MMA News
Why women's MMA is here to stay
Natasha Hooper - March 9, 2020
Women’s MMA is needed now more than ever before. At UFC 248, fans witnessed an all-out war from strawweight royalty Weili Zhang and Joanna Joanna Jędrzejczyk. The pair collided in an action-packed brawl that seemingly overshadowed the main event between Israel Adesanya vs Yoel Romero. Out of left field, MMA fighter Islam Makhachev disregarded the female athletes with a now-deleted tweet, “this is not a women’s sport” he stated. Even Dana White previously dismissed the idea of a women’s division in the UFC. The MMA anti-female rhetoric attracts criticism but nevertheless highlights an ongoing perception that females should not fight.
Israel Adesanya slams Yoel Romero for ruining “gifted” UFC 248 title shot
Adam Martin - March 9, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has slammed contender Yoel Romero for a poor performance in their title fight at UFC 248. Adesanya and Romero put on one of the worst title fights in UFC history as both men refused to engage with each other and each showed a shocking lack of aggressiveness in the bout. The fight went the full five-round distance, with Adesanya slightly outpointing Romero to retain his title by unanimous decision in a fight MMA fans found boring to watch.
Valentina Shevchenko believes Weili Zhang loses her title in next fight
Cole Shelton - March 9, 2020
Valentina Shevchenko doubts Weili Zhang will be a UFC champion for much longer. In the co-main event of UFC 248, Zhang edged out a split-decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The win also served as her first title defense since winning the belt with a first-round knockout win over Jessica Andrade.
VIDEO | Paulo Costa knocks out Logan Paul in sparring
Adam Martin - March 9, 2020
New training footage has emerged of UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa knocking out YouTube sensation Logan Paul in sparring. Costa is one of the best fighters in the UFC middleweight division while Paul is a YouTuber-turned combat sports star. Paul has had two boxing matches, including a professional bout against rival KSI last November, which resulted in Paul losing a controversial split decision after having points deducted due to illegal blows.
Dana White: Weili Zhang will get same push from UFC as McGregor, Rousey
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
Dana White is very high on UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang, who defended her belt in an absolute war with the former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-main event of last Saturday’s UFC 248 card. White gushed over Zhang at the UFC 248 post-fight press conference, announcing that the Chinese champion has become a major needle-mover in her homeland, a territory the UFC is working hard to break into.
VIDEO | SBG Ireland fighters, Pitbull brothers have confrontation at Bellator press conference
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
On Monday, Bellator MMA held a press conference featuring a host of the stars of its upcoming shows — including the “Pitbull” brothers Patricio and Patricky Freire and several fighters from the famed SBG Ireland camp, such as James Gallagher, Pedro Carvalho and Peter Queally. Things nearly got physical between these two groups at the culmination of this press conference.
Yoel Romero takes post-fight dig at Israel Adesanya, proclaims himself the 'people's champ'
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
Yoel Romero and Israel Adesanya’s UFC 248 middleweight title fight failed to live up to expectations, and both fighters seem to agree it’s because the other was afraid. Romero suggested exactly that on Twitter on Monday morning, sharing a heavily edited screenshot of the Wikipedia entry for the word “fear.”
John McCarthy says Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero should have included 10-10 round
Adam Martin - March 9, 2020
Bellator commentator and MMA official John McCarthy believes that there should have been a 10-10 round scored in the Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero title fight at UFC 248. Adesanya won a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to retain the UFC middleweight title in an undeniable stinker of a fight. Neither man seemed to be aggressive in the fight and it just plodded on for 25 minutes. Adesanya won the decision and gets to retain his belt, but it was not particularly impressive. Still, McCarthy agrees with Adesanya earning the decision.
Israel Adesanya feels he proved Yoel Romero isn't 'made of steel'
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
Israel Adesanya believes that he proved Yoel Romero isn’t “made of steel” at UFC 248. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, defended his title against Romero in the card’s main event, winning a controversial and undeniably slow decision over the Cuban.
VIDEO | Brian Ortega escorted out of arena after altercation with Korean Zombie
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/KettnerLaw/status/1236715323513921536 One of the most high-profile encounters of Saturday’s UFC 248 card actually occurred outside the cage, as featherweight contenders Brian Ortega and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung had a run-in in the crowd.
John McCarthy gives his scorecard for Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Adam Martin - March 9, 2020
Bellator commentator and veteran MMA official Big John McCarthy has share his scorecard for the UFC 248 co-main event between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Zhang and Jedrzejczyk put on an instant classic on Saturday night, going the full five-round distance against each other in an all-out war. Zhang won the fight by split decision, but Jedrzejczyk saw her stock rise by putting on an incredible performance even despite losing. McCarthy, who knows a thing or two about fighting, was asked by host Josh Thomson on the “Weighing In” podcast what he thought about the fight, and he praised both women for their performances.
Neil Magny calls for a fight with ‘Maverick’ following impressive win at UFC 248
Natasha Hooper - March 9, 2020
At UFC 248, Neil Magny returned to the Octagon to face Chinese contender Li Jingliang. He out-struck Jingliang to win by unanimous decision. Post-fight, the 32-year old reflected on his successful performance and already has his sights set on his next opponent. “We went back and looked at my last five fights, the wins and losses, and really looked at where I could improve,” Magny said (via MMA Junkie). “One of the biggest things we found was foot positioning. I feel like we addressed that well tonight. Another thing is pressure. I wanted to sit back and calculate a little bit more, so it’s been improvement all around.”
Police reports filed following altercation between The Korean Zombie and Brian Ortega
Harry Kettle - March 9, 2020
The manager of Chan Sung Jung aka “The Korean Zombie” has confirmed that a police report has been filed following the UFC 248 incident with Brian Ortega. Ever since the scheduled fight between Korean Zombie and Ortega back at UFC Busan was called off due to “T-City” sustaining an injury, it seems as if the animosity between these two men has only gotten stronger and stronger.
Justin Gaethje says he will punch Dana White in the nose if the promotion grants Conor McGregor a title shot
Harry Kettle - March 9, 2020
Justin Gaethje has claimed that he will punch UFC president Dana White in the nose if Conor McGregor winds up receiving a title shot. Gaethje has been making headlines fairly regularly as of late, mainly due to his desire to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC Lightweight Championship. After stringing together three straight wins via TKO or KO, “The Highlight” firmly believes that he should be next in line to challenge “The Eagle”.
Sean O'Malley takes aim at Henry Cejudo following impressive win at UFC 248
Christopher Taylor - March 8, 2020
Fan favorite Sean O’Malley returned to the Octagon at last night’s UFC 248 event in Las Vegas for a bantamweight contest with Jose Quinonez. The undefeated bantamweight prospect, O’Malley (11-0 MMA), had not competed since UFC 222 in March of 2018, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over Andre Soukhamthath.
What's next for the stars of UFC 248?
Cole Shelton - March 8, 2020
In the main event of UFC 248, Israel Adesanya was looking to defend his middleweight title against the divisions ‘boogeyman’ in Yoel Romero. The co-main attraction saw Weili Zhang looking for her first title defense of the strawweight belt against former division champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk. In the end, neither title changed hands as Adesanya won a lackluster decision. Zhang, meanwhile, won by split-decision in what many are calling one of the greatest fights of all-time.
Joe Rogan gushes over Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Weili Zhang title fight at UFC 248
Christopher Taylor - March 8, 2020
Joe Rogan “can’t stop thinking about” last night’s thrilling strawweight title fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Weili Zhang at UFC 248. In the co-main event of UFC 248, Zhang put her newly acquired 115lbs title on the line against former division title holder, Jedrzejczyk.
Valentina Shevchenko believes Joanna Jedrzejczyk should've won judges decision at UFC 248
Cole Shelton - March 8, 2020
If UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko was a judge she would’ve awarded Joanna Jedrzejczyk the strawweight title on Saturday. In the co-main event of UFC 248, Jedrzejczyk was taking on strawweight champion, Weili Zhang in the Chinese fighters first title defense. It was a fight many were torn on who would win and at the end of five rounds, fighters on social media didn’t know if we would hear And Still or And New. But, Zhang ended up earning a split-decision win to defend her title.