MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2018

In the wake of his submission loss to UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee has been looking for ways to freshen up his game. He’s hoping renowned MMA coach Firas Zahabi can help him with that. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Lee explained that he’ll be doing some work with Zahabi over the coming weeks.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2018

Last weekend, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with one of its biggest cards to date in Bellator 192. One of the highlights of this card occurred in the co-main event, when former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald bested Douglas Lima in a five-round war, capturing the Bellator welterweight belt in the process. While Rory MacDonald is now the Bellator welterweight champ, he’s unfortunately facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines as the result of the leg injury he sustained mid-fight. Several other fighters on the Bellator 192 bill also received lengthy suspensions.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2018

Having lost the UFC middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre, and come up short in an abrupt and ill-advised comeback fight against Kelvin Gastelum, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been planning to retire when the UFC touches down in London this March 17. Apparently, Bisping has now received a bout offer for this card, and while he’s tempted to accept it, his family and friends would prefer he just calls it a career now, and forgets about partaking in one last fight.

Chris Taylor - January 23, 2018

Nate Diaz says he is ready to return and two top lightweights have already offered their services. Former UFC lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz took to social media earlier this evening where he announced that he is “sick of sitting around” and revealed that fight fans will see him back in action this May or June.

Drake Riggs - January 23, 2018

There aren’t many fighters like the Diaz brothers.  After posting out a collection of fight-related pictures on his Instagram page, Nate Diaz capped them off with a clearer message. This is what he had to say:

Drake Riggs - January 23, 2018

UFC 222 will be 2018’s first Las Vegas event of the year and it’s headlined by a big title fight that we thought we would get in 2017. Featherweight champion, Max Holloway will look to defend his title for the second time when he takes on former Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. The two were expected to fight at UFC 218 in Detroit, Michigan before Edgar suffered an orbital injury that pulled him from his third UFC Featherweight title shot. But now he’s all healed up and ready to go. Today the UFC released the official poster for the event. Check it out:

Drake Riggs - January 23, 2018

UFC 223 will play host to the rematch of the most shocking upset of 2017. At UFC 217, the 25-year-old, “Thug” Rose Namajunas dispatched of the then reigning champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk effortlessly to earn a first-round knockout victory. The fight was in November and we’ve since learned from the former Strawweight queen, Joanna that this was one of if not the worst weight cut of her career. She has also been one of the bigger 115 lbers and had fought previously at 125 lbs in her career before coming to the UFC. But when it comes to her toughest time making her division’s limit, the fight with Rose took the cake as she described it as a “miracle” that she made weight.

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

After a dominant performance against Volkan Oezdemir, Daniel Cormier let everyone know that they wouldn’t see him too much longer. March 20th next year, Cormier will turn 40-years old and has decided to retire. Of course, as we all know, minds can always change especially when it comes to MMA retirements, but it seems like the current UFC light heavyweight champion is serious. He opened up more about his intentions today and would like to have three fights before he finally walks away from the sport. “I’ve got a little break in my thumb and also some ligament damage. I don’t like to do surgery, so I’m going to try and put off the surgery. […] If it’s starting to heal, I’m not going to do the surgery, I’m going to some PRP (Platelet-rich plasma). I prefer to not go under the knife. I would rather just always try to do the alternative so as not to have too much time off. There was a break in there and also a torn ligament in my wrist, so that’s why I was having so many issues after the fight. It just takes longer. I want to try to not have surgery. […] I don’t really have the time to waste.”

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

This is not a drill #BlessedEra @moskova pic.twitter.com/X3EwaPDbt4 — Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) January 23, 2018

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

Two of the very best lightweights on the entire planet are once again scheduled to fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are squaring off and everyone is getting PTSDéjà vu. Try and put whatever is going on with the lightweight title out of your mind and just celebrate that a fight like this is on the books for this year and right around the corner at UFC 223. It’s still a couple of months away but Ferguson is already fired up about it and promises epic violence and slicing elbows in the Octagon. “They’ve wanted me to fight Khabib since the beginning man and I understand that. It’s just a bunch of hype and I try not to look too much into it and I let my fights do the talking, like I always have and I always continue. I think the most interesting point is that I think most people have forgotten that I can translate punches inside that Octagon. I don’t need a translator for that sh-t. I get hit for a certain reason. I want people to use their energy against me, but for b-tch Khabib, that b-tch is not going to touch me, not one time. I’m going to be dance circles around this kid. I will be hitting him with some nasty f-cking uppercuts and that’s going to make him think twice about shooting in on me. Then I’m going to hit him with some other things and cut him up.”

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

Last weekend, the UFC touched down in Boston, Massachusetts with UFC 220. In the main event, we saw UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic halt the momentum of the massively hyped Francis Ngannou, outperforming him from bell-to-bell en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

If you thought that after Conor McGregor boxed Floyd Mayweather that the MMA versus boxing talks would end, you were wrong. If anything, they’ve stayed steady and from both places. For a long time, Anderson Silva has wanted to box one of his idols Roy Jones Jr., and it was always a long way away from happening. But if there was ever a time it could get done, it’s not. Roy Jones Jr. seems to know this as well, so he’s started up the talks again and wants Dana White to do what he needs to do so he can box the legend Anderson Silva. “[This will be my] last boxing match unless Anderson Silva decides he wants to make it happen. For him, for the money that we will generate, because we tried to do it first, I will still do that just for him because I know he wants to do it. It’s something I wanted to do, so for him I would come out and fight. […] All we need for Dana [White] to do is let him go, let him free of his contract and we can make it happen. [Dana White] that’s the only obstacle because Anderson wants it, I want it, so the only obstacle is Dana giving him the okay. I feel like if you give it to Conor McGregor why could you not give it to one of the greatest of all time at your sport, which is Anderson ‘Spider’ Silva?”

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

All eyes were on UFC 220’s main event between Stipe Moicic and Francis Ngannou. Miocic was up against a highly hyped and dangerous Ngannou, with his belt and a record on the line. He passed the test and proved he’s still the best in the world. One man who was watching would like to dispute that. Fabricio Werdum believes he’s the next to fight Stipe Miocic and will attempt to take back the title that he lost in unexpected and devastating fashion back at UFC 198. “The UFC said nothing yet, but I think I’m the next one. I deserve this. Not just because of my last fights, but [I’ve been fighting] for 20 years. I’ve [been fighting] for a long. I think I deserve it. My goal is to put one more belt on my wall. I have two. The third one coming, for sure. […] 100 percent, I will be a champion this year again. I know Stipe Miocic. I respect him. I like him.”

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

WMMA veteran Tara LaRosa’s “fight” (sparring match) with a Kris Zylinsky – an Internet troll who claimed any untrained, in-shape, athletic man could beat a professional female fighter – was originally to happen earlier this year, but was shut down by the local police and athletic commission. Luckily, the pair finally found a way to settle their gripes, and we have the video. 

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

Rory MacDonald has a reputation that transcends organizations. He is known for being violent and absorbing punishment. His legendary fight with Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 cemented MacDonald and his opponent as warriors in a completely different dimension of pain management. MacDonald ended up with injuries in that war that would haunt him for years. Despite the damage scale being off the charts, a new level was reached in his fight with Douglas Lima at Bellator 192. Rory MacDonald admitted that it was probably the worst pain he’s ever felt in his life. “Yeah, [I thought about given up] a few times. It went through my head, but I just kept pushing through it. I had to dig deep a few times and just break down some mental barriers and keep pushing. Any fight that I’ve had to endure a lot of punishment and keep going forward, yeah. Your mind always plays tricks on you and wants you to give in and it’s just being disciplined and being able to push through those doubts and anxieties. […] I knew [Douglas Lima] was good at leg kicks. I didn’t expect the low leg kicks to be problem, but they were fast and powerful. I wasn’t able to block them very well. After the first one, I knew I didn’t want to get hit with another one. And in the first round I was already pretty hurt by them. By the third, I was struggling pretty badly with it.”

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

Back in November, in the first of three title fights on the UFC 217 bill, seemingly unstoppable UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk stepped into the Octagon with unheralded challenger Rose Namajunas. In a shocking upset, Namajunas put the champ Jedrzejczyk down with a first-round punch, taking the belt for herself in the process. Now, the pair have been pencilled in for a rematch at UFC 223, which goes down on April 7 in Brooklyn, New York. Despite the fact that Namajunas won the first encounter, she has once again been identified as the underdog in this fight.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

On April 7, at UFC 223, UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will take on Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title fight. That said, Ferguson doesn’t know whether he’ll be defending his interim title, or fighting for the undisputed title, which would first have to be stripped from Conor McGregor. UFC President Dana White has been incredibly vague and unclear when asked about this situation, and it’s starting to get to Ferguson. “Yeah, it bothers me. It bothers the sh*t out of me, dude,” A fired up Ferguson admitted Monday on The MMA Hour (h/t MMAFighting.com). “Straight up. I’m the f*cking champ and we don’t know if we’re fighting for the real belt or not. What the f*ck is that? Dana White is telling us one thing on one [side] of the curtain and on the other side he’s saying, ‘No, Conor McGregor is the champion. Go and do your homework.’ And I love Dana, man, but I’m like, ‘What the f*ck, dude? Am I not the champ or am I the champ? Do you want to hype me up or do you not want to hype me up for this fight?’”

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2018

Having recently come up short in an interim lightweight title fight with Tony Ferguson, “The Motown Phenom” Kevin Lee is eager to get back on track and reinsert himself into the title mix. While he was briefly discussed as a possible opponent for former World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje, Gaethje has now been targeted for a scrap with Dustin Poirier. Now that this Gaethje-Poirier fight has been scheduled, Lee feels he might end up in a fight with Edson Barboza, who recently lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov.