MMA News

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2018

Earlier this week, top UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee appeared on the JRE MMA Show to discuss all the goings on in the world of MMA. One of the topics of conversation was Tony Ferguson, who Lee lost to in an interim title bout in October of 2017. Ferguson was recently supposed to battle Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223, but was unfortunately forced out of the fight with a freak leg injury just a week ahead of the event. Ferguson then went under the knife to repair this injury, and is currently recovering from surgery.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2018

The women’s featherweight division is far and away the UFC’s most talent-starved division. In fact, you can count the UFC’s female featherweights on one hand: reigning champ Cris Cyborg, top contender Megan Anderson, and former bantamweight champ Holly Holm. From the sounds of it, that will soon change.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2018

Blagoy Ivanov (16-1) has long stood out as one of the very best heavyweights outside the UFC. That is no longer the case, as he’s reportedly signed a deal with the promotion, and is expected to make his Octagon debut this summer. This news was confirmed by Ariel Helwani, following an initial report by Ryan Thomas.

Tom Taylor - April 26, 2018

Now that Ronda Rousey is firmly established as a member of the WWE roster, she’s becoming more and more open about the pair of losses that ended her career as a mixed martial artist — losses she wouldn’t discuss previously. The former UFC women’s bantamweight queen looked back on these losses, which were dealt by Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, during a Q&A session at the WildCard boxing gym in Las Vegas, which was hosted by film director Peter Berg.

Drake Riggs - April 25, 2018

A UFC career can be a true roller coaster ride in every sense of the phrase. You can go from incredible highs to devastating lows in the blink of an eye. For Holly Holm, she isn’t quite at a point of ‘rock bottom’, but the once champion has lost some steam since her phenomenal dismantling of the dominant bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey back in 2015.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

Earlier this week, light heavyweight rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier finally found some common ground: a shared disdain for Swedish light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson, who they both hold a close decision victory over. It all began when Jones went after Gustafsson for his comments on the JRE MMA Show.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

The rumors about a potential showdown between former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping and long-absent Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz are just that — rumors. On a recent episode of his podcast Believe You Me, Bisping shut down these undeniably dubious rumors, referring to them as “total bullshit.” “No, no. I’m not fighting Nick Diaz, it’s all total bullshit,” Bisping said (transcribed by Jim Edwards for MMANytt). I haven’t spoken to the UFC about anything, they haven’t even come to me. In fact, I’m a little bit offended the Ultimate Fighting Championship — what the fuck?”

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

Rising Russian featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov, who is one of the flashiest fighters on the UFC roster today, has reportedly been offered a bout with a fighter who is cut from the same cloth: Mexico’s Yair Rodriguez. The bout is reportedly being discussed for the UFC’s September debut in Moscow, Russia. This news comes from Dennis Geyko of RTSport.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

This weekend, on the main card of Bellator 198, Conor McGregor training partner and jiu-jitsu specialist Dillon Danis will make his anticipated MMA debut, as he takes on 2-3 Kyle Walker in a 175-pound catchweight bout. Ahead of his MMA debut, Danis is oozing with the kind of confidence we’ve come to expect from him and most others who fly in the same rarified air as McGregor.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

Nick Newell, who was born with a congenital amputation of his left arm, wants a shot in the UFC. The dangerous lightweight has made no secret of that fact over the last few months. From the sounds of it, the World Series of Fighting veteran will have a decisive answer about his potential move to the big stage today. On Monday afternoon, Newell met with UFC President Dana White at the UFC headquarters in Las Vegas to discuss his long-awaited Octagon debut. Newell’s manager Ali Abdelaziz spilled the beans about this meeting.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

If things had gone to the original plan, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov would have battled for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223. Regrettably, Ferguson sustained a freak injury just days ahead of the fight, and was ultimately replaced by Al Iaquinta, who battled Nurmagomedov in a last-minute title fight. Nurmagomedov won this fight by unanimous decision. Since then, Ferguson has sought to discredit Nurmagomedov’s title win on the basis that it came against the UFC’s 11th-ranked lightweight on only one day’s notice. And now, Iaquinta has intervened.

Tom Taylor - April 25, 2018

Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen quite a few interim champions crowned in the UFC, and many fans seem to be getting tired of it. Welterweight contender Neil Magny, however, is all for interim titles — like the one that will be awarded in his division at UFC 225, when Rafael dos Anjos battles Colby Covington for the interim welterweight belt. “I’m a fan of when the UFC decides to go with the interim title bouts,” Many told MMAJunkie this week. “For one, it gives the champ a rest and lets them enjoy being a champ. Two, it sets the stage to hash out that true No. 1 contender. We’ve seen in the past where guys are ranked No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 – and they get a title shot over guys who are ranked No. 1.”

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

Kevin Lee could not have looked much more impressive in his Saturday night defeat of Edson Barboza. Regrettably, there’s an ever-so-small asterisk attached to his victory, as he narrowly missed weight for the bout. Speaking on the MMA Hour on Monday, Lee explained why he believes he missed weight. The main factor, as he said in a quick statement issued right after his weigh-in miss, was simply a shortage of time. He just couldn’t get the remaining weight off in the time he had.

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

In the wake of the UFC’s recent stop in Atlantic City, the promotion has updated its official rankings. As expected, Kevin Lee, who took out Edson Barboza in the main event, has moved into the lightweight top 5. Elsewhere in the rankings, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov have both made seemingly arbitrary moves on the pound-for-pound list, while formerly ranked bantamweight Leslie Smith has removed from the rankings following her controversial UFC release. See the latest UFC rankings below (h/t MMAMania):

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

Late last week, news broke that former NFL player Greg Hardy will make his professional MMA debut on a summer episode of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Should Hardy win impressively on the show, he could well be awarded a UFC contract. Hardy’s being granted a UFC contract, of course, would be incredibly controversial given the assault charge that festers in his past, which stems from a a 2014 attack on an ex-girlfriend. If the former Carolina Panther does join the UFC heavyweight roster, he can expect to be sought out by Derrick Lewis, who is hoping to dish out some justice.

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

Last weekend, on the undercard of the UFC’s exciting stop in Atlantic City, NJ, Merab Dvalishvili and his short-notice replacement opponent Ricky Simon delivered an exciting, three-round war. Unfortunately, the end of this contest was ridden with controversy. As the bout neared its conclusion, Simon — who seemed to be down two rounds — locked up a mounted guillotine. Though the choke seemed tight, Dvalishvili showed incredible toughness, refusing to tap and frantically flailing his legs in what looked like an effort to show the referee he was still conscious.

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier share perhaps the most high profile beef in MMA. The two light heavyweight greats, who have fought twice previously, really can’t stand each other. That being said, they finally seem to have find some common ground in a mutual disdain for Alexander Gustafsson, who they have both captured narrow decision victories over.

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wAMPOmZ22Y We will probably never all agree on who the greatest fighter in MMA is. On the latest episode of The JRE MMA Show, however, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan and top light contender Kevin Lee did their best to figure it out.