MMA News
Nate Diaz shares cryptic message, hints that he "can't commit" to UFC
Tom Taylor - August 8, 2018
Earlier this month, it was announced that fan favorite lightweight contender Nate Diaz will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon opposite top contender Dustin Poirier. The pair are expected to collide in the co-main event of UFC 230 on November 3 in New York City. Late last week, the UFC held a massive press conference featuring all the stars of their upcoming shows — including Diaz and Poirier. The promotion also took this opportunity to announce a highly anticipated lightweight title fight between champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and challenger Conor McGregor. This news cast a massive shadow over everybody else at the press conference — including Diaz.
Dana White confirms "The Ultimate Fighter will continue" on ESPN — with some key changes
Tom Taylor - August 8, 2018
Last night, shortly after the conclusion of this season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, the UFC boss addressed the media about the future of the Contender Series and of The Ultimate Fighter. Despite widespread rumors about the show’s demise, White assured the Ultimate Fighter will continue as the UFC migrates from FOX to ESPN.
TJ Dillashaw says its "ridiculous" how much UFC loves Cody Garbrandt, is happy to KO him a third time
Tom Taylor - August 8, 2018
Cody Garbrandt’s time atop the UFC bantamweight mountain was brief. He won the title with a December, 2016 decision defeat of Dominick Cruz, and lost it in his first defense, succumbing to second-round punches from his arch rival TJ Dillashaw in November of 2017. Despite the fact that Garbrandt never successfully defended the title, he was given an immediate rematch with Dillashaw, which headlined UFC 227 last Saturday night. Dillashaw believes Garbrandt got this rare opportunity because the UFC is “hard for” the former champion.
Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov in the works for UFC 229 co-main event
Drake Riggs - August 7, 2018
Late last month, Russia’s very best heavyweight fighter challenged “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis to a fight in Moscow. That fighter was of course none other than Alexander Volkov who seemed to be next in line for a title shot until Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar came along.
UFC Denver gets flyweight showdown between Joseph Benavidez and Ray Borg
Drake Riggs - August 7, 2018
The UFC’s return to Denver is slowly but surely being put together fight by fight. And it’s off to quite the solid start. After having UFC Denver’s main event and co-main events recently announced, a third top-ranked matchup has been added to the November 10th card.
Dana White open to having Ben Askren in the UFC, 'We can absolutely talk about it'
Drake Riggs - August 7, 2018
There have been multiple amazing fighters in MMA that have never fought for the UFC. Atop the list of them for many is Ben Askren. There was once a time where the undefeated former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight king looked to have a solid shot at making his way to the grandest stage in MMA. However, after some back and forth with the boss Dana White himself, things never really came together and Askren took his talent over to Asia.
UFC Moncton gets several fight additions including Misha Cirkunov vs Patrick Cummins
Drake Riggs - August 7, 2018
The UFC will be returning to Canada on October 27th and for the first time ever they will be touching down in the city of Moncton. After the UFC recently announced the headliner between top light heavyweight contenders, Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith, they have given us a couple more pairings at 205-pounds.
Dana White will understand if Eddie Alvarez wants to finish his career elsewhere
Drake Riggs - August 7, 2018
The wild and highly anticipated UFC on Fox 30 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada has come and gone. In a thrilling main event, wrongs were righted from UFC 211. In the said main event, Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez ran things back as they went to war. Only lasting a round and a half just like in their first encounter, this time Poirier put an exclamation point on things as he finished Alvarez with strikes.
Dominick Cruz , Marlon Moraes and Raphael Assuncao argue their cases for next bantamweight title shot
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
It’s crowded at the top of the UFC bantamweight division. Dominick Cruz, Raphael Assuncao, and Marlon Moraes all have legitimate claim to the next crack at UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, and new UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo also has his crosshairs locked on the bantamweight king.
Israel Adesanya on Derek Brunson: "The UFC made him call me out"
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
Red hot UFC middleweight contender Israel Adesanya will return to the Octagon at UFC 230, which goes down on November 3 in New York City. His opponent in this next fight will be established contender Derek Brunson, who called him out repeatedly before the fight was made official. While it was Brunson who called Adesanya out, Adesanya doesn’t believe Brunson actually wanted the fight. In fact, he claims the UFC made Brunson call him out.
Dustin Poirier will not be happy if GSP jumps lightweight contendership line: "It's not happening"
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
Last week, at a press conference in Australia, former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre divulged that he’d be interested in battling the winner of UFC 229’s Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor lightweight title fight. “I would be interested in that fight,” St-Pierre said. “That’s a win-win situation. It’s a legacy upgrade and it’s good money — it’s gonna be a big fight. Yeah. However, I fought at 170, I relinquished a title. I fought at 185, I relinquished a title. I don’t think UFC will let me fight for the title at 155. They will be afraid I relinquish and I left the division in ruins.
Joe Rogan argues extreme weight-cutting is a worse form of cheating than PEDs
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
UFC commentator Joe Rogan is not a fan of extreme weight-cutting — the practice of dehydrating oneself in order to make weight for a fight, then rapidly rehydrating to regain that weight, and carry a significant weight advantage into the cage. In his eyes, this practice is not only incredibly dangerous, it’s also a form of cheating more severe than performance enhancing drugs. “It is stupid,” Rogan said on his podcast the Joe Rogan Experience (transcript via MMAMania). “What it is is sanctioned cheating. It’s sanctioned cheating and it’s cheating at a much higher scale even than PEDs. If you get two people and they both weigh 135 [pounds] but they’re both totally hydrated and one of them has been doing steroids and one of them hasn’t been doing steroids, the difference will be far less than if one person weighs in at 135 [pounds] but then balloons up to 160 [pounds] and then gets into that octagon at 160 [pounds] but there’s no PEDs involved. That’s a much greater advantage than someone whose doing some sort of testosterone thing or something. They’re compromised but the benefit of being so much larger might outweigh being compromised.
Dillon Danis explains why Conor McGregor will defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
Dustin Poirier isn't worried about Nate Diaz not showing up at UFC 230
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
Late last week, it was announced that fan favorite lightweight contender Nate Diaz will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon opposite top contender Dustin Poirier. The pair are expected to collide in the co-main event of UFC 230 on November 3 in New York City. Shortly thereafter, the UFC held a massive press conference featuring all the stars of their upcoming shows — including Diaz and Poirier. The promotion also took this opportunity to announce a highly anticipated lightweight title fight between champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and challenger Conor McGregor. This news cast a massive shadow over everybody else at the press conference — including Diaz.
Georges St-Pierre on possible fight with Anderson Silva: "not right now"
Tom Taylor - August 7, 2018
MMA fans have wanted to see Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva fight for years. Even now, when St-Pierre has long since abandoned the UFC welterweight title he once guarded so fiercely, and Anderson Silva’s reign as UFC middleweight champion is a distant memory, a collision between the two greats remains one of the most mouth-watering options on the MMA menu. Speaking at a press conference during his visit to Australia, the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre discussed this long-desired super fight. While the fans’ appetite for this fight has not dissipated, St-Pierre says it’s one that doesn’t make sense for him at present.
Georges St-Pierre makes prediction for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor title fight
Thomas Taylor - August 6, 2018
Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre is currently on tour in Australia. During his visit to the Land Down Under, St-Pierre partook in a press conference, where he shared his interest in fighting the winner of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s headline dominating UFC 229 title fight. “I would be interested in that fight,” he said. “That’s a win-win situation. It’s a legacy upgrade and it’s good money. It’s gonna be a big fight. Yeah, however, I fought at 170, I relinquished the title and I fought at 185, I relinquished the title. I don’t think the UFC will let me fight for the title at 155. They will be afraid I’ll relinquish and I’ll leave the division in ruins again.”
VIDEO | BJ Penn takes on The Crust in Guam
Tom Taylor - August 6, 2018
Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn has been all over the world over the last few months. One of his recent trips took him to Guam, where he chowed down at Crust, a gourmet Pizzeria in the capital city of Hagåtña.
Colby Covington calls Darren Till vs. Tyron Woodley a "Fine number one contenders fight."
Chris Taylor - August 6, 2018
UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington was expected to be the next man to challenge Tyron Woodley for the UFC’s undisputed welterweight title. The promotion wanted Covington and Woodley to settle their heated rivalry in a title unification bout at UFC 228 on September 8.
Bellator MMA announces first-round bouts for Welterweight Grand Prix
Tom Taylor - August 6, 2018
Bellator MMA has announced the matchups for the first round of its anticipated welterweight Grand Prix, and they’re fantastic. The tournament will begin with a trilogy bout between former champions Andrey Koreshkov and Douglas Lima, who are 1-1 across their two previous bouts. The pair will collide at Bellator 206 on September 29 — an event that marks the promotion’s debut on the streaming service DAZN.