MMA News

Justin Golightly - August 30, 2017

Tony Ferguson is seemingly in the best of spots and the worst of spots. He’s on a nine-fight win streak, he’s ranked #2 in the division, and he’s about to fight Kevin Lee (#7) for an interim UFC lightweight title. With Conor McGregor supposedly making his UFC return as early as the end of this year, it’s a no-brainer that Ferguson wants a fight that would simultaneously earn him a lot of money, and delete the “interim” that would preface his name. Tony Ferguson had a plan to fight Nate Diaz in order to leave no doubt he was next up for McGregor, but he told Jim Edwards at MMA Uno that it fell through. “We tried to make it happen, I wanted to make [a fight with Nate Diaz to] happen because it was going to set something up with Conor [McGregor]. Maybe want him to comeback, and defend or vacate, or something around those ends. I’m not going to make someone fight who doesn’t want to fight, like Khabib. I got Khabib and I got Nate Diaz, two guys who are really willing and waiting to fight and they just don’t want to be part of it. That tells me they know I’m the biggest threat in this division man. I might be the hammer head, I might be the Great White, or the Mecha.”

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2017

For a brief period, retired boxer Paulie Malignaggi served a sparring partner for Conor McGregor in an effort to help the Irishman prepare for his Saturday scrap with Floyd Mayweather. Unfortunately, McGregor and Malignaggi’s work together spawned one of the most high-profile beefs in combat sports, as Malignaggi didn’t like how he was portrayed by the UFC champ, and made multiple attacks on his character thereafter. This beef reached new heights in the days leading up to the big Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, when a video surfaced of Mayweather and Malignaggi suggesting Malignaggi had been a spy for Mayweather.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2017

UFC Fight Night 118, which goes down in Gdansk, Poland on October 21, has received it’s headlining bout, per Combate.com. This headliner is one that’s likely to leave more than a few fans scratching their heads. In one corner, we’ll have Brazilian knockout artist Thiago Santos, who currently holds the number-15 spot in the UFC middleweight rankings. In the other, we’ll have debuting Polish veteran Michal Materla. Shortly after Combate reported this fight, MMAJunkie.com confirmed the booking with a UFC official, though they did not confirm Combate’s claim that the fight will serve as Gdansk’s headliner.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2017

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is one of the biggest Conor McGregor critics out there. Given this, his reaction to McGregor’s 10th-round TKO loss to boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. wasn’t particularly surprising: 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

It was to be the biggest fight of the century. MMA’s double-belt poster boy strutting into the Octagon against Floyd Mayweather, the king of boxing. It was a fight that you could throw in “record-breaking” before anything you said about it and you could be right. There was one big problem though, a ton of people were not able to see it. Those that heeded the usual warning to buy early may have been on the right track. Floods of messages, tweets, and e-mails came crashing into UFC, Showtime, and the spectator’s cable providers about not being able to order or having their feed crash. Today, the UFC is trying to make it up to customers by offering full refunds. There you go. That's the right thing to do. I won't even get hung up on the use of the word "immediately" in this context. https://t.co/NPOhlJLtar

Chris Taylor - August 29, 2017

In preparation for his future December 9 suicide mission, Kader visited the grounds of T-Mobile Arena during last weekend’s Mayweather vs. McGregor event to have a “street fight”. Kader released the video footage of the “street fight” online.. The “street fight” appears to be completely staged and should put an end to anyone believing that Matthew Kline Kader has any intention of ever scrapping with a real UFC fighter. Back in June, the MMA community watched in bewilderment as bodybuilder Matthew Kline Kader and UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt engaged in a heated Twitter beef, and ultimately agreed to fight inside Team Alpha Male, Garbrandt’s home base in Sacramento, California.

Chris Taylor - August 29, 2017

The octagon will return to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this October for UFC 216. The pay-per-view fight card, which takes place Saturday October 7, will be headlined by a previously announced interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee.

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

With Jon Jones’ future up in the air and a wide talent gulf separating the top two of UFC’s light heavyweight division, there’s a need for fresh contenders. Other than the insanely quick rise of Volkan Oezdemir (#3) in just three fights, there’s simply Daniel Cormier, Alexander Gustafsson, and everyone else since Anthony Johnson left. Hopefully, that’s all about to change. Kickboxing veteran and K-1 champion Gokhan Saki will make his debut in the 205lb division at the end of September. #NorthKorea chill down Bro, dont mess up my #ufc debut in #japan If you want to see bombs dropped just watch my fight 23 September @ufc ✌️

Russell Ess - August 29, 2017

The highly anticipated boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor ended with Mayweather getting his hand raised to surpass Rocky Marciano’s historic undefeated 49-0 record to establish himself in the record books at 50-0. Mayweather calculated McGregor in the early rounds and then turned his offensive output up to earn a tenth round stoppage. Mayweather has been known for his outstanding defensive boxing skills but said in numerous interviews prior to the fight that he would give the fans the fight they wanted and that it wouldn’t go the distance. Mayweather’s promise was delivered but many argued the stoppage came a bit early while others including UFC President Dana White agreed with the ref calling the fight at the moment he did.

Russell Ess - August 29, 2017

The MMA power couple of Ronda Rousey and Travis Browne have made it official and are now man and wife. Rousey and Browne announced their engagement back in April and they tied the knot on Saturday, which was on the same day as the historic fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. UFC President Dana White was invited to the wedding but was slightly busy with his work schedule for what was expected by many to be the richest fight in the history of combat sports.

Russell Ess - August 29, 2017

Following the results of the exciting boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather, “The Notorious” will not be allowed to immediately get back to competition even if he wanted to. On Tuesday, MMA Fighting released the Nevada Athletic Commission medical suspensions served for some of the fighters from Saturday’s Mayweather vs McGregor boxing event.

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

It didn’t take a fortune teller or a “Mystic Mac” to know where Conor McGregor was most likely headed after his fight with Floyd Mayweather: Towards a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz. To be honest, McGregor could have his pick between anyone in three UFC weight classes or a return to boxing against Paul Malignaggi. However, if he keeps his promise and returns to the Octagon at the end of this year, Conor McGregor’s next fight being the younger Diaz brother is highly likely. Nate Diaz knows it too, at least it seems that way with how he’s been talking on social media. Training partner and friend of Conor McGregor, Dillon Danis posted the latest pic of McGregor on his instagram brandishing a fresh black eye at the hands of Mayweather. It didn’t take long for Nate Diaz to log on and type a single, all-encompassing word into the comment section.

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

  The fallout of Jon Jones continues. It was just last week that the GOAT candidate allegedly tested positive for the anabolic steroid Turinabol. Since then, media, managers, and UFC fighters alike have weighed in on the results of Jones’ testing and we’re still in the dark as to what will be the final call. Daniel Cormier appeared on The MMA Hour yesterday to open up more about how he feels. When Jon Jones was absent from competition the first time, Cormier faced a ton of backlash labeling him as the “paper champ” simply because he never beat Jon Jones. Now, those feelings rush back as a maximum four year suspension could be handed down to Jones.

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

Of all the things you could say about Conor McGregor, one thing is certain: You have to call him a business man. He earned an estimated $230K per second in his fight with Jose Aldo, the numbers he earned during the Floyd Mayweather fight absolutely dwarf that. However, that’s just fighting money. McGregor enjoys the luxury of being sponsored by Monster Energy and Rolls Royce just to name a few, but what really is setting McGregor up to continue making money after fighting is his own ventures. He’s already had his own Reebok shoe, released a workout program, partnered with David August for a clothing line, and now he’s about to make sure he gets a piece of your money at the liquor store. Post-fight conference Conor promotes his new notorious Irish Whiskey. #MayweatherMcGregor #MayMac #marketinggenius pic.twitter.com/EIH2wPaHbZ

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

MMA has experienced a growth over the years that has been meteoric. The sport reached such a fever pitch, that the UFC was able to sell for over $4 billion. Whether you are new or even an old fan, it’s hard to believe mixed martial arts once struggled to try and get on pay-per-view. The UFC started in 1993 and the media was quick to hold up fingers in the shapes of crosses and declare the brutal bloodsport an exercise in barbarism. Back in the 90’s, MMA was banned in many places and states, which resulted in unsanctioned fights happening underground. MMA wasn’t even legal in New York until 2016. Yet, way before that and even 10 years before the UFC’s first event, two guys named Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri were trying to make MMA happen. You’ll finally be able to hear their story in a new documentary coming to Showtime.

Justin Golightly - August 29, 2017

Big fights can turn even the best of friends against each other. Conor McGregor boxing Floyd Mayweather pitted two groups of the most die hard, passionate fans clashing with polar opposite takes. Sure, it’s easy for fans to get heated in debates with each other about scoring, who did what, and the ins-and-outs of a fight we have a lot of emotional stake in, however, even the fighters in attendance and those working the event aren’t immune to these types of altercations. Video has been going around of Brendan Schaub and Nate Diaz in mid-argument over Mayweather vs McGregor, an argument that quickly almost turned into a fight. https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/902323534365683712

Russell Ess - August 28, 2017

Both Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor delivered an exciting fight on Saturday night in what was built up to potentially be the richest bout in all of combat sports. Many things were said between the two superstar opponents leading up to the fight and when it was all said and done with Mayweather getting the stoppage in the 10th round, the two athletes showed an incredible amount of respect for one another in the ring and at the post-fight press conference.

Russell Ess - August 28, 2017

There were some fans, fighters, and pundits that believed that there was no chance in the world that Conor McGregor would be able to have a competitive fight with Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring. Boxing commentator Max Kellerman was a huge doubter of McGregor and went as far as to claim that “The Notorious” would not land a single punch on Mayweather during the entire course of their fight.