MMA News
Alex Pereira reveals Jamahal Hill fight is first of new eight-fight UFC contract: "Very grateful"
Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2024
Light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira won’t be leaving the UFC for quite a while. ‘Poatan’ is fresh off a battle for vacant light-heavyweight gold in November at UFC 295. In the main event of the New York card, Alex Pereira faced Jiri Prochazka. ‘Denisa’ never lost the title himself, but vacated it due to injury in late 2022. In his first fight back, he lost to the Brazilian by second-round knockout.
Brandon Royval admits he accepted UFC Mexico City backup spot for free vacation: "For sure I want that!"
Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2024
UFC flyweight Brandon Royval wasn’t really expecting to fight Brandon Moreno this Saturday night. ‘Raw Dawg’ is fresh off a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja in December at UFC 296 in December. The bout took place over two years after their first bout, which saw ‘The Cannibal’ win by second-round submission. While Brandon Royval put forth a better performance last year, he still suffered a unanimous decision loss.
Dana White reveals Vladimir Putin gifts to Khabib Nurmagomedov after Conor McGregor win: "Whatever he wanted"
Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2024
Dana White has opened up on the aftermath of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229. Over five years removed from UFC 229, the card is still the highest-grossing in MMA history. At the top of the billing, were lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Conor McGregor. Leading into the event, the two stars were in a heated feud, that would continue for years beyond that night in 2019.
Brandon Royval reveals Alexandre Pantoja will be in attendance for his UFC Mexico City main event against Brandon Moreno
Cole Shelton - February 21, 2024
UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will be in attendance for Saturday’s UFC Mexico City main event which sees Brandon Moreno rematch Brandon Royval. Moreno was supposed to headline the card against Amir Albazi, but the latter was forced to withdraw due to an injury and was replaced by Royval. With Moreno and Royval currently ranked in the top three, the winner of the main event could get the next title shot, despite both men coming off decision losses to Pantoja.
MMA legend Demetrious Johnson doesn't think Israel Adesanya is ready to fight Dricus Du Plessis: "I don't like that fight for Izzy"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 21, 2024
Demetrious Johnson thinks Israel Adesanya needs more time to prepare for Dricus Du Plessis. There has long been bad blood between Adesanya and the current UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. While such a fight figures to be quite lucrative, “Mighty Mouse” doesn’t believe now is the time for “The Last Stylebender” to jump into a title fight with “Stillknocks.”
Ian Machado Garry puzzled by UFC not booking Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad yet: "I don't understand this"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 21, 2024
Ian Machado Garry doesn’t understand why Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad for the UFC Welterweight Championship hasn’t been booked yet. Edwards is the reigning UFC welterweight champion, who was offered three fights for UFC 300, per Dana White. Despite this, he has yet to be booked against the consensus rightful number one contender Belal Muhammad. The situation has confused many fans and experts.
Sean Strickland gets scolded by former UFC champion Tyron Woodley for asking permission to fight Jake Paul: "Why the f*ck you asked Hunter?"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 21, 2024
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has taken issue with Sean Strickland asking UFC for permission to fight Jake Paul. Strickland, an ex-UFC middleweight titleholder, has gotten into a back-and-forth exchange with Paul on social media. “The Problem Child” slammed Strickland for taking advantage of influencer Sneako during a sparring session. In the clip, Sneako was covering up while Strickland unloaded with punches. Strickland isn’t known for having an off-switch, and often dials things up to 100 with just about anyone he interacts with.
Ilia Topuria shakes up the pound-for-pound rankings following UFC 298 title win
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2024
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has made quite the debut in the pound-for-pound rankings. Last weekend at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria won the UFC featherweight championship. He did so by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski, a man who is widely considered to be one of the best fighters on the planet. It served as the latest in a string of memorable wins in his MMA career, as he fulfilled the prophecy he set out for himself years ago.
Stone Cold Steve Austin names two UFC fighters he’d like to see in WWE
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2024
Stone Cold Steve Austin has named two UFC fighters that he thinks could make a strong transition over to WWE. Through the years, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling have had a whole lot of crossover. Sometimes, it works out for the best – and sometimes, it falls short of the mark. In the modern era, though, the two are interlinked more so than ever before.
Demetrious Johnson doesn’t like Alexander Volkanovski’s chances in a rematch with Ilia Topuria: “All Ilia has to do is touch him”
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2024
Demetrious Johnson has explained why he doesn’t like Alexander Volkanovski’s chances in a rematch against Ilia Topuria. Last weekend at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria shocked the world by knocking Alexander Volkanovski out cold. In doing so, he vaulted himself into a level of superstardom that we haven’t seen in quite some time.
Max Griffin wants to "finish" his career in the UFC after fighting out his deal, hopes for a quick turnaround
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Max Griffin is ready to re-sign with the UFC. Griffin fought out his contract at UFC Vegas 86 against Jeremiah Wells and he earned a hard-fought split decision win. Going into the fight, Grifin knew there was pressure on him to get the victory, but he believed that same pressure would prove to be good motivation and make him perform at his best.
Dan Ige says KO of Andre Fili was "pretty gangster," eyes return at The Sphere against any ranked featherweight
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Dan Ige returned to the win column in a big way at UFC Vegas 86. Ige was fighting in the co-main event as he took on short-notice replacement Andre Fili. The Hawaiian was originally supposed to fight Lerone Murphy, but the Brit was forced out of the bout. Fili ended up being the replacement opponent, which was tough for Ige as he says the two are friends and have trained together in the past.
Jamahal Hill responds to fan backlash over UFC 300 main event booking: “Guaranteed banger”
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Jamahal Hill has fired back at fans that are disappointed with him headlining UFC 300 against Alex Pereira. On Saturday after UFC 298, Dana White announced that Pereira would be defending his light heavyweight title against Hill in the main event of UFC 300 on April 13. White had promised that UFC 300 would be a historic card from top-to-bottom but some fans felt like the main event was a bit of a disappointment.
PFL vs. Bellator card finalized, Patricio Pitbull receives replacement opponent
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2024
The PFL vs. Bellator card is now finalized and features the return of Patricio Pitbull. Last November, the PFL completed their long-awaited buyout of Bellator. For most of 2023, there were discussions about the Scott Coker-led brand being bought. In the end, Donn Davis and the company decided that a roster containing the likes of the aforementioned Patricio Pitbull and Cris Cyborg was too good to pass up.
Alexander Volkanovski comes under fire for having Mark Zuckerberg in his corner at UFC 298: "Why would you do that?"
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2024
Kenny Florian is confused by Alexander Volkanovski had Mark Zuckerberg in his UFC 298 corner. At UFC 298 on Saturday night, ‘The Great’ made his return to the octagon. The bout was a short turnaround for the Australian, previously being knocked out by Islam Makhachev in October. For Alexander Volkanovski, the featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria offered a chance to bounce back.
Michael Bisping baffled by criticism about UFC 300 card: "People are just criticizing for the sake of it"
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2024
UFC commentator Michael Bisping hopes that Saturday night’s announcement puts an end to a lot of online chatter. At UFC 298 on Saturday night, fans got to see Ilia Topuria finally become the featherweight champion. ‘El Matador’ headlined a pay-per-view event, scoring a knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski in front of the likes of Michael Bisping. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White had big news.
Amanda Lemos says UFC 298 win over Mackenzie Dern was exactly how she drew it up: "The way that we thought this was going to happen is what happened"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 20, 2024
Amanda Lemos is riding high after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Mackenzie Dern at UFC 298. Lemos had been coming off a failed bid for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship back in August 2023. While Lemos was clearly outmatched by Zhang Weili, she gutted it out for five rounds. The Brazilian bruiser had quite the rebound fight, demonstrating her superb striking against Dern this past Saturday night. Lemos earned the unanimous decision win, and a “Fight of the Night” bonus.
Anthony Hernandez plans to avoid injury plague following brilliant performance at UFC 298: "I shouldn’t do that sh*t in the gym"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 20, 2024
Anthony Hernandez is trying to ensure that he keeps himself healthy in the midst of his rise at middleweight. Hernandez competed in the main card opener of UFC 298 inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California this past Saturday night. He shared the Octagon with Roman Kopylov in a grappler vs. striker affair. Once “Fluffy” got the fight to the ground, it was academic. He locked up a rear-naked choke, forcing a tap out in round two.