MMA News

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.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2018

On December 29, in the co-main event of UFC 232, UFC women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes will move up to the featherweight division to battle seeming unstoppable featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. In the eyes of Valentina Shevchenko, who recently captured the UFC women’s flyweight belt, Nunes is probably in for a tough night in this UFC 232 fight. Valentina Shevchenko made her prediction for this fight on a recent episode of MMAjunkie Radio.

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

On New Years Even, inside the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo, Japan, undefeated kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa will step into the ring with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a bizarre exhibition match. The bout will headline the stacked RIZIN 14 card. In this bout, Nasukawa will not be allowed to throw kicks. He will, however, be able to punch with full enthusiasm, as a knockout victory for either party is apparently allowable under the bout’s ruleset.

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.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last weekend’s UFC Milwaukee card, and as expected, Al Iaquinta has surged up the list at lightweight after springing the upset on Kevin Lee in the card’s main event. With his decision defeat of Kevin Lee, Al Iaquinta has usurped the number five spot in the lightweight rankings. Interestingly, this move actually forced Edson Barboza out of the top-5, despite his destruction of Dan Hooker in the UFC Milwaukee co-main event.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

After their thrilling December 1 draw, WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder and resurgent British star Tyson Fury are expected to rematch in the New Year. In the opinion of UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, this rematch could easily rank amongst the biggest heavyweight boxing fights of all time. It might even be the biggest.

Cole Shelton - December 19, 2018

Matt Brown has been in the UFC since 2008. He has also fought at least once a year every year since 2005. However, in 2018 that streak ended when Brown, unfortunately, was dealing with some injuries that kept him from competing inside the Octagon. He tore his ACL earlier this year when he was preparing for a fight against Carlos Condit.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

Michael Bisping had a legendary MMA career, highlighted by victories over some of the sport’s biggest names, and of course, a UFC middleweight title win. Despite his massive successes, however, Bisping says he would still do a few things differently if he could go back. Speaking on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Michael Bisping was asked what he’d do differently if he could go back and start his MMA career over again.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

On December 29, in the main event of the stacked UFC 232 card in Las Vegas, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will step back into the cage with the fiercest opponent of his career: Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson. Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson first met in the main event of UFC 165, in 2013 in Toronto. On that night, Jones walked away with a unanimous decision win, though many fans felt Gustafsson should have been awarded the decision. Whatever the case, the bout is widely regarded as one of the best in UFC history.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2018

On February 9, at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will battle red-hot contender Israel Adesanya. Heading into this matchup, many fans have suggested that Silva and Adesanya are quite similar. Some have even suggested that the latter is a newer, younger version of the former.

Drake Riggs - December 18, 2018

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Cole Shelton - December 18, 2018

Diego Ferreira had a crazy fight week in Toronto preparing for UFC 231. The Brazilian was originally set to take on John Makdessi, but Makdessi got hurt and had to pull out of the fight. Then former UFC fighter Jesse Ronson stepped in to fight Ferreira on short notice, but was quickly pulled from the bout for being too heavy. That was just days before the fight and it left Ferreira wondering if he was going to fight after all.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico are two of the biggest and most successful MMA gyms in the world. Both gyms have produced a long list of UFC champions, and countless UFC contenders. Unfortunately, both are currently without Instagram accounts thanks to the UFC.