MMA News

Nick Nadel - April 4, 2018

Part one of a series celebrating badassery in film and TV. Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes may pulverize their opponents in the ring. But when it comes to kicking butt and taking names on the big and small screen, these pop culture heroines just might have them beat.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2018

On Saturday night, in the new main event of UFC 223, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will take on undefeated Dagestani lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov. If Holloway can topple this challenge—an truly tough ask, given he’ll have had just 6 days to prepare—he’ll become the UFC lightweight champion too. While Conor McGregor—the only other fighter to capture UFC gold at both featherweight and lightweight—has yet to defend a UFC title, Holloway assures that he will defend both of his titles if he defies the odds at UFC 223.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2018

Weeks after our initial report that Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos will battle for interim welterweight gold at UFC 224, the bout is now official. One of the most interesting details of this contest is that it will occur in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Covington, of course, is public enemy number-one in the country, having referred to it as “a dump” and its people as “filthy animals” after his autumn defeat of Demian Maia.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2018

Back in November, Rose Namajunas ended the incredible strawweight title reign of Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the most emphatic way possible, stealing her belt with a first-round knockout. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the formerly dominant Jedrzejczyk would receive an immediate rematch, and the chance to reclaim her title. This rematch co-headlines UFC 223 this Saturday night in Brooklyn.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2018

If things had gone according to the initial plan, former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit would have battled Matt Brown in the co-main event of the UFC’s April 14 trip to Glendale, AZ. Regrettably, Brown was forced out of the fight with an ACL tear, leaving Condit without an opponent. “Wish it was all April Fools but I did tear my ACL over the weekend,” Brown said in a statement on Twitter. “I hope [Carlos Condit] gets an opponent and doesn’t have to lose out on the opportunity. We’ll do it for sure when I’m back.”

Drake Riggs - April 3, 2018

The welterweight showdowns continue to be revealed. On the current list of lined up UFC Fight Nights, Fight Night 132 in Singapore was the last to get it’s main event. And that main event will be Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone taking on rising 170-pound contender, Leon “Rocky” Edwards, reports MMAFighting.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

With Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting on the same card as Artem Lobov, a long time friend and training partner of Conor McGregor, one had to assume they’d have some kind of run-in during the UFC 223 fight week.

Russell Sai - April 3, 2018

It is still hard to believe that Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be fighting this weekend at UFC 223. Ferguson was involved in a “freak accident” and suffered an injury on Friday at a “UFC-obligated media event” where he tore a ligament in his knee. Ferguson was forced to pull out of the main event fight taking place this weekend against Nurmagomedov, which marks the fourth time that a UFC matchup between the two UFC lightweights has been canceled.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

By now, you’ve probably heard the news. Days after news broke that Tony Ferguson had been forced out of his UFC 223 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, we lost a similarly anticipated matchup as Matt Brown has been forced out of his UFC Glendale scrap with Carlos Condit with a torn ACL. Late Monday evening, Brown confirmed this news, which was first reported by Ariel Helwani.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington’s UFC 224 interim welterweight title fight, which was first reported by BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, is now a done deal. The bout is expected to be announced by the UFC any minute now, while both fighters will participate in a press conference in Brooklyn, NY this Friday.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

Max Holloway’s choice to act as Tony Ferguson’s understudy and fight Khabib Nurmagomedov on just six days notice was met with immediate praise and excitement. Yet there is a darker side to Holloway’s accepting this short-notice fight. Even though he’s the champion of the 145-pound featherweight division, and will be afforded an extra 10 pounds to work with in this 155-pound title fight, Holloway will have to endure a massive and potentially hazardous weight cut for this bout with Nurmagomedov. In fact, his nutritionist George Lockhart says Holloway’s cut to 155 will be the tied for biggest that he’s ever been a part of.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

When Tony Ferguson was forced out of the UFC 223 main event with a freak leg injury—on April Fools of all days—the UFC began a frantic hunt for a replacement opponent for Khabib Nurmagomedov. Though the promotion also considered Eddie Alvarez and Brian Ortega, it ultimately landed on UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway, who will have just 6 days to prepare for the massive challenges Nurmagomedov presents. Nurmagomedov, of course, is happy Holloway stepped up, as it means he’ll still have a chance to fight for the lightweight title this weekend, and he’ll still get paid. If he were in Holloway’s position, however, and the UFC came calling asking him to step up and fight on 6 days notice with no preparation, he’d have said no.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

When Tony Ferguson was forced out the UFC 223 main event with a freak injury, the UFC began a desperate search for a replacement opponent for Khabib Nurmagomedov. While they ultimately landed on UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway, there were a few other options on the table, including Brian Ortega and Eddie Alvarez. Speaking during an Instagram Live video session on Monday night, Alvarez explained why he wasn’t able to accept a short-notice fight with Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2018

Having been forced out of the UFC 223 main event with a freakish leg injury, it now sounds as though the UFC will strip Tony Ferguson of the interim lightweight title he’s owned since October. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway, meanwhile, will battle for the undisputed title in the new UFC 223 main event. While UFC President Dana White has suggested this is the way things will shake out, Ferguson believes he should be allowed to hang onto his interim title just as former interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was when Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre fought for the undisputed title in November.

Tom Taylor - April 2, 2018

Bad news, fight fans. Just a little over 24 hours removed from the news that Tony Ferguson has been forced out of his scheduled UFC 223 showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov and replaced by Max Holloway, we’ve lost another high profile bout, as Matt Brown has been forced out of his ultra-violent UFC Glendale showdown with Carlos Condit. News of Brown’s withdrawal from this April 14 bloodletting, which is due to an ACL tear, was first reported by MMAFighting‘s Ariel Helwani.

Drake Riggs - April 2, 2018

You’re lying if you don’t think that the last forty-eight hours have been ridiculous in the MMA world. The joke of all MMA jokes was delivered on the day of jokes but…it wasn’t a joke… The highly anticipated lightweight title battle between interim champion, Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov was called off for the fourth time after Ferguson sustained a freak injury. This puts the two at 2-2 when pulling out of booked fights between them. This one might just not be meant to happen.

Tom Taylor - April 2, 2018

With Tony Ferguson out with a leg injury, Khabib Nurmagomedov will now fight UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway in the UFC 223 main event. While he’s happy to have received a replacement opponent at all, he said his first choice in this regard was Conor McGregor. “I told them first, ‘hey, where is this Burger King, [bring] this Burger King here,'” Nurmagomedov told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “I need this guy, because he put a Tweet a couple weeks ago saying ‘stay ready.’ Now where is this guy? Six days to make weight? It’s a [good amount of days] to make weight. It’s not like two, three. It’s six he can weight. Bring this guy.”

Tom Taylor - April 2, 2018

By now, you’ve surely heard that Tony Ferguson has withdrawn from his anticipated UFC 223 title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and been replaced by UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway. With this unfortunate turn of events, this seemingly cursed Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov bout has been scheduled and cancelled a whopping four times. Having tried and failed to book this fight so many times, UFC President Dana White is now assuring that he will never again attempt to schedule it.