MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2020

UFC strawweight Jessica Penne has accepted a 20-month sanction from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for her second anti-doping policy violation. USADA announced this development in a Friday press release.

Natasha Hooper - February 28, 2020

Fabian Edwards will fight Costello Van Steenis in the Bellator London co-main event in May 2020. The UK-based fighter and younger brother of UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards, “The Assassin” has become one of Bellator’s rising stars. In his last bout, he faced Londoner Mike Shipman in an eagerly anticipated grudge-match last November. The close contest proved to be Edwards’ most challenging fight of his career, but the middleweight secured the split decision victory. He remains undefeated since making his professional debut in 2017.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2020

Joshua Fabia says Diego Sanchez is still evolving as a fighter — even at 38 years old and after close to 20 years in the UFC. He believes that continued evolution is “remarkable” and is taking full credit for it. “You’re an expert, and you didn’t point out that it’s kind of (expletive) amazing that Diego Sanchez, 16 years in the UFC, been pretty much the Rocky Marciano of the sport – he’s moving,” Fabia told MMA Junkie this week. “He can change stance. He went from a southpaw to this. How are you not putting the emphasis on a 38-year-old man, in less than a year, changed his style – and one guy did it? Not a team of six guys. How come no one is saying anything positive like that? You see it, but you’re not giving credit to the professional that has done something remarkable.”

Adam Martin - February 28, 2020

UFC president Dana White says he doesn’t care if he loses UFC fans over his friendship with United States President Donald Trump. White recently spoke at Trump’s political rally in Colorado which led to criticism from a segment of MMA fans who are not Trump supporters. There were a number of MMA fans who were upset White spoke so glowingly about President Trump, but White doesn’t care what they think.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2020

Deiveson Figueiredo could have become a UFC champion this weekend. Unfortunately, a scale fail has dashed his title dreams. On Friday morning, Figueiredo missed weight for his flyweight title fight with Joseph Benavidez, which tops Saturday’s UFC Norfolk card. The Brazilian finished tipped the scales at 127.5 pounds, a significant 2.5 pounds over the 125-pound limit for flyweight title fights. While he was initially given an extra hour to make weight, he and his team ultimately abandoned their attempt to do so.

Adam Martin - February 28, 2020

The UFC Norfolk weigh-ins took place on Friday morning and two fighters missed weight, including headliner Deiveson Figueiredo for his fight against Joesph Benavidez. Benavidez and Figueiredo are set to fight for five rounds or less for the vacant UFC flyweight championship. Benavidez stepped onto the sale early on and made the weight easily at 124.5lbs. However, Figueiredo didn’t do the same. The Brazilian stepped onto the scale at 127.5lbs, missing weight for the flyweight title bout. Figueiredo has one hour to make weight, but with 2.5lbs to cut to make the flyweight title limit of 125lbs, it seems unlikely he will be able to do so.

Harry Kettle - February 28, 2020

Umar Nurmagomedov has been immediately called out by Merab Dvalishvili after it was revealed that he has signed with the UFC. The highly thought of younger cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov has been making waves for a while now, accumulating a 12-0 professional mixed martial arts record prior to his entry into the UFC. The expectations are obviously going to be high regarding what he can accomplish with the promotion, and it doesn’t seem as if the UFC is going to waste any time in booking him.

Natasha Hooper - February 28, 2020

Joseph Benavidez recently explained why he doesn’t need to beat Henry Cejudo to be worthy of the flyweight title. This weekend at UFC Norfolk, Benavidez will face Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight strap. The 125-pound belt is up for grabs ever since Henry Cejudo was stripped of the title. 

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2020

Yoshihiro Akiyama picked up an incredible knockout victory at Friday’s ONE: King of the Jungle card in Singapore. Akiyama appeared on the event’s main card, battling Egypt’s Sherif Mohamed in a 185-pound scrap.

Harry Kettle - February 28, 2020

Movsar Evloev is out of his scheduled fight against Jamall Emmers at UFC 248 as a result of a nasty motorcycle crash. The big event next weekend will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada with the headline bout being Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero for the UFC Middleweight Championship. Further down the card, though, many fans were intrigued by the possibility of seeing Evloev square off with Emmers on the prelims.

Natasha Hooper - February 28, 2020

Diego Sanchez came up short against Michel Pereira this month at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in Rio Rancho. Pereira appeared to have the upper hand until he struck his opponent with an illegal knee that changed the course of action. Sanchez decided not to continue the bout and was awarded a disqualification victory.

Cole Shelton - February 27, 2020

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira expects to end his legendary career at UFC 250 when he has his trilogy fight against Shogun Rua. Nogueira hasn’t fought since he was knocked out by Ryan Spann back at UFC 237. The 43-year-old Brazilian legend is just 4-6 in his last 10, so he says this fight against Rua will be his farewell fight.

Alfredo Zullino - February 27, 2020

Another member of the Nurmagomedov family is joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship ranks, and it’s Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of current and undisputed promotion’s lightweight belt-holder, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Just like his cousin, Umar is still undefeated in his professional mixed martial arts career, holding a record of 12 victories and no losses.

Tom Taylor - February 27, 2020

Michael Bisping had plenty to say about former UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva ahead of their 2016 scrap, and almost none of it was positive. As it turns out, Bisping actually had a lot of respect for the former champion, but realized a little bit of trash talk was crucial to getting the victory — which he wound up doing via unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - February 27, 2020

Troy Worthen was in line to ride Doctor Doom’s Fearfall at Universal Studios in Orlando when he got an email that changed his life. Several weeks prior, he applied to try out for Evolve MMA, a famed fight team based in Singapore — a world away from his Central Florida home. As he waited to get on the ride, he finally heard back.

Mike Heck - February 27, 2020

After getting a short notice call to make his Octagon debut at UFC 247, Khaos Williams made a big statement in a short amount of time in Houston. Williams stepped in on less than two weeks notice to replace the injured Dhiego Lima and finished Alex Morono with a vicious KO in just 27 seconds. In a night of controversial judging and scorecards, the 25-year-old Michigan native left no question unanswered.

Tom Taylor - February 27, 2020

Tito Ortiz is not happy that his recent win over Alberto Del Rio has been overturned. Ortiz and Del Rio fought in the Combate Americas cage in late 2019. Ortiz wagered his UFC title on the matchup, while Del Rio promised to give his WWE belt to Ortiz in defeat. In the end, it was Ortiz that walked away with a new belt, as he defeated Del Rio via first-round submission.

Adam Martin - February 27, 2020

The UFC is headed back to Austin, Texas, and the first bout on the card is a women’s flyweight match between Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araujo. Combate was the first to report the UFC will head back to Austin on June 27 for a Fight Night card and the first to report the Maia vs. Araujo matchup. At this time, no other bouts for the card have been revealed.