MMA News

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

Fire-spitting Lamborghinis. Mink coats. Cruising crystal seas on skyscraper yachts. It’s no question that Conor McGregor knows how to spend his money. It’s something that was a constant even before his multi-million dollar boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather. It’s something that McGregor flaunts, but is also self-aware about. He recently too to Instagram to speak about his spending, but also about managing the fortune he’s acquired in his short but incredibly profitable career thus far. “Here is today’s thoughts: Financial awareness is key at all times. Look at many of our favorite athletes and performers post career. Often it is not a pretty sight. [Mike] Tyson made over $300 million in his fighting career and today stands at a net worth of just $1 million. You must be switched on at all times with your money. We cannot switch off here. Know your money and where it is going at all times and never ever go broke, trying to look rich.  This is coming from me. I am the most flashiest. I just posted a picture on a yacht sipping Fiji water from an ice cold glass before this. But trust me, I am the most intelligent also.”

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

Somewhere someone is looking at numbers skyrocket. The engagements and impressions are out of control. Suddenly, a dull UFC week is sparked with an army of 14,000 fire emoji. This is what happens when the UFC announces a fight the magnitude of Daniel Cormier moving up to face Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title. A tweet like that holds its own gravitational pull. It drags in thousands who release their own satellites out to orbit around the news. People message friends, they send out hyperlinks and quote RTs. The drop of the information is like an event in and of itself. However, not every match-up is like this. Most entire cards aren’t like this. Nowadays, it takes an adrenaline shot to remind fans that MMA is still exciting as hell. Is this the way the UFC stays alive?  Before the ginormous sale, the UFC ramped up their fight cards like the climax of a Michael Bay movie. This all culminated in their pay-per-view draw poster boy fighting Eddie Alvarez in unprecedented champion versus champion main event at UFC 205. Since then however, things have dwindled. Conor McGregor is gone along with other marquee names like Ronda Rousey and Jon Jones.

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

It’s the fight everyone is talking about right now. In June, Daniel Cormier will challenge Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title. It’s out of nowhere, it’s insane, and we get a full season of The Ultimate Fighter for a build-up. Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic isn’t just a fight between two of the best champions ever in the sport, it’s between two pretty solid dudes. If you needed anymore proof to that statement, just check out the conversation with Miocic that Cormier revealed that had Miocic’s wife screaming DC’s praises in the background. “I did speak with [Stipe Miocic before the fight was done]. I spoke with Stipe, I called Stipe. Obviously, you know, great guy, I got to spend some time with him, fantastic champion, just a pillar of his community. I can’t say enough good things about Stipe Miocic. With that being said, I told Stipe for $500,000, I’m not fighting Stipe Miocic. I threw out a big number and said for that number, I’m fighting Stipe Miocic. He goes, ‘I f-cking love you.’ That’s what he said. I said for the right numbers we need to do this. His wife is in the back going, ‘Yes, DC!'”

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir finally has a chance to fight one of the very best fighters of all time. Bellator has turned back all the clocks to the ol’ glory days of MMA when the grand prix tournament was still king. They’ve also brought in fighters that have never gotten a chance to face each other in all their years of being in the sport. One fight has already gone by with Chael Sonnen and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson and they’ll be another one in between Mir fighting Fedor Emelianenko. While many feel he’s passed his prime, Mir assures everyone that Fedor is still Fedor. “Damn, that’s a tough first fight. No joke, Fedor [Emelianenko] is still a phenomenal fighter. I know a lot of people don’t have the eyes that I have and they look at him and go, ‘Well, look at his results.’ And that’s easy to say in our sport, you know. […] Fedor is extremely good. He’s still very quick. He hasn’t lost his power in his punches. Even when he threw the punch against [Matt] Mitrione, Mitrione fell down. Mitrione’s a big kid, y’know, a big guy. I think the difference I try to explain to everybody, [people will say], ‘Well, he used to be unbeatable.’ Yeah, that’s not because he’s gotten worse. Everybody else has gotten better.”

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen Derrick Lewis, better known as The Black Beast. He’s coming back in action at UFC Austin on February 18th to fight Marcin Tybura, but he’s got his eyes on another fighter. Francis Ngannou is taking some time off after coming up short against Stipe Miocic, but whenever he comes back, Lewis is up to throw down with the big man. He doesn’t stop at the call-out though, he alleges the 31-year old is at least 40 and is on performance enhancing drugs. “Yeah, I’ll fight [Francis Ngannou] on sight you know. This guy over here, every time somebody ask me a question about him, I say something nice, but every time somebody say something about him, he’s like trying to talk down on me saying I’m not on his level, talking about how I’m too slow and this and that. I really don’t care, but, don’t try and talk sh-t about me every chance you get. He talks sh-t, but he’s never like, ‘Oh, I want to fight Derek.’ He’s always talking down on me, but he doesn’t want to fight me.”

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2018

In the wake of last weekend’s UFC Charlotte card, the UFC has adjusted its official rankings. The biggest shakeup this time surrounds Former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre’s ejection from the middleweight rankings. Given that St-Pierre is not expected to fight again for quite some time – if ever – his ejection from the middleweight rankings makes some sense. Contrary to this logic, however, Ronda Rousey, who is now a full-time pro wrestler for WWE, is still ranking at women’s bantamweight. Why? Who knows…

Justin Golightly - January 31, 2018

You’re not an MMA fan if you’re not in a constant state of confusion most of the time. Michael Bisping seemed all but confirmed for UFC London in a perfect locale for a retirement bout, but an opponent was never official. There were some reports going around that Rashad Evans, the man who dealt Bisping his first loss, was finally that opponent. After the former middleweight champion himself announced he wasn’t fighting in London after all, it looked like those talks were negated. Still, Bisping took to his podcast to make sure everyone knew he is not fighting Evans. “I’m going to have one last fight, maybe. If some two-bit journalists out there on the Internet f-cking have picked up some information, that’s great, but I’m not going to publicly go out and say things when I can’t say them. Because you know what, [co-host] Luis [Gomez]? I’m a professional. Yes, people are reporting it [that I’m fighting Rashad Evans], but I am not. So, apparently there is a rumor going around about me and Rashad. I will say this. I will say this: I don’t know what to say. Let’s start with the obvious. Rashad fights at 205. I fight at 185. So, that doesn’t even make sense.”

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2018

A little over a week ahead of Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero’s UFC 221 interim middleweight title fight, the UFC’s undisputed middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has shared a very positive update. Whittaker was originally expected to defend his title against Rockhold in the main event of UFC 221, but was forced out of the fight with an undisclosed health issue. UFC President Dana White later shared a grim update on Whittaker’s condition, eluding to an out of control staph infection.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2018

On January 20, in the co-main event of the absolutely stacked Bellator 192, former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald captured the Bellator welterweight title with a fun, and very competitive decision win over the dangerous Douglas Lima. While MacDonald’s win was certainly impressive, not everyone agreed with it. In the eyes of some fans, Lima should have been awarded the win based on the fact that he clearly did more damage over the course of the five-round war, battering MacDonald’s face, and brutalizing his leg with kicks.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2018

On January 20, the UFC returned to Boston with UFC 220, a massive pay-per-view that featured title fights at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. In the main event, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic defended his title by outworking dangerous challenger Francis Ngannou to a unanimous decision, derailing one of MMA’s biggest hype trains in the process.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2018

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier’s next fight will not occur in the light heavyweight division, but at heavyweight, where his career began. His opponent in this return to the heavyweight division will be UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. The pair will battle in the main event of UFC 226 this July. While news that Cormier will fight Miocic was met with widespread excitement, it didn’t go over particularly well with Alexander Gustafsson, the top contender in the light heavyweight division, who feels he’s been deprived of the light heavyweight title shot he’s earned.

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2018

UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier is no stranger to a good ol’ Heavyweight tournament. Prior to Cormier’s current Light Heavyweight run, he was an undefeated Heavyweight and a Grand Prix champion himself as he won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix as an alternate in 2012. Cormier defeated the likes of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Josh Barnett to win the tournament.

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2018

UFC 223 continues to grow! Already off to a hot start with two title fights and three Lightweight fights in total…it looks like another might be getting added! ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that a showdown between season 15 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Chiesa and former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis could be in the cards for the night of action in Brooklyn, New York. Per sources, UFC is targeting a lightweight bout between Anthony Pettis and Michael Chiesa for UFC 223 on April 7 in Brooklyn.

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2018

“Let me just say that…you made a comment earlier about flying around like a rockstar. And when you travel this much, to maintain the kind of training that you would need to actually put together a camp, it’s not realistic. I do train, I train on almost a daily basis. Now granted, I have some stints here and there where i’m out of town for a week so I might only get two days of training in that week because i’m on the road.

Justin Golightly - January 30, 2018

Just a few months away, former unofficial ‘Most Violent” champion Justin Gaethje will take on Dustin Poirier in April. People are already talking about this fight like it is going to be a Fight of the Night, maybe even a Fight of the Year contender. If Gaethje’s last fight with Eddie Alvarez is of any indication, it definitely could be. Poirier was on his way to the same nominations, had his fight with Alvarez not ended with illegal blows. Unable to earn retribution, he’ll look to leapfrog Alvarez to a title shot with a win over the former WSOF lightweight champ. “With Justin Gaethje, there are two things that are going to happen with this guy. Either, he’s doubting himself after his first loss and his first time getting finished, or he’s going to be focused on being the best he can be when he comes back. I’m prepared for either. I’m expecting Justin to go back to the drawing board and maybe use less of his brawling style and use more of the wrestling that people forgot that he had and try and try to become a complete fighter. I’m preparing for the best guy ever. […] “That’s all I’m focused on, it will be three former world champions that I’ve fought in a row in my last three fights and that’s all I’m focused on.”

Justin Golightly - January 30, 2018

Have any of you ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle? It’s that loosely-defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean, where aircraft and ships seem to disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The UFC currently has its own kind of nefarious location that match-ups seem to vanish over in London. Michael Bisping was all but confirmed that he’d retire at the card, but that is off the table. Stephen Thompson, along with Gunnar Nelson, were in talks to fight Darren Till, but neither of those are going to happen either according to John Kavanagh. I’m sure [Darren] Till will make his own statement, but I believe he’s ill. He has however agreed to face [Gunnar Nelson] later in the year. [We wish him a] speedy recovery. However, for now we need someone for March 17th. So. if you’re a UFC welterweight, get onto [matchmaker] Sean [Shelby] and get paid. Hope to get matched soon. I can tell you UFC have asked almost every welterweight who’s not currently matched or injured and everyone busy that night [at UFC London] for some reason? A chance to main event a good European show and everyone is getting their hair washed. Bizarre.” — Coach John Kavanagh on Twitter.

Justin Golightly - January 30, 2018

It has been well known that Michael Bisping would be retiring at UFC London. The locale was perfect for his swan song, the timing seemed right, the only thing that was missing was going to be an opponent. After an exhaustive list and failed attempts to get something done, it seemed like the UFC had finally zeroed in on Rashad Evans. He was Bisping’s first ever loss and sounded like a great way to close out his career. Except that isn’t happening. Michael Bisping isn’t fighting Evans at UFC London, matter of fact, he isn’t even fighting at all at he card. Don’t buy tickets to see me fight in London. I’m not fighting. Just spoke with ufc.

Tom Taylor - January 30, 2018

A post shared by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather) on Jan 30, 2018 at 10:38am PST