MMA News

Cole Shelton - November 1, 2021

Michael Bisping believes Khamzat Chimaev put the entire welterweight division on notice with his UFC 267 win over Li Jingliang. Chimaev made his return to the Octagon on the main card of UFC 267 against Jingliang. Many expected the fight to be a more competitive one but Chimaev took Jingliang down right away and ground and pounded him until he sunk in the choke and the fight was over in the first round.

Cole Shelton - November 1, 2021

Anthony Smith could be facing Jan Blachowicz next time out. Smith revealed on Monday on The MMA Hour that he did agree to face Aleksandar Rakic on December 18. The fight was agreed to but Smith says he has a small injury that forced him out of the fight, but now he said just hours after Blachowicz lost his title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 267, the promotion offered him a fight against the Pole.

Cole Shelton - November 1, 2021

Colby Covington is confident he will hear And New on Saturday night. Covington is set to rematch Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden in New York City. It’s a highly-anticipated rematch as the two had one of the best fights of 2019 as Usman won by fifth-round TKO in a controversial stoppage. However, it was a back-and-forth fight and both men had moments they can take into the rematch.

Cole Shelton - November 1, 2021

Aljamain Sterling was impressed with Petr Yan’s performance at UFC 267. In the co-main event of the card from Abu Dhabi, Yan was facing Cory Sandhagen for the interim bantamweight title. Originally, Yan and Sterling were going to have their rematch but the champ wasn’t medically cleared. When he was watching the fight, however, Sterling was impressed with Yan’s technical approach.

Adam D Martin - November 1, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor is reported to be “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from the broken leg that he suffered at UFC 264. McGregor broke his leg in a first-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier back in July at UFC 264. For McGregor, it was his second straight loss to Poirier, and this time he suffered an injury that is expected to keep him out until mid-way in 2022. But according to his management team, McGregor is reportedly recovering well ahead of schedule from his broken leg.

Adam D Martin - November 1, 2021

Cory Sandhagen is making no excuses for his loss to interim bantamweight champ Petr Yan at UFC 267, saying that “he’s a hell of a fighter.” Sandhagen and Yan were involved in a back-and-forth war that co-headlined this past Saturday’s UFC 267 card in Ahu Dhabi. It was an absolutely incredible fight as both men threw the kitchen sink at each other over the course of 25 minutes, with Yan ultimately as the winner via unanimous decision. While Sandhagen may have lost the fight, which was his second-straight defeat in the Octagon following a split decision loss to TJ Dillashaw back in July, he showed the world that he is one of the best in his division. Even though he may have lost the fight against Yan, Sandhagen can hold his head up high knowing that he went toe-to-toe with one of the best MMA fighters on the planet, and he made it competitive.

Cole Shelton - November 1, 2021

The UFC was back on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi for a stacked UFC 267 card on Saturday. The event saw two titles on the line as Jan Blachowicz was looking to defend his light heavyweight strap against Glover Teixeira while Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen were fighting for the interim bantamweight title. UFC 267 ended up being a good one as in the main event Texeira finally became a UFC champion as he submitted Blachowicz in the second round. Yan, meanwhile, edged out Sandhagen by decision in a phenomenal scrap. Now, after the event, here is what I think should be next for the four fighters involved in the title fights.

Adam D Martin - November 1, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez admits there was “friction” with former UFC rival Brock Lesnar during his WWE stint. Velasquez and Lesnar met at UFC 121 in October 2010. In what was an upset at the time, it was Velasquez who knocked out Lesnar in the first round to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. The two would never end up rematching in the Octagon, but after both men retired from MMA and went to WWE, the two rivals met in a professional wrestling match at WWE Crown Jewel in October 2019. Lesnar would win that match.

Adam D Martin - November 1, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir reacted after suffering a nasty gash in a decision loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 267. Oezdemir and Ankalaev met in the first fight on the UFC 267 main card. The fight was expected to provide fireworks between two of the hardest-hitting knockout artists in the UFC light heavyweight division, but it instead proved to be a tepid kickboxing affair. In the end, it was Ankalaev who won the unanimous decision, in no small part to the damage he inflicted on Oezdemir. After dropping his opponent in the first round, he later cut his eyelid open in the second. Fortunately for Oezdemir, he was able to continue fighting until the third round and make it to the distance, but he still suffered his second straight defeat.

Adam D Martin - November 1, 2021

Emerging star Khamzat Chimaev has been called out by divisional rival Neil Magny for an upcoming welterweight bout at a UFC Fight Night card. Chimaev destroyed Li Jingliang in the first round of their welterweight bout on the main card of UFC 267, finishing his opponent by technical submission. It was yet another phenomenal performance by Chimaev, who has now won all 10 of his professional MMA fights by submission. It is getting to the point where some analysts believe Chimaev will have difficulty finding opponents due to how dominant he has been. But not so fast, as Magny seems like he has no problem taking this fight against someone so dangerous.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Daniel Woirin, the coach of UFC welterweight fighter Benoit Saint Denis says that “never in my life would I have thrown in the towel.” Saint Denis suffered one of the most brutal, prolonged beatings we have ever seen in UFC history during his welterweight fight against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at UFC 267. During the second round of the fight, dos Santos was lighting Saint Denis up on the feet and had him backed up against the fence at several points where he was hurting his opponent badly. There were numerous opportunities for the referee Vyacheslav Kiselev to step in and stop the fight, but he chose not to, and the fight went the distance. Saint Denis showed off his incredible heart and toughness in the fight, which impressed his wife Lalou, but at the same time, there was no reason this fighter needed to take as much damage as he did.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Anthony Johnson congratulated his former foe Glover Teixeira on winning the UFC light heavyweight title, telling him “you deserve the belt.” Teixeira submitted Jan Blachowicz in the second round with a rear-naked choke in the main event of UFC 267 to capture the UFC light heavyweight title for the first time at age 42. It is an absolutely incredible story as Teixeira became the second-oldest fighter behind Randy Couture to win a UFC title. What makes it even more surprising is that it was just a few years ago when Teixeira was brutally knocked out by “Rumble” and left for dead by many fans. That was back in 2016, and two fights later, Teixeira got knocked out by Alexander Gustafsson. At that point, he had lost three of five fights and no one could have realistically expected him to ever win the belt. But he’s won his last six straight and is now a champ.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Lalou Saint Denis, the wife of UFC fighter Benoit Saint Denis, reacted after her husband suffered an absolutely brutal beating at UFC 267. In what was one of the worst prolonged beatings we have ever seen inside the Octagon, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos poured heavy damage on Saint Denis over the course of 15 minutes. In the second round of the fight, it was a 10-8 round in favor of dos Santos, and there were numerous moments during the round where the referee could have stopped the fight. However, the fight continued, and it went into the third round. Incredibly, Saint Denis survived the third round and made it to the final bell. At the end of the 15 minutes, it was dos Santos who won the decision, but Saint Denis earned the respect of all watching.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Colby Covington says he “feels like a little kid before Christmas” ahead of the Kamaru Usman UFC welterweight title rematch at UFC 268. Covington and Usman first met at UFC 245 in December 2019. In what was one of the best fights of that year, Covington and Usman battled five hard rounds before Usman finished Covington in the final minute of round five. In the two years since then, Covington has been calling for a rematch, and next Saturday at UFC 268, he will finally get the rematch.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov reacted following his unanimous decision win over Marcin Tybura on the main card of UFC 267. Volkov entered this fight as the No. 5 ranked heavyweight in the UFC, so he was defending his ranking against the No. 8 ranked Tybura in this fight. Although Volkov did not get the finish in this fight, he still did what he needed to do to get the decision victory. After winning the first round, Tybura battled back in the second to get back into the fight, but then Volkov won the third round to lock up the unanimous decision victory regardless.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

With a potential welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman on the horizon, the future UFC betting odds have been released. Chimaev submitted Li Jingliang in the first round of their welterweight bout on the UFC 267 main card. It was another amazing performance by Chimaev, who improved to 10-0 as a professional MMA fighter, with all 10 of his wins coming by stoppage. Since joining the UFC on Fight Island last year, Chimaev is a perfect 4-0 with four finishes. He has looked absolutely amazing so far in the UFC as he’s absolutely destroyed everyone in his path so far. Naturally, there are many fans who are now talking about Chimaev for a title shot.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

New UFC champion Petr Yan reacted after defeating Cory Sandhagen to win the interim bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 267. Yan and Sandhagen met in the co-headliner of UFC 267 in what was easily one of the best fights of the year. Both men stood in the center of the Octagon and traded shots for nearly the entire 25 minutes in what was an all-out war. While Sandhagen fought as hard as he could for the entire five rounds, ultimately it just was not his day at the office. For Yan, he won 49-46 unanimously on all three of the judges’ scorecards to capture the interim belt. He will next face his rival Aljamain Sterling in a title unification bout sometime next year.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

UFC welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos scolded the referee for his non-stoppage at UFC 267, saying “he was putting people in danger.” Referee Vyacheslav Kiselev had one of the worst performances ever by a referee in a high-profile MMA fight as he left Saint-Denis to suffer unnecessary punishment over the course of 15 minutes. There were numerous times during the second round of the fight — which was a 10-8 round — where the fight could have been stopped as Saint-Denis was barely fighting back and yet absorbing plenty of punishment. However, the referee refused to stop the fight, which led to him being criticized by the UFC commentators on the calls, not to mention fans, media, and fellow fighters on social media. Dos Santos, too, was not happy.