MMA News

Drake Riggs - January 16, 2018

Over the years, we’ve been accustomed to our monthly UFC Pay-Per-View events. Of course, as the title suggests, you have to pay to view… That number over the last decade or so has always been $49.99 for standard definition and $59.99 for high definition, as was the case for 2017’s last UFC event, UFC 219. But heading into 2018 and kicking things off with UFC 220, that price has increased by $5.00. Don’t believe it? Check it out yourself on the UFC’s website. The UFC hasn’t confirmed that this price increase will be permanent, but it will be in effect for UFC 220. The suggested retail price for UFC 220 is $64.99 per previous UFC press release. The suggested retail price for UFC 219 was $59.99 pic.twitter.com/V5FR7PS2sm

Russell Sai - January 16, 2018

James Krause edges Alex White by unanimous decision to close out the #UFCSTL prelims! Right call by the judges? https://t.co/CS8dt2UiIL — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) January 15, 2018

Drake Riggs - January 16, 2018

Oh, the Reebok deal. Everyone has an opinion on it, whether good or bad. It may not be the biggest step forward, but this year the deal is taking a step forward with the new guidelines and protocol. Fighters receive their Reebok sponsor money depending on what tier they’re in which goes by how many fights they’ve had in the UFC/Zuffa owned companies. UFC 220 marks the first event of 2018 which means the Reebok payouts have changed below. Here’s what all fighters are expected to earn on Saturday: https://twitter.com/jedigoodman/status/953436125443506176

Drake Riggs - January 16, 2018

After suffering a three-fight rough patch in 2016 to early 2017, Ovince Saint Preux has turned things around rather impressively and completely reversed that trend with three straight dominant wins. With all the momentum one could ask for, OSP was all well and ready to carry it over into the new year. OSP is set to take on Ilir Latifi at UFC on Fox 27 this month and…well…according to Saint Preux, Latifi has sustained an injury, therefore, putting him on the search for a new opponent. . @Latifimma is hurt & out of our scrap next Sat in Charlotte, NC #UFConFOX27 who wants to step up and scrap? I’m even open to going up in weight if NO guys in my division will step up? Looking for someone to do what I do: step up and fight… pic.twitter.com/lvznRvE22I

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

It’s 2018 and the other big question in MMA other than wondering just what Conor McGregor will decide to do all surrounds former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The latest news to come out recently was the UFC’s Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky saying he believed Jones was innocent. Once again, the roller coaster goes up again as we learn that he took a lie detector test in an attempt to clear the air about his innocence and passed it. “Last month, Jones took a polygraph test in hopes of proving he is telling the truth when he states he never knowingly took Turinabol, an anabolic steroid, or any other performance-enhancing substance prior to his UFC 214 fight against Daniel Cormier in Anaheim, Calif. Jones passed the test, according to UFC sources. The test was conducted by the PGP Polygraph & Interviewing Service in Albuquerque, N.M. on Dec. 7, sources say. Neither the UFC nor the United States Anti-Doping Agency asked Jones to take the test.” – via a report by MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

The UFC lightweight division has been a mystery wrapped in an enigma basically ever since UFC 205. There’s no clue what multi-millionaire Conor McGregor will do, meanwhile Khabib Nurmagomedov came back with a vengeance and Tony Ferguson won the interim title, only to step on the sidelines for a bit for elbow surgery. Everything was up in the air, until today. Fresh off the heels of a report from Tass.ru that McGregor will supposedly be stripped and the UFC will move on with Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, we have just confirmed the news that is expected to be officially announced at UFC 220. Breaking! I have confirmed with sources that Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight for the undisputed UFC lightweight title at #UFC223 in Brooklyn. The bout will be made official later this week. McGregor will be stripped of his title. The bout was 1st reported by TASS

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Over the last few weeks, we’ve all been wondering what is going to happen at the top of the UFC lightweight division. Will undisputed champion Conor McGregor return? If he does, will he defend his title against interim champion Tony Ferguson or streaking contender Khabib Nurmagomedov? If he doesn’t, will we get Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov? And when, pray tell, will the UFC strip McGregor for inactivity? Indeed, the questions go on and on… According a report from Tass.Ru, we’ll have answers to all our questions soon.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Back in June of 2017, PRIDE legend Wanderlei Silva came up short in his long-awaited Bellator debut, losing a decision to his nemesis Chael Sonnen. Since then, Silva fans have been wondering what – if anything – will come next for the aging legend. While nothing is certain just yet, it seems Silva himself is considering a rematch with the ostensibly retired Chuck Liddell, who he lost a close decision to back in the year 2007. Silva hinted at this possible rematch in a Tuesday post to Instagram.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Mere days after Bellator MMA announced it had added veteran referee “Big” John McCarthy to its broadcast team, the promotion has announced the signing of another big name in sports broadcasting: Jay Glazer. Per a Tuesday press release, Glazer will host the broadcast desk starting with Bellator 192, which airs on the new Paramount Network (formerly Spike) this Saturday, Jan. 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The veteran sports personalty will also appear in original content produced by the promotion’s digital team.

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

LISTEN as @MalloryyMartin dishes out some devastating trash talk during her TKO stoppage! 😨 #noonecansaveyou #InvictaFC27 #UFCFIGHTPASS Video captured by @InvictaFights‘ @frumpycloud Invicta FC 27 Replay 📽️ https://t.co/9MId278IC7 pic.twitter.com/p8ahK8haIe

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

At present, there are two frontrunners in the welterweight contendership race. One is former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, who recently trounced Robbie Lawler. The other is streaking wrestling specialist Colby “Chaos” Covington, who recently thwarted Demian Maia. Both men have a pretty solid case for the next crack at divisional champion Tyron Woodley, but in the opinion of UFC President Dana White, one makes more sense than the other. White cleared up the welterweight contendership picture on Fs1 in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC St. Louis card.

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

Directly after Yoel Romero defeated Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, he was number two in the UFC’s middleweight division and was ready for his title shot. All of the sudden, something happened that we all know too well about. Romero was hit with a violation from USADA. After a long period of ups-and-downs, it was found out and proven to be a tainted supplement. According to a report first released by Forbes, Yoel Romero and his team are now suing the supplement company that caused his anti-doping violation, resulting in a suspension. “[Yoel] Romero, 38, tested positive for Ibutamoren following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 16, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Ibutamoren is a Growth Hormone Secretagogue and a prohibited substance in the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. Following notification of his positive test, Romero provided USADA with access to the dietary supplement products he was using at the time of the relevant sample collection.”

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Last weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s debut in St. Louis, MO, Paige VanZant came up short in her flyweight debut, giving up a decision to Jessica-Rose Clark. While VanZant lost, however, she showed remarkable toughness, surviving three rounds despite sustaining broken arm mid-fight. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, VanZant’s coach Fabiano Scherner explained why he let her continue fighting through this injury, even when she told him about it between rounds.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Back in November, in the first of three title fights on the UFC 217 bill, a widely unheralded Rose Namajunas shocked the world by drubbing Joanna Jedrzejczyk to a first-round knockout win. Since then, the big question has been who Namajunas will fight in her first strawweight title defense.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 220, surging French-Cameroonian sensation Francis Ngannou will get his anticipated crack at Stipe Miocic and the UFC heavyweight title. This title fight will serve as the crescendo of a Ngannou’s rocket-fuelled rise through the UFC ranks. In roughly two years, the hulking knockout artist has evolved from relative unknown to downright MMA star – and he’s already being paid accordingly.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Back in November, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre made a triumphant return to the cage, toppling Michael Bisping to win the UFC middleweight title. Unfortunately for St-Pierre fans, however, this comeback is looking more and more like a one-off. Since then, St-Pierre has vacated the middleweight title, and admitted he’s dealing with ulcerative-colitis. Based on these developments his long time jiu-jitsu coach John Danaher is not optimistic that he’ll ever fight again.

Drake Riggs - January 15, 2018

One of the lightweight division’s biggest dark horses has finally found someone who will fight him. It’s not the top 15 opponent that Mairbek Taisumov was hoping for, but that’s not his fault. As reported by Farah Hannoun, Evan Dunham is up to the task and the fight is expected to happen at UFC 223 on April 7. BREAKING: Evan Dunham (@evandunham155) vs. Mairbek Taisumov (@Taisumov155) in the works for #UFC223 (April 7th) #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/4RASr4K8jP

Drake Riggs - January 15, 2018

Ever since the UFC has brought in USADA to handle their drug testing and help “clean up the sport”, we’ve seen several big stars get busted for performance-enhancing drug use. One of the victims happened to be a former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett who failed a test after his win over Andrei Arlovski in 2016. Barnett hasn’t fought since then and very likely won’t be anytime soon. “The Warmaster” gave us an update when he spoke with MMAJunkie recently: “I end up no matter what at the mercy of USADA and to be honest, I don’t trust them in any way, shape or form. I have no interest to work with them or be a part of their program. I would be willing to do anything else but work with USADA at this point. When you can’t trust someone, what are you supposed to do? Continue to give them the opportunity to break your trust? They don’t seem responsible enough to have oversight over my career.