MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2018

In the opinion of UFC President Dana White, Joe Rogan is the best to ever sit behind the UFC commentary booth, and a major driver of the UFC’s success. The UFC President heaped praise on the long-time UFC color commentator in a recent interview with Barstool Sports

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2018

The estimate for the pay-per-view buys of the recent UFC 231 card has been released. Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that the card, which was headlined by a featherweight title fight between champ Max Holloway and formerly undefeated challenger Brian Ortega, did roughly 240,000 – 300,000 pay-per-view buys. From WON, the current estimates for #UFC231 is 240k-300k buys. #UFC

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2018

On December 29, in the co-main event of UFC 232, dominant UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg is expected to defend her title against women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes — that is, if a recent fall hasn’t derailed that plan. Cyborg recently attempted the In My Feelings challenge, a dance challenge inspired by the Drake song of the same name. Cyborg incorporated a shopping cart into her attempt at the dance challenge, and ultimately took a brutal fall as she exited the shopping cart.

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2018

After keeping his mouth shut through throughout his recent United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension, former UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones says he will no longer be allowing negative comments to go unchallenged — particularly from his arch rival Daniel Cormier. “The only reason I brought up the name of Daniel Cormier is that he brought up my name,” Jones said on the UFC 232 pre-fight conference call (transcript via MMA Fighting). “And I just figured, when I was in trouble, I just stepped back, all summer long, and let everybody talk as much sh*t as they want, and just talk blindly, knowing no facts. I watched everybody that I beat in the past say ‘ohh, he was on steroids when he fought me the first time, that’s why he beat me.’ I just sat back and let everybody have at it.”

Drake Riggs - December 20, 2018

The Bellator heavyweight title Grand Prix will finally declare its winner as the legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will take on current light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader in Bellator 214’s main event. Unfortunately, the middleweight title fight that was slated for the evening’s co-main event has lost its champion.

Mike Straus - December 20, 2018

Jason Parillo is one of the most accomplished boxing coaches in the sport of mixed martial arts. He will be in Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino‘s corner at UFC 232 for the biggest fight of her career. Parillo has worked with some of the best MMA fighters of this generation. Cyborg, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, and Michael Bisping just to name a few. Still, Parillo doesn’t seek out athletes to work with, that just doesn’t jive with his sensibility.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2018

UFC President Dana White and former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor have made a lot of money together. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have their issues. Speaking recently on the Barstool Sports podcast, the UFC boss opened up on his biggest issue with Conor McGregor. As you might have guessed if you’ve ever watched a Conor McGregor press conference, White’s biggest gripe has to do with the Irishman’s frequent tardiness.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2018

Last Friday night, in the co-main event of Bellator’s first card in Hawaii, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir experienced a brutal loss to Javy Ayala. Though Mir started strong in this fight, he was swarmed in the second round, and ultimately forced to tap out to strikes. After the fight, it was revealed that Frank Mir had sustained an alveolar ridge fracture in the fight, which is what prompted his tap.

Cole Shelton - December 20, 2018

UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will battle arguably her toughest opponent to date when UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes moves up in weight to challenge her in the co-main event of UFC 232 on December 29. Cyborg has been the UFC’s featherweight champion since 2017 and hasn’t lost since her very first pro fight in 2005. She has been a seemingly unstoppable force for more than a decade, but many fans believe Nunes could be the woman to finally defeat her.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2018

Former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is heading to light heavyweight. After teasing the move for months, Rockhold committed to it on a recent episode of Submission Radio.

James Lynch - December 20, 2018

It’s been a tough year for UFC middleweight Derek Brunson, who went winless following losses to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Israel Adesanya. One thing you can’t deny is his willingness to take on tough opposition in the middleweight division, but now he’s looking to take a step back. Derek Brunson spoke to MMANytt and explained why a matchup against Canadian Elias Theodorou makes sense for him at this juncture.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2018

Last month, UFC flyweight Rachael Ostovich was allegedly attacked by her husband, fellow fighter Arnold Berdon. This attack left Ostovich with a broken orbital bone, and cast doubt on her scheduled January 19 fight with Paige VanZant, which will serve as part of the UFC’s first card on ESPN+. In the end, however, a courageous and determined Rachael Ostovich decided she would stick with this fight with Paige VanZant — and VanZant is very impressed by that decision.

Christopher Taylor - December 19, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will rematch Alexander Gustafsson in the headliner of next weekend’s highly anticipated UFC 232 event in Las Vegas. Jon Jones and “The Mauler” first met at UFC 165 in September of 2013 and produced arguably the greatest fight in the history of the light heavyweight division.

Christopher Taylor - December 19, 2018

Former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva will return to the octagon at February’s UFC 234 event against surging division contender Israel Adesanya. “The Spider” recently completed a suspension from USADA, which stemmed from a failed drug test in the lead up to his scheduled fight with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Shanghai.

Drake Riggs - December 19, 2018

The long-awaited promotional debuts of ONE Championship’s biggest acquisitions to date in former UFC champions Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Eddie Alvarez have been set. On March 31, ONE will host their inaugural event in Japan as they head to Tokyo for a huge show.

Thomas Taylor - December 19, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov was recently asked by a journalist from the Russian publication URA.ru whether he represents the Russian republic of Dagestan, or the wider country of Russia as a whole. The UFC lightweight champion, who proudly represents his Dagestani heritage, but also identifies as a Russian, did not appreciate the question, retorting that he felt that the journalist was trying to spark division in the country. “I always do (represent Russia),” the champion said (translation via RT Sport). “There is always a Russian flag on the screen. Everyone in the States, who doesn’t know what Dagestan, Chechnya or Caucasus is, calls me Russian.”

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

At a hearing earlier this month, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), advised former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones to enroll in VADA drug testing in addition to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing that he’s subject to as a UFC fighter. This extra testing was not mandatory, merely encouraged. “I, for one, would like to put the doubts to sleep and to put them away once and for all,” commissioner Martha Shen-Urquidez told Jones at the hearing. “And for people to believe you, that you are that talented and that you are the greatest, and that you can win a fight just clean, and that this is Jon Jones, and to put those doubts away once and for all.”

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

It took the UFC a long time to find a main event for UFC 230, which went down on November 3 in New York City. One of the options that was on the table before the promotion landed on the card’s eventual Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis headliner was a welterweight scrap between Colby Covington and Nick Diaz. Unfortunately for the fans, however, this fight never came to fruition.