MMA News

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

Anthony Smith believes his former opponent, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, will continue to find trouble outside the cage until he decides to make some real changes. Smith shared his take on Jones’ ongoing personal issues, which most recently manifested in the form of a DWI arrest, during a recent interview with MMA Fighting.

Cole Shelton - April 6, 2020

Mike Winkeljohn believes we may be seeing 20-plus fights on a UFC event to make up for the postponed events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the coronavirus shutting down the sports world, the UFC was forced to postpone three events and the status of the upcoming cards is unknown. But, Dana White has been adamant that all fighters will get three fights in.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

ONE Championship has been forced to postpone two April events due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These ONE Championship events were most recently scheduled to occur behind closed doors in Singapore, but were originally targeted for other territories in Asia. Unfortunately, the promotion has been forced to delay them outright, citing new restrictions from the Singaporean government, and increasing travel restrictions, which of course makes it difficult to move fighters around.

Adam Martin - April 6, 2020

Bellator welterweight Erick Silva and his family were infected with the coronavirus but they are all recovering well now and in quarantine. Combate reported that the 35-year-old Silva, his 23-year-old wife Isabela, his five-month-old son Carlos and his 10-year-old son Kalleu were all infected with the coronavirus. In addition, Silva’s 26-year-old sister-in-law Carol and her in-laws, 58-year-old Arilton and 52-year-old Jo, were also infected with the coronavirus. Thankfully, they discovered they had it relatively early and all are now in quarantine and expected to make full recovery.

Harry Kettle - April 6, 2020

Belarus has emerged as a potential plan B for the UFC when it comes to hosting future events for the promotion. The last few weeks haven’t been great for the UFC, with the promotion being forced to postpone or outright cancel a string of events as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

The UFC is reportedly very close to locking down a location for UFC 249. On Monday morning ESPN reported that the promotion is closing in on a potential location for the event. ESPN’s report didn’t reveal that location, but pointed to the West Coast of the United States, and specified that “tribal land” — which is outside the jurisdiction of state athletic commissions — is a likely possibility.

Natasha Hooper - April 6, 2020

Santiago Ponzinibbio is ready to step up to plate and fight Tyron Woodley last minute at UFC 249. The upcoming UFC 249 event on April 18 is clouded with uncertainty. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of his eagerly anticipated Tony Ferguson matchup in the main event. The final location and rest of the card are also not confirmed.

Harry Kettle - April 6, 2020

WWE WrestleMania 36 is in the books after two nights of intense action at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. For the first time ever, WWE split WrestleMania into two nights with nine scheduled bouts on each card. While the atmosphere wasn’t the same as a result of the events being behind closed doors, we still saw some big moments in what could prove to be one of the last shows WWE puts on for quite some time.

Chris Taylor - April 5, 2020

Dana White took to Twitter this afternoon where he confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of UFC 249, this while adding that the full fight card will be announced tomorrow. UFC 249 was originally slated to take place on April 18 in Brooklyn, New York. The event was expected to be headlined by a highly anticipated lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

Adam Martin - April 5, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw claims the promotion told him he will get a title shot when he returns from his USADA suspension next year. Dillashaw was a dominant champion at 135lbs before dropping down to 125lbs and getting knocked out by Henry Cejudo at UFC on ESPN+ 1. Dillashaw still held the bantamweight belt at that point before it came out he had failed his USADA drug test for performance-enhancing drugs and had his title vacated. He is currently suspended until January 2021.

Adam Martin - April 5, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes says the promotion was working on a rematch against champion Jon Jones prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Reyes and Jones fought to a five-round decision at UFC 247 in early February, with the champion Jones retaining his title by a controversial unanimous decision. Many fans, media, fighters, and even UFC president Dana White believed that Reyes did enough to win the title that night, but the judges disagreed and Jones kept his belt.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier gave his prediction on what would happen in a future fight between Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje. Poirier has fought both McGregor and Gaethje in the past, so if anyone knows this potential matchup well it’s him. Poirier was knocked out by McGregor back in 2014 when he fought at featherweight but defeated Gaethje by knockout in 2018 after moving up to lightweight. With so much time spent in the cage with both men, Poirier should know exactly how a fight between his two former fighters would go.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2020

UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier praised his rival, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, for his role as a first responder during the coronavirus crisis. Cormier and Miocic have fought each other each of the past two summers, with the pair splitting a pair of memorable bouts with one knockout win apiece. DC won the first fight at UFC 226 when he knocked Miocic out in shocking fashion only to see the former champ get his belt back with a superb comeback knockout win at UFC 241. The two are now expected to have a trilogy fight whenever the UFC schedule resumes later this year.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2020

UFC bantamweight and color commentator Dominick Cruz believes UFC 249 could be the most-viewed card in MMA history with few options for entertainment at the moment. There are no professional sports leagues currently being aired on television, or even being competed in, around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC president Dana White continues to say the show must go on in regards to UFC 249, which is set for April 18 at a location that’s still TBD. While many have criticized White for trying to go ahead with the event, it appears Cruz is on the same wavelength as his boss.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2020

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg threw some shade at former MMA fighter Shayna Baszler after she lost to Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania 36. Cyborg previously fought Baszler in EliteXC way back in 2008 when Baszler was still a mixed martial artist. Cyborg won that fight via second-round TKO at a time when Baszler was one of the best women’s MMA fighters in the world. Cyborg, of course, went on to dominate the competition in EliteXC before signing with Strikeforce, where she became a world champion. She then went on to win titles in Invicta FC, the UFC and in Bellator.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt responded to callouts from Henry Cejudo and Petr Yan after announcing he will soon drop down to flyweight. Garbrandt revealed this weekend that his plan is to fight Raphael Assuncao in his last bout at 135lbs before making the move down to 125lbs. Both Cejudo and Yan have been tied to fights against Garbrandt in the past, and both men took to social media to once again call out Garbrandt after he announced his move down to the flyweight division.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Greg Hardy may be on tap to fight at the new UFC 249 card as opponent Yorgan de Castro teased an upcoming bout between the two. Hardy and de Castro were scheduled to meet at UFC Columbus on March 28 but that card was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC president Dana White has been adamant that the UFC 249 card set for April 18 at a location TBD will still go on as planned, and the two heavyweights may be a part of that new card if it happens.

Chris Taylor - April 4, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt is planning on dropping down to flyweight and has already received a warning from Henry Cejudo. In an interview with ESPN, ‘No Love’ announced his future plans which include a move down to 125-pounds to “save the flyweight division”.