MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019

Sean O’Connell has two black eyes and a couple of scrapes criss-crossing his face. For now, The Salt Lake City resident still has the mug of a prizefighter, but as of a few days ago, he isn’t one. O’Connell ended his fighting career on New Years Eve, moments after he thumped Vinny Magalhaes to win the Professional Fighters League (PFL) light heavyweight title and a million-dollar prize.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019

If reigning UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and reigning UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier fight for a third time, the former will enter the cage as a significant betting favorite. The online sportsbook Bovada has updated the odds for this potential trilogy fight after Jones’ UFC 232 defeat of Alexander Gustafsson, and Jones has been pegged as a -265 betting favorite over his arch rival. This means that a successful bet of $265 on Jones would win you $100. Cormier, meanwhile, is now a +205 underdog, meaning a successful $100 bet on him would earn you $205.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019

UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has long planned to retire in March of 2019, when he turns 40. From the sounds of it, however, the champ might just delay his retirement plans as fights Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, and Stipe Miocic all loom on the horizon. UFC President Dana White recently said that he’d like to see Daniel Cormier delay his retirement plans to allow time for some of these fights. According to Cormier’s long-time coach Javier Mendez, it’s very possible that the UFC boss gets his way.

James Lynch - January 4, 2019

Lando Vannata is staying with the UFC. The lightweight announced on his Instagram account that he’s signed a new four-fight deal with the Las Vegas based promotion.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019

UFC bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes didn’t just beat featherweight champ Cris Cyborg at UFC 232, she knocked her out in 51 seconds. The moment the fight was waved on, Nunes charged forward, wading through Cyborg’s offense to land power shots of her own. And suddenly, Cyborg was down.

Drake Riggs - January 3, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xriSHgdEb8 “Would I move up to 145 [pounds]? Absolutely, man,” TJ Dillashaw said on a recent Instagram live video. “I would love to. I’m a professional. I train hard. Making ’25s has been a process in its own… To get my body down there and do it the right way. ’45s would have to be the same thing, it would be a lot of work.

Drake Riggs - January 3, 2019

We haven’t see the former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum in action since March 2018 when he lost to Russia’s Alexander Volkov in the UFC London main event. Werdum was hoping to return at UFC Moscow in September, but unfortunately, he failed a USADA test just days prior to his fight’s announcement. Thus leading to a two-year suspension.

Drake Riggs - January 3, 2019

At UFC 232 this past Saturday night, we witnessed the first ever female super fight take place when the UFC featherweight and bantamweight champions met inside the Octagon. Those two, of course, being none other than the legendary 13-year unbeaten Cris Cyborg and legacy paving ‘Lioness’ Amanda Nunes.

Mike Straus - January 3, 2019

Cortney Casey was originally supposed to be fighting Cynthia Calvillo at the now-canceled UFC 233 card in Anaheim, California on January 26. Instead, Casey will throw down with Calvillo when the UFC makes its debut on ESPN on February 17. “Even though we had that little change with the venues I was already on schedule for the California card,” Casey told BJPenn.com in a recent interview. “Having the fight pushed back actually gave me more time to relax and enjoy the Holidays.”

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2019

Last Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 232, Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson stepped into the cage for a rematch five years in the making. In the end, Jones would win this fight via third-round TKO, moving to 2-0 over Gustafsson in the process.

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2019

After her blistering knockout defeat at Cris Cyborg at UFC 232, Amanda Nunes is now the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion. Dan Lambert, the founder of American Top Team where Nunes trains, believes the new champ-champ will actively defend both titles. “I know in some of the deeper divisions they have, it’s impossible to be a champ-champ,” Lambert told MMAjunkie Radio. “How’s [Daniel Cormier] going to defend it against the best in the world at heavyweight and the best in the world at light heavyweight at the same time? It’s kind of impossible. But there’s not quite as many – I mean, obviously, the featherweight division, they don’t even have rankings out there. How many people do they even have there? So it may be possible for her to keep both.”

Cole Shelton - January 3, 2019

2019 is officially here, and it’s looking like it could be a huge year for a number of rising UFC stars, such as surging striking sensation Israel Adesanya. Without further ado, here are three UFC fighters we expect to do big things in this new year.

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2019

Long-time boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who recently dipped his toes into the MMA industry, has caught wind of what the UFC paid Jon Jones for his UFC 232 main event with Alexander Gustafsson, and he’s not impressed. De La Hoya did not hesitate to share his thoughts with UFC President Dana White on Twitter, reminding the UFC boss of his opinion that “pay-per-view is dead.”

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2019

Last weekend, the long-time reign of UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg came to a shuddering halt at the hands of UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Despite the disappointing outcome of this fight, Cris Cyborg says she still would have appreciated the chance to address her fans in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. She reminds that she’s accomplished unimaginable heights in the sport, and says that her accomplishments justified her being given a chance to talk.

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2019

Shortly after Jon Jones defeated Alexander Gustafsson to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 232, he did an interview with the crew of UFC Tonight — including Michael Bisping. Apparently, during an off-air segment, Bisping asked Jones a question that did go over well. As you might have guessed, it pertained to the trace amounts of turinabol detected in several of Jones’s recent drug tests.

Drake Riggs - January 2, 2019

It seems like every now and then we will inch closer and closer to clarity in regards to the top of the UFC’s always stacked, 170-pound welterweight division. However, after looking like we may know the next title fight, the champion shut that down and fast. Top contender, “The Nigerian Nightmare” Kamaru Usman recently dominated former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos on route to a unanimous decision win. Thus setting himself up for a title shot or at the very least, one fight from it.

Thomas Taylor - January 2, 2019

From the sounds of it, Kamaru Usman will get the next crack at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Speaking on Twitter on Thursday evening, the surging UFC welterweight contender announced that his next fight is “a done deal” — and it sure seems like he’s talking about a title fight.

Thomas Taylor - January 2, 2019

Like all UFC fighters, flyweight contender Paige VanZant is required to wear Reebok gear when she competes inside the Octagon. Yet VanZant is also one of just a few fighters to have an additional, personal sponsorship deal with the sports apparel company — at least she used to be. Speaking on her social media channels earlier this week, Paige VanZant announced that her personal sponsorship deal with the sports apparel company has come to an end.