MMA News

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2017

Over the weekend, Bellator MMA set up shop at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, as part of the festivities for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The promotion hosted a series of free fights for the race fans in attendance, and also offered meet-and-greets with MMA legends like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan Henderson.  While this was an interesting bit of co-promotion on Bellator’s behalf, not everyone involved was happy with the way it all went down. Mitchell Chamale, one of the fighters on the bill, had a pretty fair complaint about the way he and his fellow fighters were treated backstage.

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

Surging UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington plans to win UFC belts in at least two divisions. “Chaos” was a recent guest on BJPENN RADIO where he revealed his plans on becoming a two-division champion.

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

Earlier this week, former UFC heavyweight champion and UFC Sydney headliner Fabricio Werdum had a run-in with surging UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington. The exact events of this encounter are not known. Covington claims Werdum punched him. Werdum, meanwhile, claims no punch was thrown. What is clear, however, is that Werdum hit Covington with a boomerang he’d been given by an Australian fan – which was enough for Covington to press charges.

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

According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, surging UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir has been charged with “ aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.” Oezdemir’s arrest occurred in Florida, where he is being held in Broward County jail, pending a bail hearing. At this time, the details about this incident are quite hazy. Not much else is known. While Oezdemir hails from Switzerland, he’s been living in Florida as he trains at the talent rich Combat Club facility in the city of Lantana. At present, he is expected to be the next contender for Daniel Cormier’s UFC light heavyweight title. The pair are expected to collide at UFC 220 this January 20 in Boston. It’s possible, however, that Oezdemir’s arrest will throw a wrench in these plans.

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 Jake Matthews and Bojan Velickovic took place during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 121 main card in Sydney. Round one begins and Velickovic takes the center of the octagon and lands a straight left. Matthews charges forward and presses Bojan against the cage. Bojan with some short shots. He switches to elbows as Jake works for a single leg takedown. Matthews is working hard here but Bojan is doing an excellent job of defending. More short punches from Velickovic. Jake continues to a work on the single leg and finally drags Bojan to the floor. He hops on Velickovic’s back but Bojan stands back up. Jake presses him up against the cage. He dives down for a double leg takedown. He gets it. Jake begins working some shots from top position. He moves to half guard. Just under a minute remains in round one. Bojan is looking to secure a heel hook. Jake with a good shot to the body. Bojan scrambles back up to his feet. The fighters engage in the clinch. The horn sounds to end round one.

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.