MMA News

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.

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2017

Last night, on the main card of UFC Fight Night 116 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, rapidly rising welterweight contender Kamaru Usman picked produced a thunderous, first-round KO win over the dangerous Sergio Moraes. With this win, “The Nigerian Nightmare” further established himself as one of the brightest young contenders in the UFC welterweight division. In his post-fight interview with Jon Anik, Kamaru Usman sought to capitalize on this growing reputation with a callout of former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, who now stands out as one of the top contenders at welterweight.

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.

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. 

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2017

If things had gone according to the initial plan, rising welterweight knockout artist “Platinum” Mike Perry would have battled former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves in the co-main event of the UFC’s exciting stop in Pittsburgh last night. Regrettably, Alves opted to sit this fight out, worrying for his family in Florida as the threat of Hurricane Irma loomed. With Alves out, the UFC quickly found a replacement opponent for Perry in Alex Reyes. While Reyes deserves props for taking this dangerous fight on such short notice, the fight itself did not go well for him, as he became the latest victim in Mike Perry’s knockout filled highlight reel.

Chris Taylor - September 17, 2017

UFC President Dana White was not happy when he heard the result of Saturday’s boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Glennady Golovkin. Dana White was in attendance for the highly anticipated boxing match which took place under the bright lights of T-Mobile Arena.

Chris Taylor - September 17, 2017

Current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will look to defend his title for a second time when he squares off with former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 217 on November 4 in New York. The fight (GSP vs. Bisping) has been highly criticized by fellow middleweight fighters who believe that the French Canadian should not have received an immediate title shot in a division where he has no prior wins.

Chris Taylor - September 17, 2017

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold returned to the octagon in the headliner of last night’s UFC Fight Night 116 event in Pittsburgh where he scored a second-round stoppage victory over David Branch. Following the big win, Luke Rockhold called out former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre requesting that the French Canadian superstar withdraw from his upcoming title fight with Michael Bisping at UFC 217.

Chris Taylor - September 17, 2017

Current UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor tuned in to watch last night’s highly anticipated Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin boxing match. The action packed scrap lived up to the hype as ‘Canelo’ and ‘GGG’ went to war for twelve rounds.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A key middleweight scrap between former title holder Luke Rockhold and perennial contender David Branch headlined tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 card in Pittsburgh. Round one begins and Branch starts off quickly with a combination. Rockhold fires off a kick to the body followed by a low kick. Branch presses forward and pushes Luke against the cage. The fighters engage in the clinch and then break. Branch storms after Rockhold with a flurry of punches. He is connecting. Rockhold is in trouble but manages to clinch up. Branch with a takedown but Luke is able to stand back up. The fighters clinch again and Rockhold lands a knee. Branch fires off a knee of his own. They break and Rockhold lands an inside leg kick. Branch charges forward and lands a right hand. He presses Luke back against the cage and works some shots to the body. Rockhold switches the position and unloads a knee. The fighters break and Branch goes to the body with a jab. Rockhold with a low kick. Rockhold appears to poke Branch in the eye. David charges forward and lands a right. Luke grabs a hold of the former World Series of Fighting champion and drags him to the floor. Ten seconds remain. Round one comes to an end with Rockhold on top.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A welterweight scrap between Mike Perry and Alex Reyes served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 fight card in Pittsburgh. Round one begins and Perry is pressing the pace. He is clearly looking for another big knockout. Perry is being very aggressive but Reyes is doing a good job of avoiding and countering. Perry settles down a bit and begins to find his range. Mike lands a nice knee and then follows that up with a big right hand. Reyes decides to clinch up. Perry throws an elbow. He lands a brutal knee that sends Alex crashing to the floor. This one is all over. Mike Perry ladies and gentlemen!

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Hector Lombard and Anthony Smith took place during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 main card in Pittsburgh. Round one begins and Smith lands a big head kick early. Lombard eats it and comes forward with a flurry of punches. Smith circles off the cage and lands a kick. He misses with a left hook. Lombard with a good right hand. Smith attempts to shoot for a takedown but it is not there. Lombard with some strikes from the top. Smith scrambles back to his feet. Lombard hits him with a pair of hard low kicks. Smith misses with an attempted head kick. Lombard with a nice counter right hand. He charges forward and lands another right. Smith moves off the cage but eats some low kicks for his troubles. One minute remains in round one. Another hard leg kick from Hector and then another. Smith attempts another head kick but it misses the mark. Lombard with another hard low kick. Smith comes forward but Lombard lands a nice counter right hand.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

Earlier tonight news broke that former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Shogun Rua was forced out of his scheduled rematch with Ovince Saint Preux due to an undisclosed injury. With that said, “OSP” will remain in the UFC Fight Night 117 main event as the UFC has brought back former middleweight title challenger Yushin Okami to fight on short notice.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A lightweight tilt between Tony Martin and Olivier Aubin-Mercier took place during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 prelims in Pittsburgh. Round one begins and Martin quickly takes the center of the cage. He throws a nice inside low kick that lands. Aubin-Mercier misses with an attempted right hook. Both men fire off hard low kicks. Olivier goes to the body with a kick. Martin presses forward but can’t find an opening. Olivier lands a left hand and then follows that up with a kick to the body. Martin circles and then connects with a jab. Aubin-Mercier just misses with a high kick. He lands a left. Martin quickly responds with a right hand. Tony with another straight right. He lands an uppercut. Olivier drops down and shoots in for a takedown. He presses Martin against the cage but Tony switches the position. He lands two nice knees to the body of Olivier. Aubin-Mercier gets a body lock and is able to drag Martin to the floor. Olivier with a couple of nice shots before Martin scrambles and gets back to his feet. Olivier with a nice left hand before the horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A heavyweight bout between Daniel Spitz and Anthony Hamilton took place during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 prelims in Pittsburgh. Round one begins and Spitz fires off a front kick to the body. Hamilton leads in with a right hand but Spitz counters him with one of his own. Anthony falls to the mat and Spitz quickly begins dropping down some heavy ground and pound. This one is all over folks. WOW!

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Uriah Hall and Krzysztof Jotko took place during tonight’s UFC Fight Night 116 prelims in Pittsburgh. Round one begins and Jotko immediately begins to smother Hall with punches. He lands an uppercut followed by a right hand. Hall circles away from the fence but Jotko stays on him. Jotko with a right hook and then shoots in for a takedown. Hall is able to stuff the attempt. He lands a nice inside leg kick and then circles out. Jotko chases after Hall and lands a nice uppercut. That appears to stun Hall. More uppercuts from Jotko. Hall is in all sorts of trouble. He falls to the canvas. Jotko follows Hall to the ground and quickly moves to full mount. He begins raining down punches. Hall scrambles but gives up his back. Jotko locks in a rear-naked choke. Hall is able to escape and get back to his feet. Uriah lands a left hook. Jotko fires back with punches. The horn sounds to spell an end to a crazy opening round.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2017

The octagon returns to Pittsburgh tonight for UFC Fight Night 116. The event is headlined by a key middleweight scrap featuring former division champion Luke Rockhold squaring off with perennial contender David Branch.

Justin Golightly - September 16, 2017

When Thiago Alves had to pull out of his fight with Mike Perry at UFC Pittsburgh, Perry didn’t bat an eye at the change of an opponent. Even though it was only three-days notice, Alex Reyes didn’t either. The former King of the Cage lightweight champion jumped at his chance to get into the UFC just like anyone would, but he wasn’t always this lucky. Last October, Reyes was supposed to step in to face Josh Burkman at UFC Fight Night 96 but had to turn the fight down because of an injury himself. Not only is tonight a redemption for Alex Reyes, but a chance to make a serious statement.  “It was heartbreaking at that time. You hope and pray that you get called up someday, you work your whole career, you work hard and you get that call, but you can’t [accept it] because of injury. It was tough, man. It was a tough injury. And I came back from it and I knew that if I ever got that call again, there was going to be no hesitation. Sh-t man, when I got that first call, I wanted to accept it anyway. That’s why it was so heartbreaking, because I wanted to say yes but my body couldn’t. It wasn’t even saying no, it just couldn’t. So as soon as I got that call [this week[, man, I was like, ‘Let’s go. I’m ready. No hesitation. I belong here.’”