MMA News

Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019

This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his title against interim champion Dustin Poirier. Ahead of this blockbuster lightweight battle, the UFC has opened up its vault and released the entire Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor fight from UFC 229 in October.

Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019

Back in June, in the main event of UFC Minneapolis, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos stepped into the Octagon with ferocious contender Francis Ngannou. Despite his best efforts, dos Santos became the latest victims of Ngannou’s incredible skill and power, succumbing to a TKO just 1:11 into the fight’s first round. Several months removed from this lopsided loss, dos Santos is keen for a do-over against Ngannou. Although he came up short the first time around, he’s not convinced that Ngannou is a better fighter than he is.

Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019

Shortly after UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in late 2018, he leapt over the side of the Octagon and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis. In the subsequent moments, McGregor got physical with several of Nurmagomedov’s teammates inside the cage. It was one of the most infamous and chaotic moments in UFC history, and it resulted in multiple suspensions and fines for the fighters involved. This week, the UFC released the Countdown episode for Nurmagomedov’s UFC 242 fight with Dustin Poirier, which featured some new angles of this frenzied post-fight brawl.

Adam Martin - September 2, 2019

After losing to Anthony Smith at UFC Stockholm back in June, UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson said that he was retiring from MMA. He left his gloves in the center of the Octagon and said that he would be leaving the sport at age 32. Well, it looks like that retirement may be short-lived as Gustafsson appears to be joining a long list of MMA fighters who don’t leave the sport for long.

Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019

Alberto Del Rio is a veteran pro wrestler, and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has never been afraid to cut a pro wrestling-inspired promo. So, when the pair faced off in the Combate Americas cage ahead of their yet unscheduled fight, it should come as no surprise that things got pretty interesting. See the pair’s confrontation in the Combate Americas cage below (via @EvilGokhanJeff on Twitter):

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2019

Cheick Kongo will soon have a chance to become a heavyweight champion in a major promotion for the first time in his career. The 44-year-old Frenchman will take on Ryan Bader in the main event of Bellator 226 this Saturday. The training camp preparing for Bader has not been an easy one for Kongo. He knows the Bellator champion is an elite wrestler so in preparation he brought in world class, Olympic-level wrestlers to help him for this camp.

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2019

Jessica Andrade was looking for her first title defense when she took on Weili Zhang in the main event of UFC Shenzhen. It was an important fight in the strawweight division that would no doubt change the landscape of 115-pounds. In the end, it was Zhang who surprised many as she knocked out Andrade in just 42 seconds to win the strawweight title. Following the fight, here is what we think should be next for the two of them.

Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019

Frankie Edgar has been angling for a fight with Conor McGregor for some time, but so far, it hasn’t come to fruition. That being said, McGregor recently named Edgar as a potential opponent for his return to action. “Who else is top of the list? Frankie Edgar is also up there on the list because he has similarities to Khabib,” McGregor said of Edgar in an interview with ESPN. “He runs on the back foot and shoots on the single leg. I want these sort of similar bouts. And also, Frankie has been very respectful. He’s always respectful. He said, ‘I want to tell my his grandkids I fought Conor McGregor’, one day.

Natasha Hooper - September 2, 2019

Chinese welterweight fighter Li Jingliang represented his nation with an impressive victory at UFC Shenzhen on Saturday. Jingliang met streaking Brazilian contender Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in the card’s co-main event, and derailed dos Santos’ momentum via TKO with just 9 seconds left in the final round.

Natasha Hooper - September 2, 2019

Nate Diaz is seemingly back to business. In a recent Instagram post, Diaz showed that he is already back in the gym, grinding for his next challenge.

Natasha Hooper - September 2, 2019

Documents unearthed in the anti-trust lawsuit against the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, have revealed that Pride CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara was paid $10 million to leave the MMA business for seven years (via Jason Cruz on Twitter). If you are interested in following Friday's #UFCHearings, check out @heynottheface and @MMAanalytics timeline. I'm sure you are already. Also, I'm compiling expert reports and other filings on my Scribd: https://t.co/jyBzH9KKOu

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 2, 2019

Each and every time Bi Nguyen steps inside the ring the goal is the same: deliver as much punishment as possible. Nguyen will look to do just that — and honor her family — when she makes her ONE Super Series debut in Vietnam on Friday, 6 September at ONE: Immortal Triumph against Puja Tomar in a Muay Thai contest. The event takes place inside the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City.

Thomas Taylor - September 1, 2019

In just 42 seconds, Weili Zhang captured the UFC strawweight title, became the first Chinese champion in UFC history, and became one of the brightest young stars in MMA. In fact, her abrupt TKO victory over the former champion Jessica Andrade was so impressive that it earned praise from a number of huge celebrities from outside the MMA bubble — and from many inside it.

Cole Shelton - September 1, 2019

Dustin Poirier knows what a win over Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 would do for his career. Poirier, who is the current interim lightweight champion, will look to hand Nurmagomedov his first career loss. If he does just that, the American says it is the best run in lightweight history.

Chris Taylor - September 1, 2019

Colby Covington believes he should be a 3-1 betting favorite in his upcoming title fight with current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. ‘Chaos’ is expected to meet ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden on November 2 at UFC 244.

Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019

UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is in Abu Dhabi ahead of this coming weekend’s UFC 242 megacard. The card is headlined by a lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier, and Cejudo will be in attendance for the festivities.

Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019

UFC flyweight contender Kai Kara-France hinted at bigger things ahead following his win at UFC Shenzhen, posing for a picture after the event with UFC president Dana White. Kara-France defeated Mark de la Rosa via unanimous decision in an entertaining flyweight scrap on the main card to improve his UFC record to 3-0. The 26-year-old native of New Zealand improved to 20-7, 1 NC in his MMA career, and he’s currently riding an impressive eight-fight win streak overall. The UFC matchmakers seem very high on the young Kiwi.

Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019

Dustin Poirier’s coach is confident that “The Diamond” will finish Khabib Nurmagomedov when they meet next Saturday in Abu Dhabi at UFC 242. Phil Daru, the strength and conditioning coach at American Top Team, recently appeared on an episode of the Pull No Punches podcast with Kajan Johnson and Shakiel Mahjouri. Daru believes Poirier is going to earn an upset stoppage win over Nurmagomedov, and he believes that Poirier’s conditioning will be the difference in the outcome (h/t Bloody Elbow).