MMA News

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

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Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

In the wake of UFC 223, which saw Khabib Nurmagomedov capture lightweight gold, and Rose Namajunas cement her status as strawweight champ, the UFC has updated its official UFC rankings. The post notable change to these new UFC rankings occurred at lightweight, where Conor McGregor has lost the (C) beside his name, and has rejoined the lightweight contender pool. It’s also worth noting that the new champ Nurmagomedov has taken a massive trip up the pound-four-pound list.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

Last week, in the immediate lead-up to UFC 223, Conor McGregor touched down in Brooklyn, New York, and all hell broke lose. The former UFC lightweight champ and his cronies went berserk inside the Barclay’s Center—the card’s host venue—shelling a UFC 223 fighter bus with whatever they could get their hands on. This rampage reached a violent crescendo when McGregor infamously threw a hand truck through the bus window, injuring several fighters.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

At long last, undefeated Dagestani lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov finally has a UFC belt wrapped around his waist. He earned that belt last Saturday, when he dominated last-minute replacement opponent Al Iaquinta to a unanimous decision win in the main event of UFC 223. While Nurmagomedov is now the undisputed lightweight champion, however, not everyone is buying his reign. UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, for example, has some issues. Poirier, who battles Justin Gaethje in the main event of the UFC’s Saturday stop in Glendale, Arizona, shared his gripes with Nurmagomedov’s reign in a chat with MMAJunkie. For him, it all comes down to the fact that Iaquinta hadn’t really earned the title shot in the same way that Nurmagomedov had.

Drake Riggs - April 11, 2018

The wild week that was UFC 223’s fight week has come and gone…but not without casualties. Few if any cards have ever been as destroyed in a lead up to an event, especially considering how it fell apart. By now, you have surely heard about Conor McGregor‘s antics. Resulting from the incident were three fight cancelations, one of which being a flyweight tilt between Ray Borg vs Brandon Moreno. Borg was forced out of the bout due to corneal abrasions in his eye from the bus window’s glass that was broken by McGregor.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov is, at long last, the UFC lightweight champion. He earned that distinction with a lopsided unanimous decision win over last-minute replacement opponent Al Iaquinta in the main event of UFC 223 last weekend. Now a ridiculous 26-0 overall, Nurmagomedov can start looking forward to his first challenge as UFC lightweight champion. While nothing is set in stone just yet, the frontrunners when it comes to his first challenger are former champion Conor McGregor, and former interim champion Tony Ferguson—both of whom were stripped when Nurmagomedov won the title at UFC 223.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw’s much discussed superfight with dominating flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson isn’t happening. At least, not for the moment. According to Dillashaw, that’s no fault of his. Apparently, he was all for this massive showdown, but Johnson wasn’t. In fact, he was told the flyweight champ was “too scared” to accept the fight.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

https://twitter.com/ZidanSports/status/984084222871724033 UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has referred to the former champion Conor McGregor as a “chicken” many times over the last few years.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

On May 19, the UFC will touch down in beautiful Santiago, Chile, with an exciting Fight Night card. As this event draws closer, the promotion has dropped the official UFC Chile poster, which includes the four fighters competing in the main and co-main events. See it below!

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that former UFC featherweight king Jose Aldo had agreed to a June 23 showdown with surging knockout artist Jeremy Stephens in Singapore. Then, however, the UFC announced that a Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Leon Edwards scrap would serve as the UFC Singapore main event, which raised question about the status of this main event worthy Aldo-Stephens bout. Well, according to a report from Combate, this compelling scrap will no longer occur in Singapore, but at a FOX Show on July 28, in an unspecified Canadian city. While the host city of this card has not yet been determined, Calgary has been named as a frontrunner by Ariel Helwani.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

Earlier this week, news surfaced that former Strikeforce welterweight champ and UFC welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz had accepted a one-year sanction after failing to appear for three mandated United States Anti-Doping Agency drug tests—a violation of the agency’s “UFC Whereabouts Policy”. This suspension is retroactive to April 19, 2017, which means that it will be over on April 19, 2018. After that date, Diaz will be free to begin competing in the UFC again, should he so choose. USADA announced today that Nick Diaz, of Stockton, Calif., has accepted a one-year sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy resulting from three unsuccessful test attempts during a 12-month period,” a Monday USADA release on the matter read.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

Back in November, dominating UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk lost her title to Rose Namajunas, succumbing to first-round punches. Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 223, she failed to reclaim that title from Namajunas in an anticipated rematch, giving up a very close decision loss. Now 0-2 against the champion Namajunas, Jedrzejczyk finds herself in a tough spot in the strawweight division. Luckily for her, a fresh start in the 125-pound flyweight division is just 10 pounds away.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

In her new novel, Rise: Surviving the Fight of My Life, UFC flyweight Paige VanZant shares a heartrending account of the time she was raped at 14 years old. Speaking during an appearance on Good Morning America, the flyweight opened up on this harrowing ordeal, which occurred when she was invited to a party by an older guy.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

Over the weekend, in the main event of UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov thwarted a last minute opponent Al Iaquinta, moving to a flawless 26-0 overall, and capturing the UFC lightweight title in the process. With a UFC belt finally wrapped around his waist, Nurmagomedov can look forward to any number of interesting options going forward. There’s Georges St-Pierre, who he called out post-fight. There’s Conor McGregor, the former champion. And of course, there’s former interim champ Tony Ferguson, who Nurmagomedov has been booked to fight a whopping four times to no avail.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

Conor McGregor‘s crazed rampage in Brooklyn generated a tidal wave of scorn, as dozens of notable members of the MMA community have spoken out against his actions. One of the latest to do so was Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer, who went off on the Irishman in an airport interview with TMZ.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

Shortly after Conor McGregor‘s Thursday rampage in Brooklyn, former UFC lightweight Tyson Griffin took to Twitter to compare the Irishman to another troubled former champion in Jon Jones. https://twitter.com/TysonGriffin/status/981997749267607553

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, news surfaced that former Strikeforce welterweight champ and UFC welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz had accepted a one-year sanction after failing to appear for three mandated United States Anti-Doping Agency drug tests, a violation of the agency’s “UFC Whereabouts Policy”. This suspension is retroactive to April 19, 2017, which means that it will be over on April 19, 2018. After that date, Diaz will be free to begin competing in the UFC again, should he so choose. USADA announced today that Nick Diaz, of Stockton, Calif., has accepted a one-year sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy resulting from three unsuccessful test attempts during a 12-month period,” a USADA release on the matter read.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

For months, we’ve been teased about the possibility of former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar departing from his long-time home in WWE in favor of an Octagon return. Just last week, for example, UFC President Dana White assured the hulking wrestler would return to the cage.