MMA News

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

This weekend, in the co-main event of UFC Sao Paulo, former UFC light heavyweight champion and irrefutable MMA legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will return to the Octagon. The Brazilian will take on Scotland’s Paul Craig, who has stepped into replace the injured Sam Alvey. Shogun, now 37, is currently a solid 4-1 in his last five fights, with his lone loss coming against future title challenger Anthony Smith. Despite this recent success, he has confirmed to MMA Fighting that he intends to retire, and retire soon.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2019

UFC commentator Joe Rogan and UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya recently sat down for a chat on the JRE MMA Show. The pair discussed a breadth of topics, including the recent BMF title fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. While the pair did not agree on the BMF title itself — Rogan liked the idea, Adesanya wasn’t so sure — they were unanimous in their praise of Masvidal.

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

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.

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2019

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris recently appeared on the Dr. Phil show alongside his wife to discuss the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his stepdaughter. Aniah Blanchard was last seen on October 23, and after a week of no progress being made in the case, a breakthrough came with the arrest of Ibraheem Yazeed who has been charged with kidnapping. A DNA test from blood found in the car of Blanchard matches her, although she has yet to be found.

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’.

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.

Natasha Hooper - November 14, 2019

Chael Sonnen has fought Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko — all fighters with claim to the title of Greatest of All Time. And while it’s not listed on his record, Sonnen claims he’s also fought another GOAT contender: Georges St-Pierre. The MMA analyst and former fighter is currently in Tel-Aviv, Israel for the upcoming Bellator 234 event. During his stay in Israel, Sonnen caught up with Bloody Elbow, and opened up on a “basement fight” that took place against St-Pierre.

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.

Adam Martin - November 14, 2019

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya says that he would like the UFC to give fighters creative control of their fight kit designs and also increase bonus money. Adesanya was recently interviewed by Roman Modrowski of ESPN and was asked how he would improve the UFC.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2019

Where in the world is Rich Franklin? Depending on when you ask that question, the answer might be Singapore, Mongolia, Australia, Myanmar, Pakistan — any far-flung corner of the planet you can imagine. As the President and host of ONE Warrior Series, the former UFC middleweight champion is almost always on the move.