MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2019

Mario Yamasaki has not refereed a UFC fight since he came under fire for failing to put an end to Valentina Shevchenko’s brutal beatdown of Priscila Cachoeira in February of 2018. Speaking to MMA Fighting this week, the veteran referee discussed his hiatus from officiating. While he’s been keen to stay out of the blast radius of UFC President Dana White’s verbal assaults, he say’s he’s now plotting a return to the cage.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2019

If you’ve been paying attention to Bellator over the last few months, you’ve probably noticed that Chris Pratt, the star of Hollywood blockbusters like Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, has become a regular fixture at their shows. At last weekend’s Bellator 214 show, however, Chris Pratt was more than just a member of the audience. He was in the building to support Adel Altamimi, who battled Brandon McMahan on the main card. In fact, as a friend and training partner of Altamimi, Pratt even served as one of the fighter’s cornermen.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2019

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor is a wealthy, wealthy man, and he’s not afraid to throw is money around. The Irishman’s latest extravagant purchase, from the looks of it, is a customized, 75-foot yacht. See the Irishman flaunting plans for this yacht below.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2019

On New Years, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) crowned the winners of its first-ever season. The winners in each division were handed world title belts and million-dollar checks. Yet in the opinion of Jon Fitch, who held the welterweight title when the PFL was still called World Series of Fighting, those checks might never clear. “I think those guys who won the tournament are going to be thinking about, ‘What happened to my million?” Fitch said backstage at Bellator 214 (via MMAjunkie). “I don’t have any faith that those guys are going to get paid their full amount.”

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2019

Add fan favorite UFC welterweight Matt Brown onto the long list of fighters disappointed with the way the UFC handled the repeated anomalies found on the recent drug tests of Jon Jones. Speaking to the media backstage at Bellator 214 over the weekend, Brown gave his take on the situation, and he did not mince words.

Mike Straus - January 28, 2019

Bellator 214 is in the books and the first event of the year for the Viacom owned promotion definitely had some memorable moments. Whether you were tuning in to watch the conclusion of the World Heavyweight Grand Prix or if you were tuning in to watch one of the sport’s most promising prospects in Aaron Pico, Bellator 214 delivered.

Cole Shelton - January 28, 2019

UFC Fortaleza is just days away, and the card is looking like a good one. On the card will be former UFC welterweight title challenger, Thiago Alves taking on Max Griffin. For Griffin, this is the kind of fight he wants after losing his last fight to Curtis Millender.

Cole Shelton - January 28, 2019

Arguably the best division in the UFC is the lightweight division. The current champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov is undefeated, and there are a bevy of contenders who deserve a shot at his belt. As well, the division is also seeing new blood jump into the rankings with the likes of Gregor Gillespie, Alexander Hernandez, and Dan Hooker among rising contenders.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2019

Fedor Emelianenko had the chance to make history on Saturday night, as he battled Ryan Bader in a bid to become the Bellator heavyweight champion in the Bellator 214 main event. Unfortunately for the 42-year-old Russian MMA legend, however, things did not go as planned in this fight. Instead, he was knocked out in less than a minute. Speaking on Instagram late on Sunday, Fedor Emelianenko updated on his health in the wake of this loss.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

Donald Cerrone is less than two weeks removed from an impressive knockout defeat of Alexander Hernandez, and already, he says his next fight is in the works. The notoriously busy fighter dropped this interesting tidbit on his official Instagram page.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

Dillon Danis is one of the biggest trash talker in mixed martial arts. Much like his friend and training partner Conor McGregor, he’s made a habit of entering into verbal battles with pretty much anybody who’s willing to engage him. Late on Saturday night, however, the BJJ ace took a break from all the trash talking, and sent a message of respect to his rivals.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

ONE Championship has added a whopping fourth title fight to its March 31 debut in Tokyo, Japan, and it’s a big one. In addition to the three title fights already on the ONE: A New Era bill, the card will now also feature the first title defense of new bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon. Belingon will defend the title against the man he won it from at ONE: Heart of the Lion in November, bantamweight legend Bibiano Fernandes.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

Ryan Bader now owns the Bellator light heavyweight heavyweight titles. He earned the former with a defeat of Phil Davis last year, and the latter with a Saturday night, Bellator 214 knockout of Fedor Emelianenko. With two belts now wrapped round his waist, Ryan Bader has the option of ruling over two divisions if he so chooses. Drifting back and forth between two weight classes, of course, will not be easy.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

Last night, in the main event of Bellator 214, Ryan Bader became Bellator’s first two-division champion by knocking out Fedor Emelianenko to capture the heavyweight strap. At present, it’s not known whether Bader will defend his heavyweight or light heavyweight belt first. Whatever the case, Chael Sonnen seems interested in being his first challenger. On Saturday night, shortly after Ryan Bader won the strap, Chael Sonnen called him out on Twitter — though he promptly deleted the Tweet.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

Last night, in the main event of Bellator 214, light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader became Bellator’s first two-division titleholder, knocking out Fedor Emelianenko in less than a minute to capture the Bellator heavyweight title. Heading into this fight, Ryan Bader says he drilled the very punch he used to topple Emelianenko many times. He knew there would be an opening when the Russian legend engaged, and practiced extensively to make sure he’d be ready for it.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2019

Last night, UFC welterweight contender Darren Till let his fingers fly on Twitter, taking aim at a number of his rivals in the division. One of his targets was former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight king Ben Askren who, unsurprisingly, was prompt to fire back. See the pair’s wild exchange below.

Chris Taylor - January 26, 2019

Perennial featherweight contenders Henry Corrales and Aaron Pico squared off in the co-headliner of tonight’s Bellator 214 event in Los Angeles. Aaron Pico (4-2 MMA) entered tonight’s contest with Corrales on a four-fight win streak, with all four of those victories coming via first-round stoppages.

Chris Taylor - January 26, 2019

The Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix Final went down this evening in Los Angeles, as Fedor Emelianenko squared off with Ryan Bader at Bellator 214. The former PRIDE FC champion, Fedor, was last seen in action this past October, where he scored a first-round TKO victory over Chael Sonnen.