MMA News
VIDEO | Watch Cris Cyborg's insane Muay Thai workout in Thailand
Tom Taylor - September 19, 2017
UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino is currently training at Phuket Top Team in beautiful Phuket, Thailand. If the video she uploaded to YouTube earlier today is any indication, she is absolutely killing it in the gym – and all of her prospective opponents should be worried. In this video, fans can watch Cyborg literally chase her pad-holder around the facility, smashing him with punches, knees, kicks and elbows as she does. Watch it above! Though nothing is official just yet, Cyborg has been angling hard for a fight with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm – ideally at UFC 219 this December.
Max Holloway Believes He May Fight Frankie Edgar Before End of 2017
Justin Golightly - September 19, 2017
Over the years, Max Holloway has fought tooth and nail to prove he’s the best 145-er in the world. After losing to Conor McGregor, he’s gone on an obscene 11-fight win streak over everyone the UFC threw at him. His righteous onslaught culminated with finishing Jose Aldo at UFC 212, unifying the featherweight titles and breaking records in the process. At this point, there’s basically only one contender left that Holloway hasn’t fought yet. This is where Frankie Edgar comes in. …At least, that’s what Holloway hopes. “Everyone knows I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, any time. I’ve got a belt to defend. Right now if it’s defending the throne, it’s looking like Frankie [Edgar]. You can’t deny it. The guy’s a legend of the sport, multiple time champ and I can’t wait to get another one on my resume. If Frankie’s the next man up, so be it. I’ve been trying to get this fight forever. I always wanted to fight Frankie, I always wanted to challenge myself. I know he’s a tough competitor but at the end of the day he’s going to have to face me so I’m excited.”
Mackenzie Dern moves up to flyweight for October scrap in LFA cage
Tom Taylor - September 19, 2017
BJJ whiz Mackenzie Dern is now ready to take the next steps of her MMA career. According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, which was confirmed by Dern herself on Instagram, this next step will occur at LFA 24 on October 13 inside Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Dern’s opponent will be Mandy Polk. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZOG89lFBAp
John Lineker returns at UFC Fight Night 119 on October 28
Tom Taylor - September 19, 2017
John Lineker, one of the UFC bantamweight division’s most exciting contenders, is now scheduled for a return to the cage. According to a report from Combate, which was subsequently confirmed by MMAFighting.com, Lineker will make his return at UFC Fight Night 119 this October 28 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His opponent will be Ecuador’s Marlon “Chito” Vera. This will be Lineker’s first fight in nearly a year, as his last steps into the cage occurred in December of 2016, when he came up short in a bantamweight scrap with former champion TJ Dillashaw. This loss to Dillashaw was preceded by four-straight wins in the bantamweight division, as he submitted Francisco Rivera, defeated Rob Font by decision, knocked out Michael MacDonald, and defeated John Dodson by decision. The Brazilian bantamweight knockout artist is 29-8 overall.
Daniel Cormier isn't displaying his UFC titles at home – in fact he almost threw them out
Tom Taylor - September 19, 2017
Daniel Cormier was not happy when he was knocked out by Jon Jones at UFC 214. This was immediately clear, as he shed tears in his ill-advised post-fight interview with Octagon commentator Joe Rogan. While sadness and disappointment were the first emotions to course through Cormier’s body after this loss, these emotions eventually gave way to anger. Speaking on the latest edition of The MMA Hour, Cormier explained that his anger was so severe that he nearly threw his UFC titles in the garbage.
Kenny Florian believes there's now a blueprint for beating Luke Rockhold
Tom Taylor - September 19, 2017
Luke Rockhold is one of the best middleweights on earth. Last Saturday, he reminded the world of this fact, returning from a hiatus of more than a year to stop David Branch with a swarm of second-round ground strikes. According to former fighter and current UFC on Fox analyst Kenny Florian, however, Rockhold needs to start being a little more careful. Speaking on his podcast with Jon Anik, Florian explained that the blueprint for beating Rockhold was set by Michael Bisping, who knocked him out in June of 2016. The analyst explained that Bisping exposed some flaws in Rockhold’s game that were still visible in his fight with Branch – flaws that could be exploited if he’s not careful.
Daniel Cormier describes what he did with his UFC belts at home after losing to Jon Jones at UFC 214
Russell Ess - September 18, 2017
If you saw Daniel Cormier in the Octagon after he fought and lost to Jon Jones at UFC 214, you know just how much the loss meant to him. Cormier remained fairly quiet in the days immediately after the fight and was just getting over the fact that he was knocked out and finished for the first in his professional MMA career. Things took another wild turn a few weeks after UFC 214 as the news of Jones’ latest potential Anti-Doping Policy violation surfaced.
VIDEO | Luke Rockhold says one issue is holding him back from moving up to light heavyweight
Russell Ess - September 18, 2017
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is coming off an impressive victory that place over the weekend. Rockhold was featured in the main event of UFC Fight Night 116 against former WSOF middleweight and light heavyweight champion David Branch. Rockhold earned a second-round TKO with Branch submitting to powerful strikes. Rockhold held a dominant position taking Branch’s back and flattened him out and unloaded with a barrage of punches.
Report: Jose Aldo being targeted for a rematch in December
Russell Ess - September 18, 2017
Jose Aldo has dreamed of fighting in New York at Madison Square Garden and was hoping to get on the UFC 217 card taking place there in November. However, it sounds like the former UFC featherweight champion will have to wait a bit longer for his chance to step into the Octagon or perhaps a ring inside the historic New York venue. Combate has reported that Aldo is being targeted to face a familiar foe in Ricardo Lamas sometime in December. With Aldo campaigning to fight at UFC 217 in New York, Lamas’ asked for a bit more time, according to the report. Combate stated that both fighters verbally agreed to the matchup, which could likely take place on December 2 in Detroit at UFC 218, or December 30 in Las Vegas at UFC 219.
VIDEO | Daniel Cormier comments on if he still wants another fight with Jon Jones
Russell Ess - September 18, 2017
Just when we thought the saga between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones had come to an end, there was another twist thrown into the mix. Following the outcome of their UFC 214 UFC light heavyweight title fight where Jones became the first opponent to KO and finish Cormier, Jones was flagged for the second time by USADA for a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation. Both Jones’ A and B samples tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol and the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) overturned Jones’ win to a no-contest. With that, Cormier said that UFC President Dana White told him that he would also be reinstated as the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua issues lengthy statement explaining withdrawal from OSP fight
Tom Taylor - September 18, 2017
Over the weekend, we learned that former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was out of his planned UFC Fight Night 117 scrap with Ovince St. Preux. Surprisingly, he’ll be replaced by former UFC middleweight, and recent World Series of Fighting welterweight Yushin Okami. On Monday morning, the PRIDE legend took to Instagram with a lengthy statement explaining his withdrawal from the fight.
VIDEO | Floyd Mayweather talks Conor McGregor, future fights, net worth in an interview with a puppet
Tom Taylor - September 18, 2017
Last month, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. stepped through the ropes for a final time for a battle with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Though McGregor surprised by landing some nice shots, Mayweather did as expected in this fight, ultimately stopping the MMA star with a volley of 10th-round punches. With this win, Mayweather improved to a fantastic 50-0 overall.
VIDEO | Nate Diaz goes out for coffee, gets swarmed by fans
Tom Taylor - September 18, 2017
When Nate Diaz goes for coffee. (Via his Instagram story). pic.twitter.com/OXzrYFnhCE — Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) September 18, 2017
Thiago Alves issues lengthy statement on choice to withdraw from Mike Perry bout
Tom Taylor - September 18, 2017
Last weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Pittsburgh, PA, “Platinum” Mike Perry picked up yet another brutal KO, this time over UFC debutant Alex Reyes. Reyes was not, however, the man Perry was initially supposed to fight. Instead, Perry was expected to battle former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves. Unfortunately, Alves made a late exit from the fight, worrying for his family in Florida as the massive threat of hurricane Irma loomed. On Sunday evening, the Brazilian striking specialist issued a lengthy statement on his choice to withdraw from the fight:
Joe Rogan doesn't think Conor McGregor is done with boxing, discusses matchups with GGG and Canelo
Tom Taylor - September 18, 2017
Over the weekend, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and “GGG” Gennady Golovkin finally stepped into the boxing ring together, battling to a controversial split draw. During the broadcast, which coincided with the UFC’s latest trip to Pittsburgh, UFC commentator Joe Rogan aired a special Fight Companion edition of his podcast, throughout which he and his compatriots had a spirited live discussion about the fights. Unsurprisingly, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor was a common talking point.
Athlete Outfitting pay for UFC Fight Night 116 in Pittsburgh: Luke Rockhold gets top payout at $10K
Tom Taylor - September 17, 2017
Last night, the UFC returned to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with UFC Fight Night 116, an exciting 10-fight card. In the main event, we saw former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold return from an absence of more than a year to batter former World Series of Fighting champ David Branch to a second round tapout via strikes. In the co-main event, meanwhile, Mike Perry picked up another brutal KO win, this time over late replacement Alex Reyes. Other highlights of the card, meanwhile, included thudding KO wins from Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman, Uriah Hall and Gilbert Burns, who flattened Hector Lombard, Sergio Moraes, Krzysztof Jotko and Jason Saggo respectively.
Mike Perry explains callout of Robbie Lawler
Tom Taylor - September 17, 2017
Last night, in the co-main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Pittsburgh, rising welterweight knockout artist “Platinum” Mike Perry picked up a big knockout win over Alex Reyes, who replaced Thiago Alves on short notice. Shortly after this thudding KO victory, Perry made a clever callout of former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
Manager drops big hints about Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza's return
Tom Taylor - September 17, 2017
Dangerous Brazilian middleweight contender Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has not been seen in the cage since April, when he was smashed to a second round TKO by new UFC interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. While nothing is official just yet, it sounds like that could change very soon. Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Jacare’s manager Gilberto Faria explained that he believes Jacare could fight Chris Weidman in December or January.