MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2017

Earlier this month, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes was involved in a near-fatal accident, as his vehicle collided with a train near his hometown in Illinois. Initially, things looked quite bleak for the former champion. Apparently, however, he is slowly improving in hospital. This according to his family, who gave an update to MMAFighting.com.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2017

The UFC has received a tremendous amount of criticism for its athlete outfitting deal with Reebok over the years. Fighters from Al Iaquinta to Matt Mitrione to Nate Quarry to Ryan Bader have spoken out against the deal, disgusted by the fact that they’re being deprived of the far larger paydays they could earn if they were allowed to pursue their own sponsorship. The financial hit that many fighters have felt since the UFC’s deal with Reebok launched has caused a significant exodus of talent from the UFC to Bellator, where fighters are allowed to work with their own sponsors. Fighters such as Matt Mitrione, Ryan Bader and Rory MacDonald have all made the jump, and Bellator President Scott Coker believes the Reebok deal is a significant contributing factor to this trend.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2017

Shortly after his UFC Fight Night 110 TKO loss to Mark Hunt, heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis surprised the MMA community by announcing that he may have fought his last fight in MMA. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, however, Lewis confirmed that he will probably fight again – and soon. “We’re just hoping that we don’t have to get surgery, because I thought about it a little bit, and it’s not going to be my last fight,” Lewis said. “I’m going to try to get back in there as soon as I can, and we’ll find out Wednesday, see what’s going on and if it’s not too serious. Hopefully I can get back in there before the end of the year.”

Russell Ess - June 26, 2017

The UFC marketing machine can help push fighters to new levels of stardom if the athletes can back it up with good performances in the Octagon. However, with so many fighters in the UFC, how does the promotion choose which fighters to highlight? UFC strawweight Felice Herrig is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Justine Kish at UFC Fight Night 112, now putting her on a three-fight winning streak. With going 4-1 in the UFC, Herrig feels that she isn’t getting as many opportunities as other fighters that may look more physically marketable.

Russell Ess - June 26, 2017

Michelle Waterson is no stranger to being in front of the camera. However, things were a bit different this time as she stripped down to her birthday suit for the new 2017 ESPN Body Issue. The ninth annual Body Issue is set to come out on newsstands on July 7 while featured photos and videos will be posted to the ESPN website on July 5.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Given that Conor McGregor will make far more money than he ever has in MMA for his August 26 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, widespread doubt has emerged that he will ever return to the UFC’s Octagon. According to McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh, who spoke on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, however, money is no longer the motivator for McGregor.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Over the last few weeks, the bizarre beef between UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and Instagram personality / Internet troll Matthew Kline Kader has been generating quite a few headlines. This beef reached a crescendo on Sunday, when Kader arrived in Sacramento, and actually showed up at Garbrandt’s home base in Team Alpha Male – though he conveniently arrived when Garbrandt wasn’t there. While it would have been strangely satisfying watching this madness come to a head, the fighter and the Internet troll never crossed paths. Given the fact that Garbrandt would probably leave Kader in the hospital, this is probably for the best.

EVOLVE MMA - June 26, 2017

This video was first published on Evolve Vacation. Wrestling is an essential discipline for any serious fighter wanting to be successful in MMA. It is also one of the core fighting disciplines in the sport. Wrestling focuses on ontrolling the opponent, and in turn, controlling the outcome of a fight. That is why so many fighters today have wrestling as their base.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated trip to Oklahoma City, Michael Chiesa lost by submission to “The MoTown Phenom” Kevin Lee. The unfortunate thing is that, while Lee’s rear-naked choke was deep, Chiesa never actually tapped out or lost consciousness. Instead, referee Mario Yamasaki misread the situation, and stopped the fight early. Since then, Yamasaki has received a good deal of criticism, as everyone from Chiesa to UFC President Dana White has shared their distaste for his officiating.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s anticipated trip to Oklahoma City, Michael Chiesa lost by submission to “The MoTown Phenom” Kevin Lee. The unfortunate thing is that, while Lee’s rear-naked choke was deep, Chiesa never actually tapped out or lost consciousness. Instead, referee Mario Yamasaki misread the situation, and stopped the fight early. Unsurprisngly, this is not the result Chiesa was hoping for. As such, the top-10 UFC lightweight is keen on a rematch with Lee as soon as possible. He made his case on the Fox Sports 1 post-fight show.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Last night, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 112, Kevin Lee scored an impressive – if controversial – submission win over Michael Chiesa. Shortly after this win, which is likely to send him careening into the UFC lightweight top-10, Lee joined a panel of Karyn Bryant, Kenny Florian, Tyron Woodley and Tony Ferguson on Fox Sports 1 to discuss the fight. It did not take long for Lee and Ferguson – who stands out as the top lightweight not named Conor McGregor – to start going at it.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Last night, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 112, rising lightweight contender Kevin Lee picked up an impressive submission win over the division’s sixth-ranked fighter, Michael Chiesa. Unfortunately, Lee’s win is shadowed in controversy, as referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight before Chiesa actually tapped. Unsurprisingly, this early stoppage generated quite a range of reactions on social media. Without further ado, here’s how the MMA community reacted to the controversial stoppage in the UFC Fight Night 112 main event.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2017

Last night, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 112 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, ranked UFC lightweights Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa collided in an anticipated grudge match. This clash of grappling specialists was a fun one while it lasted. Unfortunately, the end of the fight was shadowed in controversy. As the seconds fell off the clock in the first round, Lee took Chiesa’s back and locked up a rear-naked choke. Though the choke looked deep, referee Mario Yamasaki stopped it before any tap actually occurred. This meant a win on Lee’s record, but one with a definite asterisk attached.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2017

On Sunday night, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. In the main event of this 13-fight card, Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee sought to settle a beef stemming from a press conference brawl in an anticipated, five-round lightweight battle. Big slam from @MoTownPhenom at #UFCOKC. pic.twitter.com/685bNqIFIu

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2017

On Sunday night, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. In the co-main event of this 13-fight card, former UFC welterweight champion and Oklahoma’s own Johny Hendricks took his second fight at middleweight opposite dangerous veteran Tim Boetsch. Though Hendricks won his first bout at middleweight, things did not go so well in his second fight in the division. After a relatively slow first round, Boetsch planted a crushing head-kicked on his foe’s head, trapped him against the cage, and force-fed him a multi-course meal of uppercuts until he crumbled to the mat in a dazed heap.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2017

On Sunday night, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. The fourth fight of this event’s six-fight main card occurred at strawweight, where established veteran Felice Herrig took on the gritty Justine Kish. This one was all Herrig. Though Kish showcased all the boundless heart for which she’s become known, she simply could not keep up with her veteran foe on the mat. By the time the third round was over, Herrig had wracked up 9:22 of control time, and landed more than 100 significant strikes. She also nearly finished the fight with a deep-looking rear naked choke. Needless to say, she left Oklahoma City with a unanimous decision win.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2017

On Sunday night, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. The second fight of this anticipated, 12-fight event’s main card occurred in the welterweight division, where rangy striking specialist Tim Means took on Dominican-Canadian powerhouse Alex Garcia. It was a close fight, but in the end, Mean’s rangy striking game, superior striking output, and ability to shrug off the takedown, would earn him a well-deserved decision victory.

Tom Taylor - June 25, 2017

On Sunday night, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. The main card of this anticipated, 13-fight event occurred in the featherweight division, where our very own BJ Penn – a former two-division champ and a UFC Hall of Famer – collided with German veteran Dennis Siver. Though Penn nearly finished his foe in the second round, dropping him with a blistering uppercut, Siver was the far busier man throughout the rest of the fight.