MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

UFC analyst Dan Hardy, like many fight fans, recognizes that Thiago Santos faces a monumental task in his UFC 239 title fight with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones is far and away the more technical, versatile fighter, which would seemingly leave Santos with few paths to victory. A Thiago Santos victory is, of course, a possibility — however slim.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

Conor McGregor hasn’t fought since he was walloped by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in early October. UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes he knows why the Irishman has been lingering on the sidelines. Rogan gave his take on McGregor’s lengthy absence on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. The commentator thinks the obscenely wealthy former two-division champ is just waiting for something he finds “fun.”

Cole Shelton - June 28, 2019

Junior dos Santos is set to take on Francis Ngannou in the main event of UFC Minneapolis. The expectation is that the winner will fight for the heavyweight title next. According to American Top Team owner, Dan Lambert, this is a tough fight for dos Santos, but he says no one should count out the former heavyweight champion.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee recently had her first taste of defeat. This unappetizing dish was served up at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo in March when, after a four frenetic rounds of action, she was stopped by a volley of fifth-round strikes from ONE Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan. Lee does not plan on having a second serving.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

Earlier this month, in the main event of UFC Stockholm, Anthony Smith picked up arguably the biggest win of his MMA career, submitting three-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson. In the moments after this loss, Gustafsson announced his plan to retire from MMA — which is why Luke Rockhold didn’t find Smith’s win very impressive. Rockhold has previously been very critical of Smith’s ability, and saw nothing special in his defeat of Gustafsson, who had seemingly lost his will to fight.

Natasha Hooper - June 28, 2019

Eddie Alvarez is a firm believer in the old adage that respect is earned, not given. Despite having a great track record and wins over notable stars including Anthony Pettis and Rafael Dos Anjos, Alvarez is now back to square one in ONE Championship and is ready to earn any respect he receives. Back in March, Eddie Alvarez made his ONE Championship debut against Timofey Nastyukhin. He experienced a first-round TKO at the hands of the Russian fighter. Many fans predicted Alvarez would win and were shocked by the outcome. There were residual expectations coming from his UFC and Bellator careers that not all debuting ONE Championship fighters have to contend with.

Natasha Hooper - June 28, 2019

TJ Dillashaw is exploring a new business venture amid his United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension. The former UFC bantamweight champion sent shockwaves through the MMA community after testing positive for EPO earlier this year. The 135-pound fighter was subsequently suspended for two years by USADA.

Christopher Taylor - June 27, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has offered to train Robert Whittaker for his title unification bout with Israel Adesanya. The news come shortly after ‘Bones’ complimented Whittaker in a recent interview calling him the ‘real deal’ and ‘a stand-up guy’, this while adding that he can’t wait to see Robert ‘stomp a mudhole’ in the face of Israel Adesanya.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

Daniel Cormier did not get the Brock Lesnar fight he so desired. Instead, the heavyweight champion will now rematch Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 241. Given “DC” already beat Miocic, he understands what he needs to do to win the fight again. But, the motivation is not the same for this fight, and the heavyweight champion admits that.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Many have been wondering how Jon Jones would fare in the heavyweight division and Francis Ngannou wouldn’t mind being a dance partner. Ngannou and Jones are currently on different paths. ‘The Predator’ is set to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC Minneapolis this Saturday night (June 29). Meanwhile, ‘Bones’ is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight gold against Thiago Santos in the UFC 239 headliner on July 6.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

Justin Bieber was only messing around when he called for a fight with actor Tom Cruise in the UFC’s Octagon. Yet the pop star’s words have snowballed to the point that UFC President Dana White has actually made a concerted effort to set the fight up. “I should have known this was going to be the first question,” White, the guest speaker at at Hashtag Sports 2019, joked during a Q&A (via MMA Junkie). “Listen, if I can make that fight, I’d be all over that fight. It’d be the biggest pay-per-view in the history of pay-per-view.”

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Joseph Benavidez already has a victory over Henry Cejudo and he feels lightning can strike twice. Benavidez and Cejudo shared the cage back in Dec. 2016. Cejudo was coming off a first-round TKO loss to Demetrious Johnson. In the first round against Benavidez, Cejudo was deducted a point for low blows. The bout went the distance and Benavidez was awarded the split decision victory. Since that bout, Cejudo has gone 5-0 and he is the UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Thiago Santos doesn’t view Jon Jones as an unstoppable force. On July 6, Santos will challenge Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title. This will be Jones’ second title defense in his current reign. As for “Marreta,” it’ll be his first title opportunity under the UFC banner. Jones vs. Santos headlines UFC 239 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC Greenville card, and as expected “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung has taken a big climb up the featherweight list on the strength of his first-round drubbing of Renato Moicano. In fact, the Korean Zombie has caused something of a domino effect at featherweight, as his recent opponent Yair Rodriguez has also taken a big climb up the ranks, while a host of others have dropped down two or three spots each.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Luke Rockhold believes Jon Jones is doing all he can to avoid a heavyweight bout with Daniel Cormier. Jones is the reigning UFC light heavyweight title holder. He’ll put his gold on the line against Thiago Santos at UFC 239 on July 6. Rockhold will also be on the card and he’ll make his 205-pound debut against Jan Blachowicz. Rockhold has made it clear that he feels he can give “Bones” the toughest challenge.

Adam Martin - June 27, 2019

Although Georges St-Pierre officially announced his retirement from the UFC back in February, his long-time head trainer at Tristar gym still believes he could one day return to the Octagon. Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Zahabi admitted that the welterweight legend is still training in his hometown of Montreal, and that he thinks St-Pierre could make a return to the Octagon if the right offer materializes.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

Earlier this week, news surfaced that UFC President Dana White is working with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to potentially overturn the lone loss on the record of Jon Jones: a 2009 disqualification against Matt Hamill. This controversial loss occurred when Jones unloaded a series of illegal, 12-6 elbows on Hamill, and White — along with UFC commentator Joe Rogan — feels like it should have been ruled a win for the future champ.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

Jorge Masvidal is not a big fan of trash talk. The welterweight contender prefers to do his talking in the Octagon. But there is one person who Masvidal can get behind in terms of trash talking, and that is Henry Cejudo. He likes the Olympic gold medalist’s talk because the champ-champ backs it up.