MMA News

Adam D Martin - November 29, 2021

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza says that a Joanna Jedrzejczyk rematch “would be a much different fight.” Esparza defeated Yan Xiaonan earlier this year by TKO in one of the best performances of her UFC career to date. The former champ is now hoping the UFC gives her a title shot against UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas — who Esparza previously defeated to become the UFC’s first-ever 115lbs women’s champ — but that is no sure thing. UFC president Dana White has hinted that the promotion is instead looking at a potential matchup for the title between Namajunas and Marina Rodriguez instead, which would leave Esparza on the sidelines without a fight. However, she says she would fight Jedrzejczyk.

Adam D Martin - November 29, 2021

New UFC middleweight fighter Alex Pereira is “three fights” away from fighting Israel Adesanya for the championship, says Glover Teixeira. Pereira is a former GLORY kickboxing star who made his UFC debut earlier this month at UFC 268 in spectacular fashion when he knocked out Andreas Michailidis with a flying knee. Considering Pereira holds a previous KO win over Adesanya in kickboxing, his teammate Teixeira believes that win will help him fast-track up the 185lbs ladder and get closer to a title shot against the champ. As far as Teixeira goes, it’s possible that we could see Pereira fight for the UFC middleweight title in just three fights if he continues to look in sharp form.

Adam D Martin - November 29, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion legend Quinton Jackson says that the “UFC and Bellator should be worried” about Triller Triad Combat. Jackson was a guest at the Triller Triad Combat event that took place this past Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Jackson did not fight at the event, but he was seen getting into it with boxer Shannon Briggs, and there is a good chance we see these two meet in the Triad ring sometime in 2022. It appears as though Jackson has taken a liking to what Triller is doing, and he believes the promotion has been things in store for its future. In fact, Jackson believes that Triller will soon be able to rival the UFC and Bellator.

Harry Kettle - November 29, 2021

Rachael Ostovich has spoken candidly about how thankful she is for the pay she’s received thus far in BKFC. While she may be best known for her stint in the UFC, Ostovich made an intriguing transition over to bare-knuckle boxing back in the summer. In her debut for BKFC, she managed to secure a unanimous decision win over Paige VanZant – the same woman who submitted her back in January 2019.

Adam Martin - November 28, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley revealed his plans for 2022, saying that he will return to MMA next July. Woodley was released by the UFC earlier this year following a submission loss to Vicente Luque at UFC 260. He then made the move to the world of boxing and made his professional boxing debut when he took on Jake Paul in August. Although Woodley lost a split decision in that fight, he made a lot of money doing so, and it feels like he still has more fights left for him inside the boxing ring. Indeed, it looks like Woodley is interested in boxing again — in addition to competing in MMA and then two other combat sports events.

Adam Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington explained why champion Kamaru Usman did not deserve 10-8 round in their rematch at UFC 268. Covington lost a unanimous decision to Usman earlier this month at UFC 268 in what was a very competitive fight between the two rivals. While most of the rounds were close, the second round is the one where Usman appeared to take the lead as he knocked Covington down twice. However, none of the three judges cageside gave Usman a 10-8 round, so when fans and the media on social media gave him a 10-8, Covington disagreed with them.

Adam Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington says that he won’t consider dropping down to 155lbs, saying that “I’m not a bully.” Covington recently lost a close decision to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 268 earlier this month. Since this is the second time that Covington has lost to Usman, there are now hints that “Chaos” could consider a weight class change, with a move down to 155lbs a possibility since he isn’t a big welterweight. But as far as Covington goes, those rumors are not coming from him, because he has no desire to cut all the weight to make it to lightweight. Speaking to MMANews reporter James Lynch, Covington explained why he won’t cut down to 155 and be a “bully” as he suggests Dustin Poirier is.

Adam Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Geoff Neal fired back at Derek Brunson after suggesting that welterweights are avoiding Khamzat Chimaev. Neal recently spoke to MMA journalist James Lynch and he was asked about Brunson’s recent comments about Chimaev, where he questioned why the other welterweights aren’t actively calling out the man who is one of the hottest names in the division. As far as Neal goes, Brunson is off base for several reasons. First of all, Neal believes there is more going on behind the scenes than the public knows about. Second, he pointed out that Neil Magny has called out Chimaev. And third, he just wants Brunson to focus on the 185lbs division.

Adam Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev has opened up as a big betting favorite to defeat Beneil Dariush when they fight in early 2022. Makhachev vs. Dariush was officially announced this weekend, and the fight will take place on February 26 in what will be a five-round non-title main event. It goes without saying that this fight between Makhachev and Dariush is one of the biggest fights that the lightweight division currently offers, and it seems fair to assume the winner of this fight is going to get a title shot at 155lbs. Justin Gaethje is first up for the winner of UFC 269’s Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier, and the winner of Makhachev/Dariush will be up next.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

Former UFC welterweight fan-favorite Mike Perry reacted after defeating Michael Seals by split decision at Triller Triad Combat. Perry was recently released by the UFC and he signed with Triller for this fight against Seals at the Triller Triad Combat event, which took place on Saturday at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. The oddsmakers did not like Perry’s chances to win the fight as he entered as a +600 betting underdog, but Perry got the job done with the split decision win.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg explained in a recent interview how leaving the UFC for Bellator saved her MMA career. Cyborg was the former UFC women’s featherweight champion, but after losing her belt to Amanda Nunes, her relationship with the UFC and its president Dana White started to worsen. After Cyborg beat Felicia Spencer in 2019, the UFC released her from her contract after White said she was not easy to work with. Not long after that, Cyborg signed with Bellator, where she has been competing ever since with four wins, all of them by stoppage.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC welterweight Matt Brown provided a positive health update after withdrawing from his fight against Bryan Barberena at UFC Vegas 44. Brown was set to fight Barberena at UFC Vegas 44 next Friday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the fight was scratched after Brown pulled out due to COVID-19. Taking to his social media to provide a positive health update, Brown said that he is feeling much better now after being very sick for two days. He also confirmed that he is unvaccinated.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo will “100 percent” fight in the UFC again in 2022, says his manager Ali Abdelaziz. Cejudo has been teasing a return to the Octagon for quite some time, and he has generally spent his time on social media calling out UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski for his return to the cage. Speaking to MMAFighting.com in a recent interview, Cejudo’s manager Abdelaziz confirmed that his client Cejudo is set to return to the Octagon in 2022. He believes he will return as a featherweight, but bantamweight is also possible.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones posted a new video of him grappling with Olympic wrestling bronze medalist J’Den Cox. Jones was recently booted out of his longtime gym, Team Jackson-Wink in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after his coach John Winkeljohn kicked him out of the gym after a domestic battery incident with his partner in Las Vegas back in September. Initially, it was thought that Jones was going to make some serious changes in his life and then get back into the gym when both he and his former team felt like he was ready to come into the doors again.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh slammed UFC President Dana White at Triad Combat, saying that “he pays his fighters what we pay our ushers.” Kavanaugh held the Triller Triad Combat event on Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. During the event, he was interviewed and asked about his rival White, and it shouldn’t surprise you what he said about him. Kavanaugh had nothing but negative things to White, criticizing the UFC for both its fighter pay as well for its production setup.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor admitted that he has been impressed by Michael Chandler, saying that he “could well be today’s champion.” McGregor took questions from fans on his social media on Saturday, and one of the questions that he was asked is what he thinks about Chandler. The former Bellator lightweight champion joined the UFC earlier this year and he has had three memorable fights in the Octagon thus far. In his UFC debut, he knocked out Dan Hooker at UFC 257 (the same card that McGregor headlined against Dustin Poirier). Chandler was then given a vacant title shot against Charles Oliveira and, while he lost via second-round TKO, that was also a fantastic fight. Then, Chandler lost a decision to Justin Gaethje at UFC 268, but the fight was an absolute war and Chandler’s stock arguably went up despite losing the fight.

Chris Taylor - November 27, 2021

Tonight’s Triller Triad Combat event was headlined by a heavyweight contest featuring Frank Mir squaring off with Kubrat Pulev. Mir (0-1 Boxing, 19-3 MMA), a former UFC heavyweight champion, had made his professional boxing debut back in April where he suffered a loss to Steve Cunningham.

Chris Taylor - November 27, 2021

Tonight’s Triller Triad Combat event is headlined by a heavyweight contest featuring Frank Mir taking on Kubrat Pulev. Mir (0-1 Boxing, 19-3 MMA), a former UFC heavyweight champion, made his professional boxing debut back in April where he suffered a loss to Steve Cunningham.