MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Ali Abdelaziz claimed that streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson would “100%” not be the next opponent for his star client, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. “The biggest money fight he can make [is what we’re looking for],” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, Khabib doesn’t need to fight anybody else for his legacy. He’s done what he’s done. He’s 27-0, he’s 12-0 in the UFC, he’s never been dropped, he’s never been caught, he’s never been knocked down. Let’s talk about a GOAT. No PEDs. We talk about the greatest of all-time, I think that he should be on top of the list, because he never lost to anybody. He’s never lost, he’s never been dropped, he’s never been stitched, nothing.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Just over a week removed from his UFC 232 loss to Jon Jones, three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson is already ready to get back into the cage. Speaking on Instagram on Monday afternoon, the Swedish star called for a fight with streaking contender Corey Anderson. Anderson, to remind, also fought at UFC 232, defeating Gustafsson’s teammate and friend Ilir Latifi by unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

The opening odds for Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman’s UFC 235 welterweight title fight have now been released — and they’re very close. According to the website BestFightOdds.com, the online sportsbook 5dimes has pegged Tyron Woodley as a -170 favorite, meaning a successful $170 bet on him would earn you $100. Kamaru Usman, meanwhile, has been identified as a +130 underdog by the same sportsbook, meaning a successful $100 bet on him would win you $130.

Cole Shelton - January 7, 2019

Jon Jones returned to glory at UFC 232 when he defeated his rival Alexander Gustafsson by TKO in the third round to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title. It was not an easy road back for Jones. The light heavyweight great was coming off of a 15-month USADA suspension and was looking to win back his belt. The pressure was high and some fans believed Jones would suffer from ring rust. Yet for Jones’ coach Mike Winkeljohn and the rest of the team at JacksonWink MMA, that was never a worry.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin (12-4, 6 KOS, 4 Subs) has been competing in combat sports for a long time. He began training in Pankration when he was just a child, and wound up winning a European championship in the sport at a young age. Buoyed by his success in Pankration, he then transitioned into MMA at 18 years old, and after a seven-fight win streak — all stoppages — he was invited to ONE Championship, where he debuted with a jaw-dropping, flying knee knockout of current lightweight champion Eduard Folayang.

James Lynch - January 7, 2019

UFC bantamweights Rob Font and Nathaniel Wood are making the UFC matchmakers’ job pretty easy. The pair exchanged a verbal agreement on Twitter over the weekend that they’d be willing to fight each other when the UFC makes it’s return to London on Mar. 16.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Late last month, in the co-main event of UFC 232, Amanda Nunes ended the seemingly bulletproof reign of UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg with a volley of first-round punches. In the opinion of Megan Anderson — the top contender in the featherweight division — this was probably a good thing for the overall health of the weight class. In fact, she believes Cyborg’s previous dominance might have been part of the reason so few women stick around in the division.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

It’s no secret that Mark Hunt is not a fan of Performance-Enhancing drug use in MMA — particularly in the UFC. Now that the’s parted ways with the UFC, he’s even more open about his feelings on the issue. “They’ve actually taken my love for fighting away because of how they promote steroids and cheaters, how they’ve done it all,” Hunt told MMA UK recently, speaking of the UFC (transcript via MMA Fighting). “They’ve pushed me out of the way, to be honest and that’s what’s taken my love for fighting away. It’s kind of sad because they should be promoting the guy that’s not cheating whereas they are promoting the cheaters of this sport, which is wrong. I actually thought Jeff Novitzky was a nice person but he’s just a sellout. You’re a sellout, bro. That’s the bottom line.”

Christopher Taylor - January 6, 2019

For the third time in his storied career Alexander Gustafsson fell short in his bid to capture the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 235. “The Mauler” suffered a third-round knockout loss to division kingpin Jon Jones last weekend in Los Angeles, marking the second time in his career that the Swede had fallen victim to “Bones”.

Chris Taylor - January 6, 2019

UFC champions Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones have arguably the biggest rivalry in the history of mixed martial arts. Despite a clear dislike for “Bones” as a person, current UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has nothing but respect for his talents as a fighter.

Drake Riggs - January 6, 2019

As MMA continues to grow as a sport, that means that more people will learn and know how to defend themselves in certain situations. And being the 10-2 UFC strawweight that she is, Polyana Viana is more than capable of doing just that. On Saturday around 8:00 PM local time, Viana had a stranger attempt to rob her of her phone. Of course, that did not at all go the way that he surely had planned.

Chris Taylor - January 6, 2019

UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will be making a quick turnaround in order to defend his title at March’s UFC 235 event in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White recently told TMZ Sports that a title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith was in the works for March’s pay-per-view event.

Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019

On New Years Eve in Tokyo, Floyd Mayweather stepped through the ropes of the RIZIN Fighting Federation ring for a boxing exhibition bout with 20-year-old kickboxing ace Tenshin Nasukawa. In an absolutely dominant performance, Mayweather put the young kickboxer down inside the first three-minute round. Now Conor McGregor wants a turn at the Japanese fighter — albeit under a different ruleset. Speaking on Twitter on Sunday night, the Irish superstar called for a mixed martial arts exhibition bout with Tenshin Nasukawa — also in Tokyo.

Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019

Nick Diaz is apparently not a fan of CrossFit. From the sounds of it, he doesn’t like Georges St-Pierre‘s ‘water workouts’ either. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion went off on these two forms of exercise in a virulent tirade posted to his Instagram story. Unsurprisingly, this rant was quickly saved and immortalized by several members of the MMA community.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

UFC 235, which goes down on March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is already shaping up to be a 2019 Card of the Year contender. If all goes according to plan, the card will be topped by a light heavyweight showdown between resurgent champion Jon Jones and surging contender Anthony Smith. In order for this bout to occur at UFC 235 as planned, Jones will first have to receive licensure from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Cole Shelton - January 6, 2019

Macy Chiasson is a natural featherweight. She competed at featherweight on The Ultimate Fighter 28, and ended up winning the season at that weight. However, she is moving down to bantamweight for her next fight, which will pit her against Gina Mazany at UFC 235 on March 2. This is a rather interesting move for Chiasson given the fact she has fought her entire career at 145 and won TUF at featherweight. Yet after talking to her coaches and working with the UFC Performance Institute, she decided the timing was right to move down a division.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

After weeks of speculation, a welterweight title fight between champ Tyron Woodley and challenger Kamaru Usman is reportedly a done deal for UFC 235 on March 2, per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. The fight is slated to serve as the card’s co-main event, co-headlining under a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith, provided Jones is able to achieve licensure in Nevada.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

On December 8, in the main event of UFC 231 in Toronto, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway defended his title with a dominant defeat of formerly undefeated challenger Brian Ortega. As if Holloway’s victory over Ortega wasn’t already impressive enough, a fan on Twitter has pointed out that the featherweight champ seemed to be giving his foe advice in the middle of the fight. Mid-way through the fourth round, Holloway can be seen hoisting Ortega’s arm upward, seemingly reminding him to keep his hands up.