MMA News

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2019

UFC welterweight contenders Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal were friends for a long time, but that no longer seems to be the case. As both fighters close in on welterweight title shots, they’ve become increasingly hostile with one another, even taking public shots at each other on social media.

Adam Martin - September 10, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has teased an upcoming title defense, and his potential opponent is hinting at getting the fight. Jones took to Twitter Monday to tease a “big fight announcement.”

Adam Martin - September 10, 2019

Count Dustin Poirier among those who are not a fan of Colby Covington. The UFC lightweight contender told Covington “it’s on sight” if he sees him at American Top Team. Poirier made the comments on an Instagram post from ESPN that quoted Covington calling Poirier “childish.” (h/t/ Phillyphil9)

Cole Shelton - September 10, 2019

Uriah Hall will make his first walk to the Octagon of 2019 at UFC Vancouver. He will do so with a new coach, Sayif Saud, after switching to Fortis MMA. The reason Hall decided to switch camps coming off a win is simple. He fell in love with the camp right when he walked in.

Adam Martin - September 9, 2019

Edson Barboza plans to appeal his controversial split decision loss to Paul Felder that took place this past Saturday at UFC 242. The judges scored the contest 30-27 Barboza, 29-28 Felder and 30-27 Felder for a split decision nod for Felder. Many who watched the fight thought that it could have been scored 29-28 either way, with most media members actually scoring it for Barboza (via MMADecisions).

Cole Shelton - September 9, 2019

Colby Covington has been passed over for a title shot before, and could very well be passed over again. Covington, who is the former interim welterweight champion, never got a title shot after he won the belt. Instead, it was Darren Till and Kamaru Usman who received the next two shots.

Cole Shelton - September 9, 2019

Tony Ferguson was not impressed with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s performance against Dustin Poirier this past weekend in Abu Dhabi. In the main event of UFC 242, Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title by third-round submission. He seemingly dominated the fight from the get-go using his wrestling and relentless pressure to stop Poirier in his tracks. However, Ferguson was not impressed by Khabib, claiming his performance was lazy.

Thomas Taylor - September 9, 2019

We know that Khabib Nurmagomedov is a star in his native Russia. Yet in the wake of his UFC 242 victory over Dustin Poirier, which went down last Saturday in Abu Dhabi, it’s becoming clear that he’s an absolute mega star in his homeland. According to figures tracked by Mediascope and TV Index, and reported by RT Sport and Sport-Express.Ru, Nurmagomedov’s UFC 242 victory over Poirier has already passed 26 million viewers on Russia’s Channel 1 and its subsidiary networks, where it aired for free.

Adam Martin - September 9, 2019

Bellator and RIZIN are eyeing a year-end show in Japan featuring some of the best fighters from both promotions. Reports indicate Bellator president Scott Coker and RIZIN bossman Nobuyuki Sakakibara are in talks for a main event between Fedor Emelianenko and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as well as a light heavyweight co-main event between Ryan Bader and Jiri Prochazka. Veteran MMA scribe Josh Gross of The Athletic shared the news via Twitter that Bellator and RIZIN hope to have a card December 29 in Japan, and they hope to bill it as Emelianenko’s final fight in Japan.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Mid-way through the UFC 242 main event, Dustin Poirier wrapped Khabib Nurmagomedov’s neck in a guillotine choke. For a moment, the choke looked fairly deep, but the lightweight champion Nurmagomedov ultimately escaped and went on to win with a submission of his own. Shortly after this fight wrapped up, featherweight contender Brian Ortega chimed in on Twitter, claiming that if he’d snatched Nurmagomedov’s neck the way Poirier did, he would have forced the lightweight champ to tap. 

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 9, 2019

Kelvin Gastelum doesn’t plan to get lost in all the hoopla surrounding his bout with Darren Till. Some fight fans were left puzzled when it was revealed that Till will move up in weight to take on Gastelum at UFC 244 on Nov. 2. The sticking point isn’t that Till is changing weight class, as many anticipated the move. The issue with many is that Gastelum is an elite 185-pounder while Till is coming off two stoppage losses at welterweight.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Dustin Poirier was not able to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242. Post-fight, the latest UFC lightweight title challenger has made no secret of how much this loss stings. In fact, he even hinted that he may not fight again in one of his post-fight social media posts. “Thank you guys for the support, it means a lot to me,” Poirier said in a video posted to social media. “If I choose to fight again, I’ll be back strong. If not I’ll see what God has in store for me.”

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

On November 2, in the main event of UFC 244, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz will collide for the aptly named “baddest motherf**ker in the game” belt. From the sounds of it, it could be one of the biggest stars in the world that wraps this new belt around the winner’s waist: Dwayne Johnson — aka “The Rock.” When this Diaz vs. Masvidal fight was announced, The Rock expressed his excitement with the matchup on social media. Shortly thereafter, Masvidal mentioned The Rock on Twitter, asking the pro wrestler turned Hollywood star to strap the belt around his waist if he wins.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Ronda Rousey is currently retired from MMA, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan doesn’t believe that will change. Speaking on the latest Joe Rogan Experience Fight Companion podcast, BJJ specialist Eddie Bravo asked Rogan if he expects to ever see Rousey back in the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Back in April, Tyron Woodley surrendered the UFC welterweight title to Kamaru Usman. Ever since, he’s been campaigning for a do-over with the new champion. Woodley once again called for that rematch with Usman over the weekend, shortly after news surfaced that negotiations for a bout between Usman and Colby Covington had fizzled. He did so in the replies to an Instagram post from ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Earlier this year, Cris Cyborg parted ways with the UFC. Based on UFC President Dana White’s telling of this highly publicized split, it was the UFC that decided to end the relationship. Cyborg, however, begs to differ.

Tom Taylor - September 9, 2019

Mixed martial arts is a nasty business. Fighters routinely sustain nasty injuries in their bouts, from cuts, to hematomas, and of course, broken bones. That latter thing is just what we saw on the postlims of Bellator 226 last weekend, when Albert Gonzales took on Tyson Miller. It was a sequence not unlike the final moment of the infamous Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman 2 fight, which left Silva with a leg like cooked spaghetti after Weidman checked one of his kicks. This time around, it was Gonzales who threw the kick, and was ultimately left writhing on the floor after Miller checked it.

Cole Shelton - September 9, 2019

In the main event of UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov looked to defend his lightweight title for the second time. He was taking on the interim champion, Dustin Poirier. In the end, Nurmagomedov sunk in a third-round submission to win the fight and defend his belt. However, Poirier had his moments in the fight and even appeared to stun the undefeated Russian. He also briefly struggled with a guillotine choke, but Nurmagomedov got out of it.