MMA News
VIDEO | Relive Poirier vs. Holloway, Adesanya vs. Gastelum in UFC 236 slow motion highlights
Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019
UFC 236 was a card to remember. The card was topped by a pair of interim title fights — both of which registered as instant classics in the eyes of pretty much everybody who tuned in.
Invicta FC announces Phoenix Rising tournament matchups, Kay Hansen return, and more
Nolan King - April 16, 2019
Invicta FC has officially upped the stakes. Tuesday morning, the promotion announced the winner of their highly anticipated “Phoenix Rising” event will be crowned Invicta FC Strawweight Champion. On Friday, May 3, eight of Invicta’s top 115-pounders will collide in a one-night, eight woman tournament. The quarterfinal matchups are as follows (per a press release):
Odds: Robert Whittaker favored over new interim champion Israel Adesanya
Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019
Having won the UFC interim middleweight championship with a thrilling decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236 this past Saturday, Israel Adesanya can now look forward to a title-unifying collision with undisputed middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. This clash between New Zealand’s Adesanya and Australia’s Whittaker will likely go down in Australia late this year, per UFC President Dana White.
Yoel Romero to Israel Adesanya: 'See you soon'
Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019
Over the weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 236, undefeated UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya became the interim champion with a dazzling decision defeat of the dangerous Kelvin Gastelum. Adesanya’s thrilling victory over Gastelum caught the attention of pretty much every member of the MMA community. That includes former middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero, who sent the new interim champion a quick message post fight.
Kevin Lee wanted Rafael dos Anjos fight to be first 165-pound matchup
James Lynch - April 16, 2019
Kevin Lee wanted to make history with Rafael Dos Anjos. The 26-year-old asked the UFC if his matchup with Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC Rochester could be the first fight in the promotion’s history at 165-pounds. Instead the “Motown Phenom” has to settle for a welterweight contest instead, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t make a statement about the weight class on May 18. Lee thought about the idea of showing up five pounds less for the welterweight contest to make a statement.
Luke Rockhold explains why he is the man to defeat Jon Jones
Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019
After a long career in the middleweight division — including title wins in the UFC and Strikeforce — Luke Rockhold is headed up to the light heavyweight division. In this new division, he’s hoping to advance through the ranks and ultimately collide with reigning UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. Should Luke Rockhold earn this opportunity, he believes he’ll be the man to dethrone the seemingly unstoppable champion.
ONE Championship announces partnership with MMA governing body GAMMA
BJPENN.COM Staff - April 16, 2019
In a massive bid to bring amateur mixed martial arts to the Olympics, ONE Championship and Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) have announced a partnership, in a clear push to develop the sport at the grassroots level. GAMMA is the independent governing body for the sport of mixed martial arts worldwide.
UFC 236 medical suspensions: Holloway, Gastelum facing indefinite sits
Tom Taylor - April 16, 2019
UFC 236, which went down last Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, featured a bevy of impressive finishes and back-and-forth wars. Unfortunately, that means it also produced some significant medical suspensions. Max Holloway, who lost a decision to Dustin Poirier in an interim lightweight title fight in the main event, has been sidelined indefinitely. So too has Kelvin Gastelum, who came up short to Israel Adesanya in an interim middleweight title fight in the UFC 236 co-main event.
Dear MMA Gods | A 'violenceweight' super fight
Drake Riggs - April 15, 2019
When it comes to the UFC’s vastly expanding 155-pound lightweight division, there are arguably too many exciting fighters to count. But standing tall among the very top of them all is currently the “violence king,” Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier. The MMA community came to the agreement ahead of the thrilling December 2017 clash between Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez at UFC 218 that the fight was to determine the MMA champion of violence. And if that fight was anything to show for it, that was quite a reasonable choice of a match-up to be labeled as such.
VIDEO | Alexander Ovechkin knocks out Andrei Svechnikov
Christopher Taylor - April 15, 2019
Alexander Ovechkin is known for his lethal shot and crushing bodychecks but it is rare to see the NHL’s leading goal scorer throwing fists. During tonight’s game three matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin decided to drop the gloves with Andrei Svechnikov.
Robert Whittaker says Israel Adesanya got exposed in Kelvin Gastelum fight at UFC 236
Cole Shelton - April 15, 2019
Israel Adesanya became the interim middleweight champion after beating Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision at UFC 236. Now, the plan is for Adesanya to unify his belt with current champion, Robert Whittaker, potentially in a stadium in Australia. Although ‘The Last Stylebender’ is undefeated, Whittaker believes it is an easy matchup for him, this after seeing Adesanya get exposed against Gastelum.
Dominick Cruz talks TJ Dillashaw suspension: 'Two years is nothing'
Drake Riggs - April 15, 2019
When it comes to the two greatest bantamweight fighters of all time, the two that will come to mind first will surely be former two-time UFC champions, Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw. The former WEC kingpin, Cruz was, of course, the division’s inaugural UFC champion. Since his Octagon debut in 2011, he would go on to defend the title a total of three times across two reigns. For his second reign, he would earn back the belt that he originally lost due to injury by defeating Dillashaw.
UFC 236 Fighter Salaries: Max Holloway and Israel Adesanya take home top payouts
Christopher Taylor - April 15, 2019
Max Holloway and Israel Adesanya each took home an event-high $350,000 for their efforts at last Saturday’s UFC 236 event in Atlanta. Israel Adesanya went to war with Kelvin Gastelum in Saturday’s co-main attraction. ‘Stylebender’ was forced to battle through adversity for the first time in his UFC career this weekend, this after being dropped by Gastelum in the opening round.
Dustin Poirier sends heartfelt message to Max Holloway: 'We need more people like you in MMA'
Thomas Taylor - April 15, 2019
Last Saturday night, in the main event of the action-packed UFC 236 card, streaking lightweight contender Dustin Poirier stepped into the cage with reigning UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway to battle for the interim lightweight belt. The result was a riveting, five-round battle that left both men bruised and bloodied. In the end, the judges named Dustin Poirier the victor of this bout. Now the interim lightweight champion, Poirier wants his vanquished foe Max Holloway to know how thankful he is for the fight, which earned them both $50,000 Fight of the Night bonuses.
Dominick Cruz shares potential timeframe for return to the cage
Tom Taylor - April 15, 2019
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz has not fought since December of 2016, when he surrendered the title to then-undefeated challenger Cody Garbrandt. Absences of this kind, of course, are unfortunately nothing new for Dominick Cruz. The former champion has fought just five times since 2011.
Dana White addresses critics of Daniel Cormier vs. Brock Lesnar fight
Tom Taylor - April 15, 2019
UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has been angling for a super fight with former heavyweight champ and long-time WWE star Brock Lesnar for some time. Not everybody, however, is a fan of this potential matchup. In fact, some fans outright hate the idea, adamant that Brock Lesnar doesn’t deserve a title shot, and that Daniel Cormier should instead defend his title against a more legitimate heavyweight contender.
Chatri Sityodtong reaffirms plans for ONE Championship event in the US
Tom Taylor - April 15, 2019
ONE Championship is rapidly expanding across Asia, having already conquered Asian markets like Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, and most recently, Japan. And from the sounds of it, the promotion will soon expand overseas to the United States of America. Speaking to Asian Persuasion MMA, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong reaffirmed that he plans to bring the promotion to the US in the near future.
Henry Cejudo claims people warned him about TJ Dillashaw's PED use
Tom Taylor - April 15, 2019
Speaking to the media backstage amid the UFC 236 festivities over the weekend, UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo divulged that he received warnings about his last opponent TJ Dillashaw’s performance enhancing drug use. “I’ve heard TJ, and I really never brought it up, he was on supposedly in the days prior to USADA, even Cody (Garbrandt), himself, was like, ‘Hey, watch out dude, he’s dirty,’” Cejudo explained (via MMA Junkie). “People would come up to me, and I never really brought it up because I thought that that part of MMA is over, but I think once you find out he’s on it, it’s like, this dude ain’t playing fair.”