MMA News

Adam Martin - July 2, 2020

The full betting odds have been released for UFC 251: Usman vs. Burns, the first event from the promotion scheduled to take place on UFC Fight Island. UFC 251 takes place on Saturday, July 11 at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The main event sees UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman put his belt on the line against No. 1 contender Gilbert Burns, while the co-main event is a rematch between UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

Conor McGregor has responded to a comment from top lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, who he defeated by knockout in a 2014 featherweight fight. Speaking to ESPN this week, Poirier explained that his loss to McGregor helped him grow and mature as a fighter.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

Colby Covington is interested in a winner take all fight with his former friend and training partner Jorge Masvidal. Covington and Masvidal spent many years as stablemates at American Top Team in Florida, but as the pair reached the top of the UFC welterweight division, they relationship began to fray. Today, they’re two of the fiercest rivals in MMA.

Adam Martin - July 2, 2020

Alexandre Pantoja will be the backup fighter for when Deiveson Figueiredo meets Joseph Benavidez in a rematch for the vacant flyweight belt on Fight Island. Just in case something happens to either Figueiredo or to Benavidez, the UFC has now tabbed a backup fighter just in case a disaster scenario happens. That person will be Pantoja, the No. 4 ranked flyweight on the UFC roster. According to AG Fight, Pantoja will serve as the backup for the main event between Figueiredo and Benavidez. Pantoja is already scheduled to compete on the same Fight Island card against Askar Askarov, but he will fill in for the vacant title fight in case either fighter has to withdraw from the bout.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier says a 2014 knockout loss to Conor McGregor had a significant affect on his evolution as a fighter. Speaking to ESPN this week, Poirier explained how his mentality changed and matured after his loss to McGregor.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder will be on commentary duty for all four UFC events on Fight Island—Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Felder revealed his frantic Fight Island schedule in an interview with MMA Junkie.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren has some financial advice for his fellow fighters. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Askren, who recently retired from competition after a 1-2 stretch in the UFC, emphasized the importance of saving, investing, and creating secondary sources of income for fighters.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier is known for his fan-friendly style, having been involved in wars with Eddie Alvarez, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and most recently Dan Hooker. However, the ever entertaining lightweight is wary of the physical toll his fighting career could be taking. Poirier, a husband and father, recently told ESPN that he wants to avoid repeated wars like his fight with Hooker, as he wants to maintain his health for himself and his loved ones.

Harry Kettle - July 2, 2020

The Verge is reporting that the monthly price of the ESPN+ service will be increasing for subscribers starting in August. The deal between UFC and ESPN was first reported more than two years ago back in May 2018, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s official relationship with them commencing in January 2019. Since then, the events broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+ have seen some huge moments take place from big knockouts to title fights and beyond.

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2020

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier will be needing some time off following his grueling five round war with Dan Hooker. Poirier and Hooker squared off in the headliner of last weekend’s UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas and produced one of the greatest fights of all time. The lightweight standouts traded strikes at an absolutely insane pace for twenty-five straight minutes leaving the judges in attendance with a tough decision. In the end, it was ‘The Diamond’ who received the nod from the judges, walking away with a unanimous decision victory.

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2020

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas does not believe that Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk should take home “fight of the year” honors. Zhang (21-1 MMA) put her title on the line against former division queen Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA) in the co-headliner of March’s UFC 248 pay-per-view event. The result was one of the greatest fights in the history of not only women’s MMA, but mixed martial arts in general.

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2020

Dana White was not joking when he said that August of 2020 would showcase an “insane” amount of fights including UFC 252: ‘Miocic vs. Cormier 3’. On Wednesday afternoon, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) approved a total of nine dates for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to host events for the month of August.

Adam Martin - July 1, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem says he’s going on “one more title run” after knocking out Walt Harris in his last fight at UFC on ESPN 8. At age 40, Overeem proved he’s still at the top of his game with the spectacular victory over Harris back in May. One of the greatest heavyweights of all time, Overeem has won three of his last four fights via knockout, with other recent stoppage victories over Aleksei Oleinik and Sergey Pavlovich. His lone loss in his last four outings came via KO to Jairzinho Rozenstruik with just four seconds left in the fifth round of a fight that he was dominating.

Adam Martin - July 1, 2020

Ahead of his vacant bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 251, relive Jose Aldo finishing an opponent with soccer kicks in a throwback fight. Aldo is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history and he will soon get the chance to become one of the rare two-division champs in UFC history when he takes on Yan at UFC 251 on Fight Island. Aldo, of course, was the long-time WEC and UFC featherweight champion, and he will now look to add the bantamweight title to his mantle.

Adam Martin - July 1, 2020

Fresh off a Fight of the Year candidate versus Dustin Poirier, lightweight contender Dan Hooker is eyeing fights against Tony Ferguson and Charles Oliveira. Hooker and Poirier went toe-to-toe for 25 minutes in the main event of last weekend’s UFC on ESPN 12 event in what many are calling one of the best fights of the year. Although Hooker lost a unanimous decision at the end of the five rounds, his stock went through the roof after hanging in there for the full 25 minutes and giving Poirier everything he had.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2020

Coach Eugene Bareman, the head coach behind UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, recently addressed rumors that Adesanya will coach the next season of The Ultimate Fighter against top middleweight contender Paulo Costa. Adesanya and Costa have long been linked to a middleweight title fight, but the bout has not yet been made official. UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently divulged that he heard the plan was to have Adesanya and Costa coach TUF, which would require additional negotiations—hence the delay. That comment from Rogan caused widespread speculation that an Adesanya vs. Costa TUF season is indeed the plan.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2020

Surinamese heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik is interested in a future rematch with his last opponent, Francis Ngannou. Rozenstruik and Ngannou collided on the main card of UFC 249 back in March. The fight ended up going disastrously for Rozenstruik, who was knocked senseless in just 11 seconds by his destructive foe.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker believes he’s better than Darren Till across the board. Whittaker and Till are set to collide on July 25 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the setting of the UFC’s much discussed Fight Island.