MMA News

Drake Riggs - January 2, 2018

If you haven’t been following the women’s scene in Mixed Martial Arts consistently for the past two decades, then you probably aren’t likely to know who Tara LaRosa is. Perhaps you may have watched season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter which was the first season to ever feature female fighters. LaRosa attempted to get onto the show but fell short in the elimination round to current UFC Bantamweight, Sarah Moras. LaRosa is about as seasoned of a fighter as one can be. Especially when it comes to the women. She’s been fighting since 2002 and her next opponent…literally hasn’t been fighting for any time ever(unless you count his surely incredible street fighting record). A man by the name of Kristopher Zylinski has made claims on a public article that a trained female fighter would lose to an untrained man if they were to fight. Well…he’s not the first one to do so, that’s a guarantee. But, luckily(or unluckily), Zylinkski has been man enough to actually accept to prove this challenge as offered up by the McDojoLife.

Drake Riggs - January 2, 2018

There hasn’t been a more hated man in MMA than Mark Aragon since UFC 219 came to a close… Aragon is the photographer for the JacksonWink MMA gym and after the UFC 219 main event that saw their fighter, Holly Holm lose to the champion, Cris Cyborg, he posted a rather offensive post on Instagram that upset Cyborg as well as many others on both sides of the subject and fans alike. But today the UFC released a statement that Aragon would no longer be allowed into UFC events(according to MMAFighting).

Drake Riggs - January 2, 2018

We’ve seen it on a few occasions where NFL players have made the transition from the top American football league to the world of MMA, for better and for worse results. Most recently, former defensive end for the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, Greg Hardy has made the leap over and quickly found success. Hardy is undefeated at 2-0 with both of his wins coming by way of knockout(both under a minute and thirty-six seconds). Hardy is only twenty-nine years old but played six seasons in the NFL(although one of those seasons he only played one game in due to getting suspended for his domestic violence case). Now, MMAFighting reports that he is set to for his biggest fight on his biggest stage so far when he takes on the 2-1, Ryan Chester at Legacy Fighting Alliance(LFA) 33 on February 16 in his third amateur Heavyweight bout.

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

He’s back and everyone is terrified. Khabib Nurmagomedov made weight with no problems and went in there to take on arguably his biggest challenge yet in Edson Barboza. His performance was as dominant as any other fight he’s had. Against Michael Johnson, against former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, it doesn’t matter, so far Nurmagomedov has done whatever he wanted to his opponents. On Joe Rogan’s MMA Show today, Rogan and new free broadcasting agent Jimmy Smith talked about how much of a beast Nurmagomedov is. “[Khabib] Nurmagomedov just mauled [Edson Barboza]. Mauled him. I mean, mauled him in a way that you go, ‘Oh God.’ He’s just on such another level that the odds of you beating him drop so substantially after the first minute and a half. After you get – you saw the look on Barboza’s face there’s like, two minutes plus into the first round and he’s trying to get up. You see the look on his face and he’s like, ‘F-ck, how am I going to deal with this?’ Like, this is so next level.” — Joe Rogan today on his MMA Show.

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

Throwback to 2015 when Conor McGregor predicted that Khabib Nurmagomedov would one day have the Lightweight title. pic.twitter.com/pzJT9U6WoR — UFC India (@UFCIndia) December 31, 2017

Russell Sai - January 2, 2018

Conor McGregor was described as “obsessed” after he lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. Coach John Kavanagh even mentioned that the loss to Diaz stung much worse for the current UFC lightweight champion than the Mayweather loss did. However, according to Dana White, the loss to Mayweather seems to be growing on “The Notorious.” “Conor wants that fight again really bad,” White said recently on FS1 (transcribed by Damon Martin for MMA Weekly). “I told Conor what you did was amazing. I was sitting there with my partner Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I kept saying, ‘Oh my god, we found this kid in Ireland four years ago. He’s going into the sixth round with Floyd Mayweather. He’s going into the seventh round with Floyd Mayweather.’

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

Now that UFC 219 is in the rear-view mirror, the UFC has updated its official rankings to reflect the results of the card. The most notable changes to the UFC rankings occured on the pound-for-pound list, where Khabib Nurmagomedov made his long-awaited debut, a distinction he earned by pounding Edson Barboza into applesauce in the UFC 219 co-main event. UFC 219 main event winner Cris Cyborg also moved up the list in the wake of her thrilling victory of Holly Holm, while Georges St-Pierre and Conor McGregor arbitrarily switched spots on the pound-for-pound list, despite the fact that neither has competed in recent weeks.

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

UFC flyweight champ @MightyMouseUFC addresses recent rumors of him fighting T.J. Dillashaw that came out of Twitch stream. Watch #TheMMAHour LIVE: https://t.co/7soW7KTArj pic.twitter.com/iG6T44Qqiy — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 2, 2018

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

If there is one guy that you don’t want mad at you, it’s Mirko Cro Cop or else you’ll find out firsthand the meaning behind his right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery motto. He’s an absolute legend in the sport and has accomplished insane things in his storied career, but he’s still not done just yet. Fresh off his win on New Year’s Eve over Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, he moves on to an apparent beef with Joe Rogan over some comments on his podcast. While the video which is not in English was translated by translated by Darsus on Reddit, we have been provided with another translation by Roko Skender of the Perth Titans, a group of MMA enthusiasts who are involved at a community level helping youth and disadvantaged kids. “I’ll tell you when [I will go on Joe Rogan’s podcast], and sorry for this phrase but you’ll see me on Joe Rogan’s podcast when my dick grows legs because Joe Rogan upset me. You know what, he is rude. He’s really rude. He started on me so many times, you know. He starts talking and it always begins with something positive, which should be the case, something positive about my career, and then he starts gossiping. He first spreads stories that I carried millions of dollars in a suitcase, which is physically impossible.”

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

On January 14, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated stop in St. Louis, MO, “The Korean Superboy” Doo Ho Choi will make his long-awaited return to the cage. His opponent will be a fellow knockout artist in long-time featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens. This bout will mark Choi’s first steps into the Octagon in over a year, as he’s been on the sidelines since he came up short in arguably the greatest fight in UFC history, a December 2016 slugfest with Cub Swanson.

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

The accomplishments of Jose Aldo speak for themselves. For a decade, he reigned supreme over the featherweight division; through the WEC, the UFC, and the entire world. Much like the pioneers of BJ Penn and Jens Pulver before him did with lightweight, he put the 145-pound class on the map and made people tune in to see his dominance, frightening speed and crushing leg kicks. After such a long time at the top, and losing his title twice, Aldo is finally wanting to part ways with the UFC according to his coach Andres Pederneiras. “We’re still talking to see how much [Jose Aldo] wants to keep fighting or not. I think Aldo’s career is a career that nobody can talk badly about. He can do whatever he wants. To retire, to continue, to make a superfight. He is thinking. He is a guy who has managed to make a lot of money over the course of his career and he can retire today without depending on anyone. He will never go hungry in his life. He invested his money, he knew how to save it. I’ve never heard him talk about stopping. I think Aldo has been at it for a long time, in a very continuous time. I think Aldo could take a vacation and feel that motivation to return. I already talked to him, but he wants to end the UFC contract as soon as possible.”

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

Over the weekend, in the co-main event of the stacked UFC 219, Dagestani lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up yet another dominant win, violating the dangerous Edson Barboza for three, lopsided rounds, and ultimately capturing a clear unanimous decision. With this win, Nurmagomedov stands out as the clear-cut number one contender in the UFC lightweight division. The big question is whether his long-awaited title shot will come against undisputed champion Conor McGregor or interim champion Tony Ferguson. 

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

Former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle Waterson started the year 2017 as one of the hottest contenders in the UFC strawweight division. Regrettably, the year did not unfurl the way she planned. First, she came up short to new champion Rose Namajunas, succumbing to a second-round rear-naked choke after being dropped by a head kick. Next, she lost a decision to Tecia Torres, closing out the year with a tough 0-2 mark in the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

Back in November of 2016, on the undercard of UFC 205, Khabib Nurmagomedov stepped into the Octagon with the dangerous Michael Johnson. Nurmagomedov would dominate this fight, bludgeoning his bewildered foe to a third-round submission win. While Nurmagomedov’s dominance against Johnson generated plenty of headlines on its own, he also produced some serious buzz by engaging in a pretty long-winded conversation with both Johnson and UFC President Dana White during the fight.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate has some big, big news. Now that her fighting career has drawn to a close, she’s opening an exciting new chapter –  as a mother. On Monday morning, the former champ announced this exciting news in a post to Facebook, asking that the fans and media respect the privacy of her and dad-to-be Johnny.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2018

Last weekend on the undercard of UFC 219, Italian middleweight prospect Marvin Vettori stepped into the Octagon with Dagestan’s Omari Akhmedov. The pair’s was a rousing, back and forth affair, during which both men enjoyed major moments of success, and in the end, the competitive nature of the this thrilling battle manifested itself in a majority draw.

Drake Riggs - January 1, 2018

A lot of controversy has followed the UFC 219 headliner between UFC Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, and challenger, Holly Holm. But not for any fight-related reasons. But instead for comments made by one of the JacksonWink MMA gym photographers after the fight. In case you missed the comments they can be seen below.

Drake Riggs - January 1, 2018

2017 has come and gone and it has left us with some truly incredible moments and some rather mindblowing stories. Heading into the new year, who knows what we can expect…there’s never a dull moment in the MMA world. What we do know for sure is that the year will be kicking things off with a bang in it’s first month so let’s take a look at the top 5 fights scheduled for January 2018!