MMA News

Drake Riggs - February 13, 2018

At Bellator 185 back in October, the undefeated boxing champion and undefeated MMA rookie, Heather ‘the Heat’ Hardy suffered her first career loss in either sport. After a successful debut at Bellator 180 in Madison Square Garden, it was Hardy who fell victim to Kristina Williams’ successful debut at Bellator 185. Williams utilized her crisp kickboxing to violently pick Hardy apart for a round and a half before the doctors had seen enough. As rough of a loss as it may have looked to the viewers, Hardy had a much different perspective when looking at the outcome as she told MMASucka in an interview:

Drake Riggs - February 13, 2018

This Friday, Bellator will be finding out who the second fighter to advance to the next round of their heavyweight Grand Prix will be. It will either be Matt Mitrione or Roy Nelson walking away to face either ‘King Mo’ Muhammad Lawal or current Bellator light heavyweight champion, Ryan Bader in the semi finals. This fight will be a rematch of for Mitrione and Nelson of their 2012 clash. Both men competed on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter, but it wasn’t until the TUF 16 finale that they would finally meet after Nelson coached against former interim heavyweight champion, Shane Carwin. Carwin would suffer an injury and be forced out of the bout which gave Mitrione the opportunity to fill in. Unfortunately for Mitrione, things wouldn’t go his way as Nelson would defeat him by first-round TKO.

Drake Riggs - February 13, 2018

The year is 2016, the UFC has been sold to WME-IMG from Zuffa in a four billion dollar deal. Fighters unions are being formed and trying to stay intact. Primarily there was the MMA Athletes Association(MMAAA) and the Professional Fighters Association(PFA). Both of which weren’t helped by being associated with former Bellator promoter Bjorn Rebney. So much so that they disbanded pretty quickly. The oldest of all has been the MMA Fighters Association(MMAFA) which is roughly ten years old. The MMAFA has never had unionization as their goal though, its focus has been on the Ali Act extension bill in Congress and an antitrust lawsuit against the UFC.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

In the lead up to UFC 221, we tried to educate you on Israel Adesanya and why his debut — despite barely any promotion — was one the most hyped UFC debuts since Conor McGregor. He didn’t let any “kickboxing hipsters” who were singing his praises to friends on social media down, as he dominated his fight with surgical precision then proceeded to cut a fun promo in the Octagon. After a nearly 80 fight journey has finally culminated in being in the premier MMA league on the planet, he recently sent a message to those that closed the doors on him. “Sponsors. Shout out to the ones that turned me down. The ones that said, “You’re not what were looking for at the moment.’ The ones that “helped” me only to help themselves, then keep reminding you they “helped” you four years ago. I f-ck with Ash James [from ENGAGE Fight Wear] because he saw the potential of what I could do beyond just fighting. He bought in early and helped me along some highs and lows of this game, because he’s a good c-nt. The rest of you corporations  trying to buy in now because I’m hot in these streets, my stock is rising, it’s gonna keep rising and the buy-in rate just tripled. Also, you have to be a GC.”—Israel Adesanya via his official Instagram.

bjpenndotcom - February 13, 2018

Way back in 2001 a young Hawaiian prize fighter by the name of BJ Penn decided to change the game of mixed martial arts by creating his own news website. A lot has happened over the last seventeen years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is BJ Penn’s passion to keep fans up to date with the latest news from the mixed martial arts world. At last month’s UFC 220 event in Boston, BJ Penn revolutionized the game once again by introducing “Play By Play Radio” on BJPENN.com.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

The plot continually thickens on the mystery of Nate Diaz potentially fighting Tyron Woodley. It was talking about, debated about, then put to rest. However, all of the sudden it looked like an option once again, until it was squashed by Dana White, which resulted in Woodley himself calling the man a liar. The most recent development is this curious post of Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance’s Jordan Williams. He was specifically chosen by Nate Diaz to prep him for his next fight. “I am not going to lie, it feels pretty damn good when someone as good as caliber as Nate Diaz makes a special request for you to train with them to make sure they get a good look for a future fight that’s most likely going to happen. When you are preparing for war, it is best to practice your fight strategies against the highest level lieutenants in the army that you have. Thank you Nate Diaz for rolling up to Petaluma and getting that work put in with the squad.” – Jordan Williams via his official Instagram.

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2018

Argentina’s Santiago Ponzinibbio is riding one of the best win-streaks in the stacked UFC welterweight division, having bested his last six foes – men like Nordine Taleb, Gunnar Nelson, and most recently, “Platinum” Mike Perry. With all of this momentum behind him, Ponzinibbio is hoping to be rewarded with a fight with two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

Back in September of last year at UFC Rotterdam, a New Jersey featherweight by way of Dagestan made his debut and immediately had everyone talking about him. Zabit Magomedsharipov was fighting like it was a video game and he had all the cheat codes. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, he did the same thing in November and cemented his place as a problem to the new division. Evidently, too much of a problem. Magomedsharipov has been itching to get back into the Octagon — eyeing the UFC 225 Brooklyn card — but has had a total of five opponents turn him down. Two of them are Arnold Allen and Artem Lobov. Zabit Mamogedsharipov has had 5 opponents turn down the fight against him according to Ali. Artem Lobov said yes, but his team said no. They want an opponent for #UFC225. #TheMMAHour

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

With everyone looking forward to the three superfights that the UFC has in mind for this year, everyone was slightly disappointed to hear that Cris Cyborg was going to be defending her UFC women’s featherweight title against former Invicta FC bantamweight champon Yana Kunitskaya. It turns out it is still just a speed bump in the way of her anticipated fight with Amanda Nunes. That is, if they both win. Either way, the decision to step in and help prop up UFC 222 was strategic. Cyborg is hoping that if she scratches the UFC’s back, they’ll scratch hers. “[Stepping in to fight Yana Kunitskaya] was a great opportunity to keep the momentum from the win against Holly [Holm] and get me back into the octagon quickly so ‘Cyborg Nation’ can keep growing. I’m going to have to start putting a mouth guard in my purse if this fight pace continues the rest of 2018, though. […] When [the UFC] called saying they needed a new main event, we saw this as an opportunity to prove to everyone that Cris Cyborg can be a company girl and that I’m willing to step up when the promotion needs it. I am hoping this will continue to build my relationship within the promotion and lead to the type of marketing and exposure I have been asking for.”

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

In a couple of months, Rose Namajunas will march into the Octagon again to see if she can beat former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk back-to-back at UFC 223. Teammate and friend Justin Gaethje thinks it’s as good as wrapped up already. Citing difficulties with her weight cut, Jedrzejczyk says things will be different this time in the rematch. Gaethje thinks that the way Namajunas won, didn’t have anything to do with the weight cut, which shouldn’t be an excuse anyway. “I think [Joanna Jedrzejczyk]’s weak-minded for [talking about her drastic weight cut complications], even if it is true. It’s her own business. And no matter what, it could be true to the core and you could have proof, who’s going to [care]? Like, I’m not going to support you. Okay, whose fault was it? At the end of the day, whose fault was it? It was your fault. Do you have a scale at your house? Then you get to step on the scale every single morning, just like every single one of us do. We worry about our weight the whole camp, and I’ve never had a nutritionist help me in my entire life. […] I made weight in college eating McDonald’s every day. It’s willpower. You either f-cking do it or you don’t do it.”

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2018

The UFC has updated its official rankings in the wake of last weekend’s UFC 221 card. As expected, several of the promotion’s divisions have experienced quite a bit of movement. At middleweight, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza rose a spot as the result of Luke Rockhold’s knockout loss to the number-one ranked Yoel Romero. At heavyweight, meanwhile, Curtis Blaydes catapulted into the top-five as the result of his impressive decision defeat of Mark Hunt, while Australia’s Tai Tuivasa entered the rankings, claiming the number-15 spot. Interestingly, Ronda Rousey also dropped a spot at women’s bantamweight, entering a ninth-place tie with Leslie Smith.

Justin Golightly - February 13, 2018

Ronda Rousey shook up the world of professional wrestling when the move that had been teased for years finally came to fruition. She’s a WWE superstar now after making her debut at the Royal Rumble. However, any current fan of the promotion knows that there are two brands in the WWE for Rousey to align with. The final part of her signing was announced last night on Monday Night RAW by Kurt Angle that Rousey will be signing her RAW contract at WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view event later this month. “This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt. When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’ I don’t have words at all. I’m like — this is the most overstimulated I’ve ever been in my life and I’m just, like I’m still processing it.”

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2018

Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 221, Chicago’s Curtis Blaydes burst into heavyweight title contention with an impressive, unanimous decision win over veteran knockout artist Mark Hunt. While Blaydes’ win was impressive, however, it was not without close calls. Mid-way through the first round, he was rocked badly by his veteran foe, and seemed to be one or two clean shots away from going down. Yet demonstrating remarkable calm under pressure, the rising contender completed a takedown, which allowed him to clear the proverbial cobwebs and control Hunt for the remainder of the rounds. From there, Blaydes leaned on his tremendous grappling skill to dominate the rest of the fight, which led to a clear unanimous decision win.

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2018

Chuck Liddell’s run on Celebrity Big Brother was a bit of a disaster, as he was the first contestant voted off the show. From the sounds of it, however, he may be returning to our screens again soon – and in the way we’re accustomed. In a recent conversation with TMZ, Liddell addressed his continued dedication to training while he was on Big Brother, explaining that he was staying ready for a potential MMA comeback inside the Bellator MMA cage.

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2018

Few if any stories in 2017 were as big and jaw-dropping as yet another Jon Jones failed PED test was. The former king of 205 initially was stripped of his title for a hit and run incident in 2015. Jones would eventually return for an interim title fight with Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 in 2016. He would then look for a quick turnaround after winning and look to unify the titles against his biggest rival, Daniel Cormier at UFC 200. Then Jones was busted once more for clomiphene just days before the fight.

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2018

Before Jon Jones came and took over the light heavyweight division, the 205-pound UFC title went through a revolving door of champions. From 2007 to 2011, the title was never defended more than once and saw five title changes. Right in the middle of what some called “the golden age” where 205 was one of MMA’s greatest divisions, The Ultimate Fighter season 2 winner, ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans obtained some of that gold. Evans was undefeated at the time and was a large personality who felt he wasn’t quite getting what he deserved. Something Evans believes is similar to the situation of a certain champion today. Evans spoke about the comparison today with MMAFighting:

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2018

As it stands right now, labeling the career of undefeated Bellator and ONE  welterweight champion, Ben Askren a “mystery” wouldn’t feel very outrageous. How so? Everyone who has ever seen Askren fight can see how very clearly talented he was and is. The mystery just remains, “exactly how good was he?” Askren capped off his eighteen fight career in November fighting for ONE Championships and never stepping foot into a UFC octagon. Despite making it clear he’s retired, Askren has still left the door open to a possibility. Proving he truly was the best regardless of whether he fought for the UFC or not. To do so, Askren believes he must face one of the greatest of all time across all weight classes, Georges St-Pierre. Askren made a bold prediction when speaking with MMAJunkie today:

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2018

One of the most talked about fights in MMA at present is a possible flyweight superfight between divisional king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, and reigning UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. As the former mentor of the bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw, the probably-retired Urijah Faber is watching on intently as this possible scrap edges toward fruition. While Faber is a little more interested in Dillashaw’s options at bantamweight, he does believe Dillashaw can make the flyweight division’s 125-pound.