MMA News

Russell Sai - January 8, 2018

It looks like UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will return to defend his featherweight title at UFC 222, which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 3. According to a report by MMA Junkie’s Simon Samano, Holloway is set to take on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. MMA Junkie reported that a “person with knowledge of the situation” asked to remain anonymous with the UFC having yet to announce the fight.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, fan favorite UFC welterweight “Platinum” Mike Perry announced that he’ll return to the cage when the UFC touches down in Orlando on February 4. That said, he would not divulge the name of his opponent, admitting only that it’s somebody Colby Covington has fought. From there, we all began frantically examining Covington’s record, trying to narrow down the possible options. While most fans and pundits suspected former Covington opponents Max Griffin and Mike Pyle, it was hard to say for sure.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

Earlier this month, we learned that respected MMA commentator Jimmy Smith had left his long-time home of Bellator. From there, buzz immediately began to surface about his possible move to the UFC. UFC commentator Joe Rogan even sang Smith’s praises, encouraging the promotion to pick him up. “You f**ked up, Bellator,” Rogan said on his MMA Show. “You f**cked up. I’ve been telling everybody that Jimmy Smith’s the best out there and you let him go. That’s a huge error on their part. I would be thrilled if somehow or another they were able to work it out where Jimmy Smith was at the UFC. That would be what I would like to see.”

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

Late last week, former World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion and surging UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes Tweeted out a signed contract for a bout agreement with fellow contender Jimmie Rivera. Here you go @JimmieRivera135 I signed my bout agreement. @ufc on fox. I also agreed to fight you on march 3rd choose what day you want me to beat your ass B-I-T-C-H @seanshelby @danawhite @AliAbdelaziz00 pic.twitter.com/nrU8WTjacF

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

The people of Ireland I love you 🍀❤ A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Jan 8, 2018 at 12:46am PST

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

Arguably the biggest fight on the horizon at present will occur in the main event of UFC 220 on January 20, when Stipe Miocic attempts a record-breaking third-straight defense of the UFC heavyweight title opposite Francis Ngannou, a true force of destruction widely regarded as the next big thing in MMA. While Miocic stands to become the most dominant heavyweight champion in UFC history on this card, he’s actually been pegged as the underdog against the ferocious Ngannou. In the opinion of MMA analyst and Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix contestant Chael Sonnen, however, this is a mistake.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

For POLAND🇵🇱 For the @ufc Family☝🏼 For all of YOU🌎 🔥#OlympicTorchRelay 🇰🇷 @pyeongchang2018 👸🏻#joannajedrzejczyk #JJ #Korea #OlympicTorch #OlympicFlame A post shared by Joanna Jedrzejczyk (@joannajedrzejczyk) on Jan 7, 2018 at 6:19pm PST

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

Ever since UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor came up short against Floyd Mayweather Jr.in the boxing ring earlier this year, we’ve been wondering what his next move will be. While that next move is still very much up in the air, his coach John Kavanagh is hoping it’s a return to the UFC’s Octagon – not the boxing ring. “I’m just happy to see him back, just regular training,” Kavanagh said in an interview with BBC Sport (h/t MMAFighting.com), referencing Conor McGregor’s return to MMA training “He had a lot going on in his life. A lot of stuff outside of fighting was going on in his life and he seems to be getting the hang of all that. Now he’s back training almost every day now and I think 2018 will be another big year for us. Exactly what that is, I don’t know yet, but the plan is forming. Stay tuned.”

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

Dustin Poirier has been angling for a big fight for some time. Unfortunately, he’s had a very difficult time finding a willing dance partner. His priority, of course, has been a rematch with former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who he battled to a disappointing No Contest last May. At present, however, Alvarez is riding high off a huge win over Justin Gaethje, and as such, doesn’t seem interested in getting back in there with Poirier just yet.

Chris Taylor - January 7, 2018

Francis Ngannou: Knockouts To Inspire – UFC 220 Documentary In the above video, MMANytt‘s Jim Edwards takes a trip to France for an in-depth interview with surging UFC heavyweight contender Francis “The Predator” Ngannou.

Chris Taylor - January 7, 2018

Despite being on a three-fight losing skid, former UFC title challenger Donald Cerrone will headline February’s UFC Fight Night 126 event in Austin opposite surging welterweight contender Yancy Medeiros. After falling short in his bid for the UFC lightweight title against Rafael dos Anjos in December of 2015, Donald Cerrone opted to move up to the promotions welterweight division (170-pounds).

Chris Taylor - January 7, 2018

Rose Namajunas wants “the scariest person” for her first title defense. “Thug Rose” shocked the mixed martials arts world at November’s UFC 217 event in New York when she scored a brutal first-round knockout victory over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, thus claiming the UFC’s coveted strawweight championship.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion and bona fide MMA legend Anderson Silva is currently under the USADA microscope for a failed October drug test, and could well end up on the bench with a lengthy suspension as a result. Despite this unfortunate twist, the 42-year-old assures his passion for fighting is still strong, and that his career is “not over yet.” Silva made these claims in a Sunday morning post to Instagram. See it below.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

Ever since he won the UFC interim lightweight title with a submission of Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson has been vocal in his belief that undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor should either defend his title, or vacate it. Really, the interim champ rarely goes more than a few hours without using his patented #DefendOrVacate hashtag on Twitter “All Clear & Ready To Rock” Doc Cleared Me To Start Training & Sparring 💎💎💎 Fuck Yeah 2018 #DefefdorVacate #AndTheNew #TonyFergusonMMA SnapJitsu™ My Mat. #Back2Work – Thee Champ 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/Rbz7mRkgWS

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

Be ready! Forget WuTang…#CyborgNation is nothing to mess with! @parilloboxing heeeeey! ========================== Antes da guerra!!!!! Já faz um tempo que é assim.. mas só dessa vez filmaram! Heyy só pra checar se o espírito não fugiu kkkk! A post shared by CRIS CYBORG 🇧🇷★ #ufc219 (@criscyborg) on Jan 6, 2018 at 7:46pm PST

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

On Saturday, surging UFC bantamweight contender and former World Series of Fighting champion Marlon Moraes took to Twitter to share a signed bout agreement for a fight with fellow contender Jimmie Rivera. Here you go @JimmieRivera135 I signed my bout agreement. @ufc on fox. I also agreed to fight you on march 3rd choose what day you want me to beat your ass B-I-T-C-H @seanshelby @danawhite @AliAbdelaziz00 pic.twitter.com/nrU8WTjacF

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

Last month, in the main event of UFC on Fox 26, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos picked up one of the best wins of his already impressive career, defeating Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision. In the eyes of many fans, this win was enough to earn dos Anjos a fight with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Woodley himself, however, doesn’t share this opinion. “Was it a good performance?” Woodley recently told MMAFighting. “If I had Robbie Lawler against the Octagon like [dos Anjos did], would he have been alive or would he have been knocked the f*ck out? He’d have been knocked out.”

Chris Taylor - January 6, 2018

Conor McGregor’s coach responds to Tony Ferguson’s “defend or vacate” request! Since claiming the promotions interim lightweight title by submitting Kevin Lee at UFC 216, Tony Ferguson has been busy campaigning for Conor McGregor to defend or vacate his lightweight strap.