MMA News

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

We’re mere days away from Tony Ferguson finally stepping back into the Octagon, after being plagued by some bad luck at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov. It seemed like MMA’s Groundhog Day. The fight would always go along and just never happen. Jokes about Nurmagomedov eating tiramisu caused by the UFC Embedded show leading up to the fight came and went, and came… and went again. Now, it’s been reported that Kevin Lee weighs as if he’s about to challenge for the interim welterweight title instead of the lightweight. Worst of all, he may have enjoyed tiramisu himself. … about the tiramisu, not the 174 pounds. Needs to hit 155 pounds in around 21.5 hours.

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

Just yesterday, Daniel Cormier spoke out on Anthony Johnson’s alleged return to the UFC in the heavyweight division. It wasn’t just that, but he told an in-depth story that took place backstage, detailing an interaction between him and then Jon Jones. Cormier had revealed he lost respect for his former opponent and called him ‘soft’, that he’d never look at him the same again. Well, Johnson got word of this and boy, did he have something to say about it. “Damn D.C. didn’t know you were salty cuz I talk to the 1 guy that knocked you out. F-cking soft is what you called me, oh well that’s your opinion. Saying I gave Jon [Jones] advice lol buddy what advice is there to give him? I wasn’t fighting either one of you, so there’s no point of giving advice. That’s not my style! I believe in fair fights period.”

Russell Ess - October 5, 2017

Ahead of his UFC 216 interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson that takes place this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, Kevin Lee has been getting a lot of attention with the words he has been choosing to say to the media. However, it will all come down to his performance and how he does in the Octagon against Ferguson, who is on an impressive nine-fight winning streak in the UFC lightweight division. Tony’s the hardest fight in this division,” Lee said to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting on Wednesday. “Once I beat him, then there’s no denying me any further.”

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

The last time we saw Dustin Poirier, he was in the midst of what looked to be a Fight of the Night against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 211. A fight that ended due to illegal knees Alvarez landed to Poirier’s head. Since then, ‘Diamond’ Dustin Poirier has moved on to another former UFC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, who he’ll face at UFC Norfolk on November 11th. However, it could be the UFC in which he moves away from, according to a candid new interview. “I love fighting for the UFC. I grew up watching guys in the UFC. It was the biggest company that I know of for mixed martial arts. But as you get older, I have a family, I don’t know how long this window’s going to last. I’d like to fight until I’m 35, 36, we’ll see. But I might have two, three years — I don’t know how many years I have left, so I gotta make the most money that I can right now. And I’m not a guy who’s fighting for fame. I’m fighting because I love to fight and I got a family to feed. I’m a guy who, if I was given an opportunity, I would leave and go fight in ONE FC, go fight in a company you’ve never heard of to maximize my earning potential.”

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

Conor McGregor is a veritable money-making juggernaut. When he’s not laying out champions in the UFC, he’s strutting on yachts with silky opened-button shirts flapping in the wind like he stole the wardrobe from Baz” Luhrmann‘s ‘Romeo + Juliet’. He works when he’s not working, even suffering a rare loss, he makes more money than most fighters did while winning. But long before earning the fire-spitting Lamborghinis and getting the infamous gorilla tattoo emblazoned on his chest, he was on welfare and living in his parent’s house. Now a feature film documenting his rise will be hitting theaters and the intense trailer just dropped. The Irish takeover is nearly upon us… #Notorious. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/5vj6ZDsJlU

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

Back in June, in the co-main event of the Bellator NYC pay-per-view, Bellator heavyweight star Matt Mitrione stepped onto the canvas with MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. The fight was absolutely while it lasted. About a minute into the first round, Fedor and Mitrione both threw, both landed, and both hit the deck. In an instant, it all seemed to come down to who would be able to regain their composure and crank up the offense first. In the end, that man was Mitrione, who stormed his legendary foe with punches en route to a first-round knockout win.

Russell Ess - October 5, 2017

Tony Ferguson has the biggest fight of his career in just a couple of days as he is set to take on Kevin Lee for the UFC interim lightweight title. Ferguson and Lee headline UFC 216, which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night. The winner of the fight and the interim title should have the best chance of fighting current undisputed UFC lightweight champion, Conor McGregor. If negotiated right, any opponent who fights McGregor should be getting the biggest payday of their career as the draw of “The Notorious” seemingly can’t be matched by any other fighter on the roster at the moment.

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

After already becoming the official drink of Conor McGregor’s giant boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, it nails its biggest marketing deal in company history. The UFC has officially entered into a multi-year partnership with Kobe Bryant’s sports drink company, BODYARMOR. The partnership will begin in 2018 and it feature the company becoming heavily involved in the events and the UFC brand, not just taking a seat in the background. UFC announced this morning that @kobebryant‘s @DrinkBODYARMOR will be the official sports drink of the UFC in the United States beginning in 2018. Multi-year partnership. #likekobeifIcouldbelikekobe

Justin Golightly - October 5, 2017

You can’t talk about the UFC’s featherweight division without Cub Swanson. He’s been one of the top guys at his weight for a long time. After fighting in WEC, he put on a six-fight win streak in the UFC. His most recent losses are to Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar — the current champ and the current title challenger — with four more wins straight pushing them into the past. Matter of fact, all his losses are former champions or fighters who have fought for the title. This is one of the reasons that, after his fight with Brian Ortega, he will not renew his UFC contract. “It’s a power move. Of course, I want to get paid more. The thing people don’t understand is that I’ve got to a point where I’m making good money and it’s enough to live on, but it’s not retirement money. Not even close. I’ve been doing this for 13 years and I’m in the prime of my career, but at some point it’s going to dip off and I’d like to walk away before I start having really bad performances with enough money in my account to make smart investments and do the right things. I just want that opportunity. [Max Holloway fighting Frankie Edgar] is the 20th title fight since I’ve been in this division. I’ve been in the top tier of guys my entire career. It’s a little frustrating seeing somebody like Frankie, who is great, get tons of title fights. I just don’t understand it. I wanted some leverage for that [in my contract]. I’m next. They’re always saying, ‘We can’t guarantee anything,’ and it’s like, c’mon, yes, you can.”

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

Over the last few years, Bellator’s heavyweight division has really come together, as the promotion has bolstered its roster with names like Cheick Kongo, Bobby Lashley, Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko, Sergey Kharitonov, Javy Ayala, Roy Nelson, and most recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. That said, the organization has not had a heavyweight champion since it stripped the undefeated Vitaly Minakov of the belt after a bevy of contract issues. Matt Mitrione is hoping that changes soon. The Bellator heavyweight star discussed Bellator’s empty heavyweight throne on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

This weekend, on the main card of the anticipated UFC 216 card in Las Vegas, fan favorite heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis will take on perhaps the biggest test of his career in former heavyweight king Fabricio Werdum. When the cage door closes, Lewis is going to have his hands full, as Werdum is perhaps the greatest jiu-jitsu player in the history of heavyweight MMA. That said, Lewis isn’t particularly worried about his foe’s grappling. He’s just going to go out there and do what he always does: swing for the fences.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

This weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 216, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will attempt to defend his title against Ray Borg. If Johnson is successful, it’ll mark his 11th consecutive title defense – the all-time record in the UFC. Despite the fact that Johnson is just days removed from potentially establishing himself as the most dominant champion in UFC history, he’s not really paid as such. Luckily, Johnson has worked out a new deal that means he will finally be getting pay-per-view points – a luxury afforded to most other champions – for this UFC 216 bout with Borg.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

Last night, we learned that fan favorite UFC welterweight contender Carlos Condit would be returning from a lengthy hiatus at UFC 219 this December 30. His opponent will be established welterweight contender Neil Magny. Shortly after this exciting booking was announced, Magny took to Instagram to share his first comments on it. Unsurprisingly, he’s pretty excited about the chance to welcome Carlos Condit back to the cage.

Justin Golightly - October 4, 2017

MMA Twitter and hardcore fight fans everywhere flipped out when they heard Carlos Condit was coming back to the UFC. He took some time off to make some decisions about his career after being submitted by Demian Maia at UFC Vancouver, but last month decided he was getting the itch. He tweeted at matchmaker Sean Shelby to get him a fight and it looks like that’s what he got. Carlos Condit will make his return to the Octagon to fight Neil Magny. Yo! @seanshelby what’s up big guy…? I’m wanting to fight in December or January… what say you!?

Justin Golightly - October 4, 2017

Now that the bout that we said was slated for UFC 218 is official, we can finally start drooling over Frankie Edgar fighting Max Holloway for real. It’s an incredible match-up and a true test for the new featherweight champion. Jose Aldo is the only man in the division who has ever beat Edgar, with Holloway being one of the only guys he hasn’t fought yet. It’s a fight that needs to happen and gets to happen exactly at the perfect time. The early odds released for the title fight in Detroit have Max Holloway edging out Frankie as the favorite. Per @MMAOddsBreaker, Max Holloway will open a -205 betting favorite over Frankie Edgar (+165) in their 145-pound title fight at UFC 218.

Justin Golightly - October 4, 2017

Jon Jones is gone for the time being, Daniel Cormier has been handed the UFC light heavyweight belt again, and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is retired (for now). The division is both old and new; clean yet warped. On the supposed verge of Johnson’s return to a heavier division, Cormier made some comments about Johnson’s super quick comeback. Talking about Rumble brought some experiences back from UFC 214, causing Daniel Cormier to tell a story about he’ll interact with Johnson different from now on. “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. 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.”

Justin Golightly - October 4, 2017

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve gotten a tsunami of fight announcements for cards closing out the year. Back on September 14th, we let you guys know that a contender scrap between Justin Gaethje and Eddie Alvarez would be put on the UFC 218 card. It looks like our forecast has finally been officially confirmed by Mark Henry on Instagram. UFC 218 has quickly become one of the hands-down best cards of the year. Coach @MarkCoachmark13 confirms @CTaylor_96‘s report that @Ealvarezfight vs. @Justin_Gaethje will take place at #UFC218 (December 2nd) #UFC pic.twitter.com/furd2d5Gyi

Russell Ess - October 4, 2017

UFC Hall of Fame legend Matt Hughes is well on his way to recovering from his horrifying accident. In June, Hughes was involved in a crash when his pickup truck that he was driving was struck by a train while crossing the train tracks. Hughes was airlifted to the HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois near his hometown and was cared for by the medical staff.