MMA News

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.

EVOLVE MMA - March 8, 2018

This video was first published on Evolve Vacation. Japanese legend Shinya Aoki is the former ONE Lightweight World Champion and one of the most highly-skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the world. So when he shows you how to execute a submission, you better be listening.

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

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

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has proven he’s an extremely difficult man to beat, having bested top-flight foes in Robbie Lawler, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Demian Maia and many others. That said, the champ has tasted defeat in the past, most recently to reigning Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. Given the fact that Woodley has lost to MacDonald, some fans now consider MacDonald the top welterweight in the world. In a Twitter poll posted by MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, this seemed to be the consensus.

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

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.”

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2018

At present, it’s not known what the future holds for former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre. He might return to the Octagon, or he might not. If St-Pierre does return to the Octagon, one of the most compelling options for him as far as opponents go would be current UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. At least, that’s what St-Pierre’s head coach Firas Zahabi believes.

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.

Drake Riggs - March 7, 2018

  USADA has claimed yet another victim for marijuana use. This time, it’s top strawweight prospect and Team Alpha Male standout, Cynthia Calvillo who was first notified of her positive test back in January.

Justin Golightly - March 7, 2018

We haven’t seen Darren Till since his incredible and lightning fast finish of Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC Gdansk in October of last year, but you can’t hold that against the Scouser. He’s had a long list of potential opponents that’s getting longer including Gunnar Nelson, Stephen Thompson, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Kamaru Usman. Now you can add former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos to the list. “[I want to fight Rafael dos Anjos] just because of his fan base there and I’ve obviously lived there. I’ve got a lot of fans there, and I can speak the language. It would be a good sell in Brazil, if he’s willing to do it. I know he’s waiting for [Tyron] Woodley but Woodley doesn’t seem to want to come back. The Americans need to see the new breed. I think ‘Wonderboy’ is still gonna avoid me. Apart from Conor [McGregor], everyone is anticipating my comeback more thank anyone else. It will be big.” — Darren Till speaking to MMA Fighting.

Justin Golightly - March 7, 2018

For every jab Conor McGregor has had recently, the UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has had a counter. This has been going on for months and seems to have no stopping point in sight. Giving his savvy Twitter fingers a rest, Holloway recently spoke at length about the social media feud and compares Conor McGregor to Uncle Rico from early 2000’s cult hit ‘Napoleon Dynamite’. That is, he’s living in the past. “[Conor McGregor]’s been throwing the little jabs here and there. It’s like I said, retired fighters like talking about the past. They’re like your uncle when you’re at the barbecue and your uncle’s like, ‘Come here, boy, remember back in my day I could throw this pigskin over the mountain.’ That’s what they do. They talk about the past. They ain’t got nothing to look forward [to], so they talk about their past. That’s what the man’s doing. They can talk about the past all they want.”

Tom Taylor - March 7, 2018

On July 7, in the main event of the UFC 226, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will return to his former haunts in the heavyweight division, where he’ll battle reigning champion Stipe Miocic. Ahead of this fight, many of the game’s top fighters and analysts have weighed in, making their predictions one way or the other. One of the latest to do so is former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture. In his opinion, this a winnable fight for Cormier, particularly if he’s able to lean on his Olympic-level wrestling.

Justin Golightly - March 7, 2018

In 10 days, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will attempt to extend his two-fight win streak against the rising Alexander Volkov in his journey back to the belt. However, it may be a completely different title he’s after. In the most unexpected news you’ll probably hear this week, Fabricio Werdum wants to wrestle in the WWE and fight in the UFC at the same time. It’s not just talk either, he has a meeting with them on Thursday. ”I think that both [WWE and UFC at the same time] is doable. If I had the opportunity I’d fight there, no problem. It’s financially great. Fight at WWE, a spectacle that is fun to do. I’d definitely do it. I have a meeting Thursday about it, doing both. I want to fight, doesn’t matter where. I’ll have this meeting Thursday in San Diego to see if something happens with WWE. It’s cool, a unique opportunity to do a few fights there as well.”

Justin Golightly - March 7, 2018

When Sean O’Malley’s foot was in so much pain he couldn’t stand on it at UFC 222, fans and the cornermen of Andre Soukhamthath were yelling at him to stand-up but instead he took him down. In the heat of battle, it’s hard to criticize someone, especially after the amount of punches they absorb. That didn’t stop trolls from insulting Soukhamthath though, but humble Soukhamthath thinks they aren’t entirely wrong. “I’m getting trolled right now by so many people. They are calling me the dumbest fighter in MMA. The dumbest fighter in UFC history. Even my friend Rashad [Evans]. Everyone is wondering why I decided to wrestle, and I’m wondering the same thing. After he rocked me, I still stayed in the fight but I was kind of dizzy and dazed afterwards. That shot really threw me off the rest of the game plan in the fight. I really wasn’t there. I think I was just fighting with instincts. I definitely regret it because I’m a striker first and a wrestler second.”