MMA News

Adam Martin - July 12, 2020

New UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan took to social media to blast his divisional rival Cody Garbrandt, saying he is “dumb” and has “no chin.” Yan defeated Jose Aldo to win the bantamweight title that was recently vacated by former champ Henry Cejudo. It was a dominant showing by Yan, who beat Aldo to a bloody pulp in the fifth round in a poor display of officiating by referee Leon Roberts. With Yan now as the champion, it sets him up for a number of big fights in one of the UFC’s most stacked division, with contenders like Aljamain Sterling, Marlon Moraes, and Garbrandt out there.

Adam Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC welterweight superstar Nate Diaz says that Max Holloway “was robbed” by the judges in his loss to Alex Volkanovski in the co-main event of UFC 251. Volkanovski won a controversial split decision over Holloway to retain the UFC featherweight championship with scores of 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47. Many fans, media, and fellow fighters thought that Volkanovski had done enough to win the fight, not to mention UFC president Dana White, but two of the three people that truly matter when it comes to handing down the decision believed that Volkanovski deserved the win.

Adam Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC welterweight contenders Leon Edwards and Gilbert Burns traded shots at each other on social media over who should get the next title shot at 170lbs. In March, Edwards was set to fight Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC London but the card was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the UFC booked Gilbert Burns against Woodley in Las Vegas, and Burns ended up dominating the former champ by unanimous decision to become the No. 1 contender at 170lbs. Burns was then set to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 251, but tested positive for COVID-19, which allowed Jorge Masvidal to slip in and fight for the belt. Usman ended up beating Masvidal by decision.

Christopher Taylor - July 12, 2020

Jose Aldo squared off with Petr Yan for the UFC’s vacant bantamweight title on the main card of last night’s UFC 251 event from Fight Island. The result was a thrilling scrap which saw both men have their respective moments. However, Yan was able to turn the tide in his favor in the later rounds and ultimately scored a TKO finish after landing a plethora of ground and pound on the Brazilian.

Adam Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling challenged Dana White to “cut the games” and give him a title shot at 135lbs against new champion Petr Yan. It was thought all along that Sterling would be next in line to fight the winner of Yan vs. Aldo at UFC 251, and when Yan won the fight, fans were immediately salivating at the possibility of a Yan vs. Sterling matchup for the belt. In fact, White himself said that Sterling would be next in line for the belt after he dispatched of Cory Sandhagen in devastating fashion at UFC 250 back in June.

Adam Martin - July 12, 2020

The Korean Zombie vowed to finish a “shameful” Alex Volkanovski after he won a controversial split decision over Max Holloway at UFC 251. Volkanovski won a split decision over Holloway to keep the UFC featherweight title, but it was a razor-thin fight that many thought he should have lost. Ultimately, the judges sided with Volkanovski, giving him the belt back with 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 scorecards, though many fans, media, and even UFC president Dana White disagreed with the scores.

Christopher Taylor - July 12, 2020

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk posted a cryptic message on social media today insinuating that she has retired. The Polish star, Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA), took to Instagram with the following post that containted the caption “33 and retired”.

Adam Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC president Dana White ripped referee Leon Roberts for a “horrible” stoppage in the Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo vacant bantamweight title fight. After Yan and Aldo split the first two rounds, Yan started to pull away as he won the third and fourth rounds, and then in the fifth, he made it clear who the superior fighter was as he beat Aldo to a pulp. It was hard to watch as Yan rained down hundreds of punches on Aldo’s head, only to see the referee Roberts refuse to stop the fight. Fans, media, and fighters on social media were upset about the stoppage, and rightfully so, and it appeared that the fight could have been stopped far sooner and Aldo could have been saved damage.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski says that USADA woke him up the night before his UFC 251 main event against Max Holloway. Volkanovski defended his title via split decision in a highly-competitive battle between two of the best featherweights in the game. The judges scored the bout 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 in favor of Volkanovski, allowing the champ to retain his title. Although it was not his best performance in the Octagon, the win improved Volkanovski’s career record to 22-1, including a 19-fight win steak a perfect 9-0 mark in the UFC.

Christopher Taylor - July 12, 2020

Dwayne Johnson was watching last night’s UFC 251 main event with keen interest as his friend Jorge Masvidal squared off with Kamaru Usman. If you recall, ‘The Rock’ was the man who presented the BMF Title to ‘Gamebred’ following his TKO victory over Nate Diaz at UFC 244.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal believes he has the formula to beat Kamaru Usman if they ever meet inside the Octagon again for a rematch. Masvidal took the fight against Usman on just six days’ notice, filling in for the COVID-19 infected Gilbert Burns, and the short notice showed. After a quick start for the challenger in the first round, Masvidal faded badly as the fight went on as Usman was able to dominate him in the clinch and on the ground en route to a unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored the fight in favor of Usman, 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

The judges’ scorecards have been revealed for the UFC 251 title fights between Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal and Alex Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway. In the main event of the evening, Usman won a unanimous decision over Masvidal by utilizing a strong wrestling game. Although Masvidal had some nice moments early on, Usman dominated Masvidal in the clinch and when he was able to get takedowns he controlled the fight on the mat as well, leading to him scoring a unanimous decision.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC president Dana White slammed the judges at UFC 251 for their scorecards in the co-main event between Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Volkanovski and Holloway met in a rematch after their first fight last December at UFC 245, where Volkanovski won a unanimous decision to capture the featherweight title in an upset. The rematch at UFC 251 went different, as Holloway was able to make the necessary adjustments and fight a far more competitive battle. Although many fans, media, and fighters though Holloway won the fight, the judges ended up giving it to Volkanovski, who retained the belt with scores of 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and long-time rival Dan Henderson traded shots on social media during the UFC 251 broadcast on Saturday. Saturday marked 11 years to the day since UFC 100 when Henderson scored one of the most iconic KOs in MMA history when he flatlined Bisping. The pair rematched seven years later at UFC 204, with Bisping winning a competitive unanimous decision to tie the score between the two at one each. Following the second fight with Bisping, Henderson retired from the sport, and Bisping followed him out the door soon after.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway reacted following a narrow split decision loss to Alex Volkanovski in the co-main event of UFC 251. Holloway and Volkanovski went toe-to-toe for 25 minutes in an incredibly-close rematch, but after five rounds of action, the judges deemed Volkanovski as the winner by split decision with scores of 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47. It was a controversial decision, with many fans, media, and fellow fighters believing that Holloway had done enough to get his hand raised. Alas, the judges cageside gave the nod to Volkanovski instead.

Adam D Martin - July 12, 2020

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and his rival Jorge Masvidal agreed to run it back immediately following their main event fight at UFC 251. Usman won a unanimous decision over Masvidal in the Fight Island headliner, with scores of 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46. Although Masvidal had his moments in the bout, it was mostly a dominant performance by Usman, who used his wrestling to dictate where the bout took place, allowing him to roll to a decision victory.

Christopher Taylor - July 12, 2020

Rose Namajunas offered a good-natured apology to reigning UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang shortly following the conclusion of UFC 251. The former women’s strawweight champion, Namajunas (9-5 MMA), was making her Octagon return at tonight’s inaugural Fight Island event in a rematch against the woman who took her title, Jessica Andrade.

Christopher Taylor - July 12, 2020

UFC President Dana White spoke about the future of women’s flyweight standout Paige VanZant at tonight’s UFC 251 post-fight press conference. VanZant (8-5 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since January of 2019, where she scored a submission victory over Rachael Ostovich.