MMA News

Russell Ess - September 11, 2017

The UFC 215 main event featuring Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg was canceled just a few days before the fight date, which took place over the weekend in Edmonton, Canada. The announcement that Borg was pulled from the fight came on Thursday with doctors ruling the UFC flyweight title challenger unfit to compete due to an illness. With Borg given no choice but to have to pull out from the fight, many assumed that the fighter was having complications with making weight. However, with the UFC releasing a statement claiming an illness was the issue and doctors not clearing Borg to fight, it seems a choice to fight was completely out of Borg’s discretion.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

This Saturday night, on the very same night that Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin duke it out in the boxing ring, the UFC will return to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with UFC Fight Night 116. The card will be headlined by a middleweight scrap between two decorated talents. In one corner, we’ll have former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight king Luke Rockhold, who will be stepping into the cage for the first time since he lost the title to Michael Bisping in June of 2016. In the other corner, we’ll have former two-division World Series of Fighting champ David Branch, who will look to build on the momentum of a defeat of Krzysztof Jotko in his recent UFC debut.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

Shortly after Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone agreed to fight Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night 118 in Gdansk, Poland, he told MMAFighting.com that he “didn’t know anything,” about the man he had just agreed to fight. According to Till, who appeared on a recent edition of Talking Brawls podcast, that will soon change. As the much larger man, he expects to blow through “Cowboy.” “Why should he know me?” Till queried on the podcast (h/t SevereMMA.com). “It’s not disrespectful. He’s going to know me when I knock him out. That’s just irrelevant; why should he know me?”

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

Over the weekend, on the main card of UFC 215, long-time featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens picked up one of the best wins of his career, blasting former Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez to a lopsided, unanimous decision win. With this win, Stephens set himself up for more big fights inside the talent-rich UFC featherweight division. His main priority, however, is a pay increase.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

On October 7, in the main event of UFC 216, streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson will battle rising star Kevin Lee for the interim UFC lightweight title. It should come as no surprise that the two dynamic lightweights are exchanging plenty of verbal heat in the buildup to this anticipated scrap. The pair’s latest exchange occurred on Twitter, where Kevin Lee got things started, assuring that he’ll dominate Ferguson on the mic when it comes time for trash talk.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

Conor McGregor didn’t beat Floyd Mayweather. Instead, he succumbed to a storm of 10th-round punches dealt by the undefeated boxing legend. That said, McGregor did far better than many fans and pundits expected, arguably winning the fist few rounds of the fight, and surprisingly, out-landing many of Mayweather’s previous opponents – stars like Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, and Miguel Cotto.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

Back in August of 2016 – now well over a year ago – at a press conference for UFC 202, Conor McGregor and his opponent Nate Diaz got into a heated confrontation. This confrontation reached a hectic crescendo when McGregor and Diaz’s team got into a strange firefight, whipping water bottles and energy drink cans at one another from opposite sides of the David Copperfield Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unsurprisingly, the sanctioning Nevada Athletic Commission was not particularly thrilled with this rather juvenile bottle battle. After months and months of proceedings, McGregor was handed a $25,000 fine and given 25 hours of community service for the debacle. Diaz, meanwhile, was fined $15,000 and given 15 hours of community service.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2017

On Saturday night, the UFC touched down in the Canadian combat sports hotspot of Edmonton, Alberta. One of the most compelling features of the UFC 215 main card – at least from an entertainment standpoint – was a featherweight scrap between former Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez and long-time featherweight contender Jeremy Stephens. The fight delivered just as we all hoped it would, earning both men $50,000 Fight of the Night checks. Unfortunately for Melendez, it’s not a fight he’s going to forget anytime soon. Early on in the contest, he began absorbing crackling leg kicks from Stephens. These kicks quickly damaged his legs, causing him to fall on several occasions – though he always returned to his feet, demonstrating all the heart and toughness he and his training partners are known for.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in the Canadian combat sports mecca of Edmonton, Alberta with the action-packed UFC 215. In the UFC 215 main event, we saw UFC women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes score a razor-close win over surging challenger Valentina Shevchenko. In the co-main event, meanwhile we saw former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos establish himself as one of the hottest contenders at welterweight, steamrolling Neil Magny to a first-round choke. Elsewhere on the main card, we saw former UFC flyweight contender Henry Cejudo club Wilson Reis to a first-round win, while Ilir Latifi slowed the rise of Tyson Pedro with a decision, and knockout artist Jeremy Stephens spoiled the featherweight debut of Gilbert Melendez with a unanimous nod.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in the Canadian MMA hub of Edmonton, Alberta with the anticipated UFC 215. In the UFC 215 main event, we saw UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes score a razor-close win over red-hot challenger Valentina Shevchenko. In the co-main event, meanwhile we saw former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos assert himself as one of the hottest contenders at welterweight, steamrolling Neil Magny to a first round submission win. Elsewhere on the main card, we saw former UFC flyweight contender Henry Cejudo club Wilson Reis to a first-round win, while Ilir Latifi slowed the rise of Tyson Pedro with a decision, and Jeremy Stephens spoiled the featherweight debut of Gilbert Melendez with a unanimous nod.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Shortly after his steamrolling of long-time welterweight contender Neil Magny, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos began calling for a scrap with reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. “This division’s wide open; all the top-five, top-six guys in this division have lost to the champion or to the last challenger, which was Demian Maia,” dos Anjos told reporters after UFC 215 (h/t MMAJunkie.com). “(Stephen) Thompson lost twice to Woodley already. I’m the new blood in this division. I was getting ready to fight Woodley if Maia didn’t take the fight, but he ended up taking the fight. But I was getting ready for it, so here I am.”

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC 215, long-time welterweight contender Neil Magny moved to slow the welterweight rise of former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. Regrettably, the fight went disastrously for Magny, as he was taken down and abruptly submitted by his dangerous foe. In the immediate fallout of his submission loss to dos Anjos, Magny took to his official Instagram account to issue a quick statement on the fight. While he clearly isn’t happy with the result, he is pure class in defeat.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Earlier this month, UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby made the surprising admission that, if Demian Maia couldn’t be ready in time to battle welterweight champ Tyron Woodley at UFC 214, the title shot would have gone to former UFC lightweight king Rafael Dos Anjos. “What’s interesting about this [dos Anjos vs. Magny] fight is that we obviously had the fight with Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, and there was some question… Tyron’s team made it public that Tyron was fighting on this card, and Maia wasn’t initially sure he could do it,” Shelby explained. “The guy waiting there for that fight was RDA. He had already accepted the fight with Tyron had Maia not been able to do it.”

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with UFC 215. When the card’s originally scheduled Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg main event was nixed at the last minute, its Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko co-main event was elevated to the headlining spot. Nunes and Shevchenko’s headlining women’s bantamweight title showdown was an incredibly competitive one, as both women enjoyed many moments of success and the momentum swung several times. In the end, however, the judges awarded the win to Nunes by split decision. Unsurprisingly, many members of the MMA community felt the judges got the decision wrong – that includes Valentina Shevchenko herself.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Last night, the UFC touched down in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with UFC 215. In the co-main event of this anticipated card, former UFC lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos took his second fight at welterweight, this time battling long-time contender Neil Magny. Though Magny towered over Dos Anjos, the former lightweight champ made this one look easy. The Brazilian wasted no time grounding the fight, at which point he climbed into position to lock up an arm-triangle choke, and ultimately, the tap. Just like that, the former lightweight king is a legitimate contender in the shark-infested waters of the welterweight division.

Tom Taylor - September 10, 2017

Last night, in the main event of UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes put her belt on the line opposite perhaps her fiercest rival: Kyrgyzstani striker Valentina Shevchenko. The fight registered as an incredibly competitive one, and after five close rounds, pretty much every onlooker was happy not to be a judge. In the end, though, the victory went to Nunes via split decision, which means the belt will remain around her waist.

Justin Golightly - September 9, 2017

Just on their names alone, the fight between Neil Magny and Rafael dos Anjos could have been a main event if this was a UFC on FOX card and not a pay-per-view event. With an intimidating record, Magny was at number six in the welterweight division as he welcomed dos Anjos into the weight class for his second fight. A win over Magny would be a huge statement for dos Anjos to make after moving up in weight, so that’s exactly what he went out there and did. https://twitter.com/Jonnyboy_6969/status/906729105982464001

Justin Golightly - September 9, 2017

Henry Cejudo is undefeated in the UFC except for losing to nearly-perfect UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, and the perpetual second-in-command, Joseph Benavidez. His opponent Wilson Reis was on a three-fight win streak until also running into mini-boss Mighty Mouse. Their clash tonight was a battle between two of the top flyweights in the world and who can step closer to getting another shot at that seemingly unreachable belt. Immediately, it was clear Cejudo has drastically improved and may have been watching some Conor McGregor tape. https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/906720553981136897