MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

John Lineker is easily one of the most consistently exciting fighters in mixed martial arts. Yet for some reason, he seems to have a hard time staying active. That’s no fault of his, the UFC matchmakers just don’t schedule him for action as often as he’d like them too. He seems to be getting fed up.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Earlier this week, UFC featherweight Max Holloway implied that we could see him in the lightweight division again. “Lightweight was great. Lightweight was fun,” he said at Tactical Strength and Conditioning on Monday (transcript via Hawaii News Now). “155 was 155. Just like how 170 will be 170, just like how when I make my heavyweight debut, it’s gonna be a heavyweight debut. It is what it is. Weight is weight, I don’t care. I’m a modern day gladiator. Back in the day, gladiators didn’t ask you about your weight. They just showed up to the arena and they fought. That’s what I do every night.”

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Julianna Pena has not fought since January of 2017, when she was submitted by Valentina Shevchenko in a bantamweight number-one contender fight. In the time since then, the talented bantamweight contender has become a mother and put in work as a commentator for Combate Americas. That being said, it sounds like Pena is getting the itch to fight again. Speaking on her official Instagram account recently, “The Venezuelan Vixen” updated on her busy life, and discussed her eventual return to the cage.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Last year, Daniel Cormier planted a bomb on the chin of Stipe Miocic, ending the Croatian-American’s historic reign as the heavyweight champion with a first-round KO. On August 17, in the main event of UFC 241, Miocic will have the opportunity to reclaim the title from Cormier, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan expects him to perform much better this time around. Miocic has not fought since his first meeting with Cormier. While some fans expect ring rust to be a factor for the long absent former champion, Rogan believes he’ll benefit from the time off.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Singapore-based martial arts organization ONE Championship has recently signed a host of high profile free agents, most notably Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Sage Northcutt. Among Western fans, many of whom grew familiar with these fighters during their time in the UFC, the widespread expectation was that all three would all be extremely successful in ONE. This has not been the case.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Last month, in the main event of the action-packed UFC 236 card, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway moved up to the lightweight division to battle Dustin Poirier for the division’s interim title. Although Holloway put up a gutsy effort, even winning several rounds of this five-round war, he ultimately lost a unanimous decision to his bigger, stronger rival.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Colby Covington recently paid a visit to the men and women in uniform aboard the USS New York. He believes that other UFC stars like Jon Jones and Conor McGregor should take note, and make more of an effort to give back to their communities.

Jordy McElroy - May 29, 2019

As the broken pieces of the UFC’s bantamweight ocean liner slowly descended into the Pacific, a rising tide came washing in on Tuesday, carrying Urijah Faber in a red cape on a surfboard with sounds of “California Love” blaring in the background. “The California Kid” is returning to combat sports as a middle-aged man and adding a new page to the fighting chapter of one of the most storied careers in MMA history.

Drake Riggs - May 28, 2019

This Saturday night (morning for the viewers stateside), the UFC returns to Sweden for UFC Stockholm and in the main event, ‘Lionheart’ Anthony Smith travels into enemy territory. Hitting a new stride with his move to the light heavyweight division from middleweight in June 2018, Smith would pick up two big knockout wins over the likes of former UFC champions, Rashad Evans and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua before submitting recent title challenger, Volkan Oezdemir in the third round of their five-round affair to earn the first title shot of his 45-fight career.

Thomas Taylor - May 28, 2019

Donald Cerrone is known for keeping one of the busiest schedules of any fighter in the UFC. The man they call “Cowboy” once again demonstrated his hyperactivity recently, accepting a fight with top contender Tony Ferguson on just three weeks’ notice — right after a war with Al Iaquinta. UFC commentator Joe Rogan and combat sports podcaster Brendan Schaub don’t seem to agree on whether or not that’s a good idea.

Cole Shelton - May 28, 2019

In the main event of UFC Ottawa, Al Iaquinta was looking to secure his second career title opportunity by defeating Donald Cerrone. The 32-year-old Long Island native was riding high after beating Kevin Lee in December. However, the fight didn’t go Iaquinta’s way and he ended up losing by unanimous decision. Not only did he lose, but “Raging Al” was badly cut open and his leg was badly bruised as well. Now, a few weeks later, he spoke about the injuries he suffered in his scrap with ‘Cowboy’.

Drake Riggs - May 28, 2019

UFC 242 on September 7 will mark the UFC’s first trip back to Abu Dhabi since April 2014. As that event was headlined by heavyweights, this next card will feature them as well. The most notable fight swirling around the card is, of course, the big expected undisputed UFC lightweight title clash between the undefeated champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champion, Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier.

Drake Riggs - May 28, 2019

Top-ranked UFC middleweight contender, Yoel Romero seems to have gone and turned the ultimate negative into the ultimate positive. The Cuban Olympic silver medalist in wrestling found himself under investigation by USADA in January 2016 which led to a six-month suspension from what was the result of tainted supplement usage. Following the incident, Romero went ahead a filed a lawsuit against the company that provided him with the supplement.

Drake Riggs - May 28, 2019

‘The greatest of all time’ is a label reserved strictly for only one specific component. Of course, when breaking down the category overall that the subject pertains to, there can be multiple different variants that make up the classification of a G.O.A.T. In the general sports world, this often can come in the forms of a team’s best player historically. However, in a singular athletic endeavor like a combat sport such as mixed martial arts, the closest comparison to a team’s G.O.A.T. would be that of a weight division’s.

Tom Taylor - May 28, 2019

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou and and WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder compete in different sports, but UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes they’re bound by one key similarity: They both hit absurdly hard.

Tom Taylor - May 28, 2019

When Alex Volkanovski defeated featherweight legend Jose Aldo by decision at UFC 237 in Brazil, many fans expected him to be rewarded with a title shot against reigning champ Max Holloway. This was not the case.

Tom Taylor - May 28, 2019

Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor at UFC 229, he leapt over the side of the Octagon and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis. Danis and Nurmagomedov engaged in a momentary skirmish before being separated by security.

Cole Shelton - May 28, 2019

In the co-main event of UFC Stockholm, Volkan Oezdemir will return to the Octagon to take on Ilir Latifi. There, the Swiss fighter will attempt to get back into the win column for the first time since UFC 214 in July 2017. His current skid includes losses to Daniel Cormier, Anthony Smith, and a controversial decision loss to Dominick Reyes in March. After these setbacks, Oezdemir just wanted to get back into the Octagon soon and get the bad taste of losing out of his mouth.