MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2018

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who retired in the cage after a November, 2016 decision loss to future title challenger Raquel Pennington, says the door on her fighting career is not 100% closed. That said, the former champ and new Mom doesn’t expect to ever compete again. She explained why on MMA Tonight on SiriusXM Rush. “I’m open ended in every part of my life,” Tate said (transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting). “There’s never a time where I really think that a door is 100% closed because there was a time where if somebody would have asked me if I want kids, I would have said ‘I don’t think so. I don’t think I want kids.’

Drake Riggs - June 27, 2018

Well, the search for Justin Gaethje’s new UFC Lincoln opponent didn’t last long. Late Wednesday night it was reported that Al Iaquinta had pulled out of his upcoming main event bout with the former WSOF champion, Gaethje that was set to take place on August 25th.

Drake Riggs - June 27, 2018

Off then on and now off again apparently for good, UFC Lincoln is in need of a new main event and opponent for ‘The Highlight’ Justin Gaethje. The former WSOF lightweight king, Gaethje and The Ultimate Fighter 15 finalist, Al Iaquinta were scheduled to square off in UFC Lincoln’s headliner on August 25th. The uber fan-friendly will now have to be put on hold as ESPN is reporting that Iaquinta has pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons.

Jordy McElroy - June 27, 2018

More eyes will be on the UFC than ever before with the partnership with ESPN taking flight in 2019, and UFC President Dana White, along with matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard, will be turning over every rock to give fans the dream fights they want to see. Trilogies, grudge matches, champion vs. champion bouts—everything is on the table when the MMA mecca begins business with the mainstream sports media conglomerate.

Thomas Taylor - June 27, 2018

Earlier this week, on the debut episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans announced his retirement from the sport of MMA. On Wednesday afternoon, the former champ and UFC legend issued a lengthy and thoughtful statement to Instagram, detailing his decision-making process, and looking back on his time in the sport.

Drake Riggs - June 27, 2018

The MMA world was hit with a big retirement from a legend and former UFC champion earlier this week. Now we’ve been hit with another. Unfortunately, the story of Johny Hendricks’ wild career may be more remembered for his rapid decline after losing his title via a controversial decision. However, what he did before that can’t be forgotten.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida is now a Bellator fighter. Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi, who lost to Machida in 2014, thinks he knows why. Mousasi believes Machida has abandoned the UFC in hopes that the drug-testing will be less stringent in Bellator.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

In honor of his retirement, we count down the Top 5️⃣ @SugaRashadEvans moments. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Gkk2TXiOMd — UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2018

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

We already know that former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida’s Bellator career will unfurl in both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions. Apparently, however, Machida’s multi-divisional ambition might carry him all the way to the Bellator heavyweight division, where he could even battle MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. According to Bellator boss Scott Coker, this is a fight Lyoto Machida has actually asked or. And depending on how Emelianenko’s involvement in the Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix shakes out, it’s a fight that could actually happen. Machida might also find himself in the cage with the winner of Gegard Mousasi and Rory MacDonald’s September 29 middleweight title fight.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

https://youtu.be/cnqoc1xlkDY UFC 226 is, without any exaggeration, the biggest card of the year so far.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

Alexander Gustafsson’s claim to the next UFC light heavyweight title shot is pretty much undeniable. Unfortunately for the towering Swede, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is in the midst of a sojourn up to the heavyweight division, where he will challenge Stipe Miocic for gold at UFC 226. In other words, there’s currently no light heavyweight champion available for Gustafsson to fight. From the sounds of it, the UFC is now hoping Gustafsson will take another fight before he contends for the light heavyweight title. Though the Swedish contender has stated he plans to be ready to step in and replace Cormier or Miocic in the event of an injury, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto is reporting that the UFC hopes to have Gustafsson fight at UFC 227 on August 4 in Los Angeles.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2018

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg was supposed to fight Brando Moreno at UFC 223 in early April. Unfortunately, Borg was one of two fighters to be forced out of his UFC 223 bout as the result of Conor McGregor’s infamous rampage. To remind, McGregor threw a hand truck through the window a a shuttle bus carrying a number of UFC 223 fighters, injuring both Borg and Michael Chiesa with enough severity that they couldn’t fight. Chiesa sustained several facial lacerations, while Borg wound up with fragments of glass in his eye. It would be easy to understand if Ray Borg hated Conor McGregor in the wake of this ugly ordeal. Apparently, however, that’s not the case.

Drake Riggs - June 26, 2018

Now that the Rose Namajunas vs Joanna Jedrzejczyk saga is over, for now anyway, the division must move on! And it appears to be making its first steps. A fight between top strawweight contenders, Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz that was originally slated to be taking place at UFC on Fox 28 in February…clearly did not happen.

Drake Riggs - June 26, 2018

Another week of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series and yet another thrilling night of finishes. Of the 15 fights so far in season 3, 14 have ended by finish. I would say that the theme for this week was finishing…but that appears to be the theme of the whole season.

Drake Riggs - June 26, 2018

Today, a prayer to the MMA Gods is indeed in order. And compared to the previous two…this one feels like it has a good chance at being answered soon. Everybody loves the heavyweight division. Especially their legendary figures like Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Igor Vovchanchyn, Randy Couture…the list goes on.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

On September 29, in the main event of Bellator’s first event on DAZN, Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will attempt to defend his title against Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald in a bona fide Bellator super fight.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

Lyoto Machida’s time as a Bellator fighter will not be confined to a single weight class. Speaking at a Tuesday press conference announcing Bellator’s new deal with DAZN, Bellator President Scott Coker confirmed that Machida will most likely compete both in the 185-pound middleweight division and the 205-pound light heavyweight division, where he once wore UFC gold. Scott Coker says Lyoto Machida will fight at both light heavyweight and middleweight. Glad to hear this.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2018

That massive September 29th Bellator card that you’ve been hearing about? That’s going to air exclusively on the streaming service DAZN (pronounced Da Zone, for those unfamiliar). This card, which will feature a middleweight title super fight between divisional kingpin Gegard Mousasi and beefed-up welterweight champ Rory MacDonald, as well as a fourth fight between MMA legends Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, will kick-start a multi-year deal between Bellator, parent company Viacom, and DAZN.