MMA News

Russell Ess - August 30, 2017

Many believed that Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor would be the richest fight in the history of combat sports by breaking the 2015 records that Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio set in 2015. Although not a sellout for the attendance at the event, Floyd Mayweather said during the post-fight press conference that they did break the record for the gate and also the pay-per-view record he and Pacquiao set in their fight. “We did break the record tonight for the biggest gate,” Mayweather stated at the post-fight press conference via MMA Weekly. “Me and Pacquiao done $72 million. I think we done somewhere over $80 million in the live gate (with McGregor).”

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2017

Over the last few months, a seemingly endless list of MMA fighters have expressed interest in testing their hands in the professional boxing ring. Fighters from Stipe Miocic to Jimi Manuwa to Artem Lobov to Anderson Silva have all done so, and now, Jose Aldo is doing the same. Aldo, of course, has shared interest in a move to boxing several times in the past, but having watched Conor McGregor perform remarkably well against Floyd Mayweather last weekend, his interest in a boxing career appears to have crescendoed to new heights.

Justin Golightly - August 30, 2017

Conor McGregor creates his own path. The biggest dig against McGregor is that he’s never defended a title, but it’s simply because he’s not forced to. Back in the day when Georges St-Pierre was knocking off contender after contender, the UFC and MMA as a whole was different. St-Pierre may have had the opportunity to change the game by fighting Anderson Silva, but it never happened. As soon as McGregor got one title against the #1 pound-for-pound in Jose Aldo, he never looked back and used it for leverage to only compete in the biggest fights possible. Unlike GSP in his prime, McGregor is just a fighter with different goals that may not align with your ideal version of a champion. However, there is good news to the purists who want him to defend a title, but it may not happen the way you think.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2017

Former boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi is no fan of UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor. After joining the Irishman’s camp to help him prepare for Floyd Mayweather Jr., he abruptly stormed out, feeling that he’d been unfairly represented by the champ and his team. Since then, Malignaggi has repeatedly berated McGregor in interviews and on social media. He’s also clashed with a significant portion of the MMA community, battling fans, media members, and even other fighters on Twitter. The opposition in his latest skirmish? UFC featherweight king Max Holloway. The exchange began when Malignaggi debated the prevalence of body shots in MMA with reporter Damon Martin.

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: 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2017

Earlier this month, the combat sports world was rocked by the news that Jon Jones had failed a drug test administered on the eve of his UFC 214 battle with Daniel Cormier. As the latest in an unfortunately long string of drug-related incidents, this failure called into question Jones’ status as the UFC’s new light heavyweight champion, and his legacy one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport. On a recent edition of The Joe Rogan Experience, long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan weighed in on what this test means for Jones’ legacy. He wasn’t exactly gentle.

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

Coming off the biggest payday of his career, Conor McGregor is expected to head back to the UFC and likely defend his UFC lightweight title. With his guaranteed $30 million fight purse for the historic boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, “The Notorious” will earn a lot more in his cut of the pay-per-view buys and endorsements for the fight. With such a big shift in pay in his professional boxing debut, what will Conor’s fight purses look like going back to the UFC?

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

If you’re reading this, you were probably invested enough in Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather’s fight that you were involved in some debating pre-fight, maybe even post-fight. No matter which side you were on, chances are you argued with someone online or lost/won a bet with a friend in real life. You definitely know some of these conversations got so heated, that a fight was going to break out. Especially in Vegas, where booze rains down like public fountains. Even Brendan Schaub and Nate Diaz got into it backstage. But in a movie theater? Over across the sea in the UK, around 30 people got wrapped up in a fight as the boxing match ended inside the cinema. “‘It was all over as quickly as it started,’ said one person who was in the cinema at the time. ‘But there was probably about 30 people involved. There was only about three security guards. ‘The staff did their best but they were clearly outnumbered. It was clear some of the people involved had been drinking. A spokeswoman for Vue said: ‘Vue screened the fight to over 8,500 customers across 47 cinemas. ‘Cinemas had increased security, strict access policies and procedures and strict alcohol policies in place. ‘We can confirm there was one incident which took place. The safety and security of our staff and customers remains our top priority at all times.” – From The Daily Mail.

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.