MMA News

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

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently helped clean up a restaurant that was vandalized by racists. Jones has been increasingly active in his community of late, and that trend continued over the weekend when he helped clean up a restaurant that had been ransacked by racist vandals.

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 light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort looks to be in truly phenomenal shape ahead of his debut with ONE Championship. Belfort has not fought since he was knocked out by Lyoto Machida in the final bout of his UFC career in 2018. Shortly thereafter, he signed with ONE Championship. He was expected to make his debut with the promotion opposite Alain Ngalani earlier this year, but that plan was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2020

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington has taken another shot at his former training partner turned heated rival Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal is currently involved in a heated contract dispute with the UFC and the promotion’s President Dana White. The top welterweight contender’s main gripes stem from the amount he’s paid by the promotion.

Cole Shelton - June 30, 2020

Henry Cejudo has told Ryan Garcia to sign the contract after the undefeated boxer called him out. Garcia is currently 20-0 as a professional while also being the WBC silver lightweight champion. Yet, the 21-year-old took shots at Cejudo and Dillon Danis in a recent interview with ESPN.

Cole Shelton - June 30, 2020

Conor McGregor is truly retired according to his head coach, John Kavanagh. McGregor recently tweeted he was retired yet many fans and fighters didn’t believe it. The Irishman has retired before but his coach claims he truly is done with fighting, as far as he can tell.

Jason Kindschy - June 30, 2020

Colby Covington returns to the show with yet another cannot-miss conversation. Following his departure from American Top Team, Colby Covington Inc. was born and so begins another chapter of the former interim champions career. Colby gives us the details on what led to him parting ways with ATT and how his exit reignited bad blood with former teammates like Dustin Porier. Confident that we have yet to see the best of his abilities displayed in competition, Covington is digging his heels into the Miami sand and explains why there are only a few sensible options for his return to action. One of which of course being a showdown against his friend-turned-enemy Jorge Masvidal. Colby gives us his take on Masvidal’s soured negotiations with the UFC, and explains why he believes the BMF belt is just a participation trophy. Of course, Colby’s primary focus is capturing the UFC welterweight title in a rematch with Kamaru Usman, but if that doesn’t come to fruition, we might see Covington throw down with WWE’s Drew McIntyre in an unsanctioned street fight. All that and more from Colby “Chaos” Covington. Josh Emmett joins us to recap his sensational win over a very game opponent in Shane Burgos. Emmet predicted that he would finish Burgos prior to fight night, but a devastating leg injury forced Josh to pick Burgos apart in what many fans considered a fight of the year candidate. With a potentially lengthy recovery ahead of him, Josh Emmett has a tough decision to make. Avoid surgery and attempt to come back with no ACL, or opt for surgery and be sidelined for a significant time period while he’s on the cusp of a crack at featherweight gold. One thing is for certain, Josh believes that he is the worst possible matchup for current champ Alexander Volkanovski, and that the similarities in their respective styles makes for a true barn burner.

Adam Martin - June 30, 2020

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Aspen Ladd has turned to her fans for help after her beloved dog passed away and her other dog had leg removal surgery. Ladd, the No. 3 ranked fighter in the women’s 135lbs division, took to social media to update fans about her current status. Ladd recently had a fight against Sara McMann fall through after Ladd suffered a serious injury in training and she is expected to be out three-to-nine months due to a lengthy recovery. Unfortunately, the bad luck did not stop there for Ladd, who recently suffered a personal tragedy in her life.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2020

Boxing star Ryan Garcia has his sights set on two big names in the MMA world: former two-division UFC champ Henry Cejudo, and Bellator staple Dillon Danis. Garcia has been jawing back with Cejudo quite a bit since the former UFC champ announced his retirement from MMA back in May. Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday, Garcia once again took a shot at Cejudo.

Adam Martin - June 30, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight contender Michelle Waterson will take on Angela Hill at a UFC Fight Night event later this summer. Waterson vs. Hill will take place at a UFC Fight Night card on August 22 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAjunkie.com was the first to confirm the upcoming bout.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2020

Dan Hooker is currently quarantining after his UFC on ESPN 12 loss to Dustin Poirier, which means he can’t get close to his family. Hooker gave fans a snapshot of his struggle on Twitter on Tuesday, sharing a photo of himself and his daughter separated by a fence.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2020

UFC President Dana White has given fight fans their first real look at the UFC’s much discussed Fight Island, located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. White shared this preview, which showcase the COVID-19 testing facilities and fight venue being built on the island, on Twitter on Tuesday morning. See it below:

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker says he hasn’t felt like himself in the cage since his first fight with Yoel Romero, in July of 2017. Whittaker has made no secret of the fact that he’s recently been enduring some inner turmoil with respect to his fighting career. The former champion was expected to take on Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 in February, but pulled out of the contest, ultimately citing a need for a reset.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2020

Daniel Cormier has responded to allegations that he intentionally poked Stipe Miocic in the eye in their first two contests. Cormier and Miocic have fought twice previously. They first met in 2018 when Cormier, then the light heavyweight champion, moved up to heavyweight division to challenge Miocic for the division’s ultimate prize. Cormier won that first contest by first-round knockout. After Cormier defended the heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis later that year, he and Miocic then rematched in 2019. That time around, Miocic evened the scored, weathering some early adversity to stop Cormier in the fourth round and reclaim the heavyweight title.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh believes his star pupil Conor McGregor can defeat reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman if he’s “very motivated.” Kavanagh discussed a potential McGregor vs. Usman fight on social media recently, sharing his confidence that his student can beat pretty much anybody with adequate preparation.

Harry Kettle - June 30, 2020

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is aiming to fight twice more in 2020 following his loss to Gilbert Burns last month. Woodley, who lost the Welterweight Championship to Kamaru Usman back in March 2019, was decisively beaten by Burns in a unanimous decision blow-out at the UFC APEX last month. Ever since then, many fans have been wondering whether or not the 38-year-old veteran would retire from the sport.