MMA News

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

John Dodson’s bantamweight scrap with rising contender Pedro Munhoz will not longer go down tomorrow. MMA Fighting journalist Guilherme Cruz‏ was following the story closely after Pedro Munhoz missed weight early this morning. At first a catchweight was offered with Munhoz fined 20-percent of his purse, which would go to Dodson, as well as 20-percent of a potential win bonus. However, either the UFC changed their mind or an on-weight Dodson refused to take the fight with a heavier opponent, so the fight was called off. UFC Belem ceremonial weigh-ins are a little over than 3 hours away, and no decision has been made about the co-main event. Pedro Munhoz missed by 4 pounds, and I’m hearing that John Dodson isn’t that interested in taking the fight. UFC trying to get it done.

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

Five years ago today, @TWooodley gave us one of the greatest debuts in @UFC history! #ReplayKO pic.twitter.com/Gc6kAOgkgl — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) February 2, 2018

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Mark Hunt. After he beat surging contender Derrick Lewis last Summer, he disappeared across the sea like Godzilla at the end of a movie. As he winds down his legendary career, he returns at UFC 221 in Perth to fight Curtis Blaydes. As a fighter who has only been in the UFC for two years, the relative newcomer knows what it means to step into the Octagon with the Super Samoan. Even comparing him to Michael Jordan or Charles Barkley. “I’m appreciative that the UFC’s gonna give me the chance to fight a living legend. I wasn’t expecting it so soon, but I’m happy they did it. I’m looking forward to putting on a show. My hands have gotten a lot better and I know his hands are very dangerous, but with my hands, plus my wrestling — I think it’s a great fight. I’ve always respected Mark Hunt, I don’t have the style, obviously, but you can’t help respect a guy who’s been doing it for as long as he has at the level he has. I know he doesn’t have the best record, but everyone knows he only fights the best of the best.”

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

Everyone knows by now that Daniel Cormier will be going up to challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title, if you were one of the few who didn’t, we hope you were sitting down. The gigantic fight will culminate after the 27th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will feature undefeated prospects in the featherweight and lightweight divisions. Cormier and Miocic’s official teams have already been announced, but as any previous viewer of the show knows, there are always a few guest coaches. Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold may just be one of them. Spoke to @LukeRockhold, who leaves for Perth tomorrow. Told me Javier Mendez and Bob Cook will be in his corner at 221, and he expects he’ll appear on TUF at some point for DC. Still very much Team AKA, in addition to coaches Henri Hooft and Greg Jones.

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

The news is still everywhere. Former queen of the UFC Ronda Rousey is now the latest WWE superstar. She’s moved on to make big moves in another arena of sports entertainment. One UFC welterweight who isn’t a stranger to the theatrics of pro wrestling or the ring itself, is Colby Covington. He’s walked the ends of the Earth calling out Tyron Woodley, even on air at Impact Wrestling after he and American Top Team co-founder invaded the promotion with teammates. Not only does the controversial fighter support Rousey’s move, but wants to follow in her footsteps. “I think it was a great move for [Ronda Rousey]. She wasn’t gonna win anymore fights, so she’s gotta do something that she can win in, so maybe pro wrestling’s that. I think it was a great move. I think she’s done well for herself and she’s gonna make some good money over there. The thing is, I hope she don’t f-ck it up for the MMA fighters, because I’m the people following in those footsteps. I’ma be over there in WWE, taking the world title soon. I hope she doesn’t act all shy and do all that weird stuff, you know? She needs to be who she is and who she used to be in the UFC when she was the champ.”

Justin Golightly - February 2, 2018

Just when you thought the UFC’s chaotic middleweight division was going to reach some sort of state of homeostasis, a big Robert Whittaker-sized wrench gets thrown into things. Promoted to the undisputed middleweight champion, the hard-hitting Aussie was set to defend against Luke Rockhold. Unfortunately, he had to pull out due to undisclosed reasons, which led to Yoel Romero stepping in. Whittaker recently made an appearance and opened up about what took him out, and it’s absolutely bonkers. “Everyone knows I like to fight injured. Half the fights I’ve taken I’ve always been injured. Just before I got ill I pulled my hamstring. And we could work around it and we were doing things to compensate for it, we were working around it, but then I got a really bad infection. And the infection in the end just took it out of me, I was really struggling to recover. And then right at the end of the infection I got the chicken pox. That’s why I’ve got the scars all over my face, because it was an absolute mess. If anyone’s had it, it’s just horrible.”

Drake Riggs - February 1, 2018

Would @MieshaTate be open to a @WWE run? Would she work with Ronda Rousey in the world of pro-wrestling? Miesha tells @realOCsports what the possibilities are when it comes to stepping into the squared circle. @BustedOpenRadio pic.twitter.com/16e0psHY4C — MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 1, 2018

Drake Riggs - February 1, 2018

Next week, UFC 221 is headlined by a big middleweight fight to determine the interim champion while undisputed champion, Robert Whittaker recovers on the sideline. In that interim title fight will be recent title challenger, Yoel Romero, and former UFC champ, Luke Rockhold. Someone who’s pretty familiar with both of these fighters is another former champion, Chris Weidman who fought and lost to both fighters in back to back fights. Since these losses, he’s gone 1-1 with his last fight being a win over the very skilled, Kelvin Gastelum. While Weidman’s been recovering from a recent injury, a fellow perennial top 185er has earned a big win as well. Someone Weidman has interest in fighting as he told MMAFighting:

Drake Riggs - February 1, 2018

Floyd Mayweather in a cage? He's seeking attention for one reason… #beyondthefight pic.twitter.com/iib6iEU8vE — Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) February 1, 2018

Justin Golightly - February 1, 2018

If you’ve followed UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson‘s life at all outside of the Octagon, you’d know that when he’s not dominating in the Octagon, he’s interacting and playing against fans on his Twitch stream. Rain or shine, holiday or no holiday, he can be found playing all your favorite games live on the platform. Recently, two streaming and sports entertainment worlds collided when Johnson and WWE’s Xavier Woods got together and played some of the new Dragon Ball FighterZ game. You don’t even have to insert a coin to check it out. “That’s what we’re working towards [to be the best fighter on planet Earth]. Gotta keep on working harder to cement that legacy. One hundred percent [I would want to be in a Tournament of Power in the Universe Survival Saga]. One hundred percent. I would win it. I don’t want to spoil the sagas coming up for you, but I’m probably one of the strongest guys in that tournament.”

Jason Kindschy - February 1, 2018

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT! 8:15PM ET- Our guest tonight for this streamlined episode is a familiar one, having joined the show many times over the past year. The always brash and outspoken heel in the world of MMA, Colby Covington. The No. 3 ranked welterweight in the UFC remains in the media spotlight by pulling no punches and continuing his verbal assault of the elite at 170, with his primary target of course being the champ Tyron Woodley. We’ll be discussing Colby’s plans for 2018 and how he sees the title picture unfolding with Woodley sidelined and Rafael dos Anjos being considered for the next shot at gold. On a previous episode, Stephen Thompson had expressed interest in a matchup with Covington. You’ll hear his response to a potential showdown with “Wonderboy” and how long Colby is willing to sit out while waiting for the title fight. Plus, we’ll get his reaction to Ronda Rousey joining the WWE roster and much more!

Justin Golightly - February 1, 2018

The card is only about half finished but already the UFC’s trip to Brooklyn is looking awesome. UFC 223 is topped with the huge lightweight clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, with Rose Namajunas defending her new strawweight title against the very woman she took it from, the dangerous Joanna Jedrzejczyk. That should be enough to tune in, but underneath that are just more fun scraps. The latest addition is Michael Chiesa and Anthony Pettis. More LWs are headed to Brooklyn! 🌃@MikeMav22 and @ShowtimePettis join April’s #UFC223 card. pic.twitter.com/Rc5FGVInGj

Justin Golightly - February 1, 2018

Last year, Conor McGregor lit two worlds on fire with his multi-multi-million dollar crossover boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. He sailed the seven seas in yachts and set up multiple business ventures, but now he’s slowly but surely entering back into the public eye and hopefully the world of combat sports. This year, it’s Ronda Rousey who is on fire as she finally debuted as the newest WWE superstar. After being asked about the deal, the UFC’s ‘champ champ’ offered up words of praise, respect and congratulations to one gigantic superstar to another. “I’m delighted for [Ronda Rousey]. Absolutely over the moon for her. She looked like she really enjoyed herself at the event and I was very, very happy to see her. She’s a pioneer for the game and she’s came through it all and faced big wins and big, big losses and she came through it. It’s great to see her represent herself and mixed martial arts and have fun in the WWE. I know she’s been a big fan of it all her life. So, it’s great to see that.” — Conor McGregor speaking to Adam Glyn.

Tom Taylor - February 1, 2018

Over the last few days, undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather has repeatedly eluded to a possible move to MMA. If Mayweather were to jump to MMA – an undeniably slim possibility – its hard to imagine he’d be welcomed by anybody but UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. McGregor addressed the possibility of an MMA bout with Mayweather shortly after a charity gala he attended in New York City on Wednesday night.

Justin Golightly - February 1, 2018

You and I are destined to do this forever. That’s what the Joker said to Batman in Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed film The Dark Knight. This seems to be the same message that Colby Covington wants to send to UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. He’s been calling him out and calling him out over and over to no avail after beating Demian Maia. Now, potentially being passed up by Rafael dos Anjos, Covington isn’t about to back down. If the UFC needs to sell tickets and rack up pay-per-view buys, Covington claims they have to put him in the fight. “I just don’t get why they want to do [Rafael dos Anjos]. It’s not a money fight. Tyron [Woodley] wants to be the hero, so if he wants to be the hero, he needs to come fight me. I’m the villain. I’m the bad guy of the division. I’m the most hated guy in the division. If you want fans to like you — fans hate Tyron right now, because he’s being fake. He’s being two-faced. He’s saying all this stuff and he doesn’t really mean it. He’s not being truthful. That’s why the fans are liking me right now because what I’m saying is real. […] I just don’t get why he doesn’t see that I’m the money fight. He’s not going to get [Nate] Diaz, he’s not going to get [Georges St-Pierre], Conor [McGregor] isn’t even in question.”

Justin Golightly - February 1, 2018

UFC London was the Bermuda Triangle of match-ups. It was long supposed to be the card basically made for Michael Bisping’s retirement fight. After opponents were ruled out one-by-one, finally either Bisping or the UFC decided he would not be fighting on that card. Darren Till and Stephen Thompson was also ruled out. Finally, we have a big name attached to the card and a finalized main event. Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will square off against Alexander Volkov. Your heavyweight #UFCLondon main event!! 🇧🇷 @FabricioWerdum vs. @AlexDragoVolkov 🇷🇺

Tom Taylor - February 1, 2018

While Rory MacDonald spent the last few months preparing for his Bellator welterweight title fight with Douglas Lima (which he won via hard-fought decision), he’s also repeatedly expressed interest in serving as an alternate in Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. This Heavyweight Grand Prix is populated by far larger men in Matt Mitrione, Roy Nelson, Chael Sonnen, Ryan Bader, Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, Frank Mir, and Fedor Emelianenko. Despite the fact that entering this tournament would force MacDonald to fight men three weight classes heavier than him, his coach Firas Zahabi is all for it. In fact, he believes MacDonald could thrive in this tournament, even KO the likes of the legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Tom Taylor - February 1, 2018

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is not modest about the amount of money he’s made, or the lavish lifestyle it has afforded him. Interestingly, though, McGregor keeps quite quiet about the charitable work he does, and as it turns out, he does a lot.  Last night, McGregor attended the New York’s Children Medical Research Foundation 7th Annual Best of Ireland Gala in New York City, where he was honored for his substantial donations to the Our Ladies Children’s Hospital of Crumlin, in his native Dublin, Ireland.