MMA News

Chris Taylor - July 4, 2018

Earlier tonight terrible news struck the mixed martial arts world when ESPN reported that Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 226 title fight with Brian Ortega. “Blessed” has since been hospitalized this after suffering from concussion-like symptoms.

Chris Taylor - July 4, 2018

Earlier this evening terrible news rocked the mixed martial arts world as ESPN announced that current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was forced out of his scheduled title fight with undefeated contender Brian Ortega. “Blessed” was hospitalized due to concussion-like symptoms and has thus been removed from his scheduled UFC 226 co-main event fight with “T-City”.

Chris Taylor - July 4, 2018

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will no longer be defending his title against undefeated contender Brian Ortega at UFC 226. ESPN first reported the news that Max Holloway (19-3 MMA) has been hospitalized due to concussion-like symptoms and has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 226 co-headliner against “T-City”.

Drake Riggs - July 4, 2018

Preparing for his biggest fight to date, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 winner, Antonio Carlos Junior may now have to prepare for even longer. Riding an impressive five-fight winning streak that consists of four rear-naked-choke victories (three consecutive), Carlos Junior is poised for a step up in competition and he was set to get it against Derek Brunson at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles, California.

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Donald Cerrone — better known as “Cowboy” — is one of the most beloved fighters in the UFC. His newest side project is only going to boost his reputation among the fans and his fellow fighters. In a Tuesday night Instagram post, Cowboy announced plans to launch an amateur fight series called Cowboy Fight Series. These events, Cowboy explains, will give amateur fighters a platform on which to grow their skills and their reputations, and in some cases, earn professional contracts with top regional promotions. Cowboy will also invite some of these amateurs to live with him on the BMF ranch, where they’ll have the opportunity to train and develop amongst some of the sport’s very best fighters.

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

UFC middleweight star Uriah Hall was supposed to battle Vitor Belfort back in January. Unfortunately, this plan was derailed when Hall experienced severe health complications due to his extreme weight-cut down to the middleweight division’s 186-pound limit. In the wake of this harrowing twist, Hall even admitted to having seizures and a small heart attack. Now many months removed from this ordeal, Hall is in the midst of another weight cut down to 185 pounds, as he’s scheduled to battle Paulo Costa on the UFC 226 undercard this Saturday. While he admits his January health troubles were scary, he seems to be quite relaxed with respect to this current cut, as he’s gotten a handle on his diet, and expects that to make things much easier.

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Former World Series of Fighting lightweight champ Justin Gaethje is not impressed by his UFC Lincoln opponent James Vick. In fact, he finds Vick so unimpressive that he says he’d be hard-pressed not to retire from MMA if he loses to Vick in Lincoln. “I’m so much better than James Vick,” Gaethje said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show (transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMA Mania). “It sucks to say it, but if I was to go out there and get outclassed by James Vick, I’d have to hang them up.”

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

UFC middleweight prospect Israel Adesanya and welterweight contender Darren Till are two of the fastest rising stars in the UFC today. And while they currently operate in different weight classes, Adesanya expects that to change in the future. Speaking to MMA Fighting‘s Peter Carroll, Adesanya shared his belief that Till’s struggles with the scale, which recently manifested themselves when he missed weight for a welterweight fight with Stephen Thompson, will eventually force him up to the middleweight division.

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Over the last few weeks, former two division World Series of Fighting champion David Branch has been chasing a fight with former Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Branch’s first callout of Jacare was short and sweet, and simply stated that he’d signed a contract to fight the Brazilian. https://twitter.com/DavidcBranchMMA/status/1004886659018747904

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Yoel Romero has dazzled fans in his first two bouts of 2018, first clubbing former champ Luke Rockhold into unconsciousness in February, then engaging current champ Robert Whittaker in one of the year’s best fights in June. Unfortunately, both of Romero’s 2018 bouts have been served with a side of controversy, as he failed to make weight on both occasions. It’s for this reason that surging middleweight contender Israel Adesanya has found it hard to root for him. In Adesanya’s eyes, Romero’s repeated failure to make weight is encroaching on cheating.

Drake Riggs - July 3, 2018

We might not hear him speak up often, but when he does Gegard Mousasi doesn’t hold back. And he didn’t yesterday when speaking of one of his old foes. Recently signed to Bellator was the MMA legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

Nick Newell (14-1), a veteran of the World Series of Fighting cage, and a congenital amputee whose left arm does not extend past the elbow, now has an opponent for his anticipated, July 24 appearance on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. His opponent will be Alex Munoz (4-0). This bout was first reported by MMA Today’s Shawn Bitter, and subsequently announced by UFC officials.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson didn’t have to fly across the Atlantic to battle rising prospect Darren Till in his hometown of Liverpool, and he sure as heck didn’t have to fight Till after he missed weight for the fight. But he did, and for that, UFC President Dana White was very thankful. In fact, White even assured post-fight that the UFC would “do everything we can to give [Thompson] what he wants” in return for his sacrifices. Thompson is hoping Dana White and the UFC will keep their word. He’s hoping to cash in the favor he’s owed, and bring the UFC to his home state of South Carolina — an unexplored territory for the promotion. If he can bring the UFC to South Carolina — particularly to the city of Greenville — he’s hoping to battle former champion Robbie Lawler in the main event.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

This Saturday, in the main event of the absurdly stacked UFC 226 card, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will attempt to defend his title against reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. From a competitive standpoint, this is far and away one of the biggest fights of Miocic’s illustrious career. According to the man himself, it’s also the biggest fights from a financial standpoint. This is good news, considering Miocic has been frustrated with his paydays in the past.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

Renowned MMA coach John Kavanagh, who is the man behind stars like Conor McGregor, Gunnar Nelson, James Gallagher and Dillon Danis, has a bone to pick with the UFC. The Irish coach is currently in Las Vegas to corner his SBG Ireland fighters Richie Smullen and Brad Katona, the latter of whom is a finalist on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter. Both fight at the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale this Friday.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

This week, during International Fight Week, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Days later, on the main card of UFC 226, UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis will battle Francis Ngannou. Lewis, of course, has previously expressed his… admiration… for Rousey, who is married to his former opponent Travis Browne. He claims he sent her flowers when he learned she was being inducted in the UFC Hall of Fame, and that he’s nervous she might be watching his fight from cage-side at UFC 226.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

UFC 226, which goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be headlined by a bona fide super fight, as UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier moves up to heavyweight to battle divisional champion Stipe Miocic for gold. Yet according to UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway, who battles Brian Ortega in the co-main event, that’s not the only superfight on the bill. Speaking to Yahoo Sports  this week, Holloway explained what it means to him to fight on such a big card, and assured this his fight with Ortega is every bit a super fight too.

Drake Riggs - July 2, 2018

Earlier today, it was announced that Volkan Oezdemir would be backing out of his UFC Hamburg headliner with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Why did he back out? To take a higher profile bout with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles.