MMA News

Tom Taylor - August 15, 2017

This September 16, in the main event of the UFC’s return to Pittsburgh, PA, former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold will return from a long hiatus opposite former two-division World Series of Fighting champion David Branch. Speaking to Duane Finley of FloCombat.com, Rockhold shared his thoughts on this upcoming scrap with Branch. Apparently, he’s not a huge fan of the former WSOF titleholder.

Justin Golightly - August 15, 2017

Despite his on-again-off-again success in the UFC, Eddie Alvarez is an exceptional fighter. That dude is the only guy to be both a Bellator and UFC lightweight champion. If you go further back, he’s beat the who’s who of anyone in his division from the soil of America to the shores of Japan in smaller promotions. Most of which were former champions in their own right. That’s how he became the king of the underground. If there’s one who knows Conor McGregor, it’s Alvarez. After causing Joey Diaz to have an aneurysm after he beat Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight belt, Alvarez lost it directly to McGregor in a flurry of super Sayain punches. You’d think that would make Eddie salty, but he thinks you’re a fool is you don’t think Conor McGregor can beat Floyd Mayweather.

Tom Taylor - August 15, 2017

Back in February, former Strikeforce lightweight champion and current Bellator lightweight contender Josh Thomson was knocked out in a fight with Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Regrettably, the catalyst for the knockout seemed to be an inadvertent but illegal clash of heads. Given this controversial end, Thomson moved to appeal the loss, hoping the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) would rule the fight a no-contest. Unfortunately, the CSAC opted not to change the official result – despite the fact that Thomson was not even present at the ruling to argue his case.

Justin Golightly - August 15, 2017

It’s no secret what the public thinks of Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather’s boxing match. They’ll tell you every minute of every day on a myriad of social platforms. Some are fervently arguing McGregor’s power is just too mutant, others clap back with the fact that the best boxers on our planet couldn’t beat Mayweather, so how will McGregor do it? As with any war or conflict, some people just choose to remain conscientious observers. Surprisingly, the same goes for UFC fighters. The folks at MMA Crazy TV put together a collection of fighter prediction and some of them said some very interesting things. Most of them agree though, that it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Conor McGregor beats Mayweather. “Floyd’s not just a better boxer, but a smarter fighter, and he’s a championship level fighter. He’s obviously the better boxer, we look at it and we can see he’s the better boxer. But sometimes, being better isn’t enough, because Conor will hit him with some unpredictable stuff. Floyd’s never fought a switch stance fighter before, I think Conor sees that. Floyd’s never fought someone who can handle the clinch like that. Floyd’s fought power hitters before, but he’s never fought somebody with that type of movement, even that type of stance. If it was against any other boxer, I think Conor would stand a really great chance of winning.” — Kevin Lee on Mayweather vs. McGregor.

Justin Golightly - August 15, 2017

Pro wrestlers are trying to fight MMA, fighters are running the ropes in wrestling rings, and everyone seems to want to box. It seems that the new success in combat sports if to be flexible and chase the money wherever you can find it. One of the latest transfers is Heather Hardy, who made her successful Bellator debut against Alice Yauger at Bellator 180. She’s an undefeated boxer who still — and intends to defend — her WBC Female Super Bantamweight and Featherweight titles. So, when she started talking about Conor McGregor boxing Floyd Mayweather on The MMA Hour, it’s a good voice to listen to. That is, in between the chuckles. “If Conor was going to steal Floyd’s wallet, I don’t know if he could get it back on the street.” – Heather Hardy #TheMMAHour

Tom Taylor - August 15, 2017

UFC 217, which goes down on November 4 inside New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden, has grown by two big fights. The first of these fights will occur at heavyweight, where top-15 fighters Curtis Blaydes and Alexey Oleynik will collide. The second will go down at light heavyweight, where top-15 contenders Patrick Cummins and Corey Anderson will do battle. This Blaydes-Oleynik fight was first reported by Shawn Bitter on Twitter, though it has not yet been made official by the UFC. UFC 217’s Cummins-Anderson fight was first reported by Farah Hannoun. It has also not been confirmed.

Tom Taylor - August 15, 2017

Originally, TJ Dillashaw was expected to battled Cody Garbrandt for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 213. Unfortunately, Garbrandt was forced out of this anticipated grudge match with a back injury, which left Dillashaw without an opponent. Having been deprived of this title fight with Garbrandt, Dillashaw then set his sights on a drop to flyweight, where he hoped to challenge dominant champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Unfortunately, Johnson wasn’t on board with this plan, and Dillashaw had to shift his focus back to a fight with Garbrandt.

Tom Taylor - August 15, 2017

Former two-division boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi joined Conor McGregor‘s training camp with the intention of helping the Irish MMA star prepare for his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Unfortunately, he left the camp after just a few sparring sessions, feeling that he’d been unfairly represented by the Irishman and his team. Not long thereafter, UFC President Dana White released footage that appeared to show McGregor dropping Malignaggi, confirming what McGregor and his camp had claimed, and poking holes in Malignaggi’s telling of the story.

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2017

Jon Jones picked up arguably the greatest win of his professional mixed martial arts career last month in Anaheim when he scored a third-round TKO victory over Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 214. Immediately following his victory over “DC”, which earned Jones the UFC’s coveted light heavyweight championship, “Bones” decided to issue a challenge to former UFC heavyweight kingpin Brock Lesnar.

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2017

Back in November of 2015, Tae Hyun Bang stepped onto the canvas with Leo Kuntz. He did so on the undercard of a UFC Fight Night in Seoul, in his native South Korea. In the end, Bang and Kuntz’s fight went down as a fairly forgettable one, with Bang earning a close, split decision win. The final hours before this fight, however, stand out in the memory as some seriously suspect ones.

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2017

Yesterday, we reported some unfortunate news that beloved pro-wrestling legend Ric “The Nature Boy” Flair had been hospitalized over the weekend. Thankfully wrestling fans were able to let out a big “Wooooo” of relief when Legacy Talent CEO Melinda Morris Zanoni revealed that the 68-year-old wrestling legend was doing alright.

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2017

Former two-weight boxing champion Paul Malignaggi was recently involved in two hard sparring sessions with current UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, this to help prepare the Irish star for his upcoming showdown with Floyd Mayweather. This much we know.

Russell Ess - August 14, 2017

There was a big buzz late Friday when UFC President Dana White released video footage of the debated knock down/push down of Paulie Malignaggi. Malignaggi took to Twitter to defend his case that it was, in fact, a push down while many fans, fighters, and pundits called it a knock down while some deemed it a slip.

Russell Ess - August 14, 2017

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has signed his contract to fight UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping at UFC 217 on November 4 in New York. By the time of UFC 217, it will be just shy of four years since St-Pierre last fought in the UFC as his last competition was on November 16, 2013, where he successfully defended his title against Johny Hendricks winning a close split decision.

Tom Taylor - August 14, 2017

The next crack at Michael Bisping’s UFC middleweight title will not go to interim champion Robert Whittaker. It will not go to top contender Yoel Romero, or former champion Luke Rockhold. It will not go to Chris Weidman or Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Instead, it will go to Georges St-Pierre, a welterweight great who has not fought since 2013 and has never competed at middleweight. Needless to say, news of St-Pierre’s title shot was no exactly well-received. Luckily, St-Pierre revealed on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that, if he beats Bisping, he is contractually obligated to defend the middleweight title, rather than chase a money fight in another division. This means that order should return to the middleweight division soon after this Bisping vs. St-Pierre fight.

Tom Taylor - August 14, 2017

Having relinquished the UFC light heavyweight title to his arch rival Jon Jones, former champion Daniel Cormier now finds himself at a crossroads. Really, if he doesn’t retire, he would seem to have two options. The first is to keep slogging away at light heavyweight in hopes of earning a third fight with Jones. The second would be to return to heavyweight, where his career began, and attempt to compete with apex predators like Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez. Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Cormier discussed a possible move back to heavyweight. Apparently, the move back up would not be an easy one, but it’s one he’d certainly consider.

Tom Taylor - August 14, 2017

Late last month, in the main event of UFC 214, then UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier attempted to defend his title against his fiercest rival, former champion Jon Jones. Unfortunately for Cormier, Jones won this fight via third-round knockout, moving to 2-0 in their rivalry as he did. Post-fight, Cormier suggested that, having lost twice to Jones, theirs wasn’t actually much of a rivalry. Despite this post-fight claim, however, Cormier announced on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that he actually believes he and Jones will fight for a third time.

Tom Taylor - August 14, 2017

Bryan Caraway hasn’t stepped into the cage since May of 2016. From the sounds of it, he’s eager to change that very soon. On Monday morning, the long-time bantamweight contender, who currently holds the number-6 spot in the official UFC bantamweight rankings, made a call out of brick-fisted Brazilian John Lineker.