scheduled to take place on March 28 in Los Angeles. Askren later took to his social media to release a video explaining why he accepted Paul’s callout, admitting he took the fight because he views it as easy money. Even though he’s a wrestler by trade and not a striker, Askren believes that he has the upper hand because he is a professional athlete who has competed at the highest levels of combat sports for nearly 20 years.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker believes he knows how a rumored boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul will go down. Askren claims that he’s in talks to fight Paul in March. While he previously reigned as the Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder and is a decorated wrestler, he’s never been much of a striker, and is widely expected to be at a disadvantage in a boxing match against the YouTube star turned pro boxer, Paul.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Coach Duke Roufus says former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is currently attempting to rekindle his motivation to compete. Woodley is widely considered one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, but he’s recently fallen on tough times. After defending the welterweight title against Darren Till in late 2018, he then lost the title to Kamaru Usman in 2019, before losing back-to-back decisions to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington this year.

Harry Kettle - December 23, 2020

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has received a potential six-month suspension in the wake of his win over Geoff Neal last weekend. Thompson was able to continue building momentum in the welterweight division with what turned out to be an incredibly comprehensive victory over rising star Geoff Neal. Now, the question turns to who he will fight next as his quest for a UFC title goes on.