MMA News

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2017

Earlier this month, in the main event of the anticipated UFC 213, Cuban wrestler Yoel Romero stepped into the Octagon with surging Kiwi-Australian contender Robert Whittaker. The winner of this bout would be crowned the UFC’s interim middleweight champion, which would in turn earn them a title unifying showdown with undisputed middleweight champ Michael Bisping. Despite some real success in the first two rounds of the fight, Romero began to fade quickly in the third, and was ultimately pieced up by Whittaker for the remainder of the fight. The end result, then, was a pretty clear three rounds to two for the Australian, which meant that he, not Romero, would return home with the interim strap around his waist.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2017

In little less than two weeks’ time, in the main event of the stacked UFC 214 on July 29, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones will have the chance to settle one of the fiercest rivalries in MMA history. That doesn’t mean they’ve dialled back the trash talk in the meantime, though. The latest chapter in the volumes of trash talk between the two light heavyweight stars was written by Jones.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2017

If Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh is to believed, the Irish MMA star should be ready to fight – and beat – Floyd Mayweather any day now. On a late June episode of The MMA Hour, Kavanagh claimed McGregor would be ready for the undefeated pugilist in just three weeks’ time, far less than eight weeks he actually had left to prepare at the time. “We have two more weeks in Ireland, then the guys will head to Las Vegas,” Kavanagh said  (h/t MMAMania). “We’ll then have six weeks in Vegas before the fight, but I watched the session today and said we would be ready in three weeks.”

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2017

It has now been several months since we’ve seen former UFC middleweight champion and bona fide MMA legend Anderson Silva in the cage. Though he was briefly scheduled for a UFC 212 battle with surging middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, this plan fell through when Gastelum was flagged for marijuana metabolites, leaving Silva glued to the sidelines without a fight. Based on a Sunday evening Instagram post, it seems as though the middleweight legend is attempting to rectify his inactivity. In his post, Silva called out Nick Diaz, who he battled back in early 2015.

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

Team Alpha Male product Cynthia Calvillo took on Joanne Calderwood in the co-main event of today’s UFC fight night card in Glasgow, Scotland. The scrap between Calvillo and Calderwood went the full fifteen minutes and in the end the judges sided with Cynthia who was awarded the unanimous decision victory.

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

During tonight’s UFC on FOX post-fight show current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping took a shot at co-worker Karyn Bryant. “The Count”, who is well known for being hasty, had just finished sharing his thoughts on why Gunnar Nelson had suffered his first-round knockout loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio in the UFC Glasgow main event.

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

Santiago Ponzinibbio picked up the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career tonight in Glasgow by knocking out perennial division contender Gunnar Nelson in the very first-round. Here is how the pros reacted to Santiago Ponzinibbio’s stunning first-round finish of Gunnar Nelson.

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

A key welterweight scrap between Gunnar Nelson and Santiago Ponzinibbio served as the main event of today’s UFC fight night card in Glasgow, Scotland. Round one begins and Ponzinibbio comes forward but Gunnar catches him with an uppercut that sends Santiago tripping backwards. Ponzinibbio regains his footing but eats a left hand once he does. Gunnar presses forward and lands a kick to the body. Santiago circles and then unloads a huge right hand that rocks Nelson. Santiago chases after Gunnar and unloads a combination. A left hand sends Gunnar crashing to the canvas. Santiago with a right hand from the top and this one is all over! WOW!

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

A lightweight scrap between Stevie Ray and Paul Felder took place on today’s UFC Fight Night main card in Glasgow. Round one begins and Felder lands a good kick to the body to start. Both men fire off low kicks. Felder takes the center of the octagon and then presses forward. Ray is able to score a good left jab. The fighters clinch and Stevie pushes Paul up against the cage. Both men fire off knees from the position. Stevie Ray drops down for a double leg takedown but Felder defends. Paul scores with a nice elbow. He throws up a knee. Ray drops to the floor. Felder jumps on him with punches. He switches to elbows. Huge elbows from Felder now and Stevie Ray is out cold. WOW!!!

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Jack Marshman and Ryan Janes took place on today’s UFC Fight Night main card in Glasgow, Scotland. Round one begins and Marshman quickly takes the center of the cage. Janes fires off a front kick to the body of Jack. Marshman charges forward and throws a combination. Ryan is able to avoid any serious strikes and responds with another kick to the body. Marshman continues to press the action and lands a good combination. Janes replies with a good jab but Marshamn charges in with an overhand right that connects. He follows that up with an uppercut and then a low kick. Janes tries to circle out but eats a right hand. The Canadian, Janes, presses forward and lands a body kick. Marshman responds with a low kick followed by a right hand that lands. He leaps in with a left hand that connects. Another good left hand from Marshman. Janes responds with a right jab but Jack counters him again with a straight left. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 16, 2017

A light heavyweight scrap between Khalil Rountree and Paul Craig took place during today’s main card in UFC Glasgow. Round one begins and Craig starts off with a jab followed by a low kick. Craig circling early here. Rountree connects with a combination. He presses forward and lands a jab. Craig fakes a low kick and then throws a jab that misses the mark. Khalil counters with a left hand over the top. Craig circles and then goes to the body with a kick. Rountree comes in with a left hand and then another. Craig retreats but Khalil presses forward and lands a stiff straight left. Paul Craig should try and get this fight to the floor. He is getting pieced up here. Big left hand and then an uppercut from Rountree. Craig fires back with a body kick that lands. Rountree presses forward and throws a head kick. He follows that up with an uppercut that drops Craig. Rountree with some devastating hammer fists from the top and this one is all over!

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

On Sunday night (Sunday afternoon in North America), the UFC returned to picturesque Glasgow, Scotland with UFC Fight Night 113. After an entertaining undercard, the main card was kicked off by a heavyweight bout between England’s James Mulheron and American Justin Willis. Both heavyweights were making their UFC debuts. Though Mulheron was not without his moments, this one ultimately went to Willis, who showed off a clear wrestling advantage – and apparent strength advantage – over the course of three gruelling rounds. The American Kickboxing Academy product will leave Glasgow with a new unanimous decision win on his record.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

On Sunday night (Sunday afternoon in North America) the UFC returned to beautiful Glasgow, Scotland with UFC Fight Night 113. In the second bout of the televised prelims, in a welterweight bout between the debuting Galore Bofando and Ireland’s Charlie Ward, we witnessed a bizarre but truly impressive stoppage. The stoppage occurred in the first round. After struggling to get a read on Bofando’s unpredictable kicks, Ward initiated a tie-up. Though he appeared to be the stronger man in this position, Bofando then whipped him to the ground with a throw, causing the Irishman’s head to rattle of the canvas. The impact was so severe that it knocked Ward out cold. Bofando’s volley of follow-up punches only served to seal the deal.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

On Sunday afternoon, the UFC touched down in beautiful Glasgow, Scotland with UFC Fight Night 113. In the first bout of the 12-fight card, Leslie Smith collided with the debuting Amanda Lemos in a compelling bantamweight booking. It was a tough night for the debutant, as Smith cranked up the offense with a series of second-round elbows, which she used to earn a violent, TKO victory.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

While Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather are expected to pocket upward of $100 million apiece for their August 26 boxing mega-fight, not all fighters are so lucky. Sarah Moras, for example, is having difficulty managing the costs of her UFC 215 bout with Ashlee Evans-Smith. To help wrangle the costs of her training camp for this UFC 215 showdown with Evans-Smith, Moras has launched a GoFundMe campaign. Moras shared the campaign on Twitter over the weekend.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

Later tonight, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated return to Glasgow, Scotland, Argentine striking whiz Santiago Ponzinibbio will collide with Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson in a crucial welterweight showdown. Ahead of this fight with Nelson, Ponzinibbio spoke with MMAFighting.com about the contest itself, and where a win puts him in the stacked welterweight division.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

Over the course of their four-day, four-city press tour, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor generated countless headlines. Unfortunately, a great many of those headlines were rooted in the controversial comments they made to one another, as McGregor was criticized for comments that were perceived as racist, and Mayweather found himself under fire for homophobic comments. Yet according to UFC President Dana White, who was on site during these press events, it’s possible that no lines were crossed. “What’s going on here is as much of a fight as the fight itself,” White told MMAjunkie prior to to the final press event in London. “Mayweather has yet to meet his match physically, or verbally, in these type of situations – until now. These guys are two of the best to ever do it. To say you cross a line leading up to a fight? They’re going to try to knock each other unconscious in about a month and a half. So, I don’t know if you can actually cross a line in this business.”

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2017

On July 29, in the first of the three title fights on the stacked UFC 214 bill, destructive featherweight star Cris “Cyborg” Justino will collide with reigning Invicta bantamweight queen Tonya Evinger for the vacant UFC women’s featherweight title. While a Cyborg victory is certainly not a sure thing, many fans expect her to win this fight and kickstart her long-awaited reign as UFC featherweight queen. The UFC women’s featherweight division division, of course, is extremely thin on talent. As such, it’s hard to imagine who might be next for the winner of Cyborg and Evinger. Yet while there aren’t a ton of interesting options to pick from, Cyborg does have one interesting idea: former UFC women’s bantamweight queen Holly Holm.