MMA News

Adam Martin - November 15, 2019

Frankie Edgar is set to make his bantamweight debut against Cory Sandhagen in early 2020, but his friend Josh Thomson thinks it’s a bad idea. Speaking on the “Weighing In” podcast, Thomson said that he is a close friend of Edgar and is worried about him moving down in weight this late into his career.

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2019

Initially, it looked as though a whopping three fighters had missed weight for Saturday’s UFC Sao Paulo card, including bantamweight opponents Tracy Cortez and Vanessa Melo. After the weigh-ins had wrapped up, however, the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) announced that the scale was not properly calibrated for the UFC Sao Paulo weigh-ins and that a correction had been made. As a result, Tracy Cortez and Vanessa Melo’s weights were adjusted to 136 pounds apiece.

Adam Martin - November 15, 2019

We could see a fourth fight between lightweight legends as Josh Thomson says he wants to run it back with long-time rival Gilbert Melendez in Bellator. Melendez was released by the UFC last week following a five-fight losing skid and has since been connected to signing with Bellator, with whom he signed an offer sheet five years ago before the UFC matched it. Thomson, who is an analyst for Bellator’s broadcasts on DAZN, is semi-retired at this point, but he is still under contract with the promotion.

Adam Martin - November 15, 2019

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes that ONE flyweight grand prix winner Demetrious Johnson is the top pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. Adesanya was a recent guest on “Ebro in the Morning” and was asked by the hosts who he believed is the top P4P fighter in mixed martial arts.

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2019

Earlier this year, Ben Askren stepped into the UFC’s Octagon for the first time, with mountains of hype associated with his name. After an impressive win over Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut, however, he’s experienced back-to-back losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia respectively — a five-second knockout and a submission. After these stoppage losses, some members of the MMA community believe Askren should retire. Askren himself seems to be thinking about it. 

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2019

Lineal boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been hinting pursuing MMA, and he is taking it seriously. Earlier this month, Fury and fellow Englishman Darren Till worked out and sparred. Now, Fury plans to take it a step further and go to Dublin, Ireland to train with Conor McGregor.

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2019

On Saturday, the UFC will return to our screens with the compelling UFC Sao Paulo card. The event will be topped by a light heavyweight duel between Polish contender Jan Blachowicz and former Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who will be making his debut in the division.

Adam Martin - November 15, 2019

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic continued to express his interest in a matchup against Tyson Fury, telling the boxing superstar in a Twitter message “let’s dance.” Miocic and Fury have been going back-and-forth on social media for the last few weeks, and things reached a high point when Fury recently shared footage of him training his MMA game with UFC middleweight star Darren Till. Although at first a potential Miocic vs. Fury fight seemed like a pipe dream, the matchup seems to have picked up traction in recent days.

Natasha Hooper - November 15, 2019

Michael Bisping has become a household name in MMA, particularly for British fans who are inspired by the former champion’s UFC journey. Now an MMA analyst and podcast connoisseur, Bisping often reflects on his fighting legacy, including his fight against Denis Kang on his home turf at UFC Manchester.

Natasha Hooper - November 15, 2019

Kyoji Horiguchi plans to avenge his loss against Kai Asakura will have to be put on hold. The Rizin and Bellator champion Horiguchi (28-3) has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Rizin 20 bout against Asakura (14-1) due to a damaged meniscus and torn ACL.

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2019

UFC strawweight Joanna Jedrzejczyk is willing to do just about anything to get her hands on Strawweight Champion Weili Zhang. The Chinese champ is coming off the back of her sensational first round title win over Jessica Andrade which made her the first ever champion to stem from China. Ever since then there have been many questions raised as to who her first title defense will be against, with a series of names being suggested.

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2019

Israel Adesanya continues to take shots at rival Jon Jones as fans continue to clamor for a potential showdown between the two UFC champions. While talk of a super fight has been rife for a while now, it only really intensified upon Adesanya dethroning Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. While there’s still been a touch of hesitation from both parties regarding when it’s going to happen, it certainly seems as if the fight will take place at some stage within the next few years – or potentially even sooner.

Natasha Hooper - November 14, 2019

Lightweight contender Charles Oliveira is preparing to square off against Jared Gordon on Saturday night at UFC Sao Paulo. However, “Do Bronx” already has his sights set on a bigger challenge: the undisputed lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. The submission specialist feels most comfortable fighting off his back and will frequently challenge his opponents with his jiu-jitsu. Oliveira believes his skills pose a new threat to the lightweight champion who also uses his grappling expertise to smother opponents. He said during an interview with AG Fight:

Chris Taylor - November 14, 2019

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (20-5 MMA) has responded to Darren Till’s callout from earlier today. This morning the Liverpool native, Till, had taken to Twitter with the following challenge for ‘The Reaper’.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 14, 2019

Chael Sonnen thinks Nick Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal will be an even bigger fight than “Gamebred” vs. Nate Diaz. Nick Diaz has made it clear that he doesn’t appreciate Masvidal’s use of the word “baptize” when describing what he wanted to do to his brother Nate. Diaz hinted at wanting a showdown with Masvidal inside AT&T Stadium after “Gamebred” defeated Nate via TKO at UFC 244. The Stockton native’s team later told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that they want the fight for spring 2020.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2019

Former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor is expected to return to the Octagon on January 18. While the details of his next fight are not finalized, all signs point to his battling the always entertaining Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. If McGregor indeed fights Cerrone in the new year, he’ll have his long-time coach Owen Roddy in his corner.

Adam Martin - November 14, 2019

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos is crediting his girlfriend, UFC women’s bantamweight contender Yana Kunitskaya, for helping him recover after suffering devastating knee injuries during his fight against Jon Jones at UFC 239. Santos pushed Jones to the brink of defeat but ultimately lost a split decision in one of the more controversial decisions of 2019. Even in defeat, though, Santos’ stock went through the roof and he has since called for a title shot against the UFC light heavyweight champion Jones. Unfortunately, Santos suffered horrible injuries to both his knees in the fight.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2019

Over the last few years, we’ve heard countless mixed martial artists call for fights with the world’s top boxers. This very week, Jorge Masvidal angled for a fight with Canelo Alvarez and Stipe Miocic expressed interest in a fight with Tyson Fury. Don’t expect UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya to follow in their footsteps. Adesanya shared his disinterest in a move to boxing on a recent episode of Ebro in the Morning.