MMA News

Harry Kettle - June 1, 2023

Coach Dewey Cooper has taken a look back at Francis Ngannou’s title triumph over Ciryl Gane back at UFC 270. It’s been a long time since we last saw Francis Ngannou compete inside the Octagon. When he did, he took on Ciryl Gane, successfully defending his UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 270. Ever since then, fans have been intrigued to see what his next move would be – and now, we know he’ll be debuting for PFL next year.

Cole Shelton - May 31, 2023

Jim Miller says he was close to not fighting at UFC Vegas 74. Miller was originally slated to face L’udovit Klein at Saturday’s event, but the Slovak was forced out of the contest due to an injury. Jim was then offered a couple of different opponents, but nothing came to fruition until Jared Gordon accepted the scrap. Had Gordon not taken it, Miller says he likely would have just delayed the Klein fight.

Cole Shelton - May 31, 2023

Kai Kara-France says Israel Adesanya’s KO win over Alex Pereira will go down as one of the biggest moments in sports history. In the main event of UFC 287, Adesanya was looking to reclaim his middleweight title against Alex Pereira after being knocked out by the Brazilian back in November to lose his belt. It was also the third time Adesanya had lost to Pereira, as they previously fought twice in kickboxing with ‘Poatan’ winning once by KO and the other by decision.

Cole Shelton - May 31, 2023

Rob Wilkinson, the reigning PFL light heavyweight champion, has failed a drug test and been removed from the 2023 season. MMAMania was the first to report the news that Wilkinson has been pulled from PFL 4, which takes place on June 8 after failing a drug test following his win over former UFC title challenger, Thiago Santos, at PFL 1 in April.

Josh Evanoff - May 31, 2023

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland believes that the flyweights still pack a punch. ‘Tarzan’ is one of the most colorful and controversial figures on the UFC’s roster. With that being the case, Strickland seemingly decided to cash in on his reputation with a podcast. Earlier this week, he released the first episode along co-host and ranked middleweight contender, Chris Curtis.

Josh Evanoff - May 31, 2023

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul seemingly isn’t a fan of McGregor Forever. ‘The Notorious’ is currently preparing for his return to the octagon. McGregor has been out of action since his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. In the final seconds of the first round, the Irishman famously broke his leg. As a result, he’s been on the shelf for almost two years.

Josh Evanoff - May 31, 2023

Terence Crawford believes Francis Ngannou might want to wait before facing a top boxer. ‘The Predator’ ended his lengthy free agency earlier this month. In January, Ngannou famously left the UFC as heavyweight champion, vacating his title in the process. With his exit, he became the first reigning titleholder to leave the promotion since BJ Penn did so nearly 20 years ago.

Josh Evanoff - May 31, 2023

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya got some work with Logan Paul on the mats recently. ‘The Last Stylebender’ is fresh off his return last month against Alex Pereira in Miami. There, the two headlined UFC 287, in a rematch for middleweight gold. Adesanya famously was knocked out by ‘Poatan’ in their first battle for the title last November.

Susan Cox - May 31, 2023

UFC commentator Joe Rogan is heaping praise on interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez. Yair Rodriguez (15-3 MMA) has been victorious in his last 2 bouts in the Octagon. In July of 2022 he defeated Brian Ortega (15-3 MMA) via TKO at 4:11 of round 1. More recently, on February 11th at UFC 284, he took down Josh Emmett (18-3 MMA) by submission at 4:19 of round 2, capturing the interim featherweight title.

Susan Cox - May 31, 2023

Daniel Cormier is warning Alex Pereira not to stand and trade with Jan Blachowicz. Alex Pereira (7-2 MMA) is set to take on Jan Blachowicz (29-9 MMA) in a light heavyweight battle at UFC 291 which takes place on Saturday, July 29th at the Vivint Arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Susan Cox - May 31, 2023

Marlon Vera is vowing to ‘finish’ Cory Sandhagen in their eventual rematch. Vera (20-8 MMA) and Sandhagen (16-4 MMA) met up in March of this year in a bantamweight bout at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. It was to be ‘Sandman’ getting the win via split decision (50-45, 49-46, 48,47).

Susan Cox - May 31, 2023

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will be making an appearance on an upcoming episode of TUF 31. The Ultimate Fighter premiered last night, Tuesday, May 30th on ESPN.

Harry Kettle - May 31, 2023

Conor McGregor has hit back at Matt Brown by dubbing him a heroin addict, highlighting his past substance abuse issues. Over the course of the last few weeks, one of the strangest rivalries in combat sports has been Conor McGregor vs Matt Brown. It all began when the two were discussing the knockout record in the UFC, which Matt Brown currently holds alongside Derrick Lewis. After McGregor said he wanted to claim it for himself, the two went back and forth with one another on social media.

Harry Kettle - May 31, 2023

Justin Gaethje has given some surprising praise to Conor McGregor for what he’s been able to achieve in the sport of mixed martial arts. Later this summer, Justin Gaethje will return to the Octagon to take on Dustin Poirier. Conor McGregor, on the other hand, is expected to battle Michael Chandler in Q3 or Q4 of this year. The Irishman has been out of the cage for two years after suffering a nasty injury against, ironically, Dustin Poirier.

Harry Kettle - May 31, 2023

Matt Serra has expressed his confidence in Aljamain Sterling if he opts to move up to featherweight and face Alexander Volkanovski. Right now, Aljamain Sterling is the king of the bantamweight division. Later this summer, however, that position is under threat when he defends the belt against Sean O’Malley. The contest comes just a few months after his victory over Henry Cejudo.

Harry Kettle - May 31, 2023

Beneil Dariush has given his thoughts on the upcoming BMF title showdown between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. Later this summer, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier will collide for the second time. It comes five years after their first collision, which was won by Poirier at the end of an all-out war. This time around, though, they’ll be competing for the vacant BMF championship in the main event of UFC 291.

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2023

UFC Hall of Famer and current PFL commentator, Randy Couture believes the PFL is the clear number two promotion after signing Francis Ngannou. After Ngannou fought out his UFC deal, he made it clear he wanted to box but also wanted to continue his MMA career. After months of negotiating, Ngannou signed with the Professional Fighters League, which was a huge acquisition for the promotion. With that, Couture says this is just the first step in becoming the biggest MMA promotion.

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2023

Sean Strickland thinks he should be Israel Adesanya’s next opponent. Currently, Adesanya does not have his next fight booked but the plan is for him to fight in September in Australia. Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis is booked for July as a title eliminator fight but whether or not they will be able to make that quick of a turnaround is uncertain.