MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2016

With Miesha Tate retired and Holly Holm on a two-fight losing streak, Julianna Peña and Valentina Shevchenko stand out as the two best female bantamweights on earth outside of Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey. According to a Monday afternoon report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, they could soon be pitted against each other. Not officially done quite yet, but hearing some very good vital signs regarding a fight between Julianna Pena and Valentina Shevchenko.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2016

Last month, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Mexico, Tony Ferguson earned a unanimous decision victory over former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos. With this win, which was undeniably the biggest of his career, Ferguson extended his win streak to a whopping nine straight. From there, Ferguson seemed ready for a title shot against new lightweight champ Conor McGregor, or at the very least, an interim title fight with the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov. Unfortunately for Ferguson, however, McGregor recently embarked on a hiatus from competition, and Nurmagomedov won’t be ready to fight until the spring.

Russell Ess - December 5, 2016

The main event for UFC 206 took a turn when it was revealed that UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier would not compete on the card due to suffering an injury. Cormier was set to rematch Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in a five-round championship fight.

Russell Ess - December 5, 2016

If you’re familiar with Don Frye, you know the MMA veteran is in the UFC Hall of Fame for good reason. “The Predator” fought in the early days of the UFC, making his professional debut at UFC 8 where he fought three different men in one night in a David vs. Goliath tournament, beating all three of his bigger opponents in the first round. The American’s skill and spirit made him a favorite amongst the fans from the early days of MMA.

Russell Ess - December 5, 2016

It is fight week as UFC 206 takes place this weekend on December 10.

bjpenndotcom - December 5, 2016

On this episode of American Animals, Ian and Erik cover the biggest news in all of MMA and preview The Ulitmate Fighter 24 Finale. Also, Tim Kennedy and Cub Swanson join the show to discuss their careers, recent buzz about the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association, and their upcoming fights at UFC 206 in Toronto. Join these two veterans for this episode of American Animals! You can email your questions and comments to info@2americananimals.com and find the show at www.2americananimals.com on the web, on social media at facebook.com/2AmericanAnimals and @2AmericanAnimal on Twitter and @2AmericanAnimals on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2016

When Conor McGregor tapped to a Nate Diaz rear-naked choke in March of this year, it influenced him to make a complete overhaul of his camp. Part of this overhaul was the introduction of BJJ star Dillon Danis to his roster of training partners. Danis would become an instrumental part of McGregor’s training for his rematch with Diaz – a fight he would win with a hard-fought majority decision. In the buildup to this rematch with Diaz, Danis fielded many questions about a possible jump to MMA – especially when he himself exchanged a few words with Diaz. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Danis confirmed with host Ariel Helwani that an MMA career is still very much a part of his plan, and that a fight with Diaz is still a possibility that interests him.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2016

On December 30, in the co-main event of UFC 207, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will attempt to defend his title against dangerous undefeated striker Cody Garbrandt. It’s arguable, of course, that the shot should have instead been awarded to former champ TJ Dillashaw, but Cruz and Garbrandt’s sizzling beef was more than enough to convince the UFC that this was the fight to make. Cruz and Garbrandt’s beef has been slow-cooking for weeks, stewing in a base of trash talk and back-stage encounters. During an appearance on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Cruz discussed this beef with host Ariel Helwani, and weighed in on whether or not he’s gotten into Garbrandt’s head.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2016

The motherfucking champ champ! A video posted by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Dec 5, 2016 at 7:18am PST

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2016

https://youtu.be/UFi_2Zb7g00 The UFC has not touched down in Toronto since late 2013, when Jon Jones defended the light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson in one of the greatest championship fights ever. This Saturday, the organization will finally return to the Canadian metropolis with UFC 206.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2016

Last Saturday, the UFC returned to Las Vegas, Nevada with the finale of the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter. The card was headlined by a flyweight title fight between dominant champ Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and unsung challenger Tim Elliott. The co-main event, meanwhile, pitted top-ranked flyweights and recent Mighty Mouse victims Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo against each other. It was a fantastic fight. In the end, this action-packed co-main event would be awarded to Benavidez, who walked away with a split decision win. This result was extremely controversial, however, as Cejudo dropped Benavidez in the first, and enjoyed plenty of success in the second and third rounds. In fact, many fans believe he should have been awarded the win.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2016

Last Saturday, on the undercard of the latest Ultimate Fighter finale, jiu jitsu ace Ryan Hall captured a decision win over former UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard. It was undoubtedly the biggest win of the grappling specialist’s mixed martial arts career. The way Hall achieved that win, however, was rather polarizing. While there are plenty of fans out there who were happy to call it innovative and clever, others found it rather unsavory, as Hall repeatedly flopped into guard, attempting to goad Maynard into a grappling exchange.

Chris Taylor - December 4, 2016

The octagon returns to Toronto, Ontario, Canada this Saturday for the UFC 206 pay-per-view event.

Chris Taylor - December 4, 2016

https://youtu.be/i72RS_aR4Lk UFC welterweight standout Matt “The Immortal” Brown will square off with surging division contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone on the main card of UFC 206 this Saturday night in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Chris Taylor - December 4, 2016

https://youtu.be/GwGOjCV73Wk Former UFC lightweight title challenger Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will return to the octagon at next weekend’s UFC 206 pay-per-view event when he squares off with Matt Brown in a welterweight bout on the evenings main card.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2016

Earlier this year, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to Mexico, Mexican strawweight Alexa Grasso made her long awaited UFC debut against a game Heather Jo Clark. Grasso would win this debut with a dominant unanimous decision, improving her record to a flawless 9-0 in the process. In victory, Grasso proved that she absolutely deserves a spot in the UFC’s ever-growing strawweight division, and left fans eager for her next bout. Now, the details of that next bout have emerged.

Chris Taylor - December 4, 2016

UFC flyweight champion continued his reign of dominance at last night’s TUF 24 Finale event in Las Vegas, scoring a unanimous decision victory over The Ultimate Fighter winner Tim Elliott in the evenings main event. The victory marked Johnson’s ninth straight title defense and improved his overall mixed martial arts record to a remarkable 25-2-1.

Chris Taylor - December 4, 2016

The Ultimate Fighter coaches Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo went to war in the co-main event of last night’s TUF 24 Finale fight card in Las Vegas. After three-rounds of back and forth action, Bruce Buffer stepped in to the octagon and announced that Benavidez had been awarded the victory via split-decision.