MMA News

Adam Martin - July 16, 2019

Perhaps one of the most surprising upsets in UFC history took place back in 2011 at UFC 132. At the time, Ryan Bader was a young, hungry, up-and-coming light heavyweight who had recently won The Ultimate Fighter. Tito Ortiz, meanwhile, was a veteran on his last legs and seemed destined for retirement. Or so we thought. Defying the odds, Ortiz finished Bader by submission that night in what remains to this day arguably the most impressive victory of Ortiz’ career. While it was an embarrassing night for Bader, he has since transformed himself into an elite light heavyweight and heavyweight in MMA, currently holding both belts in Bellator. Ortiz, meanwhile, still remains relevant to this day despite being in his mid 40s.

Natasha Hooper - July 16, 2019

Jorge Masvidal broke the UFC record for the fastest KO in history on July 6, snapping Ben Askren’s undefeated streak with a brutal flying knee. At UFC 239, “Gamebred” anticipated a takedown attempt from Askren and counteracted “Funky” with a flying knee. Askren was knocked out cold, and Masvidal was quick to bask in the glory of his swift victory. The fight ended officially at the five second mark of round 1. However, Masvidal believes if the referee had intervened sooner, the fight would have finished within 2 or 3 seconds.

Jordy McElroy - July 16, 2019

The shuttering quake from comatose welterweight star Ben Askren crashing to the canvas in record-breaking time at UFC 239 could be felt from Nevada to Singapore, where former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was shipped off to in a historic trade less than a year ago. Not even the Richter scale is capable of measuring the size of those tremors, which opened up cracks in the reasoning Johnson was ever traded in the first place. That isn’t to suggest Ben Askren in the UFC hasn’t been entertaining. It has been a rollercoaster ride and cotton candy rolled into one. He talks the talk and walks the walk against the toughest guys in the UFC; guys that boast the kind of knockout power to alter careers with a single strike.

Christopher Taylor - July 16, 2019

UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones was not impressed by the recent comments made by perennial division contender Corey Anderson. ‘Beastin 25/8’ was a recent guest on the Slip n Dip Podcast where he seemingly attacked Jones’ past with the following statement.

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2019

Jorge Masvidal scored arguably this biggest win of his career earlier this month, defeating former Bellator and ONE champion Ben Askren by way of knockout. ‘Gamebred’ set a record for the ‘fastest knockout in his history’ with the win, as he needed on 5-seconds to put an end to Askren’s undefeated streak.

Mike Heck - July 16, 2019

Ever since Darren Till missed weight for his fight with Stephen Thompson last May, the questions began on whether or not “The Gorilla” should make the move from welterweight to middleweight. Since then, Till has had two more appearances at 170-pounds — including an opportunity at the UFC welterweight title — in which he was finished in the second round of both fights. According to an Instagram post from Till late Monday night, it seems like a move to the 185-pounds has gone a bit beyond the discussion stage.

Adam Martin - July 16, 2019

Many thought the great Fedor Emelianenko was considering retirement following a 35-second knockout loss to Ryan Bader back at Bellator 214 in January. Not so fast, says Bellator president Scott Coker, who confirmed Emelianenko has signed a multi-fight agreement with the promotion. Coker even has some opponents in mind for his retirement tour. According to Coker, who spoke to Ariel Helwani on Monday’s MMA Show, Bellator is planning on holding a cross-over event with RIZIN in December, and the Bellator bossman wants Emelianenko to fight on the card.

Christopher Taylor - July 15, 2019

Corey Anderson (12-4 MMA) is ready and willing to test his skills against reigning UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones. The surging 205-pound contender, Anderson, has won three straight bouts and feels like the time is perfect for a fight with ‘Bones’.

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2019

Former Dallas Cowboy Greg Hardy has some lofty goals for his combat sports career. Although he is only five fights into his MMA career, the former NFL pro bowler is already eyeing a transition into the boxing scene. But, it would not be full-time, rather he says he would transition between MMA and boxing fights.

Adam Martin - July 15, 2019

When Henry Cejudo called out Urijah Faber following his TKO win over Marlon Moraes at UFC 238, we assumed it was the first time he called him out. Not so fast, says Faber, who returned the favor by calling out Cejudo following his upset win over Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento. According to the UFC Hall of Famer, the bad blood between these two goes way back. The former WEC champ says that Cejudo vs. Faber is a fight a decade in the making.

Christopher Taylor - July 15, 2019

Michael Bisping did not take any pleasure from watching his former rival Luke Rockhold get knocked out by Jan Blachowicz earlier this month at UFC 239. Rockhold had his light heavyweight debut spoiled in brutal fashion by Blachowicz, who floored ‘Rocky’ with a punch in round two of their UFC 239 scrap.

Tom Taylor - July 15, 2019

Urijah Faber was well compensated for his return to the cage, which co-headlined the UFC Sacramento card over the weekend. “The California Kid” pocketed $340,000 for first-round knockout of red hot prospect Ricky Simon. This was his first fight paycheck since late 2016, when he retired after a decision defeat of Brad Pickett.

Mike Pendleton - July 15, 2019

The Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix tournament is about to get underway this Fall, and President Scott Coker just announced the opening round matchups in the tournament. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Coker announced all eight fights with the 16 featherweight tournament participants which will be split up between two events in September. Breaking: @ScottCoker just announced the first-round matchups for @BellatorMMA's 16-man featherweight grand prix (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/lOXPbYnzzI

Tom Taylor - July 15, 2019

Fresh off a bare-knuckle win over former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi, UFC veteran Artem Lobov is now setting his sights on another star pugilist: Amir Khan. Lobov as expressed interest in this matchup previously, and is once again campaigning for it after his long-time coach John Kavanagh broached the possibility in a recent interview.

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2019

Alexey Oleynik is in for a tough fight. At UFC San Antonio, the Russian is set to take on Walt Harris in the co-main event. The 42-year-old is looking to get back into the win column after losing to Alistair Overeem back in April. Although he lost the fight, Oleynik says he was happy with his performance as he showed off his skills and at one point had his opponent hurt.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 15, 2019

Stephen Thompson certainly isn’t one to talk trash, but he isn’t down on Jorge Masvidal’s UFC 239 post-fight celebration. There was some bad blood going into the UFC 239 main card bout between Masvidal and Ben Askren. “Gamebred” made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of Askren, while “Funky” kept poking the bear. Askren even suggested that Masvidal wasn’t secure in his own masculinity.

Mike Heck - July 15, 2019

Aljamain Sterling was impressed with Urijah Faber’s quick finish over Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento on Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean he’s open to letting “The California Kid” take the spot at the top of the bantamweight division he’s worked hard to secure. “Funk Master” solidified his spot as the top contender at 135-pounds with a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz last month at UFC 238 in Chicago. On Monday morning, Sterling decided to let the social media world know his thoughts about the chatter of Faber getting the next shot at Henry Cejudo following Saturday night’s event.

Tom Taylor - July 15, 2019

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is back in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. After being eliminated from the tournament by Timofey Nastyukhin in March, Alvarez has re-entered the field as Nastyukhin has been forced to withdraw from the semifinals with an injury.