MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

For a time, it looked as though dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and dangerous bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw would collide in a flyweight title super fight this summer. When the negotiations for this fight fizzled out, however, the two champions reset their crosshairs on challenges in their respective divisions. For TJ Dillashaw, that means a UFC 227 rematch with Cody Garbrandt, who he knocked out in November. For Demetrious Johnson, that’s likely to mean a rematch Henry Cejudo, who he knocked out in 2016 — though the date for this rematch has not yet been set. On Wednesday afternoon, Cejudo took to Twitter in an effort to expedite negotiations for his second crack at the flyweight champ “Mighty Mouse.” He did so by criticizing the champ for his failure to draw significant audiences in previous outings, and promised to “kill the mouse.”

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

On a recent episode of his Beyond The Fight podcast, MMA analyst and current Bellator star Chael Sonnen delved into the UFC’s extremely controversial choice to cut featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez. While Sonnen had nothing but praise for Rodriguez’s ability, he understands why the UFC had to cut him. Apparently, it all comes down to a UFC policy that all fighters are made aware of. He says Rodriguez violated this policy by turning down two fights.

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

Last weekend, on the main card of UFC 224, BJJ star Mackenzie Dern stepped into the Octagon for the second time, taking on Amanda Bobby Cooper. Dern won this fight in emphatic fashion, dropping her foe with a huge punch in the first round, then sinking in a deep rear-naked choke for the win. Unfortunately, Dern’s win over Cooper comes with an asterisk attached, as she tipped the scales at 123 pounds, a significant seven pounds above the strawweight division’s 116-pound limit.

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

Having won his first two UFC bouts, kickboxing export Israel Adesanya has been rewarded with a main event battle with well-established middleweight veteran Brad Tavares. The pair’s bout headlines The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale on July 6. Interestingly, this bout with Tavares is one that Adesanya asked for. And if he gets past the Hawaiian star, he plans on asking for another specific matchup: a fight with the winner of Uriah Hall and Paulo Costa’s fight, which goes down July 7 at UFC 226.

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

At long last, the UFC has made its debut in Russia official. As previously reported by Denis Geyko of RT Sport, the promotion will take over the Olympic Stadium in the Russian capital of Moscow on September 15. “Russia is a key part of UFC’s international expansion strategy,” UFC Senior Vice President of International and Content David Shaw said of this UFC Moscow card in a Wednesday release. “The demand from our fans to bring a live event to Russia has been overwhelming, and with the vast potential this market holds for us, we knew this was the perfect time to bring UFC Fight Night to Moscow.”

Tom Taylor - May 16, 2018

Back in April, in the buildup to UFC 223, Conor McGregor went berserk in Brooklyn, NY, throwing a dolly through a shuttle bus window in a crazed search for his rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. Unsurprisingly, the Irishman’s rampage left the bus’s passengers — a host of UFC 223 fighters — quite shaken. Some, like Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa, were even injured. In the wake of this incident, McGregor has issued apologies to a number of the fighters that were affected by his rampage. One of the fighters to receive an apology was UFC strawweight champ Rose Namajunas — though she wasn’t having it. Another was UFC strawweight contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz, who seems to have taken the Irishman’s attempt to make amends a little better.

Drake Riggs - May 15, 2018

Believe it or not, it’s really going to happen. If you were told ten years ago…hell, even a year ago that former top-ranked UFC middleweight, Chael Sonnen would one day be fighting the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time and someone that many believe is the greatest of all time across all divisions, Fedor Emelianenko… How absolutely insane would you think that that person was? Welcome to 2018.

Drake Riggs - May 15, 2018

Last Friday night things got a little bit wild in the audience of the Combate 20 event. As seems to generally be the case when Nate Diaz shows up attending MMA fights in the crowd… Infamously known for two brawls prior to this one, Diaz and his brother Nick were banned from World Series of Fighting events for life after a scuffle with Khabib Nurmagomedov and company a few years back. Going even further back, there was the Nashville brawl in Strikeforce after the Diaz’ teammate, Jake Shields retained his middleweight title by beating Dan Henderson.

Drake Riggs - May 15, 2018

‘The Iceman’ is back. Chuck Liddell will compete in an MMA cage once again. But before he can do so, he’s going to have to re-apply for his MMA licenses. Being a native of California, Liddell will likely be applying to the California State Athletic Commission first. Despite now being 48 years of age, CSAC Executive Director, Andy Foster told MMAJunkie that they’ll allow the former UFC light heavyweight champion to fight again as long as he’s healthy enough to do so.

Drake Riggs - May 15, 2018

A fight from UFC 224 that became highlighted closer to when the fight drew nearer was the scheduled strawweight tilt between The Ultimate Fighter season 23 finalist, Amanda Cooper and hot prospect and BJJ world champion, Mackenzie Dern. Spotlighted for the wrong reason, the drama came late in UFC 224’s fight week when Dern would miss the strawweight limit by seven pounds. Cooper’s confidence wasn’t rattled though and she still accepted the fight.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, on the latest edition of The MMA Hour, 48-year-old MMA legend Chuck Liddell confirmed what we’ve long suspected: After eight years of retirement, he will be returning to the cage. “I will fight again,” Liddell said, point blank, on the show (transcribed by MMA Fighting).

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2018

If things had gone according to the initial plan, Tony Ferguson would have battled Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223. Regrettably, Ferguson sustained a knee injury just six days before the April 7 bout, and was forced out of the fight as a result. Nurmagomedov then defeated late-replacement Al Iaquinta to earn the lightweight belt, while Ferguson headed to the operating room for knee surgery. With his surgery in the rear-view, Ferguson is hoping for a quick and uncomplicated recovery.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2018

https://twitter.com/DaveMMAdden/status/995868504636047360 What do you do when you’re a fighter, and you’ve got a buildup of fluid in your elbow? Well, you could certainly go to the doctor’s office and have it drained by a professional. Or, you could do it the Nick Diaz way, and drain that bloated ‘bow over a kitchen sink. Just don’t forget to film the ordeal and posted it on social media for all the world to see!

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2018

Raquel Pennington’s shot at Amanda Nunes and the UFC women’s bantamweight title, which headlined the action-packed UFC 224 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last Saturday night, did not go as she had hoped. Instead, the challenger was thumped to a fifth-round stoppage by the dominating champ Nunes. Regrettably, Pennington’s failed title bid also accompanied by a sizeable dose of controversy, as she appeared to be forced off the stool by her corner between the fourth and fifth rounds after telling her coaches that she was “done.”

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2018

Raquel Pennington’s long-awaited shot at Amanda Nunes and the UFC women’s bantamweight title, which headlined UFC 224 last Saturday night, did not go the way she planned. Instead, she was thumped to a fifth-round stoppage by the champ Nunes. Unfortunately, Pennington’s dashed title dreams were also accompanied by a significant dose of controversy, as she appeared to be forced off her stool by her corner between the fourth and fifth rounds after telling her coaches, point-blank, that she was “done.”

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2018

When Gunnar Nelson was forced out of his May 27 UFC Liverpool showdown with Neil Magny, the UFC began a frantic scramble to find Magny a replacement opponent. They’ve now succeeded on that mission. Contrary to Jorge Masvidal‘s repeated calls for a short-notice 180-pound catchweight scrap with Magny, Magny will instead battle Octagon newcomer Craig “The Thundercat” White.

Drake Riggs - May 15, 2018

During UFC 224’s broadcast this past Saturday, we got our first preview for the next big card coming up, UFC 225 on June 9th from Chicago, Illinois. Aside from the preview, we were also treated with the stacked night of fights’ lineup as we had known all the bouts, just not what order that they would be in.

Drake Riggs - May 14, 2018

Prospect @MackenzieDern opens up about her failed weight cut at #UFC224, says she weighed 139 pounds the Tuesday before weigh-ins. Watch #TheMMAHour live: https://t.co/11sYrEm5Ug pic.twitter.com/ZtAuaH0E9l — MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) May 14, 2018