MMA News

Russell Ess - November 7, 2016

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was issued a one-year sanction by USADA on Monday. Following an arbitration hearing by three arbitrators from McLaren Global Sports Solutions, the decision was made to give Jones his full sanction term of a one-year suspension. The UFC released a short statement on their website on Monday following the news of Jones’ USADA suspension.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2016

UFC 205, which will mark the UFC’s long awaited debut in New York City, is now just days away. As this mammoth card draws ever closer, fans, media members, fighters, and other MMA personalities have begun to offer up their predictions on the main event: a lightweight title fight between divisional king Eddie Alvarez and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. One of the latest MMA notables to offer up a prediction on this massive title fight is McGregor’s head coach, John Kavanagh.

Russell Ess - November 7, 2016

News broke on Monday that former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was given a one-year suspension term by USADA following an arbitration hearing. Jones was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation in July, which resulted in him being pulled from the UFC 200 light heavyweight title fight against champion Daniel Cormier. It was later revealed that Jones tested positive for the banned substances clomiphene and letrozole.

Russell Ess - November 7, 2016

UFC interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was given his sanction from USADA on Monday after testing positive for the banned substances clomiphene and letrozole, which were from the test results of a June 16 out-of-competition sample. The failed test results had him pulled from UFC 200’s scheduled UFC light heavyweight championship fight against champion Daniel Cormier in July. Jones was the first UFC fighter to take his USADA case to arbitration, which was heard by three arbitrators from McLaren Global Sports Solutions. After the arbitration was complete, a decision was made to give Jones his full sanction of a one-year suspension.

Russell Ess - November 7, 2016

For just the second time in his professional MMA career, Rafael dos Anjos (25-9) has lost two fights in a row. After losing the UFC lightweight belt to Eddie Alvarez at UFC Fight Night 90 back in July, the former champion fought a tough and exciting battle over the weekend against Tony Ferguson (22-3) at UFC Fight Night 98, which took place in Mexico City. Ferguson was awarded a unanimous decision over dos Anjos and has stacked up nine wins in a row, setting a record that no other lightweight has been to achieve in the UFC. Ferguson is still looking to get his shot at UFC gold on his nine-fight winning streak.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2016

Conor McGregor, who is poised to challenge Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight strap at this Saturday’s UFC 205, is the biggest star in MMA. As such, he’s floated as a potential opponent for pretty much every fighter in MMA. If you’re a fighter, and you reside anywhere near the welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight divisions, chances are you’ll be asked how you think you’d fare against the Irish superstar.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2016

This Saturday, on the main card of the universally anticipated UFC 205, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will look to move to 4-0 as a welterweight with a win over highly-regarded contender Kelvin Gastelum. The fight stands out as one of the most anticipated features of the event. Gastelum is not, however, the man Cowboy was originally supposed to face. Instead, Cowboy was initially expected to mix it up with a fellow fan favorite in Robbie Lawler in a fight that seemed like a surefire recipe for ultraviolence. Unfortunately, Lawler was forced to withdraw from this fight just days after it was announced in a grim twist that left fight fans wiping tears from their eyes. The former welterweight champ called Cowboy to break the bad news personally.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2016

This Saturday, UFC lightweight titleholder Eddie Alvarez will defend his belt against a fellow champion in featherweight king Conor McGregor. The two champs will share the main event spot of UFC 205, a card that marks the UFC’s first steps into New York City – one of the final frontiers for mixed martial arts.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2016

This coming Saturday, in the main event of the monumental UFC 205, UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor will challenge lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez in a bid to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles in two divisions in tandem. As it turns out, however, McGregor isn’t the only fighter on the UFC roster with plans to win titles in multiple divisions. Tony Ferguson, who won big over former champ Rafael Dos Anjos last weekend, also has his eyes on multi-divisional gold. In fact, he’d like to win titles in three divisions, not just two.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2016

Last month, it was announced that former women’s bantamweight champ and transcendent star Ronda Rousey would be returning to action for the first time since she was levelled by a Holly Holm head kick almost a year ago. The former champ will be making this return against current champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 207 this December 30. Shortly after this news broke, Rousey made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and made the somewhat surprising announcement that, no matter the outcome of her looming bout with Nunes, it will likely be one of her last.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2016

https://youtu.be/3tqnIUTCfV4 In mixed martial arts, we occasionally witness contests between fighters of starkly different sizes. The majority of these David vs. Goliath style fights occurred during the height of Japan’s obsession with MMA, and during the early days of the UFC. That said, we’ve also seen some pretty incredible size differences in the UFC’s modern era as well. One modern example of this type of fight is Benson Henderson’s 2015 battle with the much larger Brandon Thatch. Irish superstar Conor McGregor would also have us believe his two unforgettable bouts with Nate Diaz fall into this category, though these claims have been the subject of much debate.

Chris Taylor - November 6, 2016

Current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will attempt to make his first title defense at next month’s UFC 205 event in New York when he squares off with top contender Stephen Thompson. “Wonderboy” is a very unique fighter and his karate style has been able to frustrate many of his past opponents.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2016

On Saturday night, the UFC returned to sun soaked Mexico City, Mexico, for the first time since June of 2015. The highlight of 13-fight card was undoubtedly the main event which saw streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson best former champion Rafael Dos Anjos in an epic, five-round battle. That, of course, was not the only memorable moment of the event. Another highlight of the event occured on the preliminary card, when UFC bantamweight Joe Soto took the fourth short-notice fight of his five-fight UFC career, stepping up for a 140-catchweight bout with Mexico’s Marco Beltran on less than two weeks’s notice. Despite the brevity of his training camp, Soto performed extremely well in this hastily arranged encounter, winning the fight with a heel hook at the 1:37 mark or round 1.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2016

Kid Kash went from pro wrestling to #MMA at #ValorFights38. It didn't end well. pic.twitter.com/EJSEsVgU4f

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2016

On November 19, the UFC will promote its 100th Fight Night card. This card will emanate from the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in beautiful Sao Paolo, Brazil. Initially, the card was expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson and Brazilian veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. When Gustafsson withdrew from the bout with a lingering back injury, however, Nogueira was reassigned to a bout with long-time contender Ryan Bader.

Chris Taylor - November 6, 2016

UFC Fight Night 98 took place last night in Mexico City, Mexico. The event delivered in a big way for fight fans as it showcased a bunch of solid finishes as well as a wildly entertaining main event war between lightweights Tony Ferguson and Rafael dos Anjos.

Chris Taylor - November 6, 2016

UFC 205 goes down next Saturday November 12 live from New York City’s historic Madison Square Garden arena. The blockbuster event is arguably the most highly anticipated fight card in the promotions history. The biggest fight on the card, unsurprisingly, is its main event super-fight, which will see Eddie Alvarez defend his UFC lightweight title against reigning UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor. Alvarez won the title in July by smashing the streaking Rafael Dos Anjos to a first-round TKO win. McGregor, meanwhile, won featherweight gold with a 13-second KO of Jose Aldo last December. The brash Irish superstar has spent his last two fights battling Nate Diaz at welterweight. If the Irishman is successful against Alvarez, he will become the first fighter ever to hold two UFC titles simultaneously.

Chris Taylor - November 6, 2016

Tony Ferguson scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career last night in Mexico City, as he defeated former division title holder Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Fight Night 98 via unanimous decision. The five-round main event tilt was nothing short of thrilling, but in the end it was clear that Ferguson had done enough to outpoint “RDA” on the judges scorecards.