MMA News

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2018

In December of 2015, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold stepped into the cage with Chris Weidman in hopes of stealing the UFC middleweight title. After three wild rounds of fighting, Rockhold succeeded on his mission, stopping Weidman with a volley of fourth-round strikes and capturing the UFC middleweight belt. On November 3, on the main card of UFC 230, Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman will step into the cage for a second time. If Weidman is able to defeat Rockhold, thereby evening the score with him, it’s conceivable the pair could be booked for a tie-breaking trilogy fight in the near future.

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2018

On October 6, in the main event of the blockbuster UFC 229 card, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor will make his anticipated return to the Octagon for a showdown with undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. In the buildup to this fight, we haven’t seen nearly as much of the Conor McGregor trash talk we’ve grown accustomed to. That being said, the Irishman has taken a few shots at Nurmagomedov — even if they’ve been subtle.

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2018

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and former interim champion Colby Covington stand out as two of the fiercest rivals in modern MMA. Though their anticipated showdown has not yet been made official, they’re expected to fight quite soon, and when they do, it’s going to be one of the biggest grudge matches in recent memory. There was a time, of course, when Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington were actually on good terms. That was several years ago, when both trained at American Top Team.

Drake Riggs - September 17, 2018

The MMA world is a unique community. Despite being a sport where people are fighting each other one on one to advance their own positioning, acts of kindness aren’t rare. Unfortunately, these athletes aren’t immune to everyday troubles either. As is the recent case with UFC flyweight Andrea ‘KGB’ Lee who found herself in the middle of a domestic abuse incident with her husband.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2018

Mairbek Taisumov is one of the fastest rising contenders in the crowded UFC lightweight division. He took another huge step up the proverbial ladder this weekend, when he defeated Desmond Green at UFC Moscow. Unfortunately, Mairbek Taisumov’s career has somewhat hindered by the difficulty he’s had obtaining a US visa. In his eyes, he might have a difficult time becoming a UFC champion if he can’t obtain a visa. As such, he’s considering retiring if he’s unable to get one.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2018

Zabit Magomedsharipov is considered a future featherweight champion by many, but currently, the Russian is still working his way up the featherweight rankings, where he is ranked 15th. Following Magomedsharipov’s win over Brandon Davis at UFC 228, the 27-year-old called out either Chad Mendes or Jose Aldo for a fight. However, Aldo has expressed interest in going up to lightweight, so Mendes seems like the logical option.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2018

In the main event of UFC 229, which goes down on October 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor will make his long-awaited return to the cage opposite reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. The fight is inarguably the biggest of the year for the UFC, and one of the biggest in the promotion’s history outright. For some reason, however, the fight has been grossly under-promoted. It’s now just three weeks away, and we’re still waiting on the first official press conference. Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington believes he knows why that is. On the one hand, he understands why McGregor is unwilling to travel across the Atlantic to participate in a distracting media circus. He is, after all, gearing up for one of the toughest fights of his career. Yet Covington also thinks McGregor’s partying might also be deflating his will to promote the fight.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2018

UFC 228, which went down last weekend in Dallas, Texas, was initially expected to be co-headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between champion Nicco Montaño and challenger Valentina Shevchenko. Regrettably, Montaño was hospitalized in the midst of her weight cut, and the bout was cancelled, which ultimately resulted in Montaño being stripped of her title. Leading up to this fight, Valentina Shevchenko said on several occasions that she doubted Nicco Montaño would show up to the fight. Speaking to Luke Thomas on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Montaño shared her belief that this was wishful thinking on Shevchenko’s part. She believes the Kyrgyzstani contender was hoping the fight wouldn’t happen.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2018

Earlier this month, news surfaced that former UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum had been handed a two-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). This suspension stems from an out-of-competition urine test, in which Werdum tested positive for Trenbolone and its metabolite Epitrenbolone. Not long after Fabricio Werdum’s suspension came to light, his former opponent Mark Hunt, one of MMA’s most vocal steroid critics, issued a scathing reaction.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2018

Anything gold is bad luck for current UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo. Cejudo was in Russia to take in Saturday’s UFC Moscow card and spoke to reporters where he admitted that the airline lost his luggage. No big deal right, it is just some clothes. Well, not entirely, as in his luggage was the UFC belt that he won at UFC 227 when he defeated longtime champion Demetrious Johnson.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2018

Inaugural UFC women’s flyweight champion Nicco Montano was supposed to defend her title against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 228 earlier this month. Regrettably, she was hospitalized while undertaking her weight cut down to 125 pounds, and forced out of the fight. From there, the UFC made the controversial decision to strip Nicco Montano of her title, which she had not yet defended. Valentina Shevchenko is now expected to fight for the vacant title in the near future — possibly against former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, in the main event of the UFC’s first ever stop in Russia, heavyweight legend Mark Hunt stepped into the cage with Russian submission ace Alexey Oleynik. Though Hunt seemed to be giving Oleynik some trouble early, he wound up being submitted by the Russian in the bout’s first round. With his outcome, the 44-year-old Mark Hunt is on a two-fight losing streak, and a tough 1-3 in his last four fights. While he is still a tough out for any heavyweight on the roster, he appears to be nearing the end of the road.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones (22-1 MMA) has put together one of the greatest resumes in mixed martial arts history. The 31-year-old, “Bones” has scored notable victories over opponents Mauricio Rua, Rashad Evans, Ryan Bader, Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Daniel Cormier, Glover Teixeira and Ovince Saint Preux during his incredible career.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

Aleksei Oleinik continued his rise up the UFC heavyweight rankings tonight in Moscow defeating veteran Mark Hunt via first-round submission. Oleinik was able to stun Hunt in the opening round with a looping punch and shorty after that strike he was able to drag “The Super Samoan” down to the canvas.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

A heavyweight fight between veterans Mark Hunt (13-12-1 MMA) and Aleksei Oleinik (56-11-1 MMA) headlined tonight’s UFC Fight Night 136 event in Moscow. Mark Hunt was last seen in action at February’s UFC 221 event in Perth, Australia where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to streaking division contender Curtis Blaydes.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

A light heavyweight bout between Jan Blachowicz and Nikita Krylov served as the co-headliner of today’s UFC Fight Night 136 event in Moscow, Russia. Blachowicz will enter the contest on a three-fight winning streak, his latest being a thrilling decision victory over Jimi Manuwa in March.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

A welterweight bout featuring former division title challenger Thiago Alves taking on Alexey Kunchenko kicked off today’s UFC Fight Night 136 main card from Moscow. Thiago Alves is coming off a knockout loss to Curtis Millender in his most recent octagon appearance this past February in Austin, Texas. Prior to the setback, Alves had defeated Patrick Cote via decision at UFC 210 in Buffalo.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

A bantamweight scrap between Petr Yan and Jin Soo Son took place on today’s UFC Fight Night 136 prelims from Moscow, Russia. The fight turned out to be an absolute classic with both men standing and trading bombs for the better part of fifteen minutes.