MMA News

Drake Riggs - March 8, 2018

The anticipation was real for Mackenzie Dern’s UFC debut and it showed in the 1,076,000 viewers during her fight. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wizard, Mackenzie Dern has been on many MMA experts’ radars since her transition to MMA in 2016. Dern is an undefeated 6-0 in MMA with that most recent victory coming in that UFC 222 debut last Saturday when she defeated Ashley Yoder by split decision. UFC jitters? No such thing says Dern when speaking on the MMA Hour:

Drake Riggs - March 8, 2018

Believe it or not, Sijara Eubanks was supposed to be one half of MMA history. After competing and winning her way through season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter, ‘Sarge’ was all set to fight for the inaugural UFC women’s flyweight title against Nicco Montano. Eubanks, essentially a career bantamweight with only one fight at 125-pounds prior to the season, had felt that this was her perfect opportunity to shine. And for the most part, it was.

Drake Riggs - March 8, 2018

It felt like we would never see the days that the longtime featherweight ruler, Jose Aldo wouldn’t be in the title mix. But here we are. After suffering two consecutive losses for the first time in his career, both by TKO(also a first) to current champion, Max Holloway, the consensus greatest featherweight of all time now finds himself having to climb his way back into title contention. Something he hasn’t had to do in over ten years.

Drake Riggs - March 8, 2018

Season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter was the first and only season that has been done live. The season gave us some of today’s best 155-pound fighters as eight are still in the UFC to this day. Most notably, the winner, Michael “Maverick” Chiesa. Chiesa defeated Al Iaquinta in the finals to earn the crown of TUF champion but along the way, he defeated one of the UFC’s current hottest rising contenders, James Vick.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

While this fight has been penciled in for awhile now, the UFC has been wishy-washy about etching it in stone. As of today though, the UFC officially confirmed that Amanda Nunes will put her women’s bantamweight title on the line against Raquel Pennington. Nunes is currently rising a six-fight win streak against absurd competition, beating Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and Valentina Shevchenko twice. While she’s been out for two years, Pennington is still rising a four-win run of her own. Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington finally official for UFC 224 in Brazil. Long time coming, UFC originally targeted this as far back as December. Latest date first reported by @DamonMartin. Interesting title fight.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

If you weren’t already one singing The Last Style Bender Israel Adesanya’s praises, after just one fight in the UFC he’s already got everyone talking about him. Between the way he talks and the way he wants, but more importantly the way he fights, he’s another young prospect that is hyped to potentially be the next big thing. However, while being controversial can get a lot of eyes on you, it can also turn them away. The UFC isn’t too happy with his pre and post-fight peeing potentially ritual deterring sponsors. “[The UFC] told my manager that, ‘We handle a lot of sponsors, millions of dollars in sponsors. So for him to pretend to be with his dick out and shaking it after he pees as well or whatever, it’s not really a good look.’ For me, how I see it is, f-ck, what are the sponsors worried about: Me pretending to whip an imaginary dick out and pee everywhere to mark my territory or just watching me just beat the f-ck out of a dude? I don’t know what kind of game these sponsors are playing or whatever, but for me, I just have to make a statement and that statement is pretty clear: This is my cage. Any top dog would do it. My stench is still there. Whenever I get back into the cage, I’m sure I’ll smell it.” – Israel Adesanya speaking to FloCombat’s Top Turtle podcast.

EVOLVE MMA - March 8, 2018

This video was first published on Evolve Vacation. Ever wondered how to pull off that slick flying armbar you see in jiu-jitsu competitions? Well, one of the best in the world at this particular move is EVOLVE MMA’s Shinya Aoki.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

In her last outing, a decision loss to Australia’s Jessica-Rose Clark, Paige VanZant suffered a broken arm – and remarkably fought through it. Despite her remarkable toughness, this injury has unsurprisingly kept VanZant on sidelines since. And from the sounds if it, it’ll be awhile before she gets back into the cage. Speaking with TMZ this week, VanZant updated on the state of her arm injury, and gave a rough timeline for her return.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

After knocking out Frankie Edgar in the co-main event of UFC 222 last weekend, Brian Ortega now has his crosshairs locked on UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. It’s a monumental challenge, to say the least, but it isn’t stopping Ortega from looking further into the future. On a recent episode of theUFC Unfiltered podcast, the surging featherweight contender shared grand plans to move to the lightweight division down the road. That being said, Ortega isn’t going to be heading North to 155 pounds for any old challenge. It’s going to take something truly special to coax him up to this heavier division.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold’s days in his division are numbered. He has been very vocal about his imminent move to light heavyweight, as his friend and teammate Daniel Cormier moves up to heavyweight before he ends his career. As vocal as he’s been about going to 205, one man has been just as talkative about welcoming him to the division: Alexander Gustafsson. Well, be careful what you wish for, because he’s coming for that ass. “I don’t see me coming back [to middleweight], man. The weight cut is too much on me. As you get older, your bones get bigger. The last couple cuts have been pretty brutal on me. I had trouble regulating my body temperature and all that shit. It’s not fun. It’s not a fun cut anymore. I’m a different fighter at 205-pounds. That weight cut is taking a lot out of me. We had to make weight and stress out through the staging process like the old days [at UFC 221].

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Money equals power, if that is the case then Conor McGregor is the most powerful man in the UFC. Yes, he’s not defended a title. Yes, he hasn’t fought in the Octagon since November of 2016, but to rattle off those facts is to miss the point. He hasn’t done those things because he simply doesn’t have to. He defies all the laws — whether actual or forced onto MMA by the fans — that govern any other fighter. He’s earned this leverage by earning more for himself and his company than anyone ever before him. It’s those reasons why Randy Couture thinks the man absolutely deserves whatever he’s asking for. “[Conor McGregor]’s the poster child for why we need the amendment for Mixed Martial Arts. It will be interesting to see if he comes back to MMA. There’s been a lot of rumors and a lot of talk. Has he been stripped of both his titles? Is he gonna come back and fight again? What’s gonna happen? Who’s he gonna fight? And the big question, what’s he gonna get paid after just getting paid 100 million dollars for a boxing match, even though it was just an exhibition and not for a title? What’s he gonna get paid the next time that he comes back and fights in MMA under the UFC moniker? Why would he expect to get paid any less than he got for boxing? I can guarantee you they are not gonna give him that kind of money. So again, why? What’s the difference? Where is the flaw here?”

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

It looks like we have another potential rising star on our hands, but there are a lot of people pumping the brakes. Rightfully so though, if you look back at the group of hyped prospects that have ended up being pushed too soon or falling short in the long run. Sean O’Malley sure seems to have all the tools, especially after UFC 222, but he’s only three years into this sport. However, anyone who doubts him can turn to former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, who is here to help convince you that O’Malley will be wearing gold sooner or later. If you can’t see him w/a belt around his waist you better get your 👀 checked. There’s real🔥 behind his flash. And he’s in a room where 🗣 is cheap & it doesn’t matter who you are or what you did, you’re pushed everyday by our brothers & sisters.#YouGotTeammates #WeGotBrothers https://t.co/Sk8vIcIQJb

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Michael Chiesa was riding a nice little three-fight win streak until he ran into Kevin Lee, but now he’s back on the journey to restore his standing in the division and get back in that win column. He’ll be fighting former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at the stacked UFC 223 card. Not only is he eager to get back in the cage, but he’s also relieved that Conor McGregor will be stripped to leave room for other fighters like himself to eventually get a title shot. “The biggest thing we need, is we need movement. The 155-pound division has been log-jammed so many times. When Anthony was champion he had some injuries that held him out for a while, you know, so the division got jammed up. And then we had some movement, and then Conor [McGregor] won the title and we’re jammed up again, and you know, you just gotta keep the wheels in motion. It’s just good to see. Conor’s a two-time champion, but he can’t just sit and hold the belt and keep us all waiting. You know, there’s a lot of tough guys jockeying for their position to be number one, and you only have so much time in this sport, so you can’t let one guy rob a bunch of us of our opportunities to fight for the belt.”

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the co-main event of the action-packed UFC 222, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar risked the featherweight title shot he had so clearly earned in a short-notice bout with surging contender Brian Ortega. Unfortunately for Edgar, this bout went disastrously, as he was put down by an Ortega in the uppercut in the very first round of the fight. This knockout loss marked the first time Edgar had ever been finished in his illustrious career. It also meant that his claim to a featherweight title shot had been dashed – quite possibly forever. As such, it’s no surprise that this loss caused absolute devastation among his cornermen, who watched on nervously from cage-side.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

A post shared by Quinton Jackson (@rampage4real) on Mar 7, 2018 at 2:35pm PST Current Bellator MMA star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson recently signed a new contract, and apparently, it’s the best contract of his illustrious fighting career thus far. As a thank you, he decided to do something nice for his long-time manager, Tiki Ghosn. Something really nice. Really, really nice.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee is currently booked for a dangerous test opposite Edson Barboza at UFC Fight Night 12 on April 21. Though this bout is at the forefront of his focus at the moment, Lee also believes he’ll be fighting current UFC lightweight champ and MMA superstar Conor McGregor by the end of the year. “That fight happens at the end of the year, me and Conor,” Lee said at a UFC 222 media scrum, (h/t BloodyElbow). “I think that’s the fight that everybody’s been looking forward to, and is right there within striking distance.”

Drake Riggs - March 7, 2018

June 1st is the date, Utica, New York the place. Your main event for UFC Fight Night 131? Top 5 bantamweights, Jimmie ‘El Terror’ Rivera and ‘Magic’ Marlon Moraes. The two have been wanting to fight each other ever since Rivera needed a replacement for his replacement. Yes, that’s worded correctly. Because originally, UFC 219 was supposed to host a fight between Rivera and former 135 kingpin, Dominick Cruz…but he suffered a broken arm. Filling in for him was John Lineker…until he had to get a tooth infection taken care. Rivera vs Moraes was never made and Rivera was pulled from the card entirely.

Drake Riggs - March 7, 2018

A trilogy fight between former UFC middleweight champions, Luke Rockhold and Michael Bisping isn’t even official and the two are talking like it is. And who knows, it very well may be some time soon. Both guys obviously have interest in it and it’s obviously one that Rockhold, who lost in their last encounter, would love to get back. And Rockhold doesn’t happen to be lacking any confidence when it comes to another fight with “the Count”. When speaking with FloCombat recently, he went so far as to say he would even retire if he were to lose to Bisping again.