MMA News

Dominick Cruz, UFC rankings
Justin Gaethje

UFC rankings update: Cruz returns to bantamweight top-15, Gaethje debuts on p4p list

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last weekend’s UFC 249 card, which marked the promotion’s return after a brief, pandemic-induced hiatus. These new UFC rankings feature some interesting changes. Most notably, former UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz, who came up short to the reigning champ Henry Cejudo in the co-main event, has returned to the bantamweight rankings.

Michelle Waterson
Michelle Waterson

Michelle Waterson issues statement after controversial loss to Carla Esparza

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle Waterson has issued a statement after her controversial decision loss to former UFC strawweight champ Carla Esparza at UFC 249. Waterson and Esparza battled for 15 minutes on the UFC 249 undercard. While Esparza was awarded a decision win, many fans felt the judges got the verdict wrong.

Kamaru Usman, UFC 235
Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman reacts to Conor McGregor's welterweight plans

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman has responded to Conor McGregor teasing a future move to the welterweight division. McGregor unleashed a heated rant on Twitter on Monday, targeting multiple lightweight rivals in Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier. The Irish star wrapped this rant up by laying out plans for a move to welterweight once he’s conquered the lightweight division.

Aljamain Sterling
UFC

Aljamain Sterling calls for vacant UFC bantamweight title fight against Petr Yan

Adam Martin - May 12, 2020

With Henry Cejudo abruptly retiring from MMA, UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling is calling for a vacant title fight against Petr Yan. Cejudo shocked the MMA community when he announced after this TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 that he would be vacating the belt and retiring from the sport. Though the title being vacated is not official yet and White has held the door open to Cejudo potentially changing his mind, if he does indeed give his belt up then we would need a new fight to determine who the best in the world at 135lbs is.

UFC Jacksonville Poster
Glover Teixeira

UFC Jacksonville weigh-in results: Headliner on point, one fighter misses weight

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Days after UFC 249 concluded, the UFC is back in our lives with UFC Jacksonville, which goes down on Wednesday night in the Floridian city. UFC Jacksonville will be headlined by a light heavyweight duel between former title challengers Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira. Smith will enter the fight with a big win over Alexander Gustafsson in the rear-view, while Teixeira is riding wins over Karl Roberson, Ion Cutelaba and Nikita Krylov, so the winner of this fight should be well-positioned in the light heavyweight title picture.

Conor McGregor
UFC

Manager discusses options for Conor McGregor's next opponent

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has options for his next opponent, according to his manager Audie Attar. Attar discussed McGregor’s next move in a recent interview with MMA Junkie.

Donald Cerrone, UFC Vancouver
Donald Cowboy Cerrone

Donald Cerrone issues statement after UFC 249 loss: "I'm not going anywhere"

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Donald Cerrone has issued a statement after his competitive decision loss to Anthony Pettis at UFC 249 last Saturday. Cerrone performed well in the fight, which closed out the UFC 249 prelims, landing plenty of effective striking throughout. He was even ahead on some fans’ scorecards when the action concluded. In the end, however, Pettis was awarded a unanimous decision win, forcing Cerrone onto a tough, four-fight skid.

Mike Tyson, Wanderlei Silva
Mike Tyson

VIDEO | Mike Tyson releases terrifying new video ahead of boxing comeback

Natasha Hooper - May 12, 2020

“Iron” Mike Tyson proved that he still has iron fists in a frightening new video sharedahead of his possible boxing comeback. A former world heavyweight champion, Tyson has continued to tease boxing fans that he will be making a return to the ring.

Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov
Justin Gaethje

Betting odds released for potential Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje fight

Harry Kettle - May 12, 2020

Betonline.ag has released early odds for a potential Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje showdown following UFC 249 this past weekend. Gaethje now appears to be in line for a title shot against Khabib Nurmagomedov after capturing the Interim Lightweight Championship in Jacksonville, Florida following a dominant win over Tony Ferguson.

UFC-249-Poster
UFC 249

Report | UFC 249 draws big pay-per-view numbers amid pandemic

Natasha Hooper - May 12, 2020

In the face of adversity, UFC 249 turned out to be a pay-per-view success. The original UFC 249 event faced many challenges. The fight card was originally scheduled for April 18 before being pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was set to headline the main event against Tony Ferguson also withdrew over travel restrictions and his commitment to Ramadan. Also, middleweight star Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was dropped from the card after testing positive for COVID-19.

Nate Diaz
Khabib Nurmagomedov

Nate Diaz chimes in on Twitter feud between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Christopher Taylor - May 12, 2020

Nate Diaz has shared his thoughts on the recent online feud between bitter rivals Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The former two-division champion, McGregor, made headlines yesterday when he blasted numerous lightweights on social media. Among the victims of McGregor’s verbal assault were Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Tony Ferguson, Dana White, Justin Gaethje
UFC

UFC 249 salaries: Tony Ferguson banks $500,000, Justin Gaethje $350,000

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

The salaries have been released for UFC 249, and headliner Tony Ferguson topped the list with a $500,000 payday for this main event fight. According to the numbers obtained by MMA reporter Jed I. Goodman from the Florida State Boxing Commission, Ferguson was the highest-paid fighter at the event at $500,000, while his opponent Justin Gaethje earned $350,000. Co-headliner Henry Cejudo also earned $350,000 for his co-main event fight against Dominick Cruz, who earned $300,000 for his return bout at UFC 249.

Dominick Cruz
UFC

Dominick Cruz confirms he will fight again following loss at UFC 249

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2020

Dominick Cruz will fight again after his UFC 249 loss to Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight title. Cruz returned after a three and a half year layoff due to multiple injuries to get a chance to reclaim his title. Yet, he came up short as he suffered a controversial second-round TKO loss.

Alan Jouban comments on Georges St-Pierre
UFC

GSP shares his list of the best fighters in history

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

Georges St-Pierre was announced this week to be the latest addition to the UFC Hall of Fame, and now GSP has shared his list of the best MMA fighters ever. GSP was revealed at UFC 249 to be the latest entry in the UFC Hall of Fame after an amazing career that saw him capture both the UFC welterweight and middleweight titles. St-Pierre had a 20-2 record fighting in the Octagon and went undefeated between 2007 and 2017 while fighting the best fighters in the world at 170lbs and 185lbs.

Bellator

A.J. McKee sends message to Patricio Pitbull: "Let me get in there and whip your ass for this 145 pound belt"

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2020

A.J. McKee is not a fan of Patricio Pitbull. McKee and Pitbull are currently competing in the featherweight grand prix, where the undefeated contender in McKee predicts they will meet in the finals. Once there, McKee is confident he will not only beat the Brazilian, but finish him badly.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor
UFC

Khabib Nurmagomedov responds to Conor McGregor: "Don't be fake"

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov responded to Conor McGregor, telling him not to “be fake” attached to a photo of him getting choked out. McGregor went on a rant Monday on social media, targeting numerous fighters including Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier. The Russian champion Nurmagomedov saw the posts from McGregor and wasn’t happy about them. Later on during the day, Nurmagomedov took to Twitter and fired back at the Irishman.

Dustin Poirier, Fight Island
Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier responds to Conor McGregor Twitter rant

Natasha Hooper - May 11, 2020

Dustin Poirier has fired back at Conor McGregor for his post-UFC 249 Twitter rant. Justin Gaethje filled in as a short-notice replacement for lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 249 on May 9. Despite having a lack of time to prepare, “The Highlight” used his striking accuracy to seal the TKO victory against Ferguson in the fifth round.

Justin Gaethje
Henry Cejudo

What's next for the stars of UFC 249?

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2020

Dana White had been adamant the UFC would be the first sports organization back from the COVID-19 pandemic and he was right. UFC 249 went down this weekend, where the main event saw Tony Ferguson battle Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title. The co-main event saw Henry Cejudo look to defend his bantamweight belt against Dominick Cruz. In the end, it was Gaethje who pulled off the betting upset as he TKO’d Ferguson in the fifth round. The co-main also saw surprised many as Cejudo TKO’d Cruz in the second round and then proceeded to retire from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.