MMA News

Thomas Taylor - December 16, 2018

The stars were out in droves for last night’s Canelo Alvarez vs. Rocky Fielding fight in New York City, as celebrities like Bruce Willis, Lev Schreiber and tennis star John McEnroe occupied ringside seats inside Madison Square Garden. Another star in the building for this anticipated fight was heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua who, like Canelo, is a key player in DAZN’s aggressive campaign into the boxing industry. Joshua even took to the commentary booth during the evening’s Trevin Farmer vs. Francisco Fonseca bout.

Mike Straus - December 16, 2018

Milwaukee, Wi – Last night saw the end of a very important era in combat sports as UFC on FOX 31 will be the last event on the network. Fair to say the UFC closed out the FOX era with a bang. Nearly every one of the 12 fights last night was a barn burner. The card was entertaining from top to bottom. Well done by the UFC for the omage to the network, I thought, was a classy move.

Thomas Taylor - December 16, 2018

The beef between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor’s teams seems to be alive and well. On Sunday afternoon, McGregor training partner Dillon Danis took to Twitter where he took a quick shot at the UFC lightweight champ Nurmagomedov. Danis’s comment came after Khabib Nurmagomedov reminded UFC Milwaukee main event loser Kevin Lee to “stay humble.” Evidently put off by this comment from Nurmagomedov, Danis told the Russian to shut his mouth.

Jason Kindschy - December 16, 2018

Colby Covington returns to the show to give us some in-depth perspective on the recent uncertainty in the UFC’s welterweight division as much has unfolded in the past week. Colby’s arch-nemisis, Tyron Woodley, has publicly stated that Covington will be his next opponent and UFC president Dana White has echoed the same sentiment that this matchup is in the works. However, following the report that Covington and Woodley’s inevitable showdown was being targeted for UFC 233 in January, there’s been strange events that have lead the MMA community to believe otherwise. UFC 233 in Anaheim was abruptly canceled last week, and fellow welterweight Kamaru Usman put out a photo of an alleged bout agreement between himself and Woodley. Conspiracy or not, Covington has a lot to say about the situation in what has to be his most candid interview to date. We’ll cover it all with “Chaos.”

Cole Shelton - December 16, 2018

Last night, the UFC held its final show on FOX and had two very important lightweight fights as the main and co-main events. Both fights had major implications on the rankings and on the contendership situation.  In the end, Al Iaquinta defeated Kevin Lee by unanimous decision in the main event, while in the co-main, Edson Barboza put on a dominating performance with a TKO win over Dan Hooker. With these wins, Iaquinta will surely soar up the rankings, while Edson Barboza is likely to hover around the number five spot. The biggest question to emerge from the card is what will Kevin Lee do next. Many believe he should go up to welterweight, but he is one of many fighters clamoring for a 165-pound division.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

On Saturday night, in the co-headlining bout of Bellator Hawaii, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida made his promotional debut opposite former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho. After three closely contested rounds, Machida was announced the winner by split decision. While the former UFC champ is happy about this victory, he says he was a bit thrown off by the new setting.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

Until very recently, Bellator and the UFC were engaged in something of a turf war, as both promotions were set to touch down in Southern California on January 26. Bellator boss Scott Coker booked The Forum in Inglewood for Bellator 214, while Dana White and the UFC were expected to take over the Honda Center in Anaheim with UFC 233. Ultimately, however, the UFC opted to cancel its planned UFC 233 card, having had difficulty locking down a suitable headliner for the event. And just like that, Bellator was the only game in town.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

On Saturday night, in the co-main event of UFC Milwaukee, streaking UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker stepped into the cage with Brazilian knockout artist Edson Barboza in what was easily one of the biggest tests of his career thus far. Hooker flaunted unbelievable toughness and heart in this contest, but was decisively walloped by his Brazilian opponent throughout, absorbing dozens of strikes to the legs, body and head, and ultimately stopped in the third round.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

Last night, Bellator MMA capped off an action-packed weekend in Hawaii with its second show in as many nights. In the main event of this second show, Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei MacFarlane returned to the cage to defend her Bellator flyweight strap against former UFC strawweight title challenger Valerie Letourneau. As expected, the Hawaiian champ had en epic walk to the cage for this fight, which she won by third-round submission.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

The UFC’s outfitting deal with sports apparel giant Reebok is frequently criticized by fans, fighters, and pundits alike. Not only does this deal deprive fighters of the chance to pursue more lucrative sponsorship deals for themselves, it also deprives them have the chance to dress up during their walkouts and set themselves apart from their peers. Veteran MMA referee John McCarthy is glad this isn’t the reality in Bellator, where he now serves as a cage-side commentator. Speaking during Saturday’s Bellator Hawaii broadcast, as former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida walked out for his Bellator debut, John McCarthy explained how pleased he was to see Machida walking out in his traditional karate gi rather than Reebok gear.

Tom Taylor - December 16, 2018

Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s final broadcast on FOX, Al Iaquinta and Kevin Lee stepped into the cage for a second time. Just as he did in their first encounter, Iaquinta was able to out-perform Lee, earning a unanimous decision win and a scoring a significant upset. With this win, Iaquinta rebounds from a decision loss to reigning UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov — a fight he accepted on only a day’s notice. Perhaps more importantly, this win over the fourth-ranked Kevin Lee establishes Iaquinta as one of the foremost contenders in the UFC lightweight division.

Christopher Taylor - December 15, 2018

UFC lightweight standouts Kevin Lee and Al Iaquinta went to war in the headliner of tonight’s UFC on FOX 31 event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After five rounds of thrilling back and forth action, the fight went to the judges scorecards for decision.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

Hawaii’s Ilima-Lei Macfarlane put her Bellator women’s flyweight title on the line against Valerie Letourneau in tonight’s Bellator 213 main event in Honolulu. Macfarlane enters tonight’s main event sporting a perfect professional record of 8-0. The Hawaiian‘s most recent win came via submission over Alejandra Lara at Bellator 201 this past June in California.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

The promotional debut of former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida took place at tonight’s Bellator 213 event in Honolulu, Hawaii. Machida squared off with former Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho in the evenings co-main attraction.

Christopher Taylor - December 15, 2018

The co-headliner of tonight’s UFC on FOX 31 event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin featured a key lightweight battle between perennial division contenders Dan Hooker and Edson Barboza. Edson Barboza (19-6 MMA) entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee in his two most recent octagon appearances.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington took some time out of his evening to throw some shade at fellow 170-pound fighter CM Punk. After MMAJunkie shared a photo of the former pro-wrestling world champion turned MMA fighter being in attendance at tonight’s UFC on FOX 31 event in Milwaukee, ‘Chaos’ took to Twitter with the following statement directed at CM Punk.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

A key lightweight rematch featuring Kevin Lee taking on Al Iaquinta headlined tonight’s UFC on FOX 31 fight card in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lee and Iaquinta first met at UFC 169 in February of 2014, with “Raging Al” emerging victortious by way of unanimous decision.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

In the co-main event of UFC on FOX 31, lightweights Dan Hooker and Edson Barboza squared off in hopes of moving up the 155-pound ranks. Barboza (19-6 MMA) entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering losses to the aforementioned Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee in his most recent octagon appearances.