MMA News

Jordy McElroy - January 22, 2019

In the wake of a shocking knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 232, Cris Cyborg, the perpetual beacon of dominance in women’s MMA, was unwittingly made a martyr for everything that is wrong with super fights in the UFC. Nine proud years of wearing the moniker of the baddest woman on the planet, and Cyborg has been reduced to begging for an immediate rematch. Those pleas have fallen on deaf ears as the UFC prepares to move in another direction, leaving an entire division hanging in limbo. Nunes is currently pondering whether to defend her bantamweight title or move down to flyweight and attempt to collect a third belt.

Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2019

Two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes made some headlines last week when she said that she was ‘done’ fighting at featherweight after she defeated former champion Cris Cyborg in 51 seconds at UFC 232 to become the UFC’s first ever two-weight women’s champion. While Nunes stated that many knew the featherweight division was only made for the arrival of Cyborg, another featherweight, Megan Anderson took exception to Nunes’ comments and called for her to be stripped of the title. As the division’s future is up in the air, one person close to Nunes believes she won’t fight again at featherweight.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

Former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero (13-3 MMA) will return to the octagon this Spring at UFC Miami. That news comes via Brazilian news outlet Combate, who broke the following news on Twitter.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

Is former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor willing to put it all on the line inside the UFC octagon? Well, if you ask surging lightweight contender Al Iaquinta, the answer is no.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

TJ Dillashaw was looking to become the fourth fighters in UFC history to earn “champ champ” status this past weekend in Brooklyn. Unfortunatley for fans of “Killashaw“, things did not go as planned in his flyweight title fight with Henry Cejudo.

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2019

Daniel Cormier had originally planned to retire by his 40th birthday. Well, things may have changed. “DC’s” birthday falls on March 20, and the only pay-per-view between now and then is UFC 235 – as UFC 234 is already finalized – which already has two title fights. Now, the question remains on whether or not Cormier will retire before then or stick around longer.

James Lynch - January 22, 2019

Despite rumblings of a potential matchup, Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Rafael Dos Anjos has yet to be officially signed. The #7 ranked welterweight, “Ponz” spoke to MMAFighting and explained why he thinks the fight hasn’t been signed yet.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (23-8-1 MMA) saved a teenager from drowning in Southern California. Werdum was spening the day relaxing with his family at the beach near their home in Torrance, California. About an hour after they hit the sand, the local fire department arrived on scene in order to rescue two teenagers who were trapped at sea.

Drake Riggs - January 21, 2019

On today’s show, top bantamweight contender @MMARLONMORAES said he felt “a little bit embarrassed” to see the bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw lose the way he did on Saturday night. Full: https://t.co/mf8unBk7ts pic.twitter.com/YsvVKRsaOs

Drake Riggs - January 21, 2019

When it comes to elite level strikers in MMA, a discussion can’t be had without mentioning the likes of welterweight’s ‘Wonderboy’ Stephen Thompson. A two-time title challenger, unfortunately for Thompson, he has yet to come out as a victor in his title opportunities.

Drake Riggs - January 21, 2019

Matt ‘The Immortal’ Brown has been one of MMA’s all-time most exciting fighters to watch. Thus making the day that he finally decided to hang up the gloves all the more sad for MMA fans. However, Brown’s retirement wouldn’t last forever as just a matter of months after his last bout with Diego Sanchez, Brown would be paired up with fellow fan favorite Carlos Condit in a dream bout that many had been wanting to see for several years.

Mike Straus - January 21, 2019

The ESPN era is here the verdict is in, UFC Brooklyn was a smashing success. But who were the biggest winners from last weekend’s epic night of fights? UFC Brooklyn may not have had some of the big name stars like Conor McGregor or Jon Jones, but the promotion did a great job at peppering the card with fan-favorite fighters like Donald Cerrone and Paige VanZant.

Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019

After being deprived of his promised shot at the UFC welterweight title, top contender Colby Covington has had plenty to say about UFC President Dana White of late. Of course, Covington isn’t the only person to make negative comments about the polarizing UFC boss recently. Retired boxer turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya has also gone back and forth with Dana White over the last few weeks, even challenging the UFC President to a fight on the undercard of the next Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view.

Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019

Last Saturday night, in the main of the UFC’s first ever card on ESPN+, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw dropped down to the flyweight division to challenge local champ Henry Cejudo in a bid to become a two-division champ. Unfortunately for Dillashaw and his fans, this mission didn’t go as planned, as he was stopped by Cejudo in 32 seconds. In the wake of this tough loss, TJ Dillashaw has been adamant that the referee intervened too early. Speaking in a post-fight statement on Instagram, Dillashaw reiterated this feeling.

Cole Shelton - January 21, 2019

Anthony Pettis used to be the UFC lightweight champion, and also fought at featherweight in 2016. However, his first fight in 2019 will be at welterweight, where he will take on former title challenger, Stephen Thompson. For Pettis, moving up to 170 to fight ‘Wonderboy’ was an easy decision.

Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019

Henry Cejudo needed just 32 seconds to defend his UFC flyweight title against UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw in Saturday night’s UFC Brooklyn main event. Unfortunately for him, some members of the MMA community — Dillashaw and UFC President Dana White included — feel the referee intervened a little too early in this fight. Give the controversial stoppage in this fight, TJ Dillashaw has been adamant that he deserves a rematch with Henry Cejudo — and once again for Cejudo’s UFC flyweight title.

James Lynch - January 21, 2019

Lando Vannata never had any doubts that he wouldn’t be back with the UFC. The 26-year-old came to terms with the UFC on a new four-fight deal and is set to face Marcos Rosa Mariano at UFC 234 on Feb. 9 “I figured [the UFC] would want to re-sign me. I’m a pretty exciting fighter, I put on a show every time I step into the cage,” Vannata told MMA News. “I wasn’t too surprised they came back looking to re-sign me to a new deal. I was keeping my options open but I figured they would want to [re-sign me] and if the figures were right then yeah I would go back. The UFC had exclusive rights [to negotiating].”

Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019

According to a release from the ESPN Public Relations team, the first UFC on ESPN card was a massive success, driving hundreds of thousands of new ESPN+ subscriptions, and drawing massive viewership to the ESPN channel. Here’s what the release had to say: