MMA News

Justin Golightly - December 6, 2017

We are all still catching our breath from UFC 218 as we land in the middle of yet another fight week. That Detroit card is one of those line-ups of fights where you lose your voice from screaming and your legs are sore the next day from jumping on and off the couch reacting to the action. Nothing can compare to the undisputed king of reactions, Joey Diaz though. On Sunday, Diaz took to Periscope to give his reaction to the fight and it didn’t disappoint. You may want to make sure there are no children in the room when you blast this spirited review. “The fights were tremendous last night. I just want to give my f-cking shout out to my man Mr. [Eddie] Alvarez. I didn’t think he could do it, but he f-cking did it. That Jason Strahan [Justin Gaethje] dude is the f-cking – what’s his name? Jason Gadahoop, whatever – He’s a f-cking savage with heart. [Alistair] Overeem? That Magoomba – whatever his name is – Ngaio? Let me tell you something, I don’t even want [Francis Ngannou] blowing out the candles at my birthday party. Next thing you know, the cake is all over the f-cking place, you follow me?”

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2017

Tuesday marked the 43rd birthday of Vitor Belfort’s sister Priscila, who went missing in the year 2004. Over the years, several arrests have been made with respect to Priscila Belfort’s tragic disappearance, but she was never found. Unsurprisingly, the pain of this loss is still incredibly close for Vitor Belfort and his family. On Tuesday afternoon, the former UFC champion and long-time middleweight contender penned an open letter to his missing sister, and it is absolutely heartbreaking.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2017

Last weekend, on the main card of UFC 218, former UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez solidified himself as MMA’s true King of Violence by knocking out another frontrunner for that lofty title, Justin Gaethje. This win over Gaethje marked the second last obligation on Alvarez’s current UFC contract. Whatever the future holds, Alvarez is hoping the UFC will give him a “big, mega-fight” for the last fight on his contract.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2017

In September of 2016, pro wrestling legend CM Punk stepped into the UFC’s Octagon to battle red hot prospect Mickey Gall. At the time of this fight, Punk had almost nothing in the way of martial arts experience, and yet somehow, we were all compelled to watch his pro debut anyway. In the end, Punk’s debut went the way most expected, as he was blown out of the water by Gall, and submitted in the first frame. That said, the wrestler did managed to earn the respect of the MMA community, showing off guts and heart abound in his first pro bout.

Russell Ess - December 5, 2017

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor was seen on the red carpet in London on Monday attending the annual Fashion Awards, which was held at the Royal Albert Hall. McGregor was seen in attendance with Donatella Versace who was honored at the awards, along with four-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, model and actress Jourdan Dunn, model Irina Shayk, and singer Rita Ora.

Justin Golightly - December 5, 2017

A torch seemed to have passed at UFC 218. Jose Aldo was beaten for the second time by Max Holloway, which is the first time anyone has ever fought and won against Aldo back-to-back. While only one of them can wear the belt, both have displayed championship class throughout the fallout of their sophomore encounter. Aside from a touching photo with a fan after the fight, we haven’t seen the former featherweight king since Saturday, but he’s finally broken his silence with an inspiring message after his loss. Só tenho que agradecer por tudo a minha família que eu amo, minha equipe, melhor do mundo “Nova Uniao” por me fazer grande e campeão aos amigos e fans que sempre estão comigo, muito obrigado a todos!! Serei sempre otimista, pois acreditar é o primeiro passo para fazer acontecer.

Justin Golightly - December 5, 2017

Everyone wrote Darren Till off when he was pitted against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC Gdansk, but he silenced the critics by finishing the UFC veteran in the first round. Since then though, there had been nothing but confusion amidst the swelling hype. He was slated to fight Stephen Thompson in an Orlando, Florida card that Dana White was switching to England, but that turned out to be a no-go. After that, there were talks of Kamaru Usman which led to nowhere. At this point, Till just wants to put his hands on another top welterweight and isn’t scared of whoever is lucky — or unlucky — enough to be chosen. “Next year, whether it be March or what in London, I’d like the UFC to just give me the hardest fights in the welterweight division. People say that I’m just striker, but if you see my come up against a grappler, you are going to see my grappling skills. I shrugged off Donald Cerrone’s takedowns off like they were nothing. I’m pretty sure I’m going to do that with another high level grappler. I’m not scared of anyone. Anyone in the top-10 or anyone even outside of the top-10.”

Justin Golightly - December 5, 2017

#OnThisDay in 2009, Kimbo Slice made his UFC debut. pic.twitter.com/dieVLe1pbY — UFC (@ufc) December 5, 2017

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

Having knocked Alistair Overeem’s head into orbit in the co-main event of last Saturday’s stacked UFC 218 card, French-Cameroonian slugger Francis Ngannou is now the number one contender in the perilous UFC heavyweight division. He is expected to battle the division’s apex predator, Stipe Miocic, sometime in the next few months – perhaps even as soon as UFC 220, which goes down on January 20 in Boston. Whenever Ngannou’s fight with Miocic occurs, he’s confident that he’ll come out on top – and that the judges won’t be needed.

Justin Golightly - December 5, 2017

When Max Holloway told us this was the ‘Blessed Era’, he wasn’t just talking, everything he’s done up until this point has been an effort to prove it. How can you not respect this guy? He stacked up a ridiculous winning streak before culminating his journey by beating Jose Aldo for the undisputed featherweight title. After all of that, he turned around and beat him once again and has shown nothing but incredible respect. He’s the only person ever to beat Jose Aldo back-to-back, but that’s just a tiny excerpt in a long list of career achievements  

Russell Ess - December 5, 2017

Max Holloway didn’t blink twice to give Jose Aldo an immediate rematch after his originally scheduled UFC 218 featherweight title fight matchup with Frankie Edgar fell through. Holloway repeated his success against Aldo in their rematch over the weekend in nearly the same fashion, finishing who he considers one of the greatest fighters of all time in the third round once again.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

Though UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley was briefly linked to a UFC 219 super fight with Nate Diaz, this bout ultimately fell through. With this blockbuster battle off the table, Woodley shared his plan to undergo a long overdue shoulder surgery to repair a nagging injury. From the sounds of it, though, the champ is re-considering. Speaking to the media during last weekend’s UFC 218 festivities, the champ shared his belief that the UFC might need him in the coming months, and announced that he’s thinking about putting his shoulder surgery off.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

In preparation for her UFC 219 title defense against former UFC bantamweight champ Holly Holm, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has been working on her hands with pro boxing legend Cecilia Braekhus.

Justin Golightly - December 5, 2017

The fallout from the UFC 218 chaos is still growing as the lightweight division is shaken up by former champion Eddie Alvarez, as featherweight settles in with its new king. While Max Holloway’s last win over Jose Aldo felt like an upset, this rematch felt like a complete passing of the torch. The Hawaiian champion has been all class speaking about his victory, but there was a long moment in the Octagon that night which was really special that many missed. “I heard his motivation for this fight with Jose Aldo, and his motivation was cause of his daughter and you know, I get it. I’m a parent just like him and I respect that. That guy’s a GOAT. He shouldn’t be feeling like he owes anybody anything. In Brazil — in the favelas — the whole Brazil should celebrate him and they should start making statues of the guy.”

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

After penning a tell-all piece for the publication Players Voice, in which he admitted to many of the symptoms of brain injury, UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt was plucked from a planned bout with Marcin Tybura, and shelved indefinitely by the UFC. The plan, the organization revealed, was to have Hunt undergo extensive testing before allowing him to return to the cage. According to a report from The Daily Telegraph, Hunt’s test results are in, and they’re good. This report, which sites a Tuesday conference call with specialists from the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, claims Hunt has been declared fit to continue competing. Hunt’s manager subsequently confirmed this news.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

Though the fight itself is not confirmed just yet, the early odds for UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic’s fight with surging contender Francis Ngannou have been released – and they’re pretty surprising. Though Stipe Miocic has already established himself as one of the most impressive heavyweight champions in UFC history, he has actually opened as the underdog against the streaking Francis Ngannou.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2017

Now that Georges St-Pierre is the UFC middleweight champion, the big question is, who does he fight next? Though interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker would seem to be the most logical choice, St-Pierre also has options outside the middleweight division, such as UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor. Whatever the case, all the confusion surrounding St-Pierre has got former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold pretty aggravated. In his opinion, St-Pierre needs to make his intentions clear, or get drop the title altogether.

Russell Ess - December 4, 2017

Although the future of Conor McGregor’s fighting career is uncertain, one thing for sure is that the current UFC lightweight champion is still making headlines in the media. Recently, “The Notorious” has had some interesting stories surrounding him. From a Bellator scuffle with a referee and Bellator staff member, rumored stories of a bar fight involving a cartel associate, to a recent courthouse appearance that had a judge livid with his tardiness, McGregor has been living up to his “Notorious” nickname.