MMA News
Colby Covington says Donald Trump's sons will attend his next fight
Tom Taylor - July 2, 2019
Colby Covington is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, and actually got some face time in with the man in 2018, shortly after he defeated Rafael dos Anjos to win the interim welterweight title. Since his meeting with Donald Trump, Covington has also met the President’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, who he visited at Trump Tower.
Ben Askren bashes 'delusional' Nate Diaz
Tom Taylor - July 2, 2019
Ben Askren is not impressed by Nate Diaz. Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Askren shared his thoughts on the UFC 241 fight between Diaz and Anthony Pettis, and was not particularly kind in his assessment of the former.
Fabricio Werdum says UFC refused to release him despite USADA suspension
Adam Martin - July 2, 2019
Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum wants out of his UFC contract, but the world’s leading MMA promotion is holding him to it. In an interview with Combate, Werdum admitted he asked the UFC to terminate his contract following his USADA suspension due to performance-enhancing drugs. Werdum said the UFC told him no, and that he must finish out his contract once he is eligible to return to the Octagon in 2020.
Conor McGregor does 'Bottle Cap Challenge,' passes it on to Floyd Mayweather
Tom Taylor - July 2, 2019
The Bottle Cap Challenge has been sweeping the MMA world. This online craze entered our little bubble late last week, when UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway tried his hand at it. He then passed it on to John Mayer, who nailed it, and Mayer passed it on to actor Jason Statham, who also nailed it. Statham directed his followup challenge to UFC veteran James Moontasri and director Guy Ritchie, both of whom succeeded. Yet his challenge also caught the attention of former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor, unsurprisingly, easily accomplished the challenge, and then passed it on to undefeated boxing legend and former opponent Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Ben Askren believes beating Jorge Masvidal will be 'pretty easy'
Tom Taylor - July 2, 2019
This Saturday, on the main card of UFC 239, Ben Askren will collide with Jorge Masvidal in a pivotal welterweight contender bout. Askren originally expected to fight Darren Till in his next bout, but then Masvidal knocked Till out, jumping the line in the process. “Going in to the fight with Masvidal, I thought [Darren] Till was going to win,” Ben Askren said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Masvidal was already making excuses so I didn’t really think it was a good possibility of me fighting Masvidal but then when he won, they started looking around at opponents for me and “Wonderboy” [Stephen Thompson] lost [to Anthony Pettis] and Masvidal was the one that made the most sense.
Darren Till discusses infamous taxi-theft incident
Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019
Back in April, Darren Till was arrested in the Canary Islands for damaging a hotel room and stealing a taxi. Now, just over two months later, the Englishman has opened up on the incident in an interview with Fighters Only. “Truthfully and honestly, we went on a lad’s birthday and we booked it for the while. We were gone for two days and we were out there having a good time. It’s a nice place,” Darren Till said (via MMA News). “Then we were in the hotel, and there were these other guys in the room. And we weren’t having trouble, but just a little bother broke out – not fights and whatnot. Obviously, the hotel didn’t get trashed. There was no criminal damage. But things got thrown and whatever.”
Sarah Kaufman feels Kayla Harrison gets 'preferential treatment'
Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 1, 2019
Kayla Harrison is considered to be the most popular star in PFL and Sarah Kaufman believes there is some special treatment going on. Harrison is a judo Olympic gold medalist, who has made the transition to mixed martial arts. She is 4-0 in her young professional mixed martial arts career. Harrison will go one-on-one with Morgan Frier at PFL 4 Season 2 on July 11, while Kaufman takes on Roberta Samad.
Leon Edwards wants to dethrone UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman
Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 1, 2019
Leon Edwards feels he’s on the right path to a shot at UFC gold. On July 20, Edwards will collide with former UFC lightweight title holder Rafael dos Anjos. The welterweight scrap will serve as UFC San Antonio’s main event. “Rocky” will be looking to extend his winning streak to eight. Meanwhile, dos Anjos hopes to snag his second straight victory.
Francis Ngannou explains how he turned career around after consecutive losses
Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019
Before his heavyweight title shot against Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou was regarded as a near unstoppable force in the Octagon. After the world watched him get walloped by the Miocic for five rounds, however, that perception changed. Suddenly, he looked like a flawed, inexperienced fighter that anybody with the right gameplan could beat. When Ngannou followed this loss up with an utterly forgettable decision loss to Derrick Lewis, fans began to question his mental game too. In the span of a few months, he’d devolved from a juggernaut to a flash in the pan. Hope for his future as a world-class heavyweight was all but gone.
Johnny Walker claims he can beat Francis Ngannou today
Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019
This list of people willing to fight Francis Ngannou is seemingly getting shorter and shorter. Having rebounded from two worrying losses with a trio of blitzkrieg knockouts of Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, Ngannou has reasserted himself as the scariest fighter in MMA. Yet there is still one man ready and willing to step into the cage with the talented Cameroonian-Frenchman: Brazil’s Johnny Walker. Walker, to remind, is not even a heavyweight, but a light heavyweight. Nonetheless, he is confident that if was locked in the cage with Francis Ngannou on this very day, he could win.
UFC 239 | Mike Winkeljohn says the future is still bright for Diego Sanchez
Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019
Diego Sanchez has rejuvenated his career as of late. The 37-year-old has been fighting professionally since 2002 and in the UFC since 2005. And, throughout his career, he has beaten some of the top names in the sport and even fought for the UFC title against B.J. Penn at UFC 107. Now, the veteran is on a two-fight winning streak and is set to take on Michael Chiesa at UFC 239. If he wins, he could very well have a number beside his name in the welterweight rankings.
Anthony Smith takes shot at Paulie Malignaggi
Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019
MMA stars Ben Askren and Chael Sonnen both had plenty to say about Paulie Malignaggi after the boxer lost a bare knuckle boxing match to Artem Lobov at BKFC 6. Last week, Malignaggi responded to these criticisms.
Darren Till targets future rematch with Jorge Masvidal
Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019
After back-to-back losses to Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, English welterweight contender Darren Till finds himself on shaky ground. He’ll enter his next fight in a must-win situation, as a third straight loss could be disastrous for his UFC career. Despite the massive stakes of his next fight, Darren Till says he absolutely intends to fight again this year. The Brit opened up on his fighting future in a fantastic interview with James Edwards of Fighters Only.
UFC 239 | Michael Chiesa believes he will hand Diego Sanchez his first submission loss
Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019
Don’t call it a legend tour. Michael Chiesa is set to fight longtime veteran of the sport, Diego Sanchez at UFC 239. And, after beating another veteran in Carlos Condit last time out, many are saying he is fighting legends of the sport. But, the 31-year-old makes it very clear, Sanchez is not a washed-up legend like fans are making him out to be.
Junior dos Santos discusses next move after Ngannou loss
Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019
Last weekend, former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos stepped into the cage with Francis Ngannou in a perceived number-one contender fight. Unfortunately for the Brazilian and his fans, this fight did not go as he planned. Instead, he was knocked out in just 71 seconds, and will now have to return to the drawing board to formulate his next move. Dos Santos, of course, didn’t plan on losing, which means he didn’t give a ton of thought to what might be next if he came up short in Minneapolis.
Jon Jones in no rush to move to heavyweight
Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been so dominant in the 205-pound division that many fans want to see how he’d do in the heavyweight division. As he gears up for a title defense against Thiago Santos at UFC 239, however, Jones admitted that he’s in no rush to move up to heavyweight.
Jon Jones isn't concerned with having DQ loss overturned
Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 30, 2019
If you were expecting Jon Jones to lobby greatly for overturning his lone career defeat, you may be surprised. Back in Dec. 2009, a young Jones went one-on-one with Matt Hamill. The bout served as the co-main event for TUF 10 Finale. Jones was having his way with Hamill, taking him to the mat and unleashing vicious ground-and-pound. Referee Steve Mazzagatti called a halt to the bout and a TKO win for “Bones” was all but secured. That was until it was revealed that Jones was disqualified for landing illegal 12-6 elbows.
Paulie Malignaggi fires back at Askren, Sonnen after criticisms
Tom Taylor - June 30, 2019
Shortly after former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi came up short to UFC veteran Artem Lobov in a bare knuckle bout at BKFC 6, he was criticized by MMA stars Ben Askren and Chael Sonnen. Both men made comments suggesting that perhaps boxers aren’t quite as skilled as we previously believed. Malignaggi has now responded to these criticisms with a challenge to both Askren and Sonnen. He encouraged the pair of MMA fighters to to give boxing a try if they think it’s so easy. He also added that they’re probably make more money doing so than they do in MMA.