MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2019

Earlier this week, reports surfaced suggesting that UFC heavyweight contender Justin Willis had been released from the promotion. The reason, it was reported, is that Willis turned down a UFC San Antonio fight with Walt Harris because he would not be able to make the division’s 265-pound limit by that point. This apparently rubbed the UFC the wrong way. According to Justin Willis himself, however, he has not parted ways with the UFC. He’s calling this a big miscommunication.

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2019

Conor McGregor has accomplished a lot in his MMA career. The Irish MMA star has captured titles in two UFC divisions, headlined multiple record-breaking UFC pay-per-views, delivered some spectacular finishes against top-flight opponents, and engaged in some unforgettable wars. Yet he says there is one moment of his MMA career that stands out as the most significant. Apparently, he considers his first encounter with UFC championship gold — a UFC 189 interim title victory over Chad Mendes in 2015 — to be the most important win of his career. As he reminds, of course, he did not expect to meet Mendes that night, as he was initially booked to challenge Brazil’s Jose Aldo for the undisputed featherweight strap.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has offered up an interesting idea as to who Conor McGregor should call out next. The Irishman appears to be on the outside looking in as the promotions continues to book key lightweight matchups that do not include the ‘Notorious’.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

It has been almost ten years since BJ Penn told Joe Rogan “I love you” during his post-fight speech at UFC 123 in Detroit. That evening, ‘The Prodigy’ had defeated longtime rival turned good friend Matt Hughes via knockout in just 23-seconds, thus reasserting Penn as one of top welterweights in the divison.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

Jessica Andrade shocked the mixed martial arts world at UFC 237 when she knocked out Rose Namajunas with an emphatic slam to capture the promotions strawweight crown. While many fans and analysts predicted that Andrade’s raw power would be enough to dethrone Namajunas, few people saw the fight ending the way it did.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

Submission specialist Dillon Danis utilized some lyrics from rap mogul Eminem to send a warning to fellow fighters on social media. Danis, who rose to prominence in the MMA Community after helping prepare Conor McGregor for his rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202, took to Twitter with the following message for his peers.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

No matter what happens in his fight with Alexander Gustafsson next weekend, it appears that Anthony Smith is on a collision course with former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold. Smith and Rockhold have been trading barbs back and forth on social media ever since ‘Lionheart’ suffered a unanimous decision loss to Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 235 this past April.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

UFC featherweight contender Alex Volkanovski picked up the biggest win of his professional mixed martial arts career earlier this month, defeating Jose Aldo via unanimous decision at UFC 237. The victory, which took place in Aldo’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro, served as Volkanovski’s seventeenth win in a row.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

Conor McGregor was seen sporting a cast on his left hand on Friday, this after apparently suffering an injury during a recent sparring session. The former two division UFC champion, McGregor, took to Instagram where he assured fans that the injury was not serious and that he would “push on” through the adversity.

Chris Taylor - May 25, 2019

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will return to the octagon at next month’s UFC 238 event in Chicago for a scrap with Donald Cerrone. The bout will mark Ferguson’s first since UFC 229 in October of 2018, where he defeated Anthony Pettis by way of TKO.

Drake Riggs - May 25, 2019

An eight-year UFC tenure has been revealed to have come to an end. The Ultimate Fighter season 14 contestant and perennial top bantamweight contender, ‘Kid Lightning,’ Bryan Caraway (21-9) is no longer with the promotion. The 30-fight veteran took to Instagram recently to tease some fight news. As most surely assumed, he would be referring to a fight inside the UFC Octagon.

Cole Shelton - May 24, 2019

At UFC 238, Donald Cerrone will return to the octagon to take on former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. Cerrone will be making a quick turnaround, this after defeating Al Iaquinta last month.

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2019

There’s recently been a lot of talk about the potential Octagon return of Conor McGregor. From the looks of it, that return will have to wait, as the Irish MMA star has sustained an arm injury. McGregor announced this setback, which he implied is the result of ‘intense training and sparring sessions’ in a Friday afternoon post to his official Instagram account.

Natasha Hooper - May 24, 2019

As the UFC continues to grow in popularity, new doors open for both competitors and fans. One of the sectors that has seen the most growth is women’s mixed martial arts. Pioneers such as Ronda Rousey and Rose Namajunas have paved the way for future athletes and turned women’s MMA into a mainstream attraction. So what does the future have in store for women’s MMA? BBC Sport recently unpacked teh topic with UFC stars Molly McCann and Valentina Shevchenko to get their thoughts on the topic.

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2019

Rashad Evans, who will soon be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, has retired from MMA competition. That being said, he’s become a staple of the broadcast desk on UFC fight nights, where he provides excellent analysis of the action set to unfold in the cage. Speaking on SiriusXM, Rashad Evans flaunted his aptitude for high quality analysis, breaking down a potential heavyweight rematch between light heavyweight rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.

Cole Shelton - May 24, 2019

Colby Covington has been waiting to get a shot at the welterweight title ever since he beat Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 to win the interim belt. It has been nearly a year since that fight, and Covington has stated he is ready to fight and is just waiting on the champion Kamaru Usman, who is recovering from injury. However, Covington believes Usman is not even hurt, and that he didn’t even need surgery. Instead, he thinks the champion is faking injuries to avoid him.

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2019

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has recently called for a rematch with his latest foil Khabib Nurmagomedov. Yet the undefeated Russian isn’t the only former opponent the Irish star is interested in rematching. He’s also keen on a do-over with undefeated pugilist Floyd Mayweather, who he lost to in a blockbuster boxing match in 2017. “I would love another go in the boxing arena,” Conor McGregor told motivational speaker Tony Robbins recently, assessing Mayweather’s seemingly unbeatable style (transcript via MMA Weekly). “Floyd is known for his Philly-shell defensive style of fighting. He has his right arm tucked in, or he’s orthodox so it’s the opposite, but he has one arm tucked in by his belly and one arm kept up by his ear. He uses his shoulder to deflect shots. He’s a back footed fighter, he fights on the back foot.

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2019

Shortly after Colby Covington won the UFC interim welterweight title in 2018, he visited The White House and got some face time in with President Donald Trump. From the get-go, it was clear that this visit was an immense source of pride for Covington.