MMA News

Thomas Taylor - May 30, 2019

Earlier this week, top UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero struck it rich, winning a case against a supplement company and pocketing a whopping $27 million. Michael Bisping, one of the Cuban’s chief rivals, is happy to hear it. Bisping reacted to Romero’s massive payday on a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast.

Adam Martin - May 30, 2019

The first matchup for the UFC’s return to Russia has been revealed. According to a report from Combate’s Ralph Mariano, welterweights Claudio Silva and Ramazan Emeev will meet at UFC on ESPN 5, which takes place August 3 at a TBD venue in Sochi, Russia. Silva vs. Emeev is the first confirmed matchup for the card.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

Anthony Smith will face a stark test when he battles Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Stockholm this weekend. He’s approaching this task with a simple yet violent gameplan. “I’m going to march across the cage, I’m going to put pressure on him, he’s going to run from me for 25 minutes if I let him,” Smith said ahead of this fight (via MMA News). “I’m going to swing hammers the whole time. If he gets too close, I’m going to drag him to the ground and if he gets away, I’ll do it again. That’s it. That’s the game plan. I’ll react to all the other s—t.”

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

There was a time, not all that long ago, when Rashad Evans and Jon Jones were two of the most bitter rivals in MMA. Their rivalry came to a boil in a five-round title fight at UFC 145 in 2012, which Jones won by unanimous decision. Since then, Jones and Evans have put their animosity behind them. In fact, Evans actually has some very high praise for his former rival and opponent. He says Jones is the best fighter of all time.

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2019

Gilbert Burns is looking to get into the top-15 of the UFC lightweight division, but that has been easier said than done. The Brazilian is riding a two-fight winning streak with wins over Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Mike Davis. However, the 32-year-old says many ranked fighters have simply turned down the contract to fight him. Burns wanted to fight Alexander Hernandez, Gregor Gillespie, and Charles Oliveira — among others. Unfortunately, he’s had no luck finding a willing dance partner.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

Canadian middleweight Elias Theodorou is among the latest crop of fighters to be released from the UFC roster. Given the fact that he was previously ranked in the division’s top-15, and that he boasts a solid 8-3 UFC record, this news came as a bit of a surprise. Speaking on his Twitter account on Wednesday, Theodorou himself shared a few quick thoughts on this surprising twist of fate.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

At long last, Nate Diaz is set to return to the Octagon. The fan favorite is scheduled to fight former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis in a welterweight showdown at UFC 241 on August 17. The UFC is already doing its part to promote this dynamite welterweight scrap, having recently published a Nate Diaz highlight reel on social media.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

Earlier this month, Brazilian striking expert Cosmo Alexandre derailed the ONE Championship debut of Sage Northcutt with a jaw-dropping first-round knockout. For those unfamiliar with Alexandre’s body of work, this outcome came as a shock. Yet it’s just the kind of outcome the Brazilian destroyer had envisioned for himself.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

Earlier this week, former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks — one of many fighters not to be paid by World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) last fall — implied that former WBKFF president Bas Rutten likely knew something about the promotion’s dicey finances.  “Dude, why didn’t you tell us? He had to have known something,” Hendricks told Bloody Elbow‘s Pull No Punches podcast recently (transcript via MMA News). “He had to have. Was he sitting here thinking along the same line as that guy… Why hasn’t he said anything? It sucks, the whole aspect of it.”

Drake Riggs - May 29, 2019

The man known as ‘Hands of Stone’ would like to get more active as John Lineker made some demands via Twitter on Wednesday. In a tweet directed towards the UFC, Lineker mentioned the fact that his most recent opponent, Cory Sandhagen fought four times in the space of a year while he’s only fought that many times in the last three years. Which prompted the disgruntled bantamweight to ask for a fight or his release.

Drake Riggs - May 29, 2019

After recently campaigning for the only fight that makes sense for her in the division… outside of a title fight rematch, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino (20-2) appears to be getting her wish at UFC 240. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has confirmed that the UFC is finalizing the featherweight pairing for a co-main event slot between Cyborg and the undefeated most recent Invicta FC champion, Felicia Spencer (7-0) for UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 27.

Cole Shelton - May 29, 2019

When the UFC released four fighters last week, the most surprising name was Canadian and 15th-ranked middleweight, Elias Theodorou, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan agrees. The Canadian was 3-1 in his last four, and 8-3 in his entire time in the UFC, along with winning a season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, his style was not the most entertaining one, as evident by him getting booed in his last fight against Derek Brunson. As well, he had not finished or been finished in a fight since March of 2015, a stretch of eight-straight fights.

Drake Riggs - May 29, 2019

On June 14, Bellator MMA heads back to Madison Square Garden for their second visit with Bellator 222 and it could very be argued as the promotion’s best card ever on paper. From top to bottom, the line-up is flooded with big names and talented fighters… not just from Bellator but RIZIN FF as well.

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.

Natasha Hooper - May 29, 2019

Light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith believes there is hope for Thiago Santos, who looks to defeat the current champion, Jon Jones, in July. “Marreta” Santos will be headlining the UFC 239 event against Jones at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will be the Brazilian fighter’s first shot at the light heavyweight title.

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.