MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2018

Currently riding high on decisive defeats of legendary heavyweights Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem, Curtis Blaydes feels he’s earned a shot at the winner of UFC 226’s Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier winner. Blaydes issued his latest call for a fight with the Miocic vs. Cormier winner — the next legend on his hit list — in Wednesday Tweet. See it below.

Drake Riggs - June 21, 2018

Earlier this month, we were treated to an instant classic in the middleweight division as Robert Whittaker made his first title defense in a rematch against Yoel Romero. The fight was a war throughout the whole five rounds, but apparently it could have came to a stop earlier than that had Romero not made some adjustments. Whittaker would win the very close battle via split decision. The fight didn’t officially count as a title defense either as Romero missed weight heading into the clash.

Drake Riggs - June 20, 2018

After recently having his USADA suspension reprimanded, former UFC heavyweight champ, Josh Barnett is now moving on from the organization. MMAJunkie’s Steven Marrocco is reporting that Barnett has been released from the UFC making him free to explore other options.

Drake Riggs - June 20, 2018

Heading into his very first UFC main event, Britain’s Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards isn’t lacking any confidence as he prepares to take on the seasoned veteran, Donald Cerrone. Edwards hasn’t lost since December 2015 when he fought a fellow rising contender in Kamaru Usman. Now riding high on a sneaky impressive five-fight win streak, Edwards is ready to extend that to six with the biggest name he’ll have fought to date.

Jordy McElroy - June 20, 2018

Daniel Cormier spent the last half of his MMA career tethered to an unremitting rivalry with Jon Jones, but at UFC 226, the reigning light heavyweight champion can cut the cord and step out of the darkness of the former pound-for-pound king’s polarizing shadow. There will be no more questions of whether he has earned the right to call himself a real UFC champion. No more waiting around for a trilogy of a rivalry gone stale. No more being upstaged by a man he isn’t even fighting.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2018

PRIDE legend Wanderlei Silva says he’s fighting Quinton “Rampage” Jackson under the Bellator banner on September 29. Silva shared this exciting news in a video on his official Facebook page. ”Like people say, it’s very hard for a good professional to retire,” Silva said (via MMA Fighting). “I just got a call from Bellator inviting to be part of the Sept. 29 [card] against Quinton Jackson in the main event in California. It’s our fourth bout, I won two of the first three, so it’s 2-1 for me.”

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2018

Chael Sonnen has a piece of advice for Henry Cejudo, who rematches dominating flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson at UFC 227 on August 4. Sonnen feels that, if Cejudo hopes to build interest in this flyweight title rematch, he needs to cast himself as the villain in the story. “He just wouldn’t come out of his shell,” Sonnen said of Cejudo’s typical attitude. “He just simply wouldn’t do it. He just wanted to be the good and likeable guy, no matter how many times we try to grab him by the collar and say ‘Henry, that spot’s taken — the good guy is taken by Demetrious — but there’s another seat in the car.'”

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2018

Tristar head coach Firas Zahabi says that when former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was at the peak of his MMA superstardom, his training partners would often become star-struck by him, and dial back their sparring with him as a result. To ensure that St-Pierre got more aggressive versions of these star-struck training partners, Zahabi would offer $5,000 to anybody who could put the champ down. “We reach those high intensity levels periodically through the year, and we have to do it a certain way so that it’s fun,” Zahabi told Joe Rogan on The JRE MMA Show (transcribed by Mike Bohn for MMAjunkie). “Georges was on your show, and he was saying I was trying to kill him in the practice room. He’s right, but I do it so rarely. I do it so periodically. I make it a joke. I brought the guys in a room, and I was watching them spar with Georges, and they don’t want to touch his face. This is when he was like a mega-star, when he was the champ. Nobody wants to try to double leg him; nobody wants to try to hurt him. They’re like, ‘I’m not going to come here in his house and try to show him.’ There’s a respect thing. They’re starstruck, these young kids.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2018

If Firas Zahabi gets his way, former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre will follow up in the footsteps of Conor McGregor and step into the boxing ring with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. Zahabi shared his hopes for a St-Pierre vs. Mayweather boxing match on a recent episode of the JRE MMA Show.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2018

CM Punk’s second MMA fight, which pitted him against Mike Jackson at UFC 225, didn’t go a whole lot better than his first. Though the former pro wrestler managed to survived until the final bell, he was soundly beaten for the bout’s duration — on the feet and on the mat — erasing any lingering hope that he might have what it takes to cut it in the perilous world of cage fighting. Yet just as he did in his first fight, a first-round submission loss to Mickey Gall, Punk showed that he’s got a toaster-sized heart thumping away inside his tattoo-covered chest. Though he is clearly short on the ability required to thrive as a mixed martial artist, he is long on guts, and that fact impressed many of the UFC’s top fighters.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2018

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley’s next fight is likely to pit him against interim champion Colby Covington — a man known for his willingness to talk trash about pretty much anybody with a pulse. Over the last few months, Covington has fired his patented verbal missiles at Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos, Darren Till, UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker, Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, Octagon commentator Joe Rogan, even his former roommate, light heavyweight legend Jon Jones.

Drake Riggs - June 19, 2018

“Yo, Leon [Edwards], there is no need for us to be angry with each other right now. He called me old and slow. So I told him, ‘you’re gonna have to go home an tell your momma that an old slow man beat your ass.

Drake Riggs - June 19, 2018

After an ultra-impressive first round knockout victory over Thiago Santos in April, former WSOF double champ, David Branch has his sights set on another big fight. Specifically in the crosshairs of Branch is the perennial top 5 middleweight contender, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza.

Drake Riggs - June 19, 2018

In the UFC’s increasingly shallow women’s bantamweight division, there remains only one real clear contender at the moment and that’s Brazil’s, Ketlen Vieira. Although it seems clear as day that a fight between Vieira and the champion, Amanda Nunes should be what’s next, after UFC 225 there is now speculation.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2018

Michael Page is now 2-0 as a professional boxer, have recently picked up his sophomore win with a second round knockout of Michal Ciach (see that here). From the sounds of it, Page will seek to move 3-0 in the boxing ring before returning to MMA, where he also boasts a perfect record at 13-0.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2018

Though nothing is official just yet, all signs point to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting former two-division champion Conor McGregor sometime later this year — perhaps even at UFC 229 on October 6.  Speaking to Sport24.ru this week, Nurmagomedov discussed this possible matchup. Apparently, he’s worried about McGregor bailing on the bout.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2018

On Saturday night — Saturday morning stateside — the UFC will return to beautiful Singapore with an exciting fight card. As always, the promotion has brought a handful of stars along with it to help promote the fights and participate in meet and greets and various other events with the fans. One of those fighters is former WEC champ and MMA pioneer Urijah Faber. Regrettably, Faber’s visit to Singapore is off to a rocky start. Not long after arriving in the country, he got hit by what he’s calling “the only car on the road.” From the looks of it, he escaped with little more than a foot injury, but still… not how you want to start a trip abroad.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2018

Following his departure from the UFC, Ramsey Nijem received interest from a number of top mixed martial arts promotions. In the end, he decided to sign with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), a new league that is striving to revolutionize the MMA industry with an exciting seasonal format and whopping, million-dollar prizes.