MMA News

Cole Shelton - September 25, 2018

Eryk Anders was riding a high after a devastating head kick knockout victory over Tim Williams at UFC Fight Night 135 in August. With the win, Anders was hoping he could fight a ranked opponent before the end of the year. Well, Anders got his wish, but he was fighting 12 ranked middleweight Thiago Santos at light heavyweight in the main event for UFC Sao Paulo, just a month after his win over Williams. Anders took the fight on just days’ notice as the former Alabama linebacker flew to Brazil to fight in the main event.

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has not fought since May, when he gave up a hotly debated decision to an overweight Darren Till in Liverpool, UK. From the sounds of it, he’s hoping to change that soon. Speaking on Twitter on Monday, the two-time welterweight title challenger called for a early 2019 showdown with former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. I heard your going to be ready early next year @Ruthless_RL I know a guy who will be ready then too…Let’s give the fans what they want! I’m bringing the heat back, and you know this fight will be FIRE! @ufc

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

On October 6, in the main event of the stacked UFC 229, undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor will step into the cage to settle their beef. This fight is expected to be the biggest of the year for the UFC, and one of the biggest in the promotion’s history outright. As such, fans are sure to be interested to know who will be judging the fight, and which referee will be standing inside the cage with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

There was a time when UFC President Dana White was one of Francis Ngannou’s most vocal supporters. A little less than a year ago, the UFC boss was referring to the Cameroonian-French heavyweight as a future superstar and the next big thing at heavyweight. Yet in the wake of Francis Ngannou’s back to back decision defeats to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis — the latter of which was a particularly disappointing performance — UFC President Dana White has accused the heavyweight of having an ego problem.

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

On December 29, in the main event of UFC 232, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will move up to the 145-pound featherweight division to battle UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg. In the eyes of former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who lost to Nunes in a July, 2016 title fight, Cyborg should win this fight. That being said, Tate feels Nunes has the kind of power to make this fight interesting. In fact, she believes Nunes has enough firepower to put Cyborg down if she connects properly.

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

This summer, after a series of losses in the UFC middleweight division, former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks announced his retirement from MMA. Speaking on The MMA Hour on Monday, the former champion Hendricks explained that his retirement had a lot to do with the UFC’s association with the United States Anti-Doping Agency. 

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

For his July, 2017 failed drug test, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones received a 15-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency, retroactive to the time of his failed test. This means he’ll be allowed to fight again by the end of October. Given that this was Jones’ second USADA infraction, this 15 month term strikes as a fairly short period. The reason for this shortened suspension, however, is that Jon Jones provided significant and useful information to USADA.

Tom Taylor - September 25, 2018

In addition to being one of the world’s top fighters, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is also a fantastic analyst. Speaking on The Hollywood Beatdown on TMZ earlier this week, the welterweight champ donned his analyst’s hat an made a prediction for the UFC 229 main event, which will pit UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov against former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

Paulo Costa, an undefeated contender in the stacked UFC middleweight division, has big plans for his combat sports career. The 27-year-old Brazilian hopes to win the UFC middleweight title, then capture the UFC welterweight and light heavyweight titles, retain all three for a period, then retire from MMA and move to boxing. That’s what he calls his Plan A. His Plan B? He says he doesn’t have one, because a Plan B implies a failed Plan A.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

When Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov step into the cage together at UFC 229, most fans expect one of two things to happen. The expectation is that McGregor will either knock Nurmagomedov out, our Nurmagomedov will drag McGregor into a grappling hell and possibly stop him on the mat. This feeling, of course, hinges on the perception that Nurmagomedov is not much of a striker, and McGregor is not much of a grappler. While Conor McGregor’s chief training partner Artem Lobov agrees that Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t present much danger in the striking department, he feels its erroneous to assume that McGregor can’t grapple with the lightweight champion.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

Last weekend, on the main card of UFC Sao Paulo, 42-year-old MMA legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stepped into the Octagon for the first time in two years, having been sidelined by a lengthy United States Anti-Doping Agency suspension. His opponent in this return to action was brick-fisted 32-year-old Sam Alvey.  Given the circumstances of this matchup, many fans seemed to count Antonio Rogerio Nogueira out against Sam Alvey — and understandably so. The odds seemed to be stacked against him.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is reportedly being pursued by Asian MMA powerhouse ONE Championship. The Singapore-based promotion has reportedly been competitive with both Bellator and the UFC in the negotiations for Alvarez’s employment. This interesting news was reported by Tarso Doria of MMABrasil.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who has now defended the UFC welterweight title with consecutive defeats of Stephen Thompson (twice), Demian Maia, and Darren Till, is adamant that he is the greatest welterweight in the history of MMA. Many fans and pundits, however, beg to differ, maintaining that the former champion Georges St-Pierre is still the sport’s greatest welterweight. In the opinion of Tyron Woodley’s coach Din Thomas, Georges St-Pierre probably is still the greatest welterweight in the sport’s history, but Woodley could easily change that with a couple more wins — two wins over specific opponents, as a matter of fact.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoDVKcMno6X/ Last Saturday night, on the undercard of UFC Sao Paulo, all-action MMA veteran Ben Saunders came up short to BJJ whiz Sergio Moraes, tapping to a choke in the second round of their welterweight contest.

Tom Taylor - September 24, 2018

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley considers himself the greatest welterweight in the history of MMA. While Woodley has developed an incredible resume, however, many fans and pundits still feel former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre has claim to that title. In a recent interview with FanSided, Georges St-Pierre discussed Tyron Woodley’s claim to GOAT status.

Cole Shelton - September 23, 2018

Patricky ‘Pitbull’ Freire believes he should be next-in-line for the lightweight title fight against the champion Brent Primus. Freire is coming off of a knockout win over Roger Huerta in the second-round of Bellator 205. With the win, ‘Pitbull’ set the Bellator record for most finishes by strikes.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2018

On Saturday night, on the main card of UFC Sao Paulo, Sam Alvey stepped into the Octagon with Brazilian MMA legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who was returning from a lengthy hiatus from competition. Unfortunately, Alvey’s opportunity to take out an MMA legend didn’t go quite the way he planned. Instead, the American was put down by a volley of punches in the bout’s second round. That being said, Sam Alvey is still all smiles post-fight — no surprise there.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2018

For a fleeting moment, Brazilian middleweight contender Thiago Santos was scheduled to fight British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa in the main event of last night’s UFC Sao Paulo card. That was after Manuwa’s original opponent, Glover Teixeira, withdrew from the card, and before Manuwa was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by middleweight Eryk Anders. Having dispatched Anders in the wild, last-minute UFC Sao Paulo main event, Thiago Santos is now planning to stick around in the UFC light heavyweight division for the time being, where he hopes to be rebooked for a fight with Jimi Manuwa.