MMA News
Paulo Costa reacts after booking Khamzat Chimaev fight for UFC 294
Susan Cox - July 20, 2023
Paulo Costa is reacting after booking a fight with Khamzat Chimaev for UFC 294. UFC 294 takes place on Saturday, October 21st at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
UFC Nashville gets a new main event as Cory Sandhagen now takes on Rob Font
Cole Shelton - July 20, 2023
Cory Sandhagen will remain on UFC Nashville and will still headline the card. Sandhagen was originally supposed to face Umar Nurmagomedov but on Wednesday, it was revealed that Nurmagomedov was out of the scrap due to an injury. Now, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Cory Sandhagen will now face Rob Font in a five-round main event to headline UFC Nashville on August 5.
Conor McGregor reacts after Umar Nurmagomedov is forced to withdraw from UFC Nashville main event
Harry Kettle - July 20, 2023
Conor McGregor has given his thoughts on Umar Nurmagomedov pulling out of his scheduled bout against Cory Sandhagen. If there’s one thing we know about Conor McGregor, it’s that he’s not a fan of pulling out of fights. He’s suffered a string of injuries in the lead-up to bouts before, and yet he’s still soldiered on and competed. Chad Mendes, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier are three examples that immediately come to mind.
Henry Cejudo reacts to Conor McGregor’s celebration on TUF 31: “Wasn’t actually running to celebrate the win”
Harry Kettle - July 20, 2023
Henry Cejudo has used Conor McGregor’s celebration on The Ultimate Fighter to take another shot at the Irishman. This week on The Ultimate Fighter, Conor McGregor’s team finally earned a win over Michael Chandler’s veterans. It came via vicious knockout, and it was the kind of result that had fans jumping out of their seats. As it turns out, the same was true for ‘Notorious’, after he sprinted around the cage with glee in the immediate aftermath of the triumph.
Video | Umar Nurmagomedov shares footage of injury that forced him out of Cory Sandhagen fight
Harry Kettle - July 20, 2023
Umar Nurmagomedov has shared footage of the injury that has forced him out of his scheduled fight with Cory Sandhagen. Later this summer, Umar Nurmagomedov was set for the biggest fight of his career thus far. He was going to face off with Cory Sandhagen, one of the top bantamweight in the world. Unfortunately, as a result of an injury, that’ll no longer be taking place.
Israel Adesanya claims he is now fighting Sean Strickland at UFC 293 as Dricus Du Plessis won't accept
Cole Shelton - July 19, 2023
Israel Adesanya says he won’t be fighting Dricus Du Plessis his next time out. At UFC 290, Du Plessis was fighting Robert Whittaker in a title-eliminator fight with the winner set to face Adesanya next. Ultimately, it was Dricus Du Plessis who won by second-round TKO in a phenomenal performance. After the win, Adesanya and Du Plessis had a faceoff and all signs pointed to the two fighting in Australia in September.
Dana White announces main and co-main event of UFC 294 including Islam Makhachev's title defense
Cole Shelton - July 19, 2023
UFC president Dana White has announced the main and co-main event of UFC 294 which is set to take place on October 21 in Abu Dhabi. White announced on social media on Wednesday night that in the main event, Islam Makhachev will be looking to defend his lightweight title as he rematches Charles Oliveira. The two fought last October in Abu Dhabi and it was Makhachev winning by second-round submission to become the new UFC lightweight champion.
Julianna Pena responds to Maycee Barber: "This girl has never fought for a world title!"
Josh Evanoff - July 19, 2023
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena has taken aim at Maycee Barber. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ was last seen at UFC 289 last month, but not as a fighter. Originally slated for a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes, Julianna Pena was forced out due to injury. As a result, Irene Aldana stepped in on short notice, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision defeat.
Nate Diaz planning UFC return after Jake Paul boxing match: "We're letting this guy talk s*it?"
Josh Evanoff - July 19, 2023
Former UFC welterweight Nate Diaz has promised an MMA return ahead of his boxing match with Jake Paul. The Stockton slugger has been out of action since a short-notice clash with Tony Ferguson last September. Originally slated to face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279, ‘Borz’ was pulled after missing weight. In the pay-per-view headliner, Nate Diaz instead scored a submission win over ‘El Cucuy’.
Julianna Pena hopeful for Ronda Rousey UFC return: "Has an ass-whooping coming to her"
Josh Evanoff - July 19, 2023
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena is hoping Ronda Rousey returns to MMA. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has been out of the cage for over a year, since her rematch with Amanda Nunes. At UFC 277 last July, Julianna Pena was battered en route to a unanimous decision defeat. As a result, she lost her bantamweight title, just six months after she shook up the world against ‘The Lioness’.
Daniel Cormier explains why Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira won’t be fighting for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 291
Susan Cox - July 19, 2023
Daniel Cormier is explaining why Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira won’t be fighting for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 291. UFC 291 takes place on Saturday, July 29th at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The co-main event will feature Jan Blachowicz (29-9 MMA) vs Alex Pereira (7-2 MMA).
Drew Dober taunts Paddy Pimblett in hopes of securing future fight: “I wonder if he’s going to find his courage”
Susan Cox - July 19, 2023
Drew Dober is taunting Paddy Pimblett in hopes of securing a future fight. Dober (26-12 MMA) was sporting 3 wins in a row before his fight with Matt Frevola (11-3 MMA) in May of this year at UFC 288. It was ‘The Steamrolla’ handing Dober a TKO loss at 4:08 of round 1.
Report | Umar Nurmagomedov forced out of UFC Nashville main event against Cory Sandhagen
Cole Shelton - July 19, 2023
UFC Nashville has taken a hit as Umar Nurmagomedov is reportedly out of his main event fight against Cory Sandhagen. According to The Schmozone podcast, Nurmagomedov is out of the scrap and the UFC is now looking for a replacement to fight Sandhagen on short notice. UFC Nashville is set to go down on Saturday, August 5 which is just over two weeks ago, so whether or not the UFC will be able to find a short-notice opponent is uncertain.
Michael Chandler discusses the high stakes for slated Conor McGregor fight: “This is a must-win for both of us”
Harry Kettle - July 19, 2023
Michael Chandler has discussed the high stakes that are involved in his upcoming fight with rival Conor McGregor. For months now, fans have been waiting for an announcement regarding Michael Chandler vs Conor McGregor. Unfortunately, with Conor still not ready to compete, we’ve heard nothing. A few teases have been made here and there, but the Irishman is yet to re-enroll in the USADA testing pool.
Brendan Schaub doesn’t blame Daniel Cormier for his initial comments about Francis Ngannou leaving the UFC: “That's a paid gig man”
Harry Kettle - July 19, 2023
Brendan Schaub has said that Daniel Cormier’s association with the Ultimate Fighting Championship was why he doubted Francis Ngannou’s exit. When he left the UFC, many doubted Francis Ngannou’s ability to secure a big payday – including Daniel Cormier. The popular opinion was that he wouldn’t be able to find the same kind of deal that he had with the promotion.
Tanner Boser sounds off on terrible UFC sponsorship deals: “The Rock’s shoes can go f**k themselves”
Harry Kettle - July 19, 2023
UFC fighter Tanner Boser has gone off on some of the promotion’s sponsorship deals and how they don’t benefit him. Next month, Tanner Boser will return to the Octagon when he takes on Aleksa Camur. It comes after back-to-back losses, with the most recent being a TKO defeat courtesy of Ion Cutelaba in April.
Dana White on upcoming UFC anniversary: ‘So many incredible moments’
Zain Bando - July 18, 2023
The UFC’s 30-year anniversary and the near-conclusion of Dana White’s 23rd year as president is less than four months away, culminating with UFC 295, headlined by the highly-anticipated heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. Although the promotion will have several events before then, the end-of-year schedule is gearing up to be one of the best in company history.
Khamzat Chimaev claims he has "a better opponent" than Paulo Costa
Cole Shelton - July 18, 2023
Khamzat Chimaev says he will be fighting someone better than Paulo Costa. Costa was supposed to take on Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 but reports have come out that the Brazilian is out of the matchup. He then took to Twitter to say he is out of the fight to fight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.