MMA News

Thomas Taylor - April 9, 2019

This afternoon, news broke that TJ Dillashaw has been suspended for two years for his use of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), an “injectable only” drug. “I’m quite familiar with EPO from my days investigating professional cycling teams,” UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky told ESPN of EPO and how it is used. “It’s a very effective substance. It’s not a substance you find in contaminated supplements, it’s injectable only. You have to know what you’re doing when it enters your system.

Mike Pendleton - April 9, 2019

The UFC’s strawweight division has seen a fair share of new title contenders rise to the top of the division ever since Rose Namajunas dethroned former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in November 2017. While names like Tatiana Suarez, Nina Ansaroff, and Weili Zhang rising up the ranks and inching towards title contention, a veteran, Michelle Waterson, coming off the biggest win of her career, feels she deserves the next title shot and believes the timing is perfect for it.

Drake Riggs - April 9, 2019

The Summertime is always a big time of the year for the UFC as evidenced by the big events they put on with all of them culminating at the end of International Fight Week. This year, the end event of that will be UFC 239 on July 6. But before we get there, the promotion has to head through Chicago, Illinois for UFC 238. And with plenty of fantastic bouts already on the bill, it continues to get more as finalization looms.

Thomas Taylor - April 9, 2019

TJ Dillashaw has been suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for EPO in an in-competition drug test. Whether it’s coincidental or not, it’s worth noting that former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt accused Dillashaw of using this banned substance specifically almost one year ago.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019

When Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes stepped into the cage to battle for the ONE Bantamweight World Title at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan, the expectation was that their fight, no matter how it ended, would settle their long-time rivalry. Fernandes had won their first fight by submission. Belingon had won their second by decision. And there, under the bright lights of Ryōgoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, we finally had our tie-breaker. Much like their second fight, which occurred in November, this third fight looked like it would be a fun one from the get-go. First, Belingon rocked Fernandes. Then, Fernandes rocked Belingon. All signs pointed to a riveting, back-and-forth war.

Nolan King - April 9, 2019

Thirty-one-year-old welterweight Derrick Krantz has been competing in mixed martial arts longer than most. Last Friday night, Dana White validated all the blood, sweat, and tears Krantz has poured into the sport. After a short tenure as an amateur competitor, Krantz made the jump to the professional ranks in 2008. Battling the who’s who of welterweights on the Texas regional scene.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019

Dillon Danis has become one of the most polarizing fighters in MMA. While he has definitely elevated his station in the industry with his ceaseless trash talk and bravado, he also receives a ton of hate from the fans and his fellow fighters as a result. If there’s anybody who could mentor Danis on how to deal with this kind of backlash, it’s his friend and training parter Conor McGregor. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Dillon Danis explained that Conor McGregor has actually given him a few crucial pieces of advice to this end.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019

When Brock Lesnar relinquished his WWE title at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday night, one of the final hurdles between him and a title fight with UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier disappeared. Suddenly, it seems as though this long-discussed fight could happen quite soon. Daniel Cormier is certainly hoping that’s the way things shake out. The heavyweight champion explained why this fight needs to happen in a recent interview with TMZ Sports.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019

Late last week, RIZIN Fighting Federation boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara hinted at a deal with Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. Sakakibara suggested that Pacquiao’s dealings with RIZIN would be linked to the April 21 RIZIN 15 card, now less than two weeks away, so a fight seemed unlikely from the get-go.

James Lynch - April 9, 2019

Dillon Danis will not make his return to the Bellator cage quite as soon as we initially expected. Danis was originally scheduled to face Max Humphrey on May 11 on the Bellator 221 card in Chicago, however plans have changed. Instead, he will fight June 14 at Bellator NYC in New York against the same opponent in a 175-pound catchweight bout. The 25-year-old announced the switch up on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show Monday.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019

https://twitter.com/fight4yourrite/status/1115366754836869121 When you pack a few thousand testosterone-fuelled fight fans into an arena and pump them full of beer, you often get a sideshow of crowd violence to compliment the sanctioned fights everybody actually came out to see. That’s precisely what happened at last weekend’s action packed BKFC 5 card in Biloxi, Mississippi. At some point during the card, a group of fans began slugging it out in the crowd, generating a chorus of hoots and hollers from their peers. Beers were spilled, shirts were torn off, and a cluster of jiggling wannabes briefly stole the show from the trained fighters who had been hired to entertain them. At one point, one of these fans was nearly tossed off a balustrade. Thankfully he was caught by the onlookers below, and pushed back into the sweaty swirl of violence above.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2019

The UFC is set to host another one of its star-studded seasonal press conferences at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia this Friday at 12 p.m. ET. This press conferences, which precedes the exciting UFC 236 card in the same venue, will be emceed by UFC President Dana White, and feature the stars of several upcoming cards including Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes, and Henry Cejudo. In the past, these press conferences have produced some massive headlines, and this event, which is free and open to the public, figures to be no different.

Drake Riggs - April 8, 2019

10 years ago, Ross ‘The Real Deal’ Pearson made his UFC debut by becoming the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 9 when he defeated Andre Winner via unanimous decision. 25-fights later and the British slugger is now calling it a career.

Cole Shelton - April 8, 2019

The UFC and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have been under criticism for how they handled Jon Jones’ case ahead of his return at UFC 232. USADA did not suspend Jones after the current light heavyweight champion was flagged in a pre-fight drug test. Rather, they said the positive test was due to a long-term metabolite that was still “pulsing” in his system from a few years back.

Drake Riggs - April 8, 2019

For years now, there have been two consensus top 155-pound lightweight fighters on the planet. One of those men being none other than ‘El Cucuy,’ The Ultimate Fighter season 13 winner, Tony Ferguson. With only a single loss in his UFC career, Ferguson has gone on to win 11 consecutive fights since then and done so all in thrilling fashion.

Drake Riggs - April 8, 2019

The nation of Kyrgyzstan officially has their first ever UFC champion and that’s the “Bullet,” Valentina Shevchenko. On December 8, 2018, at UFC 231 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Shevchenko won the vacant UFC flyweight championship by defeating former strawweight queen, Joanna Jedrzejczyk via dominant unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - April 8, 2019

Last month, Irish MMA star Conor McGregor found himself in hot water after getting into an ugly altercation with a fan, and smashing that fan’s cell phone. After this incident, Ahmed Abdirzak, the owner of the phone, sought more than $15,000 in damages, accusing McGregor of battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The incident was captured on video. In this video, McGregor could be seen stomping Abdirzak’s phone.

Nolan King - April 8, 2019

The UFC is working on an eye-catching bout for its debut in South Carolina. The promotion is angling for a bout between female flyweights Montana De La Rosa and Andrea Lee for UFC Greenville on June 22, per FloCombat. Initially, the UFC was targeting Montana De La Rosa for a bout at UFC 236 against Paige VanZant -— a fight De La Rosa was lobbying for. However, an arm injury prevented VanZant from being able to take the fight.