MMA News

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

In the buildup to and fallout of their two fights, Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson always kept things pretty civil. It’s for this reason that the recent heat between them, which began when Cormier scolded Rumble for his interactions with Jon Jones, came as such a surprise. “Rumble Johnson and I have always been respectful with each other, but something happened at UFC 214 that has forever made me change the way I’m going to interact with Anthony Johnson,” Cormier said on a recent episode of podcast Talk and Talker. “So, I walk into the back of the weigh-ins for UFC 214, and there’s Rumble. And I go up to Rumble and he says ‘what’s up DC? You look good.’ Give him a hug, and I say ‘hey man, I hope you’re enjoying your retirement. You seem happy. I wish you nothing but continued success’, and I go about my business — as much as you’d expect two guys who have competed and ave respect for each other would interact. Then in walks Jon Jones, and I expect him to — a guy he was supposed to fight, and may at some point still fight — give him the same type of conversation and kind of keep it moving, as a man. But Jon walks in, they give each other the shake and the hug, and they talk a little bit. And the conversation seems like Anthony is almost giving him advice … like pre-fight stuff.”

Russell Ess - October 9, 2017

With Ronda Rousey’s future in the UFC unclear and Jon Jones going through the process with his potential anti-doping violation, it seems Conor McGregor stands alone at the top as far as draws go for the UFC. Georges St-Pierre is certainly a big star but his future is undetermined as we will have to see if his own plans and abilities are set for a lengthy return. So who will be the next in the UFC roster that will bring in the audiences like Jones, Rousey, and McGregor? Dana White was asked that recently on The Dan Le Batard Show and the UFC President gave his opinion.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

In the wake of Jon Jones’ latest failed drug test, which was administered in the buildup to his UFC 214 title fight with Daniel Cormier, many fans have questioned the legitimacy of his legacy, suggesting that perhaps his greatness can be the attributed to PED abuse. In the opinion of top light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir, however, these claims are not exactly fair. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio “No Time” shared his belief that, while Jones’ could well have been helped by PEDs, his talent remains unquestionable. “It’s hard to answer to this, because the way Jones fights, it’s just amazing,” Oezdemir said. “He’s doing stuff nobody does. He just has a really high IQ when it comes to fighting. He’s doing stuff with perfect timing, crazy, spinning back elbows… you know. You cannot take anything off Jon Jones, because he so much talent. So, I don’t think it’s really tarnished his legacy. When you watch his fights, he doesn’t win because [of the banned substances]. Of course, it probably helped, but he doesn’t win because he’s so strong and so big. It’s all about the intelligence that he has, and also the IQ, fight IQ. He’s just an amazing athlete.” 

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

Last month, on the main card of the UFC’s exciting return to Japan, kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki (83-12 KB, 1-1 MMA) made his anticipated UFC debut. While his performance was not without flaws, Saki ultimately produced just the kind of thunderous knockout he’s known for, putting his foe Luis Henrique down with a blistering left hook in the first frame. With this exciting debut win in the books, Saki got pretty much the entire MMA community excited about his future in the sport. And now, his next step has been booked. The kickboxing transplant will take on rising light heavyweight contender Khalil Rountree (6-2) at UFC 219, which is scheduled for December 30 in Las Vegas.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

The new UFC women’s flyweight division is slowly starting to take shape. By the time the current season of The Ultimate Fighter wraps up, the 125-pound weight class with have a brand new champion. That champion, of course, will not actually be in a particularly enviable position, as they’ll have to deal with not only Valentina Shevchenko dropping down from the bantamweight division, but also strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who has repeatedly flirted with the idea of a move to 125 pounds.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

Last Saturday night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 216, 25-year-old lightweight contender Kevin Lee stepped in to the Octagon with the streaking Tony Ferguson. He did so in an effort to capture the UFC interim lightweight title. While Lee put up a valiant fight, very nearly finishing Ferguson in the first-round, he was ultimately finished in the third round when he was wrapped up in an arm-triangle choke. Unsurprisingly, this was not the result the young fighter was looking for. That said, he has taken the L with grace.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

On November 4, in the main event of UFC 217, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will return from a multi-year hiatus to battle UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. If St-Pierre defeats Bisping, it opens the door to a number of other super fights, such as battles pitting him against Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and perhaps most interestingly, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. As two of the biggest and most dominating stars the UFC has ever produced, St-Pierre and McGregor are often talked about as potential opponents for one another. In the opinion of Georges St-Pierre himself, however, this isn’t the most interesting option for him. He’s not keen on dropping down weight classes to fight smaller opponents. Instead, he’s interested in moving up to take on bigger foes, like Bisping.

Chris Taylor - October 8, 2017

The UFC crowned Tony Ferguson as their interim lightweight champion at last night’s UFC 216 event in Las Vegas, this after “El Cucuy” submitted Kevin Lee in the pay-per-view main event. Ferguson was able to weather an early storm from Lee and eventually forced “The MoTown Phenom” to tapout to a triangle choke in round three.

Chris Taylor - October 8, 2017

UFC President Dana White did his best to honor the victims of the Las Vegas shooting at last night’s UFC 216 event at T-Mobile Arena. The promotion had 1,500 first responders in attendance for last night’s event and also gave some of the survivors from the shooting an introduction in the octagon.

Chris Taylor - October 8, 2017

The octagon will return to Madison Square Garden in New York next month for UFC 217. The pay-per-view fight card, which takes place November 4, will be headlined by a middleweight title fight featuring current champion Michael Bisping taking on former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre.

Chris Taylor - October 8, 2017

The UFC 216 fighter salaries are in and newly crowned interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson earned the events top payout. Ferguson, who submitted Kevin Lee in the third-round of the UFC 216 main event, earned a total of $500,000 for his title earning victory.

Chris Taylor - October 8, 2017

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson made history at last night’s UFC 216 event in Las Vegas! “Mighty Mouse” recorded his eleventh consecutive title defense by scoring a dramatic fifth-round submission victory over Ray Borg in the co-main event of UFC 216.

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC 216, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson shattered the record for consecutive title defenses in the UFC, moving to eleven-straight with a jaw-dropping fifth-round armbar over Ray Borg. In the wake of this dazzling win, Johnson is once again being widely referred to as the greatest of all time. At the UFC 216 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White gave his take on the GOAT debate.

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Last night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 216, streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson finally earned himself a piece of UFC gold, authoring a third-round submission win over Kevin Lee to capture the promotion’s interim lightweight title. With this win in the rear-view, the expectation is that Ferguson is likely to battle undisputed UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor somewhere down the road – at least, that’s what UFC President Dana White suggested post-fight.

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Originally, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was expected to battle brick-fisted heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis on the main card of UFC 216. When Lewis was forced out of the fight at the last minute with a back injury, however, Werdum was paired with “The Big Ticket” Walt Harris, who was transplanted from a UFC 216 undercard bout with Mark Godbeer. Though Harris deserves major props for taking a fight with the one of the world’s best heavyweights on mere hours’ notice, the fight itself was more or less a disaster for him. Moments into the first-round, he was taken down by his decorated foe, and from there, it was just a matter of time. Werdum locked up the armbar, and seconds later, Harris was furiously tapping in pain.

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC 216, Demetrious Johnson stepped into the Octagon with the intention of defending his flyweight belt for a record-breaking 11th-straight time. He did so with flying colors, dominating his young foe Ray Borg to a ridiculous fifth-round sequence in which he hit him with a suplex, caught his arm in mid-air, and locked up the arm-bar for the win. Given the historical implications and jaw-dropping nature of this win, it should come as no surprise that it generated some interesting reactions from the MMA community. See some of the best reactions to Demetrious Johnson’s incredible victory below!

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in Las Vegas, Nevada with the absolutely thrilling UFC 216. In the main event, we saw streaking lightweights Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee collide for the UFC interim lightweight title. Though Lee started strong, nearly finishing Ferguson in the first, Ferguson surged back in the later rounds, ultimately putting Lee away with a choke in the third. With this win, Ferguson is now the UFC interim lightweight champion. From here, the widespread hope is that he will battle undisputed champion Conor McGregor somewhere down the road. Yet given that McGregor has potentially more lucrative scraps with Nate Diaz, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and even Paulie Malignaggi available, nothing is certain.

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Well that escalated quickly ….@TonyFergusonXT #UFC216 pic.twitter.com/B5zJBv4dOV — UFC (@ufc) October 8, 2017