MMA News

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A key lightweight scrap between top division contenders Edson Barboza and Khabib Nurmagomedov served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 219 fight card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Barboza lands a nasty inside leg kick to start. He lands another. Khabib is applying a lot of pressure trying to prevent Edson from throwing those kicks. “The Eagle” shoots in but Barboza is able to scramble free. Khabib with a right hand as he chases after Edson, he presses Barboza against the fence but cannot secure the takedown. Edson breaks free. He lands a low kick and then a hook. Khabib eats the strikes and continues to press forward. He gets inside and scores a trip takedown. Khabib working from top position now. He lands a big elbow and then some hard punches. Barboza is trying to kick Khabib off of him but it doesn’t work. Another massive shot from Nurmagomedov. He moves to side control and then mount. Barboza is in a bad spot here. Khabib with full mount now. He begins raining down big left hands from the top. He switches to right hands and this is getting ugly quickly. Barboza attempts to scramble but Khabib won’t let him go. More shots from the top by Khabib. He lands a nasty elbo and then works the body. Nurmagomedov with another big punch. He tries to take Edson’s neck but Barboza survives to see round two.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A lightweight scrap between exciting fighters Marc Diakiese and Dan Hooker took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Diakiese quickly takes the center of the octagon. Hooker throws a jab that misses. He circles around the outside. Marc throws a side kick that misses. Both men are very cautious early here. Hooker feints with a low kick. Diakiese throws a side kick to the thigh that lands. Hooker with a low kick and then just misses with a high kick. Marc circles along the fence. He steps in with a side kick that partially connects. Hooker with a right hand and then slips a straight right from Marc. Hooker with a kick to the body and then catches a spinning back kick from Diakiese. Dan is doing an excellent job early here. He lands a crisp jab. Diakiese misses with a low kick. Hooker connects with one of his own. Marc circles and then lands a nice switch kick. One minute remains in round one. Hooker throws a low kick but Diakiese catches it and then lands a low kick of his own. Hooker leaps in with a nice body kick. Diakiese attempts to shoot for a takedown but Hooker sweeps him and winds up in top position. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A key women’s strawweight scrap between surging contender Cynthia Calvillo and former champion Carla Esparza took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Esparza rushes in and lands a nice right hand over the top. Both women are swinging wildly early on here. Both ladies connect with right hands. Esparza scores with a hard low kick and then circles out. Calvillo leaps in and scores with a double leg takedown. She immediately moves to half guard and begins working some short shots. Esparza is throwing more from her back at the moment but Cynthia is working on trying to advance her position. Esparza is able to get back to full guard and then throws up an armbar attempt. Calvillo could be in trouble here. Esparza cranks the hold but Cynthia moves and breaks free. Calvillo instantly passes to side control and begins working some elbows. Still, Esparza continues to land a lot of shots from her back. Calvillo moves to mount and then tries to take the back. Esparza scrambles and winds up in top position. She lands a couple of shots before the horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A welterweight scrap between former interim title holder Carlos Condit and perennial contender Neil Magny kicked off tonight’s UFC 219 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Magny comes forward quickly. Condit catches him with a nice leg kick. Carlos attempts a head kick but it misses the mark. Condit lands a leg kick but Magny catches it and forces Carlos to the ground. Condit immediately rolls for a knee and tries to scramble back up to his feet. Neil prevents Condit from getting up and takes full guard. Condit quickly scrambles to his feet but Magny immediately drags him back to the floor. Another scramble and Condit is back up. He presses Magny against the cage and lands a knee. The fighters break and Condit throws another kick. Once again Magny catches it but this time he cannot use the limb to score a takedown. Neil wth a nice jab. Under two minutes remain. Condit misses with a combination. He lands an outside low kick. Magny just misses with a straight right hand. Condit circles out. He is having a hard time finding his rang here. Magny with a nice jab to the body. Condit leaps in with a combination. Magny avoids any significant strikes and dives in on a single leg. Condit avoids the takedown attempt and circles out. Condit with a nice left hand and then a body kick. “The Natural Born Killer” lands a spinning back kick. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

It appears that plans for a super fight between UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and T.J. Dillashaw are officially underway. Earlier tonight the UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was live streaming on Twitch when a conversation between UFC executives was recorded that appears to detail promotional plans for a “Mighty Mouse” vs. Dillashaw super fight.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Omari Akhmedov and Marvin Vettori took place during tonight’s UFC 219 prelims from Las Vegas. Round one begins and Akhmedov lands a hard inside low kick to start. Marvin presses forward. He briefly switches his stances and then misses with a jab. Another low kick from Omari. Vettori replies with a hard body kick. Omari did not like that. Akhmedov presses forward and then misses with a wild right hand. Vettori with a nice knee followed by a right. Omari catches him with a counter left hook. That seems to have stunned the Italian who is now on the retreat. Omari with another big hook. He misses with a follow up uppercut. Vettori is backed up against the fence. He desperately shoots in for a takedown but it is not there. Marvin is finally able to circle out. He lands a low kick. Omari replies with a big right hook. Marvin side steps and then lands a knee. He follows that up with a nice jab. Omari charges forward and unleashes some uppercuts. He throws everything with full power. Omari shoots in for a takedown. Vettori is able to defend the shot. Akhmedov misses with a pair of right hands. Vettori lands an inside low kick. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A flyweight scrap between Matheus Nicolau and Louis Smolka kicked off tonight’s UFC 219 prelims on FS1 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Smolka lands a good kick to the body. Matheus steps into the pocket and lands a heavy left hook. Smolka circles out and then comes forward with a jab. Nicolau counters with a nice right hand over the top. Smolka responds with an uppercut and then a hard kick to the body. Matheus circles out and then leaps in with a left hook that sends Smolka crashing to the canvas. Nicolau immediately jumps on the Hawaiian with some heavy punches. Smolka scrambles but Matheus winds up in full guard. After another scramble Smolka is back to his feet. Once again Nicolau lands a leaping left that floors Smolka. This time Matheus follows Louis to the ground and locks in an arm triangle choke. Somehow Smolka is able to escape and get back to his feet. Nicolau with another big left hook followed by some body shots. Smolka attempts to circle out but gets dropped from another hard left hook. Nicolau jumps on Smolka but winds up in an armbar. The horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A bantamweight scrap between former flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott and UFC newcomer Mark Delarosa kicked off tonight’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Elliott presses forward quickly. Mark grabs a hold of his neck and drops for a guillotine. Elliott is able to escape and winds up in side control. He drops down a hammer fist. Delarosa rolls and throws up and armbar attempt. It looks deep. Tim is in some trouble here. Elliott is able to step over and escape. Mark attempts to scramble up but gives up his back to Elliott. Tim drops down some big shots from the position. Delarosa rolls and winds upon the bottom with Elliott in full guard. More shots from Elliott now. He grabs a hold of guillotine choke and proceeds to move to full mount position. Somehow Mark escapes the submission attempt and winds up back in half guard. Another scramble and round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

Earlier today rumors surfaced that former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn would be returning to the octagon this February to battle promotional newcomer Suman Mokhtarian at UFC 221. If this poster is real or not, doesn't matter. @Suman_att will be the talk leading up to #UFC219 & BJ Penn is probably somewhere thinking do I got a fight in Perth. #postergate #MMA pic.twitter.com/BLtJ8PvHb8

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

Whether you’re working in MMA media or just a fan, fights can be stressful. We always have our favorites and we all get invested. It’s easy to log on to Twitter and talk as much (or more) trash to ‘haters’ of the fighter we root for, spouting off encyclopedic facts or quality of opponents and skill clashes. Now imagine that you’re in a relationship with one of those fighters. Not just in any organization, but fighting in the co-main event sport for a UFC pay-per-view. Bruna Barboza, Edson Barboza’s wife, recently gave some candid insight into what that is like. “[Edson Barboza]’s unbearable when he’s cutting weight [laughs]. Before we had [our son] Noah, I used to go with him to every fight. We flew on a Tuesday and he didn’t eat anything before the fight. We wouldn’t talk because he was unbearable. One day I ate a cereal bar and he said, ‘Why are you eating this in front of me? Are you trying to piss me off?’ Imagine if I was eating a brownie [laughs]. I can’t speak with him on fight week, not even a ‘hi’ or ‘good morning. I don’t watch the fight if I don’t go to the arena because I think it’s horrible. I don’t know what will happen, if he’s going to get hurt, and I won’t be there to help.”

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

Fans spent a year and a half screaming at their televisions and rubbing their thumbs raw, fighting their friends and random strangers on the internet in EA Sports UFC 2. Even Demetrious Johnson got in on the fun against his Mighty Squad, Rampage Jackson and Max Holloway. For mixed martial gamers wanting a new experience, EA Sports UFC 3 drops in February and boasts tons of new features along with their updated roster. One of these updates is a completely new career mode. It’s no longer just about getting a belt, you’re trying to become the greatest of all time. “What was missing in ‘EA UFC 2’ was a sense of, ‘When am I done? When have I beat the game?’ We now have a bar that determines your G.O.A.T status. The objective of career mode is to become the Greatest of All Time, and to do that you have to accomplish a certain amount based on long-term goals. You can do well in the octagon, but if no one pays attention to your fights are cares about you, you’re only going to make it so far.”

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

When the UFC released a video about Max ‘Blue Carnage’ Carlyle, needless to say that a lot of people were confused. We learned about Carlyle’s struggles and his journey to achieve his dream of becoming the first Orc to ever fight in the Octagon. Dana White dismissed the idea that his kind would ever step foot into the UFC, much like he did when asked if women would ever fight for the organization.  Of course, all of this ended up being an elaborate tie-in to Will Smith’s new film Bright which debuted on Netflix. The teaser promised we’d see the rest of the story and today the conclusion dropped. Watch me face off with @travisbrowneMMA 12/30. Only on @UFC. pic.twitter.com/RyERr65R1g

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

Stipe Miocic is about to step into the Octagon with a force that the UFC is hyping more than any other heavyweight since Brock Lesnar. After a devastating knockout of Alistair Overeem, the promotional power seems to be warranted. The UFC has found the beast it has been looking for and they needed it, especially with Cain Velasquez being out and Miocic beating everyone else. Perhaps this is the reason why Miocic just doesn’t seem intimidated by Francis Ngannou. That and the fact he runs into burning buildings when he’s not fighting the Earth’s baddest men. “This is what I signed up for. Why would I be intimidated by another man? Good for [Francis Ngannou]. Let him get all the hype he wants. I’m going to do what I do and keep winning.” Francis is an amazing fighter. Him starting in so fast. He’s got great power, he’s very athletic. He’s a big heavyweight. He’s definitely showing it and that’s why he’s here. I think everyone [wants to see another knockout by Ngannou] but that ain’t gonna happen. He can do it to someone else, but it ain’t gonna happen to me. I’m the underdog. What do you expect? That’s what the betting line says, right? But I like being underdog because I shut people up.” — Stipe Miocic at the UFC 220 press conference.

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

Daniel Cormier and Volkan Oezdemir stared down for the first time yesterday for their upcoming fight at UFC 220. While a couple of mild verbal jabs haven hit social media and while they were on the stage for the press conference, mostly it’s been pretty quiet as far as fight hype goes. However, after the presser, Oezdemir decided to take to Twitter and get things really started with the UFC light heavyweight champion. Daniel Cormier fired back while somehow incorporating his Game of Thrones fandom as well. …That’s impressive. When you already know what’s going to happen but you let him talk… #enjoyyourlast3weeks #ufc220 pic.twitter.com/0BgGtje11N

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

From transitioning into a MMA by fighting, to being brought on to help with ZRUFFA Boxing, there has been ton of rumors flying around about Floyd Mayweather joining forces with the UFC. These rumors didn’t get born on some forums or on Twitter, this info came straight from Dana White’s mouth. It’s info that Mayweather wants stopped. He’s come out against it once, now he’s flat-out accusing White of just bringing up his name to leverage a better TV deal now that their time at FOX is ending. “Their deal with Fox is coming to an end. So, they’re trying to renew a new deal with any company what better name could they use than Floyd Mayweather? Because that’s a great name to use. I would use a Floyd Mayweather so I could leverage also and say, ‘You know what? Floyd’s gonna come back, he’s going to fight in the UFC. Floyd’s gonna come back and he’s gonna fight McGregor in the Octagon.’ So they can leverage and get another big deal. I don’t have anything against Dana White. At all. He’s a remarkable guy, a very, very smart guy. Smart business man. I don’t need to fight again. If I chose to fight in the Octagon, I’m choosing to fight in the Octagon because that’s what I want to do.”

Drake Riggs - December 29, 2017

UFC 219 is tomorrow! Which means we got the weigh-ins today. Check out all the fighters making weight and their stare downs at the ceremonial weigh-ins.

Drake Riggs - December 29, 2017

UFC Fight Night 123 in Fresno was the last California event hosted by the UFC. It featured top Featherweights Cub Swanson and Brian Ortega going at it in the main event. Along with those two, we got a quick turn around from Marlon Moraes who filled in against Aljamain Sterling and only needed just over a minute to put away the Serra-Longo product with a devastating knee. According to MMA Fighting, Moraes was flagged by California State Athletic Commission doctors after the fight day weigh where he came in well over the commission regulations that state to be within ten percent of the contracted weight(135 lbs for Moraes). But Moraes wasn’t the only one flagged from UFC Fresno. Two of the three other fighters who were notified about being wanted to move up a division were also Bantamweights in Luke Sanders and Iuri Alcantara(who both lost). The other being Lightweight, Davi Ramos who defeated Chris Gruetzmacher.

Drake Riggs - December 29, 2017

UFC on Fox 28 in Orlando, Florida just keeps getting better and better. A top Middleweight matchup has been reported by the Orlando Sentinel. Making his return for the first time since losing his interim title fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC 213, Yoel Romero will take on former WSOF Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champion, David Branch. UFC on Fox 28 takes place on February 24!