MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 6, 2018

MMA can be a brutal sport. It’s a game of mountainous highs and chasmal lows, of unpredictable ups and downs, of clashing expectations and realities, and sometimes, its pressures can crack even the most iron-willed competitors. In a recent post to Instagram, UFC welterweight veteran Nicolas Dalby shared his story of being broken by the sport, and of his journey back from the brink. Fighting. It’s something we all do. We fight bullies at school. We fight to earn a living. We fight through sickness(mental & physical). We fight our inner daemons. We fight with our significant others, friends and family. We fight for the rights we believe in. We all fight our own fights, small and big ones. Every single day! For me, one of my biggest fights are coming up, literally and figuratively. Literally because I have committed to step foot in a cage to fight again after 1½ years away from the sport, after something that ended in me suffering 2 defeats in a row, the first ones in over 10 years of competitive fighting. But also figuratively. Figuratively because I have been battling a deep depression which resulted in alcoholism, apathy and hurtful behaviour towards the people I hold the dearest. Experiencing all of that and putting it behind me has been a very bumpy detour away from and back to the main-road that leads in the right direction. How do you come back after a downfall like that? Can you imagine the self-doubt? Can my body still handle a gruelling fight camp? Is my mind strong enough to handle the sessions where nothing is working, doubt sneaks in and the lingering injuries that undoubtedly lie ahead play with your head? Am I strong enough physically & mentally to not just take the fight but to actually go in there and unleash the hell & fury I have in me when believe in myself and I’m running on all cylinders(plus nitro)? Those are the questions that will get answered before summer arrives. Maybe I’ll get a major injury in the lead up to the fight. Maybe things won’t “click” when I’m finally in the cage. Maybe I will lose the fight. But theres only one way to find out. And that’s by fucking doing it! And doing it 110%! This is a fight to determine my future. Now is the time to prove to myself, my girlfriend, my friends, my family & the rest of the world what I’m made of. That I am going to follow up to the promises I made myself. And that is the real fight. If I do that, do the very best I can. Then I will win the fight in the cage. And the fight for my life! #LokomotivoDalby | #RoadToRedemption | #ThePhoenixWillRise | #FrateTrane

Justin Golightly - February 6, 2018

As the UFC and combat sports in general rockets into the future. It’s more important than ever to preserve the history of these fights so they aren’t lost in time. New fans are constantly pouring in an cycled through generations, then separated into eras. There are the group of people who became fans after the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, then there are fans who were drawn to the sport like moths from the bright lights of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor. No matter when someone got into the chaotic spectacle of MMA, researching everything they can about Anderson Silva is a mandatory homework assignment. The build up going into this fight appeared to be animosity free. But that quickly changed at the weigh ins.

Tom Taylor - February 6, 2018

Over the weekend, Brazilian fighter Priscila Cachoeira experienced a brutal beatdown at the hands of Valentina Shevchenko, absorbing a brain-rattling 230 strikes en route to a second-round submission loss. In the wake of this lopsided and bloody contest, many fans, pundits and UFC personalities have argued that referee Mario Yamasaki should have stopped the fight far earlier than he did.

Tom Taylor - February 6, 2018

Shortly after his recent split decision win over Eryk Anders, former UFC light heavyweight champion and middleweight title challenger Lyoto Machida called out former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. “That’s a fight that should’ve happened a couple times and it didn’t,” Machida said at the UFC Belem post-fight presser. “I think we both matured together in this sport, so I think fight between Michael Bisping and myself would mean a lot.

Tom Taylor - February 6, 2018

Last week, UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway was forced out of his UFC 222 title fight with Frankie Edgar, leaving the card without a main event. From there, the UFC began a desperate scramble to find a suitable replacement fight. One of the options was a rematch between bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw and former champ Cody Garbrandt, who fought back in November, in a fight that saw Dillashaw brave an early scare to win by knockout. While this potential rematch generated plenty of buzz, Dillashaw was pretty quick to express his complete disinterest in it. He did just beat Garbrandt, after all, and with a newborn son at home, and grand plans for a superfight with flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson in the works for July, the timing doesn’t make a lot of sense for him.

Drake Riggs - February 5, 2018

.@Rampage4real believes cornermen should throw in the towel more often in MMA: "I don't see nothing wrong with throwing in the towel if a guy is getting f*cked up really bad." Watch #TheMMAHour live: https://t.co/11sYrEm5Ug pic.twitter.com/216ZwzozGq — MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 5, 2018

Drake Riggs - February 5, 2018

When it comes to the current UFC schedule, UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City, New Jersey is the latest card with fights booked right now. The event will take place on April 21. The first fight announced for the event was a welterweight matchup between Siyar Bahadurzada and Luan Chagas. We now have three more additional bouts booked and ready! Most notably of the three is a bantamweight clash between top 15 talents, the veteran, Leslie Smith and the rising prospect, Aspen Ladd.

Drake Riggs - February 5, 2018

The unfortunate news broke over the weekend that the featherweight title fight between former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar and featherweight champion, Max Holloway has fallen through once again. It was Holloway this time that was forced out with a leg injury. The fight was scheduled to headline UFC 222. Currently, the UFC is still looking to find a new headliner. Edgar is still wanting to stay on the card regardless of opponent and the UFC appears to be trying to set up a fight between him and Brian Ortega. Other options have included a rematch between bantamweight champion, TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt and very recently…Garbrandt vs Edgar.

Chris Taylor - February 5, 2018

Frankie Edgar will fight anyone at any weight class and a former bantamweight champion is game! ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke some very unfortunate news Friday when he announced that current UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had suffered an injury and was no longer able to defend his belt against Frankie Edgar at UFC 222.

Chris Taylor - February 5, 2018

Mario Yamasaki issues statement following controversial co-main event at UFC Belem. Mixed martial arts referee Mario Yamasaki faced a ton of criticism following his controversial stoppage in the co-main event of last weekend’s UFC Fight Night 125 event in Belem, Brazil.

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has been vocal in his belief that, if he gets his desired fight with UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, the winner of said fight will be MMA’s pound-for-pound king. “[The fight is about] who’s the best pound-for-pound,” Dillashaw said on a recent episode of BJ Penn Radio. “It’s not some bullshit, hyped drama. This is what the sport is really about, it’s who is the best in the world. Demetrious got that number one spot. I feel like I’m the best fighter in the world, man, and I just want to prove it. DJ has my spot and I want to claim it. I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter. I had a couple split decision losses that I didn’t agree with it. If you throw those ones out of the way, I’d be on a 13 fight win streak, seven fight title defense. I’d be where I’m supposed to be, but this is the way for me to get to where I want to be. Demetrious is on top and it’s time for me to take him out.”

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

Last weekend, Priscila Cachoeira was brutalized by the far more experienced Valentina Shevchenko en route to a second-round submission loss. Cachoeira’s loss was so decisive that many fans and pundits have been berating her corner for not throwing in the towel mid-fight, thereby allowing an undeniably spacey Mario Yamasaki to let the bloodshed continue for far longer than necessary. According to Priscila Cachoeira herself, however, criticism of her corner and coaching staff is unwarranted. The reason her team didn’t throw in the towel is because they understood where her physical limits were, and she just wasn’t there yet.

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

For a time, Anderson Silva stood out as the greatest mixed martial artist alive. Eventually, however, his reign was brought to an abrupt and violent halt by a young Chris Weidman, who defeated him first by second-round knockout, and then again as the result of a brutal leg injury. Yet even after his losses to Weidman, Silva remained a frontrunner for MMA’s Greatest of All Time title. Sure, he seemed to be on a career downslide, but his remarkable accomplishments seemed to be ironclad.

Jordan Colbert - February 5, 2018

After going on a social media tirade in true Diaz Brother fashion, it seems Nate Diaz is ready to get back in the Octagon. The return would mark the first time Diaz has stepped into the Octagon since dropping a majority decision to Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor almost a year and a half ago at UFC 202. Since the social media announcement, we’ve seen fighters flock from multiple weight classes looking to get the shot at fighting the famed Stockton native known for his consistently entertaining wars inside of the Octagon and for being the only man to defeat Conor McGregor in the UFC.

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

At present, there are two clear frontrunners in the race to the next shot at UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. One is surging contender Colby Covington. The other is former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Colby Covington explained why he, not Rafael dos Anjos, deserves the next crack at Tyron Woodley.

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

Over the weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s trip to Belem, Brazilian flyweight Priscila Cachoeira stepped into the Octagon for the first time. Despite the fact she was making her UFC debut with just 8 pro fights behind her, her opponent was the vastly more experienced Valentina Shevchenko, who is widely regarded as one of the best female fighters on earth. In the end, Cachoeira’s experiential deficit manifested itself in a truly lopsided win for Shevchenko. The Kyrgyzstani contender out-landed her young Brazilian by an insane 230-3 margin en route to a second-round submission win. It was one of the most brutal beatdowns to hit our screens in a long, long time.

Tom Taylor - February 5, 2018

As the home of stars like Rory MacDonald, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, Lorenz Larkin, and Fernando Gonzales, Bellator’s welterweight division is arguably its best division outright. From the sounds of it, this stacked division could get a little bit better soon, as former World Series of Fighting welterweight champion and long-time UFC contender Jon Fitch claims he’s in talks with the promotion. Fitch made this announcement on his official YouTube channel.

Chris Taylor - February 4, 2018

Cub Swanson is down to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 222! The perennial featherweight contender, Cub Swanson, recently responded to a fan on Twitter where he offered to help save March’s UFC 222 event by fighting Nate Diaz.