MMA News

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2017

Over the weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, former UFC heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum picked up yet another big win, out-pointing rising Polish contender Marcin Tybura. With this win, Werdum extended his current win-streak to two, and his opinion, earned himself another shot at the UFC heavyweight title. “I feel for sure I deserve it,” Werdum told MMAjunkie at the UFC Sydney post-fight press conference. “It’s not just now for this fight and my last fight. I’ve beat a lot of guys – Fedor Emelianenko, Cain Velasquez, Minotauro (Nogueira). I have a history. For 20 years I’ve been fighting. Not just now. I have two belts in my home. Only one fighter in the world is a jiu-jitsu champion, a submission champion and a UFC champion. It’s me.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2017

Though UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley’s possible scrap with Nate Diaz seems to have lost some steam, Woodley himself is still fired about about this prospective showdown, and believes it could still happen. “I’m fired up about people that tell you ‘Don’t be scared, homie,’ and then they’re scared, homie! That’s what I’m fired up about,” Woodley said on The Hollywood Beatdown (h/t MMAFighting).

Chris Taylor - November 19, 2017

Volkan Oezdemir’s camp issues a statement following his recent arrest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Earlier today it was reported that the light heavyweight contender, Volkan Oezdemir, was arrested Saturday night (November 18, 2017) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and charged with aggravated battery.

Chris Taylor - November 19, 2017

Perennial UFC lightweight contender Al Iaquinta believes “someone should have cold clocked Conor McGregor” at Bellator 187. “The Notorious” had jumped into the cage at Bellator 187 in an attempt to celebrate with teammate Charlie Ward. During the incident McGregor ended up pushing referee Marc Goddard and also slapped a member of the commission.

Chris Taylor - November 19, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is hoping to secure a fight with former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz at December’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. Earlier this week “The Chosen One” announced that a fight with the younger Diaz brother was fifty-percent complete and only required Nate to stop with his “excuses” and sign on the dotted line.

Chris Taylor - November 19, 2017

Surging UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington has made a lot of headlines in recent weeks. It all started last month in Brazil after Covington scored a unanimous decision over hometown favorite Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119.

Chris Taylor - November 19, 2017

UFC officials hope to have middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre return to action at UFC 221 this February in Perth, Australia. “Listen, bottom line is that we want to have Robbie (Whittaker) fight in Perth,” David Shaw, UFC Vice President of international content said at the UFC Fight Night 121 post-fight press conference via Forbes. “The stars are sort of aligning for that event, having a pay-per-view there. First time in Western Australia, which is meaningful to us. We want to blow it out of the water and make it a very significant event and make a real impact, not only for Western Australians but for Australian fans all over the country.”

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

This morning, news surfaced that top UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir had been arrested and charged with “aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.” Oezdemir, according to reports, is being held in Broward County jail in Florida. According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office database, his bail has been set at $10,000.  The UFC has now released a brief statement on Oezdemir’s arrest, which followed a request from BloodyElbow:

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in Sydney, Australia with UFC Fight Night 121. In the main event of this 13-fight card, which registered as the longest in UFC history, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum picked up a fun decision win over rising Polish contender Marcin Tybura. In the co-main event, meanwhile, short-notice replacement Jessica Rose Clark made good on her UFC debut, picking up a decision over the veteran Bec Rawlings. Elsewhere on the main card, we saw Belal Muhammad, Jake Matthews, Elias Theodorou, and Alexander Volkanovski pick up key wins.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes admitted that, while she didn’t want to step on the toes of her fellow Brazilian Cris Cyborg, she believed her next opponent should be former champion Holly Holm. “I’m ready to go,” the bantamweight champ said on BJ Penn Radio. “I kind of don’t want to step in front of Cris Cyborg right now, because I know she wants to fight Holly Holm. But I don’t think this fight’s going to happen, and if Holly Holm comes down again, to 135 [pounds], we can do this. I want to defend my belt. I want to defend the 135 belt. Holly Holm is one of the only girls in this division [riding] a win, so I think she’s the one. I think if she’s not going to fight Cyborg, she has to come down and make this happen.”

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

After months of back and forth and discussion, the first title defense of UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg Justino is finally set. The champ will defend her title against former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm at UFC 219 this December 30. While this fight is still some time away, the early betting odds for it have now been released via veteran oddsmaker Joey Odessa. These odds have the champ Cyborg identified as a -400 betting favorite, while Holm has been pegged as a +300 underdog.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

Last night, the UFC returned to Sydney, Australia with an exciting, 13-fight event. One of the big winners of the event was main card welterweight fighter Belal Muhammad, who took out dangerous veteran Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means via split decision. In the moments after this win, which stands out as one of the best of his career, Muhammad took an opportunity to call out red hot welterweight contender Colby Covington. Covington has recently made headlines not only for his big October win over Demian Maia, but also for his controversial comments on Brazil and its people. In the eyes of Belal Muhammad, those comments are not ok.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2017

Last night, the UFC returned to Sydney, Australia, with an exciting 13-fight card. In the main event of this card, which happened to clock as the longest card in UFC history, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum stepped into the cage with rising Polish contender Marcin Tybura. Despite a strong effort from Tybura, the much more experienced Werdum ultimately came out on top, capturing a unanimous decision win after five rounds of action. Unsurprisingly, this fun, five round affair generated some interesting reactions from the MMA community. Without further ado, here are some of the best reactions from Fabricio Werdum and Marcin Tybura’s fellow fighters:

Chris Taylor - November 18, 2017

A heavyweight scrap between former division champion Fabricio Werdum and Marcin Tybura served as the main event of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 121 fight card in Sydney. Round one begins and Tybura and Werdum exchange low kicks early. Marcin steps in with a left hand. Werdum counters with a left of his own followed by a head kick which is blocked. Werdum presses forward with a flurry. Tybura avoids and circles out. Werdum lands a nice uppercut followed by a right hand. He attempts a head kick but Marcin is able to block the strike. Tybura is covering up well but not getting off much. He lands a low kick followed by a shot to the body of Werdum. Fabricio steps in with a knee. He misses with a front kick. Tybura with a nice overhand right. Werdum replies with a straight right. Fabricio shoots in for a takedown. He doesn’t get it but is able to take the back of Tybura while standing. Werdum works in some knees. He looks to score a trip takedown. He can’t get it. Werdum loses the position and round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - November 18, 2017

A women’s flyweight scrap between UFC newcomer Jessica-Rose Clark and veteran Bec Rawlings served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 121 fight card in Sydney. Round one begins and Rawlings comes out quickly. Clark gets her to retreat by throwing a flurry. Clark with a left hand and then a low kick. Rawlings come forward with a right hand. She charges in with a flurry but nothing lands. Clark with a nice outside low kick. Rawlings catches a second kick and takes Clark to the floor. Bec is working from full guard. Bec with some nice right hands. Clark scrambles and winds up in top position. That was some nice work from Jessica-Rose. Clark is able to pass to half guard. She is looking to pass to side control but Bec won’t allow it and Clark opts to stand up. Bec gets back to her feet and lands a punch. Clark circles and lands a left. A nice right hand over the top by Jessica-Rose. Rawlings eats the strikes and presses forward. Another ncie right hand and then a counter left from Clark. Another good combination from Clark. She follows that up with a low kick. Bec charges forward with punches. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - November 18, 2017

A welterweight scrap between Tim Means and Belal Muhammad took place during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 121 main card in Sydney. Round one begins and Means uses his reach advantage early landing a right and then a left hand. Belal circles out but Means stays on him. Muhammad misses with a left hook attempt. Means fires off a body kick. Belal replies with a nice left hand. He lands another. Means has his left hand tucked. He is looking to counter here. Means with a nice straight left hand. Belal circles and then comes forward with a right hand that finds a home. Means goes to the body with a push kick. Muhammad responds with a beautiful left hook. Means with a nice right jab. Belal responds with a kick to the thigh. Means is applying pressure now. He lands a nice jab. Belal circles and then comes over the top with a left hand. He lands a right hand now. Means with a hard low kick. Both men connect with straight right hands. Belal with another nice left hook over the top. One minute remains in the opening round. More strikes from both men but nothing significant. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - November 18, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Daniel Kelly and Elias Theodorou took place on tonight’s UFC Fight Night 121 main card in Sydney. Round one begins and Theodorou immediately begins firing off leg kicks. Kelly charges forward with punches but Elias circles out and then continues to work the legs. More kicks from Elias including one to the body of Kelly. Dan charges forward with a flurry but cannot connect. Another hard leg kick from Elias. Kelly is able to find a home for a left hand. Elias goes upstairs with a kick but it is blocked by Kelly. Dan eats a body kick. He charges forward with punches and clinches Elias against the cage. Theodorou breaks free and lands an outside leg kick. Elias with two more hard low kicks. He throws a side kick to the body. Another hard kick to the body but Kelly just walks through it. Kelly with a flurry now. He charges after Elias who circles out. Theodorou with yet another solid kick to the body of Kelly. Elias misses with a follow up head kick. Dan charges in with an uppercut but Elias makes him miss. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - November 18, 2017

After being frustrated by Ashkan Mokhtarian’s fight style for the better portion of two rounds, Ryan Benoit was able to land a massive high kick that knocked his opponent out cold in round three. The devastating kick can be seen below: