MMA News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 25, 2020

Kenny Florian believes a smaller UFC cage is bad news for Stipe Miocic going into his trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier. Miocic and Cormier are set to collide once more on Aug. 15. The heavyweight title bout will headline UFC 252 inside the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. The standard size of the Octagon is 30 ft. The one used inside the UFC APEX is 25 ft.

Chris Taylor - June 24, 2020

Despite his recent retirement announcement the beef between Conor McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov remains alive and well. ‘Notorious’ and ‘The Eagle’ collided for the promotions lightweight world title in October of 2018 at UFC 229, with the undefeated Russian emerging victorious by way of fourth round submission.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2020

Jorge Masvidal has issued a response to Dana White after the UFC president claimed MMA is not a career. With fighters like Masvidal and Jon Jones saying they will sit out due to fighter pay, White recently stated that being in the UFC is not a career. Instead, it is an opportunity and fighters need to take every opportunity they can get.

Adam Martin - June 24, 2020

The UFC plans on increasing its coronavirus testing for the fighters competing on Fight Island as they will be required to take five COVID-19 tests overall. The increased number of COVID-19 tests, in fact, applies to anyone that is headed to Fight Island, including the fighters, cornermen, and UFC staff. ESPN’s Marc Raimondi had the scoop, and he also shared a flow chart highlighting the changes to the UFC’s coronavirus testing protocol for the four events scheduled to take place on Fight Island in July.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2020

Maurice Greene is excited to welcome Gian Villante to the heavyweight division on the main card of UFC on ESPN 12 this Saturday night. Greene enters this fight on a two-fight losing streak where last time out, he was submitted by Alexey Oleynik. Although some think it is a must-win for Greene to remain in the UFC, he isn’t thinking about that.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2020

Justin Jaynes had been fighting professionally since 2013. But, he has been doing unsanctioned amateur fights in Michigan since 2007 and finally got the call to the UFC last weekend. At UFC on ESPN 11, Jaynes replaced Matt Frevola to fight Frank Camacho in a lightweight scrap. For the 30-year-old, to finally get the UFC call was a massive relief. But, he admits seeing people he beat on the regional scene getting chances on the Contender Series or shots in the UFC was frustrating.

Adam Martin - June 24, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith believes that lightweight Max Rohskopf “isn’t a quitter” after retiring on the stool against Austin Hubbard. Taking to Twitter after interviewing Rohskopf on SXM Fight Nation Radio, Smith — who the word quitter can never be attributed to after seeing the beating he took against Glover Teixeira at UFC Jacksonville in May — said he believes Rohskopf isn’t a quitter.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2020

Jorge Masvidal makes it clear he doesn’t have to fight again. For months now, the expectation was that Masvidal would be fighting Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title this summer. Yet, negotiations between “Gamebred” and the UFC stalled leaving Gilbert Burns to get the title shot.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

Michael Bisping has opened up on an unlikely beef with former three-time UFC featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes. This unexpected beef between Bisping and Mendes stems from a May Instagram post from Bisping’s former opponent Tim Kennedy. In his post, Kennedy looked back on beating Bisping, and ripped into the Englishman for his trash talk.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson is looking healthy and happy as prepares for his debut in the heavyweight division. Apparently, he’s feeling great, too. Gustafsson will make his debut in the UFC heavyweight division on July 25 at a Fight Night event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. He’ll be welcomed to the weight class by the former champion, Brazil’s Fabricio Werdum.

Adam Martin - June 24, 2020

UFC women’s flyweight Paige VanZant criticized the fighter pay in the UFC, saying she can make more money promoting brands on her Instagram. VanZant has not fought since January 2019, when she submitted Rachael Ostovich at UFC on ESPN+ 1, due to numerous injuries. After 18 months out of the cage, she makes her long-awaited return to the Octagon in July when she meets Amanda Ribas in the main card opening bout at UFC 251. This will be the last fight on VanZant’s UFC contract and she is expected to field offers from other promotions after the bout, so getting a win as a big underdog would be huge for her stock.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

Gilbert Burns is set to challenge Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 251. The pair are not only the two best welterweights on earth, but long-time teammates. Both Usman and Burns have both spent their recent careers training at Sanford MMA in South Florida, under the tutelage of Henri Hooft. Ahead of the matchup, Usman will relocate to Denver, Colorado to train under Trevor Wittman, the man behind Justin Gaethje, Rose Namajunas, and others.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

Josh Emmett picked up a big unanimous decision win over Shane Burgos in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 11 last weekend, but it came at a cost. Emmett sustained a litany of serious injuries in the fight, including a severe leg injury in the early moments of the opening round.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is set to release a children’s book. Volkanovski announced his book in an interview with 7 News Australia. The book, which will apparently be about his life as a world champion, is targeted for release ahead of his July 11 title fight with Max Holloway.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 11 card, and unfortunately, the new edition has generated even more controversy than normal. All over social media, fight fans have been sharing their gripes about the new rankings. The main concern is that Josh Emmett didn’t gain any ground for defeating Shane Burgos in a 2020 Fight of the Year Contender in the card’s co-main event, while Burgos tumbled a ridiculous four spots in defeat. In other words, the fight did nothing for either man in terms of the rankings. Considering Emmett left the Octagon with a litany of injuries, and Burgos put forth an incredible performance in defeat, that’s very unfortunate.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2020

UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has explained why he tends to avoid wrestling inside the Octagon. Gaethje is known for his wild fights, his chopping leg kicks and his fight-ending punching power. However, the interim champion got his start in combat sports as an NCAA Division 1 wrestler.

Natasha Hooper - June 24, 2020

Max Rohskopf has defended his corner after they insisted he continue to fight despite his decision to quit at UFC on ESPN 11. During last weekend’s preliminary fight card, Rohskopf made his UFC debut against lightweight standout Austin Hubbard. The striking onslaught of his opponent built up and forced the debutante to throw the towel in after the second round. His corner challenged his decision and insisted he fight it out into the third round. Rohskopf continually responded by telling his coach, Robert Drysdale, to “call it” and “I don’t have it.” This gained criticism from members of the MMA community such as Anthony Smith, who felt that the fighter’s coaches should have put an end to the action.

Natasha Hooper - June 24, 2020

Sean O’Malley has claimed that Rebook only paid him $3k as part of their sponsorship deal, despite him generating the company over a million dollars in sales. The UFC’s underpayment of fighters has become a hot topic as of recent, and its sponsorship deal with Reebok is no exception.