MMA News

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2018

From Las Vegas to Los Angeles all on one week’s notice. And all because of one half of the UFC 232 headliner, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. Jones makes his return to the Octagon once again this Saturday night after some troubles with USADA. And after another recent scare due to an ‘atypical finding’ in one of Jones’ recent tests, the UFC moved the entire UFC 232 card from its original location of Las Vegas to Los Angeles, California in the Inglewood Forum.

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2018

Booking a welterweight title bout seems to be more of a struggle than it should be for the UFC lately. With three fighters all in the immediate mix and their voices being heard when it comes to who and when they would like to fight next, there should be more clarity than there is. After capturing the interim crown in June, Colby Covington seemed perfectly positioned to face his former teammate turned rival in the champion Tyron Woodley.

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2018

When it comes to discussing the most notable managers in MMA, you can’t leave Ali Abdelaziz’ name out of the mix. He works with some of the biggest and best names MMA has to offer. Some of which he has recently provided updates for when making an appearance on MMAJunkie Radio.

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2018

It takes two to tango. So if one party isn’t down to dance, you’ll need to find someone else. This was the case for Alexander Gustafsson and Jon Jones who are headlining this Saturday night’s UFC 232 event which closes out the year for the UFC.

Thomas Taylor - December 26, 2018

Earlier today, on an episode of MMAjunkie Radio, manager Ali Abdelaziz claimed that streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman will “100%” get the next crack at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, apparently at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter, UFC President Dana White confirmed to MMAjunkie that Kamaru Usman will fight for the welterweight title next — but it might not be against Tyron Woodley. The UFC boss says Usman will fight for the welterweight title with our without Woodley.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley says he was hoping to find a contract for a fight with Colby Covington under his Christmas tree this year, but apparently, he didn’t get his wish. Speaking on Twitter on Wednesday, the welterweight champion took a shot at Covington, accusing the top welterweight contender of “b*tching out.”

Cole Shelton - December 26, 2018

Kay Hansen did what many believed was impossible. At Invicta 33, Hansen, who is just 19-years-old, took a short-notice fight against Sharon Jacobson, a very tough opponent. When Hansen took the fight on short notice, she believed Jacobson would fight aggressively. However, that is not what happened. Jacobson switched her gameplan which threw Hansen for a loop.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

According to manager Ali Abdelaziz, streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman will “100%” get the next shot at UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. The fight will apparently occur at UFC 235, which goes down on March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Abdelaziz made this claim on a Wednesday episode of MMAjunkie Radio.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

UFC 232 was originally expected to occur in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, December 29. When a Jon Jones drug test turned up an “atypical finding,” however, the Nevada Athletic Commission decided not license the former champ for his UFC 232 main event rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. The UFC brass then made the unprecedented decision to move the entire UFC 232 card from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on just 6 days’ notice, as the California Athletic Commission agreed to license Jon Jones for the fight. While the UFC immediately offered refunds to fans who had purchased tickets to see the fights in Las Vegas, this didn’t do much to curb the disappointment of fans who had shelled out hundreds and even thousands of dollars on hotels, flights and other expenses to watch the card in Sin City.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

Javier Mendez, who serves as the head coach at American Kickboxing Academy in Fresno, California, has had a huge year. He shepherded Khabib Nurmagomedov to a lightweight title win and a successful title defense against Conor McGregor. He helped Daniel Cormier become one of just two fighters in UFC history to wear UFC belts in two weight classes concurrently. He guided dozens of other fighters to victories on the sport’s biggest stages. In the opinion of the UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov, these accomplishments should earn Javier Mendez Coach of the Year honors for the year 2018.

Cole Shelton - December 26, 2018

This Saturday night, in the co-main event of UFC 232 in Inglewood, California, UFC featherweight champ Cris Cyborg will look to defend her belt when bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes moves up in weight to challenge her. There is no question that this will be one of Cyborg’s toughest tests to date, and because of that, fans are undecided on who will come out on top. Cyborg and Nunes’ fellow fighters, however, seem to be leaning toward the featherweight champ.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

Speaking on the latest episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, UFC commentator Joe Rogan gave his take on the recent “atypical finding” found on a Jon Jones drug test. From the sounds of it, he’s as confused as the rest of us. That being said, he’s compelled to believe that Jon Jones is innocent, and that the former light heavyweight champion has not ingested any banned substances of late.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

Another Christmas has come and gone. Santa Clause made his yearly trip around the world, presents were opened, gut-busting mountains of food were eaten, and of course, many of the world’s top MMA fighters celebrated with their families. On Tuesday, MMA fighters from top promotions all over the world — from the UFC to Bellator to ONE Championship to Rizin — took to social media to wish their fans a Merry Christmas, and let everyone know how they were celebrating.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones says he’s still interested in fighting former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in the future. He considers this fight a win-win for all parties involved. “Fighting Brock Lesnar is aways appealing,” Jones said on the UFC 232 conference call last week (transcript via MMA Fighting). “That’s a win-win situation. That’s a huge money fight and that’s me fighting a guy who’s a hell of a lot bigger than me and everyone wins in that situation.

Drake Riggs - December 25, 2018

As the UFC seemingly continues on with the process of getting rid of their men’s flyweight division, it would also seemingly open the door to it being replaced by another division. As most believe, including UFC veteran and former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson, the most likely replacement for it would be a new 165-pound men’s division despite UFC President Dana White’s constant denials of it being a possibility.

Christopher Taylor - December 25, 2018

UFC welterweight Alex Oliveira was injured yesterday evening in Brazil after being hit with grenade fragments. The news comes via MMAFighting, who confirmed that “Cowboy” went to buy gasoline for his mother’s car on Christmas Eve, when he saw members of his family involved in an altercation.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2018

Shortly after it was announced that there had been an ‘atypical finding’ in a Jon Jones drug test, and that the entire UFC 232 card has been moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles as a result, Jones’s opponent Alexander Gustafsson took to Twitter to assure that he didn’t care what was in Jones’s system, and that he’ll beat him no matter the circumstances. https://twitter.com/AlexTheMauler/status/1077064742684880896

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2018

UFC VP of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky is adamant that moving the entire UFC 232 card from Las Vegas to Los Angeles was the fight move. The UFC exec made his latest comments on the polarizing decision to move the card on Twitter, reiterating that he believes Jon Jones is innocent despite the ‘atypical finding’ on his drug test.