MMA News

Chris Taylor - October 1, 2017

UFC fighters will be allowed to use CBD in 2018. The news comes after WADA announced their updated list of prohibitive substances, which included the removal of CBD.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

On January 20, Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima will attempt to defend his crown opposite former UFC star Rory MacDonald. While this might just be the toughest test of Lima’s already impressive career, he’s got a bold prediction for how it all goes down. “I’ve been in Bellator for a long time. At the end of the day it’s just a fight. I don’t care what he’s done. I don’t care where he’s been. He’s coming there to fight me. That’s what the important thing is for me,” Lima said on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I’m going to finish this guy; I’m going to knock him out. That’s my goal for this fight. I’m going to put him away and show everybody that I’m here for a reason, that I’m champion for a reason. It doesn’t matter who it is. I don’t care what he’s done in the past. He’s gonna face me and he’s going down.”

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

Earlier this week, it was announced that former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem will be taking on surging French contender Francis Ngannou at UFC 218 this December 2nd in Detroit. While this fight is surely dominating Overeem’s focus at present, he recently took to Instagram to respond to some comments from another prospective opponent in GLORY kickboxing heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven. Hahahah Rico (the comedian) back at it! First saying who’s Alistair and then a second later calling me out for a kickboxing match. We both know that I fight in the ‘King-Tiger league of real combat sports’ so anybody wanting that fame, money – and real GLORY – come to the UFC. I’ll be happy to welcome anybody to the big boy league. If not stay at (little) Glory and keep on fighting in empty venues until Badr Hari is back.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

This December 2, when the UFC touches down in Detroit, Michigan with UFC 218, former UFC and Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez will battle former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje in a clear Fight of the Year contender. While it’s undeniable that the UFC put this fight together based on its entertainment value, Alvarez also feels that this fight is an attempt to boost Gaethje’s name – at his own expense. “When UFC wants something, they get it, you know what I mean?” Alvarez said in a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast (via MMAMania.com). “If they want you to fight, you’re going to fight [who they] want you to fight. There is not much of a negotiation going on there, especially with me.”

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

On September 16, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin finally met in the boxing ring. Though the majority of fight fans seem to believe Golovkin did enough to win this bout, controversial judge Adalaide Byrd scored it a baffling  118-110 for Canelo. In the wake of this controversy, Byrd has been given a bit of a break by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which means she won’t be judging Kevin Lee’s upcoming UFC 216 interim lightweight title fight with Tony Ferguson. Kevin Lee couldn’t be happier about that.  “I’ll tell you what, I’m glad Adelaide Byrd is off my damn card,” Lee said during a recent interview with Bloody Elbow. “I’m fighting a Mexican, too. Look, she had me shook. I’m glad they made the right decision and threw her off the card. I don’t necessarily think there was any conspiracy, or nothing crazy like that. I just think she’s a Canelo fan.”

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

On October 21, the UFC will take over the Ergo Arena in the beautiful Polish port city of Gdansk. This UFC Gdansk card, also called UFC Fight Night 118, will feature 12 exciting bouts, all of which will be broadcast on the UFC’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.  The card’s main event will pit long-time UFC lightweight and welterweight contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone against rising British contender Darren Till. The bout will mark Cowboy’s chance to rebound from two consecutive losses: a knockout at the hands of Jorge Masvidal, and a close decision loss to former champion Robbie Lawler. Till, meanwhile, will look to improve to a flawless 16-0-1 overall, and take a massive step up the UFC welterweight rankings.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

On Friday night, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor touched down in Glasgow, Scotland for an illuminating Q&A session. One of the most interesting revelations from this event arose when McGregor began discussing reigning featherweight champion Max Holloway, who he defeated back in 2013. While McGregor shared his belief that he should still be considered the UFC featherweight champion, he also showered the new champ Holloway with praise, applauding him for his tremendous win-streak.

Tom Taylor - October 1, 2017

Late last month, on the main card of the UFC’s anticipated return to Japan, kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki made his UFC debut, and delivered with flying colours. Though he seemed to have a bit of an issue with his gas tank, he authored one of the best knockouts in recent memory, putting his opponent Henrique Da Silva down with a blistering left hook in the first round. And now, he’s hoping to hop right back into the cage. Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Saki shared his plans to move to the United States, and hopefully, fight once more before the year is out.

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2017

The UFC 219 fight card will serve as the final Ultimate Fighting Championship event of 2017. The pay-per-view event is set to take place on December 30 live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

Some of you may have been sad about the lack of MMA this weekend. We all complain every once and awhile about there being so many fight cards to catch on the weekend and so little time. The UFC is taking a break until the big UFC 216 card next weekend, but today is the day that Full Contact Contender can get a spotlight thanks to Jonno Mears. This man channeled a classic pro-wrestling submission by finishing Aaron Jones with a Boston Crab in the first freaking round.  Here’s the Boston Grab / Walls of Jericho we just saw at #FCC19! pic.twitter.com/U9MaYFE4R3

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2017

The octagon will return to Detroit on December 2 for UFC 218 and the fight card is already beginning to take shape! The pay-per-view event is headlined by a featherweight title fight between current champion Max Holloway and perennial division contender Frankie Edgar.

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

Mickey Gall is just around the corner from his third fight in the UFC, but it’s not Randy Brown he’s talking about in his latest appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour. The welterweight prospect got wind of what Kevin Lee had to say about him on the show earlier this year and didn’t take too kindly of it. A division separates them from fighting right now in the UFC, but Gall says he’s willing to get together with Lee and ‘spar’, if you catch his drift. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. Tap, tap. .@mickeygall is up next on #TheMMAHour. Tune in: https://t.co/HbjZRlHFNs pic.twitter.com/OeMTTwKR7J

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

Jimmie Rivera is basically one fight away from gold, or at least that’s a good way to look at it. With a tidal wave of announcements last week, it was made official that Rivera will take on former bantamweight king Dominick Cruz at UFC 219. Fight fans sure are happy with the match-up, as well as Cruz’s return, but no one seems more pumped than Jimmie Rivera himself. “F-ck yeah. I am super shocked. I think the biggest thing was they must’ve gave [Dominick Cruz] something good, or they told him that’s the only way. I don’t know. I heard that he wanted to take the fight, which I was super surprised. I’m just happy; I’m happy he took it so I can go in there and whoop some ass. I’m super stoked. It’s the fight that makes the most sense right now. I got a five-fight winning streak, I’ve beat the best. It’s time to fight the next person that’s the best so I can get a title shot.”

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

One of the best welterweights in the world now resides in Bellator, where he is about to challenge for the welterweight title. He’s not just content with earning the belt that alluded him in the UFC, he has aspirations of an unprecedented triple crown title in by taking belts in three divisions. Still, his infamous fight with Robbie Lawler will always follow him. Earlier this month, he accused Lawler of being on performance enhancing drugs during their fight. Recently, he’s opened up more about his accusation. “I’m convinced he was. He never slowed down. I would hurt [Robbie Lawler] and his output was high, high, high and he never really lost power and endurance. He just kept the pace and kept the power no matter how hurt or tired he was. He always was recovered very fast. It made me very suspicious. Obviously, I think Robbie is a tank of a person. He’s got that fire and that will and the rage and that anger in him that burns and pushes him through those hard moments. He’s an absolute warrior. I’m not disagreeing with that. But I do believe he was taking some sh-t.”

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

If for some reason or another you didn’t know who Andrea Lee was, you were about to. She’s been tearing it up in Invicta and then jumped over to Legacy Fighting Alliance to become their first ever women’s flyweight champion. This lady hasn’t been just winning, she’s been dominating and finishing opponents in exciting fashion. Those that have followed her career as a prospect had cause for excitement after it was announced she got the call from the UFC. She was slated to fight this coming weekend at UFC 216 against Kalindra Faria, but was surprisingly pulled from the card only a day later. Andrea Lee addressed the situation today in her own words. Andrea Lee vs. Kalindra Faria slated for UFC 216 — https://t.co/hPnJau1ZU4 pic.twitter.com/37Lgrd1Xl1

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

Say what you will, but Conor McGregor strutted out in a pair of boxing shorts and fought the greatest boxer of our generation. His head was wobbled, a little bit of his pride may have shrunk, but his wallet got nice and fat. Not only that, but everyone is wondering just what in the world McGregor will do next. He made his first major appearance last night, where he named at least seven potential opponents. When you’re the man who has it all, sometimes it’s hard to figure out what you want. However, after reaching the pinnacle of money fights, McGregor is setting his sights on going back to basics. He wants to correct the wrongs that fans blame him for causing: Making the title mean something again. “Look, I’ve got the UFC title to defend and that means something to me. I will defend that world title. Nathan [Diaz] is there. He’s trying to come in here and make all of these demands. If he starts pricing himself out of an event, I probably will defend against the person who wins this interim belt, or someone along that line to legitimize it again. I’ve already gone from the highest of the high in terms of a money fight. Now, the question I always get is about defending the belt and legitimizing the sport and the rankings. Maybe now it would be a good time for me to go and do that and shut that side up. We’ll see what happens in the fight next week [between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee]. I hope they make the walk. I’ve seen it so many times where they slip on the bleedin’ soap getting out of the bath.”

Justin Golightly - September 30, 2017

Earlier this month, UFC fighters got a curious survey sent to them about the future of USADA and how the organization and its employers would interact. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gauge interest in an app that would be installed on UFC fighter’s phones to track their whereabouts, making it easier and more efficient for the athletes and USADA. Well, at least that’s what they were going for. Sean Strickland did not support the idea, now Leslie Smith has released a comprehensive statement about the idea. “What’s your response if your job said they were going to track you 24/7 with your phone? Same as mine? In my journey to educate and advocate for the UFC fighter’s union I hear some arguments for keeping the independent contractor status. I would rather be an independent contractor with no boss except for myself if it was possible but right now it’s the pits of them both – we don’t get benefits or federal protection as employees because we are ICs but we’re treated as employees by being regulated in our uniforms, not allowed to seek out other contracts for our fighting skill set and under supervision at all times through the USADA program. And now they want to make the USADA program into the type of tracker app a parent gets for their 10 year old.”

Justin Golightly - September 29, 2017

In Conor McGregor’s first major public appearance since his gigantic money fight with Floyd Mayweather, he was set to have an hour Q&A session on pay-per-view with Dan Hardy. That event was canceled for still unreported reasons, but his event tonight in Glasgow went off without a hitch. Will he compete in another boxing match? Is he really coming back to the UFC to fight Nate Diaz on St. Patrick’s Day 2018? What about Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson’s interim UFC lightweight title fight? The UFC ‘champ champ’ sure had a lot of subjects to discuss, but maybe too much to think about. https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/913863496785436674