MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

If Conor McGregor returns to the cage for a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, it could easily be the toughest test of his career thus far. All the same, his team sounds prepared to meet that challenge with a carefully constructed game plan. McGregor’s striking coach Owen Roddy discussed potential strategies for Nurmagomedov in a recent interview with MMAjunkie.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

If Conor McGregor fights again — which is starting to sound more and more likely — it will probably be against reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. While McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh is all for this fight, he says he’d prefer to see McGregor engage in a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz first. “Nate Diaz is my favourite fight, by the way,” Kavanagh said in a Friday sit-down with MMA analyst Robin Black (transcribed Jim Edwards for MMANytt). “If I could pick a fight for the next one it would be that trilogy. I realise it’s not the fan favourite.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida has long been considered one of MMA’s true good guys, and he has once again proven why that’s the case. It was recently announced that Machida had signed with Bellator MMA. Apparently, the UFC actually matched the offer that Bellator made Machida, but he moved to Bellator anyway because he’d already told the promotion’s decision makers that he would, and he’s a man of his word.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

Conor McGregor tried to apologize to UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas after he nearly injured her in his infamous April rampage. He made this effort on Instagram, in a direct message to her. Unfortunately, she isn’t buying the Irish star’s apology. She explained why on the inaugural episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show. “I did get an Instagram message from him, but I don’t really know if that was really him,” Namajunas told Helwani (transcribed by Chamatkar Sandhu for ESPN). “To me, that doesn’t seem like the type of, it just didn’t seem like a sincere apology from an actual person. To me, I didn’t really, I guess, consider it a real apology.”

Drake Riggs - June 25, 2018

The Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones rivalry may never truly die. These two men just do not like each other…and we get to witness it. After Cormier’s recent comments about Jones in regards to Jones’ lack of a platform, Jones got a little bit riled up as he took to Twitter with some threatening words to the current UFC light heavyweight champ.

Drake Riggs - June 25, 2018

The name ‘Shevchenko’ will forever be synonymous with the ever talented, Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko. However, another Shevchenko plans to leave a mark of their own in the MMA world. Valentina’s older sister, Antonina will be headlining tomorrow night’s installment of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series when she takes on Jaymee Nievara.

Drake Riggs - June 25, 2018

Earlier this month, UFC President, Dana White announced that he will be having the UFC move the weigh-in format back to afternoons.

Drake Riggs - June 25, 2018

Despite all the great action we witnessed at UFC 225, in the post-fight press conference it seemed like an off night for the boss-man, Dana White. Not in terms of the event going badly, but when it came to the rather unusual responses he gave out when answering questions from the media.

Thomas Taylor - June 25, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Rashad Evans has elected to hang up the gloves. The former champ and UFC legend announced his retirement on the inaugural edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN. Rashad Evans on next! I think you'll want to watch this one.https://t.co/7XuKPHzxSZ

Thomas Taylor - June 25, 2018

Late last week, UFC light heavyweight champion and UFC 226 heavyweight title challenger Daniel Cormier claimed that his arch rival Jon Jones no longer has a platform in the MMA world.  “[Jones] doesn’t have a platform and I refuse to give him a platform,” Cormier told CBS Sports. “He’s a nobody. He has been suspended again. He’s mired in controversy for drug abuse. Your issues are tied to steroids, performance enhancers. You don’t get a platform when you’re like that. It’s like me glorifying Lance Armstrong.”

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

As Bellator MMA’s exciting Heavyweight Grand Prix nears its half-way mark, the promotion is reportedly plotting another grand prix in its talent-packed welterweight division. This, per Lance Pugmire of the LA Times.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

In the lead-up to his UFC 226 heavyweight title super fight with Stipe Miocic, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has stated repeatedly that he hopes to retire quite soon. By March 20, 2019, to be exact, when he turns 40 years old. “Come March [of this year], I will have 12 months, at max, left,” Cormier said on a January episode of The MMA Hour. “I’m going to be done by Mar. 20, 2019. I won’t be fighting again.”

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

The Professional Fighter’s League has produced some pretty incredible knockouts over the course of brief time on our screens, and it’s done so entirely without elbow strikes. No, elbows are not allowed in the PFL cage.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee has long been adamant that the UFC needs a 165-pound division, citing the fact that many fighters are too big to easily make the lightweight division’s 155-pound limit, but are also undersized for the 170-pound welterweight division. The key would be to abolish the 170-pound welterweight division, and in it’s place add 165 and 175 pound divisions. “The 155 pound and 170 pound [divisions] are so messed up right now,” Lee said in a recent interview with The Straits Times. “You’ve got three titles between the two divisions already, so they’ve got to add another weight class.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

Veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy, who now works as a commentator for Bellator MMA, is adamant that there are plenty of world-class fighters outside of the UFC roster. McCarthy got into it with fans on Twitter, praising the depth of the Bellator roster, and assuring that the UFC was not the only home for top talent in MMA. It began when McCarthy applauded the Bellator team for signing former UFC champ Lyoto Machida.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

John Kavanagh, Conor McGregor’s head coach at SBG Ireland, is very confident the Irish superstar will return to the UFC’s Octagon this year — and most likely to a battle with new UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Kavanagh shared his confidence in a possible Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor fight during a conversation with Robin Black in Dublin.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2018

New UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is almost ready to start focusing on his first title defense. The undefeated champion will soon fly to California, where he will begin a training camp that could well culminate with a fight with Conor McGregor. “Very soon I’m going to come to USA, to California and begin my training camp,” Nurmagomedov said on the social media platform Live Raise (transcribed by Jim Edwards for MMANytt).

Thomas Taylor - June 24, 2018

If you ask former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier has no place in MMA’s Greatest of all Time debate. Jones made his opinions on the matter abundantly clear earlier this week, replying to a Tweet from the official UFC Twitter account, and arguing that Cormier’s name should not be mentioned when attempting to identify the GOAT in MMA. what have you done for me lately? Let’s just be real and stop asking this question https://t.co/Tw3FcpH3bK