MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 14, 2018

Over the years, we’ve heard several Brazilian fighters express disinterest in fighting their fellow Brazilians. This is not to suggest Brazilian vs. Brazilian matchups don’t happen – they certainly do – but there seem to be a few fighters from the country who frown on fighting their countrymen. UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes doesn’t seem to be one of these fighters. Though Nunes is currently signed to take on Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 this May, there has recently been much discussion surrounding a potential fight between her and women’s featherweight champ Cris Cyborg – a fellow Brazilian.

Tom Taylor - March 14, 2018

Conor McGregor isn’t the only UFC champion to star in a commercial for a major brand. Days after McGregor’s Burger King ad hit our screens, a Modelo beer commercial starring UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic has begun making the rounds. Miocic’s Modelo commercial comes a few months after the UFC inked a multi-year deal with the beer company. Miocic is the first of what we can assume will be multiple fighters to star in Modelo beer ads. See the champs’s ad, which focuses on his background, in the video at the top of this post.

Tom Taylor - March 14, 2018

On April 7, in the main event of UFC 223, UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov will battle for the UFC lightweight title. The understanding is that Conor McGregor, who currently wears the UFC lightweight title, will be stripped somewhere in the immediate buildup to the UFC 223 event. According to Tony Ferguson, however, he and Nurmagomedov will not be battling for the vacant lightweight title. Instead, he claims that this fight will serve as his first title defense. If this is true, the implication is that, once McGregor is stripped, Ferguson will promptly be promoted to undisputed champion, and Nurmagomedov will challenge him for this title.

Tom Taylor - March 14, 2018

Back at UFC 219, which went down on December 30 of 2017, Team Alpha Male strawweight prospect Cynthia Calvillo lost a close decision to former champion Carla Esparza. Regrettably, things went from bad to worse for Calvillo from there, as we learned that she failed an in-competition drug test, testing positive for the dreaded marijuana metabolites. Earlier this month, Calvillo received her USADA administered suspension for this offense. The Agency hit her with a six-month suspension, which could have been reduced to three months had she completed a “drug awareness and management program.” This meant she could have returned to action as soon as March 30.

Drake Riggs - March 13, 2018

The UFC’s next event in Brazil is really shaping up to be quite the banger. Already stacked with Brazilian legends, the card is now getting a fight that will be guaranteed fireworks between bantamweight title hopefuls. Fresh off his huge win over former champion, Renan Barao is Brian “Boom” Kelleher who called out John Lineker after his win at UFC on Fox 28 in Orlando, Florida. And as reported by Combate and confirmed by several other sources as well as the fighters themselves, that it shall be.

Drake Riggs - March 13, 2018

Very few matchups have people buzzing so early as the next featherweight title fight between champion, Max Holloway and red-hot contender, Brian Ortega. The hype began as soon as Ortega iced his short notice opponent, Frankie Edgar at UFC 222 in the very first round, making him the first and only man to ever finish ‘the Answer’.

Drake Riggs - March 13, 2018

The UFC crowned their first ever female flyweight champion last December when capping off season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter. Of the sixteen competitors, the #14 seeded underdog, Nicco Montano would come out the victor by defeating all of the top three seeds on her way to doing so. Since Montano defeated seasoned veteran and pioneer, Roxanne Modaferri to win the title, Montano has been battling a very bad case of arthritic turf toe on top of a fracture in her foot that almost prevented her from even fighting for the title.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

So, @DanielPitPineda told me there was a pool for him to land the @MightyMouseUFC video game armbar at #LFA35. The pool had surpassed $2K, I even pitched in $100… check out the video; I kept my $100. @LFAfighting @AXSTVFights @patmiletich @microphonephoen #MMA #HoustonMMA pic.twitter.com/W7LXS4mntV — Mike Jackson, Esq. (@TheTruthJackson) March 13, 2018

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

Francis Ngannou of the most severe and recent examples of how brutal MMA is and how forgetful fans are. Just before UFC 220, he was primed to be the next big thing and we were already planning mega fights with Brock Lesnar. After Stipe Miocic stifled him, it’s like he disappeared in the minds of the UFC and the public. His boxing coach Dewey Cooper vows that this won’t last long. Ngannou will learn from his mistakes and come back even better. “I got one word to describe [Francis Ngannou]: Phenomenal. We had an off night and we all felt that night, that Francis at his worst still couldn’t be stopped. That’s all I can say about that. Francis at his best won’t be defeated and him at his worst could not even be stopped. We got the best heavyweight in UFC couldn’t stop a guy who was just not at his best that night. Francis man, he’s phenomenal and he will definitely be back stronger than ever. […] Stipe was at his best and we just weren’t at our best and there will be improvement from that.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

Ronda Rousey is now firmly embedded as a member of the WWE roster. That said, she never officially retired from MMA, which has given her fans hope that, perhaps one day, she will return to the cage. During an appearance on The Ellen Show this week, however, Rousey updated on her future in MMA, and it didn’t sound promising. Instead, she said a return to MMA is about as likely as a return to the Olympics, where she once medalled in judo.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On July 7, in the main event of UFC 226, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will return to his former haunts in the heavyweight division, where he will challenge heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for the title. While this fight is one of the most anticipated on the UFC calendar, it has left the light heavyweight division’s top contenders without a champion to gun for. Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson is one of those contenders. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Gustafsson expressed his frustration with Cormier’s departure from the division – even if it’s only temporary.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

In the middle of the afternoon yesterday, CM Punk dropped one of his signature pipe bombs, only he wasn’t sitting crossed-legged on top of a WWE entrance ramp. Instead, Punk dropped news on Twitter that he’d fighting at UFC 225. While there was some rumors about CM Punk fighting Floyd Mayweather, let’s be honest: Fighting Mike ‘The Truth’ Jackson is far more likely and he’s been pushing it like nobody else. “I haven’t been in contact with [the UFC] directly. I have several close personal friends in the organization, including UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard and some other affiliates. We’ve had brief conversations, nothing is set in stone. For me, it’s just a waiting game. […] I’ve been in contact with his coach Duke Roufus. It was very small, but when I talked to him I told him I was going to smack his man in his face for talking a little reckless.”

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

The combat sports universe moves at the speed of light, but even with the infinite treadmill of social media and face-punch dates being booked, it’s hard to forget Rose Namajunas dethroning UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. The unexpected result was juxtaposed by the former champ’s signature pre-fight scare tactics. …But they didn’t work. Now Jedrzejczyk seeks to take back what’s hers and is righting wrongs along the way. “That night I was not one hundred percent competitor for [Rose Namajunas]. […] I am sure that there will be no negligence before the return from Namajunas. After what happened in November, my eyes and ears are open even wider. I am even more demanding not only to myself, but also to my colleagues, to people, who are creating my team. And at the same time I trust them very much. My ties with coaches Katel Kubis and Mike Brown, ties with sparring partners, as well as with the owner of ATT, have tightened considerably.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

In her next fight, Raquel Pennington will challenge Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. This title fight is scheduled for UFC 224, which goes down on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Nunes’ backyard. While Pennington will be in hostile territory for this fight, she’s not worried about being booed by the crowd in attendance in Rio. As long as she’s got her usual group of supporters, she’s fine. Besides, she’s had a Crown Royal Bottle thrown at her in a previous fight, so a little bit of booing isn’t particularly daunting anymore.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

When Georges St-Pierre was set to appear on The MMA Hour, we all thought we may have an announcement about his next fight. Instead, the two-division champion looked down a long list of possible huge opponents and didn’t really seem too thrilled with any of them. While he may not know his exact plan of attack on his return, Rory MacDonald believes St-Pierre’s career is far from over. “Even if [Georges St-Pierre] lost five in a row, still I don’t think it would taint what he’s done. He’s done some of the most amazing stuff in the sport so far, so I’m really happy for him. If he feels he has more left in the tank, then I think absolutely he should get in there and do his thing. I don’t think any top fighter like that should feel like he left the game early.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

Dominick Reyes is one of the fastest rising talents in the UFC light heavyweight division. That said, the undefeated fighter is content to take his time rising through the UFC ranks, allowing himself to evolve into a complete mixed martial artist before he starts mixing it up with the division’s top dogs. All the same, Reyes is hoping to fight one top light heavyweight in particular in the future: Alexander Gustafsson. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Reyes admitted that he draws quite a bit of inspiration from Gustafsson, and that he’d like to share the Octagon with him somewhere down the line.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On May 12, in what is expected to be the main event of UFC 224 in Brazil, Raquel Pennington will get her long-awaited crack at the UFC women’s bantamweight title, as she takes on champion Amanda Nunes. While this fight is now official there was a stretch when it looked like the UFC would go in another direction. The plan, it seemed, was to pit Nunes against dominating UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

Having gone 2-0 since joining the UFC, stopping both Joachim Christensen and Jeremy Kimball in the first round, undefeated light heavyweight prospect Dominick Reyes feels he’s earned a top-15 opponent. To that end, he believes Jared Cannonier and Gian Villante would both be solid options – though the latter was recently linked to a bout with Sam Alvey. “I’m thinking either May or June,” Reyes said of his next fight on the latest stacked episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I tried to get on a card in Utica, but it didn’t work out. So I’m still working to get that fight. I’d like to fight Villante, maybe then Cannonier, and get in the top-15, man. That’s what I’m looking at right now.”