MMA News
Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza issues statement after loss to Jack Hermansson
Tom Taylor - May 1, 2019
On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC Fort Lauderdale, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza risked his promised middleweight title shot in a fight with short-notice replacement opponent Jack Hermansson. Unfortunately for the former Strikeforce champ and his fans, this gamble did not pay off. Instead, the 39-year-old was walloped to a decision loss by his opponent and his title dreams were once again dashed — perhaps for a final time. Speaking on Instagram on Tuesday, Jacare issued a statement on this loss. He seems to be in good spirits.
Carla Esparza targeting rematch with Joanna Jedrzejczyk
Tom Taylor - May 1, 2019
Carla Esparza got the job done at UFC Fort Lauderdale over the weekend, defeating former Invicta champ Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision. For the former UFC strawweight champ, the pressure was on heading into this fight, as another loss would have equated to a three-fight skid.
Claudia Gadelha vs Randa Markos in the works for UFC 239
Drake Riggs - April 30, 2019
Every year the UFC stacks up their big International Fight Week event with the biggest and best fights possible. This year that event is UFC 239 and the stacking got going early and often. Well, it continues on as ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed that a big strawweight match-up between perennial top 15 contenders in Claudia Gadelha (16-4) and Randa Markos (9-6-1) is now officially in the works for the July 6 date.
Coach says Greg Hardy victim in alleged domestic violence incident 'would be dead' if there was 'malice'
Drake Riggs - April 30, 2019
UFC heavyweight prospect Greg Hardy has been a controversial figure dating all the way back to his days in the NFL as a defensive end. That hasn’t changed now that he’s in the world of MMA. A naturally heavy hitter from playing American football, that has transitioned over nicely for the 30-year-old as he has finished all seven of his career wins by knockout/TKO (four as a pro, three as an amateur).
BREAKING | Daniel Cormier vs Stipe Miocic 2 being finalized for UFC 241
Drake Riggs - April 30, 2019
WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar is officially out of the picture when it comes to an MMA return and heavyweight title shot. And with that news, it’s onto what’s next and that’s a necessary rematch.
UFC Ottawa | Al Iaquinta says he almost fought ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone eight years ago
Cole Shelton - April 30, 2019
Al Iaquinta will take on Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC Ottawa this weekend. Although it is a fresh matchup, ‘Cowboy’ and ‘Raging Al’ nearly collided eight years ago. Back in 2011, at UFC 131, Iaquinta almost stepped in on short notice to take on Cerrone.
Brock Lesnar not returning to MMA, says Dana White
Drake Riggs - April 30, 2019
Since UFC 226 concluded in July 2018, we all thought that a Brock Lesnar MMA return was inevitable. Well, it seems that plans have changed. According to UFC President Dana White, the WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion is “done, he’s retired,” White told ESPN. “We’re going to move in another direction with [Daniel] Cormier.”
Rory MacDonald vs Neiman Gracie official for Bellator 222
Drake Riggs - April 30, 2019
Bellator 220 took place this past weekend and the main event saw the welterweight title be fought over between champion, Rory MacDonald (20-5-1) and challenger, Jon Fitch to decide who would advance to the welterweight Grand Prix semifinal round. Awaiting the winner was undefeated BJJ ace, Neiman Gracie (9-0). However, there wasn’t a winner as the two men fought to a majority draw. Due to the fact that MacDonald was the champion and he didn’t lose, he would, of course, remain champion thus making it so that he advances forward in the tournament.
UFC, Strikeforce veteran Renato Sobral opens up on struggles with CTE
Tom Taylor - April 30, 2019
Renato Sobral — better known by the nickname “Babalu” — is suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The former UFC and Strikeforce fighter opened up on these struggles, which he believes most fighters are doomed to endure, in an interview with Brazil’s PVT. ”Today I can’t walk a straight line, I lost sight of my left eye, which is a big price (to pay),” Sobral said (translation via MMA Fighting). “I have no balance today, my balance is almost zero. When I’m fighting, when I’m in a jiu-jitsu tournament or in training, it feels that my balance is normal again, but it’s complicated on a daily basis. But the guys that start fighting have to know that the price to pay will come one day. For everyone. People only talk about the good things today, what they have accomplished, what happened, but what about what you’ve lost? What happened to you?
VIDEO | Watch the trailer for the first comedy special from UFC vet Brendan Schaub
Tom Taylor - April 30, 2019
Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub has a stand-up comedy special on the way, and on Tuesday afternoon, he dropped the trailer for this Showtime-backed project. See it below:
Dana White meets with boxing promoter Eddie Hearn
Tom Taylor - April 30, 2019
UFC President Dana White has recently laid out plans to venture into the boxing business, and on Monday, he gave us reason to believe these plans could actually be taking shape. On his official Twitter account, the UFC boss shared a photo of himself and English boxing promoter Eddie Hearn meeting at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
UFC Ottawa official fight card and start time
Tom Taylor - April 30, 2019
On Saturday night, the UFC will return to our screens with its second offering from the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Canada. Featuring a key lightweight contender bout, and some of Canada’s top MMA talent, this UFC Ottawa card looks like it could be a solid night of fights. The card will be topped by a lightweight showdown between ranked contenders Al Iaquinta and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Iaquinta will look to build on the momentum of a recent defeat of Kevin Lee, while Cowboy, who also fought on the UFC’s first show in Ottawa, will look to make it two in a row after stopping Alex Hernandez in January.
Bellator 220 medical suspensions: Rory MacDonald facing long-term sit
Tom Taylor - April 30, 2019
Bellator 220 was a great card, highlighted by some fun back-and-forth fights, and handful of grisly finishes. While these factors made for an entertaining card, they unfortunately also meant that several fighters on the bill were handed lengthy medical suspensions by the California State Athletic Commission. Main event fighter Rory MacDonald, for example, could be out 180 days after his back-and-forth fight with Jon Fitch, while Veta Arteaga is facing a lengthy sit due a cut sustained in her loss to Ilima-Lei MacFarlane, and Liam McGeary has been sidelined due to a broken jaw.
Greg Hardy sets sights on Stipe Miocic, Derrick Lewis, after first UFC victory
Tom Taylor - April 30, 2019
Over the weekend, disgraced former NFL player Greg Hardy picked up his first UFC victory, thumping the completely passive Dmitrii Smoliakov to a first-round TKO. With this first UFC win in the books, Hardy is already setting his sights on some of the UFC heavyweight division’s premier players, such as former champ Stipe Miocic and former title challenger Derrick Lewis.
Champion vs champion rematch in the works between Ayaka Hamasaki and Jinh Yu Frey for RIZIN 16
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2019
In MMA’s lightest division, the spotlight isn’t too bright in North America, but the fighters are still lighting things up. Leading the way for them in the West is the Invicta FC atomweight champion, Jinh Yu Frey (8-3). After six fights in the promotion, the seventh was her crowning moment when she defeated Minna Grusander via unanimous decision. Since then, Frey has successfully defended the title once by defeating Grusander in their instant rematch.
Adli Edwards vs. Terrance McKinney in the works for Contender Series
Nolan King - April 29, 2019
Another 145-pound matchup is in the works for this summer’s return of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. A bout between featherweight up-and-comers Adli Edwards (6-1) and Terrance McKinney (6-1) is in the works for July 23, sources tell BJPenn.com. North Carolina’s Adli Edwards is coming off of four straight victories entering his first Contender Series appearance. In his last outing, Edwards stormed into enemy territory, defeating previously unbeaten Brendon Marotte at Combat Zone 70.
Bellator 220 fighter salaries: Rory MacDonald leaves as highest earner
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2019
Bellator 220 went down on Saturday night as it was headlined by two big title fights in the respective welterweight and flyweight divisions. In the co-main event, we saw “The Ilimanator” Ilima-Lei Macfarlane extend her perfect record to 10-0 as she picked up her third title defense by finishing Veta Arteaga in the third-round by TKO (doctor’s stoppage). Macfarlane landed a vicious elbow to the forehead of her opponent that opened a cut that was too severe for the fight to continue.
Report | UFC 243 set for Sydney, Australia with Robert Whittaker vs Israel Adesanya in the works
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2019
Generally, when an interim champion is crowned, we know exactly what fight will be next for them. That, of course, is none other than the undisputed champion. When “The Last Stylebender” Israel Adesanya (17-0) defeated Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 in a fight of the year candidate, he became the new UFC interim middleweight champion. Thus making an encounter with the undisputed champ, Robert Whittaker (20-4), inevitable.