MMA News

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2019

Rich Franklin retired from MMA following his knockout loss to Cung Lee in 2012. Yet, the now ONE Championship vice president says he still eyes one more fight, and that is a trilogy bout with Anderson Silva. Franklin and Silva fought at UFC 64 where Silva won by TKO to become the middleweight champion. The pair would collide again at UFC 77 where it was the same result. Although they are both now in their 40’s, Franklin being 45 and Silva being 44, the American believes the fight makes sense and knows it would be a different result.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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’.

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.

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.