MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2019

Shortly after UFC 235, former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington had a heated run-in with new welterweight king Kamaru Usman and his manager Ali Abdelaziz. This altercation, which went down in a crowd of innocent bystanders at the Palms casino in Las Vegas, ultimately got violent, as Abdelaziz actually threw a punch at Covington (see the video here). Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Colby Covington detailed his side of the story.

Tom Taylor - March 5, 2019

Press release: Combate Americas today announced stellar ratings for its first live televised Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event of 2019 – ‘Mexico vs. USA’ – that garnered 610,000 viewers on Univision and UDN despite its midnight ET start time, on Friday, Feb. 22. “Combate Americas is kicking off 2019 by continuing to disrupt the industry with knockout ratings, leaving our competitors dazed and confused,” said Combate Americas CEO Campbell McLaren.  “Last Friday’s return to live television on Univision is evidence that Combate Americas’ fight talent,  unique format and production continue to drive a bigger and more engaged audience.”

Christopher Taylor - March 4, 2019

The UFC rankings have seen some major changes following the conclusion of this past weekend’s UFC 235 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. Newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman soared into the pound for pound ranks to #9 (via UFC.ca), this following his dominant decision victory over Tyron Woodley.

Drake Riggs - March 4, 2019

At UFC 235, we were treated to awesome performances aplenty. Two of which were brought to us by light heavyweights. While one of those belonged to the division’s champion, Jon Jones, the other was the rising star from Brazil, the 6-foot-6 highlight machine, Johnny Walker.

Thomas Taylor - March 4, 2019

Last Saturday night, in the opening bout of the stacked UFC 235 main card, former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt stepped into the cage with Brazilian contender Pedro Munhoz. The objective for the man they call “No Love” was to rebound from a pair of knockout losses to TJ Dillashaw. Unfortunately for the former champ and his throngs of fans, things did not go as he planned. Mid-way through the first round, Garbrandt found himself rattled by an inadvertent head butt, and in a dazed frenzy, threw caution to the wind. What followed was a veritable strafing, as the two bantamweights bombed each other with massive punches — many of which landed.

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2019

Ben Askren made his highly anticipated UFC debut on Saturday night against Robbie Lawler. He beat Lawler by submission — although in controversial fashion. Following his fight, Askren planned to walk out and corner his teammate Tyron Woodley in his title fight with Kamaru Usman. The UFC initially approved of Askren serving as a cornerman. However, after his fight, the UFC wouldn’t allow it.

Drake Riggs - March 4, 2019

Invicta FC is getting back to the roots of MMA as over this past weekend they announced that they’ll be putting on a one-night strawweight tournament as part of their new Phoenix Rising Series. In addition to that news, longtime top MMA commentator for Bellator and UFC, Jimmy Smith will be on duty for the events alongside Invicta’s usual correspondent and post-fight interviewer, Laura Sanko.

Drake Riggs - March 4, 2019

There were several big winners at UFC 235, but physically as well as figuratively, there may have been no bigger than Brazil’s Johnny Walker. Three UFC fights, three first round knockouts, and three performance of the night bonuses. Walker has not come to play around in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Well… That’s until after his fights are over, of course.

Drake Riggs - March 4, 2019

When it comes to the best divisions in the UFC right now, there are several that one could name and argue as the very best. And when having that discussion, it would be wrong to not at the very least mention the 145-pound featherweight class. For many years, the division was locked down by a single Brazilian king. That being none other than the once nicknamed “Scarface” Jose Aldo.

Mike Straus - March 4, 2019

With two title fights and some high profile names to boot, UFC 235 was preceded by some lofty expectations. But thanks to efforts from fighters like Diego Sanchez, Johnny Walker, and Kamaru Usman, it absolutely delivered. Let’s take a look at the biggest winners from the event:

Nick Nadel - March 4, 2019

Whether during MMA bouts or in some of the best movie and TV fight scenes, a stellar finishing move is the cherry on top of a pain sundae. On AMC’s Into the Badlands, badass fighters like Sunny and The Widow are experts at delivering killer finishing moves. The gangsters, supervillains, cage fighters and other brawlers below also know a thing or two about putting a period on a final (death) sentence. Read on for some extremely brutal finishing moves from movies and TV shows, and catch even more action when Into the Badlandsreturns for its final episodes as an AMC two-night premiere event, Sunday, March 24th and 25th. Sunny’s Ladder Kick, Into the Badlands As one of the deadliest Clippers in the Badlands, Sunny has a wide variety of spectacular moves that put an end to anyone who dares face him. One of Sunny’s most painful “finishers” was when he used a ladder to take down some attacking troops. Wielding the ladder with the same skill he displays with a sword, Sunny performed a spinning kick before catching an enemy’s head in between one of the notches. Once trapped, the enemy is quickly dispatchedwith a powerful neck-snapping kick. The impressive combo is proof that Sunny can turn literally any common household item into a deadly weapon.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

Trying to knock Bryan Barberena out is kind of like trying to chop down a tree with a golf club — it’s possible, but it’s absurdly difficult. Vicente Luque learned this the hard way when he met Barberena at UFC on ESPN 1 last month. Over the course of two and half rounds, Luque bombarded his sturdy foe with the kind of skull-rattling strikes that would have left many other fighters snoozing. But Barberena just kept coming — and firing back.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

Jon Jones was simply too much for Anthony Smith. The light heavyweight champion soundly outfought his lionhearted challenger over five lopsided rounds at UFC 235 on Saturday night, and can now look forward to his next challenge in the Octagon. That being said, it’s not abundantly clear who is next opponent will be. While Thiago Santos — nicknamed “Marreta” — seems to be the frontrunner, the allure of heavyweight fights with Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar are difficult to ignore.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

Toward the end of his UFC 235 title fight with Anthony Smith, UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones clobbered his grounded foe with an illegal knee. The referee paused the action, the cage-side physician entered the cage to examine Smith, and Jon Jones had a “nerve-wracking” flashback to his infamous disqualification loss to Matt Hamill. ”It was nerve wracking. It was nerve wracking, really,” Jones said at the UFC 235 post-fight press conference (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I just started to pray. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t go down like that. I had flashbacks of the Matt Hamill fight and I was just thinking, oh my goodness, please, tell me this isn’t going down like this. I was just looking at Anthony and I felt like we locked eyes at one moment and I kind of gave him one of these, like, ‘you’re alright, get your a** up’ [laughs]. Sure enough, he showed the heart of a lion.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

Shortly after Kamaru Usman defeated Tyron Woodley to capture the UFC welterweight belt at UFC 235, he and his manager Ali Abdelaziz got into a heated altercation with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington (see the video here). While UFC President Dana White has been adamant that the first shot at the new UFC welterweight champ Usman will go to Covington, Abdelaziz is now calling for a fight between Usman and Ben Askren, who defeated Robbie Lawler on the UFC 235 main card.

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2019

Montana De La Rosa is one of the more promising flyweight prospects in the UFC. The 24-year-old is undefeated in the Octagon, not counting exhibition bouts on The Ultimate Fighter. De La Rosa is coming off of an impressive submission win over the formerly undefeated Nadia Kassem at UFC 234. For De La Rosa, that fight went as good as it could have.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

On Saturday night, on the undercard of UFC 235, Mickey Gall returned to the Octagon to battle one of the most experienced fighters in UFC history, The Ultimate Fighter Season One winner Diego Sanchez. Despite being labelled as the betting favorite heading into this fight, Mickey Gall was soundly walloped by his exponentially more experienced foe, and ultimately wilted under a storm of second-round ground strikes. It was Sanchez’s first stoppage victory since 2008.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

Controversial former NFL player Greg Hardy will get another shot in the UFC, according to a report from ESPN. The former football player is targeted to return opposite Dmitrii Smoliakov at UFC on ESPN 3 in Sunrise, Florida.