MMA News

Adam Martin - February 20, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Al Iaquinta says he is interested in fighting up-and-coming standout Islam Makhachev in Moscow, Russia. Iaquinta has been calling out Dustin Poirier for a fight but so far the UFC hasn’t booked it yet. Makhachev, meanwhile, was trying to get a fight against Kevin Lee and then Gregor Gillespie but neither of those fights came to fruition. He’s now turned his attention to Iaquinta, and it looks like the New York native is interested in the fight.

Adam Martin - February 20, 2020

UFC welterweight Emil Meek says Diego Sanchez’s coach Joshua Fabia ran after him with a sharp knife during a “crazy” training session. Fabia has come under fire for his unique training and coaching methods in the wake of Sanchez’s DQ win over Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho. There are many in the MMA media and even fans who don’t believe Fabia’s training methods work for mixed martial arts. You can count Meek among the doubters, though he is adamant he doesn’t want to badmouth Sanchez.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2020

ONE Championship announced Thursday that it will be launching a spinoff of the popular reality television show The Apprentice, under license from MGM Television. Per a press release from the promotion, The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition “will feature 16 contestants handpicked from around the world in a high-stakes game of business competitions and physical challenges where the winner will receive a US$250,000 job offer to work for a year directly under Chatri Sityodtong as his protege at the ONE Championship Global Headquarters in Singapore.

Adam Martin - February 20, 2020

Bellator has signed former Cage Warriors welterweight champion and European star Ross Houston to a new contract. Houston recently became a free agent when he agreed to a mutual release from Cage Warriors. He immediately began negotiating with other MMA promotions, and it appears that Bellator was the organization that won the Houston sweepstakes.

Natasha Hooper - February 20, 2020

Former rugby player James Haskell is set to make his eagerly-anticipated MMA debut at Bellator London on May 16. The former England international finished his 17-year rugby career in 2019 just before announcing his decision to join the Bellator roster.

Natasha Hooper - February 20, 2020

Once a fighter, always a fighter. That statement rings true for lightweight veteran Evan Dunham, who will be returning from his short-lived retirement to fight Michael Johnson. In 2018, Dunham announced his retirement plans following his UFC Sao Paulo bout against Francisco Trinaldo. He shared the news on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2020

ONE Championship has announced multiple title fights for the upcoming ONE: Infinity 1 and 2 events. The second event will also feature the return of former UFC and Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. ONE: Infinity 1 goes down on April 10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. As we already know, the card will feature a flyweight title fight between challenger Demetrious Johnson and champion Adriano Moraes.

Natasha Hooper - February 20, 2020

The next UFC pay-per-view on the calendar is the stacked UFC 248 card in Las Vegas, Nevada, scheduled for March 7. In the main event, Israel Adesanya will fight Yoel Romero for middleweight gold. The bout will be “The Last Stylebender’s” first title defence since claiming the middleweight belt from Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.

Adam Martin - February 19, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier says he is planning a return to the Octagon in May after having not fought since last September. We last saw Poirier at UFC 242 when he was choked out by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. That loss snapped a six-fight unbeaten streak for Poirier, but despite the loss he remains one of the highest-ranked lightweights in the UFC.

Cole Shelton - February 19, 2020

Jorge Masvidal hasn’t fought at lightweight since 2015 when he lost to Al Iaquinta by split-decision. But, that may change if the money is right. Since he decided to move up to welterweight he has become an elite-fighter. In 2019 he knocked out Darren Till, Ben Askren and TKO’d Nate Diaz to capture the promotions BMF title. He also is next in line to fight for the welterweight title.

Cole Shelton - February 19, 2020

Valentina Shevchenko has her fourth title defense set as she will battle Joanne Calderwood at UFC 251 on June 6. Calderwood was the presumed number one contender for Valentina Shevchenko following the champs UFC 247 win and now has received her chance at gold. The news of the fight was first reported by Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Adam Martin - February 19, 2020

UFC legend Donald Cerrone is hoping to return to the Octagon in March or April following his knockout loss to Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 246. Cerrone lasted only 40 seconds to McGregor back in January, suffering his third consecutive TKO defeat after losing to Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson before that. It’s been a brutal stretch for Cerrone, one of the most popular fighters in MMA history and the most active fighter in UFC history, as he appears to be on the downside of his career after years of being a durable fan favorite who was known for his ability to absorb damage.

Adam Martin - February 19, 2020

An intriguing middleweight bout between standouts Eryk Anders and Krzysztof Jotko is the latest addition to April’s UFC Portland card. UFC on ESPN+ 30 takes place on April 11 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The main event of the card is a five-round heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. Anders vs. Jotko is expected to slot in somewhere on the main card.

Adam Martin - February 19, 2020

UFC bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz has called out legends Urijah Faber and Frankie Edgar for his next fight inside the Octagon. Munhoz has not competed since last June when he dropped a unanimous decision to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 238. Prior to the Sterling loss, Munhoz was moving up the bantamweight rankings with three straight wins over Brett Johns, Bryan Caraway, and Cody Garbrandt. The KO win over Garbrandt at UFC 235 moved Munhoz into the upper echelon of title contenders at 135lbs, but the loss to Sterling dropped him down a peg.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2020

Conor McGregor has had a crazy few years. While he’s had some big moments of success — most notably his 40-second, January knockout of Donald Cerrone — he’s also made his way into the headlines for numerous brushes with the law.

Cole Shelton - February 19, 2020

Brent Primus has only fought once a year in Bellator, except in 2013 when he got two fights in. But, the former champion makes it clear that is not his doing. The 34-year-old expected to be more active, especially when he was the champion and now former champ. He became the lightweight champion in 2017 in his eighth professional fight when he beat Michel Chandler by doctor stoppage.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2020

Diego Sanchez and his unorthodox coach Joshua Fabia have been the subject of much controversy in the wake of Saturday’s UFC Rio Rancho card. Sanchez fought in the card’s co-main event, defeating Michel Pereira by disqualification after he was nuked by an illegal knee in the third round.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC Rio Rancho card, and as expected, there are some interesting changes. Most notably, Jan Blachowicz, who knocked out Corey Anderson in the card’s main event, has made a big climb up at light heavyweight, surpassing the former champ Daniel Cormier. Of course, Cormier hasn’t fought at light heavyweight in two years, and intends to retire in the heavyweight division, so it’s a head-scratcher that he’s ranked at light heavyweight at all. Then again, these are the UFC rankings we’re talking about, where whim and fancy rule over logic and reason, so we should probably be used to this by now.