MMA News

Adam D Martin - October 8, 2021

One of the top contenders at 135lbers, Rob Font confirmed that the UFC offered him a bantamweight title shot before Cory Sandhagen. Petr Yan was expected to fight UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling, in a rematch for the 135lbs belt at UFC 267 later this year. However, Sterling was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a lingering neck injury. In his place, the UFC called upon Sandhagen, and he will fight Yan for the interim belt later this month. Sandhagen is coming off of a loss to TJ Dillashaw, but Dillashaw was not able to fight this month because he was banged up in that fight. So despite the loss, the UFC called Sandhagen for the title shot.

Adam D Martin - October 8, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Georges St-Pierre weighed in on the performance of Nick Diaz at UFC 266, saying that “for sure he was rusty.” After more than six years away from the Octagon, Diaz returned to the Octagon last month when he fought rival Robbie Lawler in a rematch that was 17 years in the making. After Diaz knocked out Lawler back at UFC 47 in 2004, the two rematched all these years later, with Diaz losing in the third round via TKO. It was a good performance overall by both fighters, who were praised by UFC president Dana White for their war, but Diaz still didn’t do enough to get his hand raised. If you ask St-Pierre, ring rust played a factor in that.

Adam D Martin - October 8, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor believes that the welterweight champion of the world, Kamaru Usman is still trying to bite his style. McGregor is currently sitting on the sidelines with a leg injury that he suffered in a TKO defeat to Dustin Poirier back at UFC 264 in July. Despite being on the sidelines, however, McGregor has continued to troll some of the best fighters in the world on social media during his time off. One of the best MMA fighters right now is Usman, and McGregor is still not a fan of him. According to McGregor, he believes that Usman is trying to rip him off.

Adam D Martin - October 8, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker says that he would “love” to have the Paul brothers, Jake Paul and Logan Paul, competing in Bellator. Coker was a guest on MMAFighting.com’s The MMA Hour earlier this week, and one of the questions he was asked by host Ariel Helwani was about the Paul brothers. When asked if Bellator has any interest in bringing the brothers aboard the organization, Coker admitted that he is interested in signing them. As far as Coker is concerned, both the Paul brothers are hard workers who are putting in the work and improving. That’s why Coker said he would love to have them come to Bellator should either of them make the move to MMA.

Adam D Martin - October 8, 2021

UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman lauded Colby Covington ahead of UFC 268, saying “I would put him in the top-15 welterweights of all time.” Usman takes on Covington in a rematch at UFC 268 next month in what is expected to be one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year. The two rivals previously met at UFC 245 two years ago, with Usman winning via fifth-round TKO in an absolute war between the two welterweights. Two years later and the two will rematch with Usman’s belt on the line at UFC 268. But while most people would assume that Usman is not a fan of Covington, you’d be wrong. Speaking to Helen Yee, Usman admitted that while he is not a fan of Covington’s personality, he can admit that he has a top-15 welterweight of all time.

Joe McDonagh - October 7, 2021

The Nigerian Nightmare, Kamaru Usman, was impressed by the performance of fan favorite Nick Diaz at UFC 266. Diaz squared off with former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at last month’s pay-per-view event. The contest served as Diaz’s first fight since 2015, and only his second since his 2013 loss to Georges St. Pierre.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2021

Dominick Reyes is hoping the UFC keeps Jon Jones after his latest arrest so he can fight him and beat him up again. After Jones was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his first fight against Alexander Gustafsson, he was arrested early Friday morning in Las Vegas. He was charged with battery, domestic violence, and injuring and tampering with a vehicle and after the news came public, many wondered if he would fight again. For his last opponent, Dominick Reyes he says he hopes “Bones” gets another fight so he can beat him up again.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2021

Deontay Wilder has made it clear he believes Tyson Fury cheated in their rematch and there is nothing that will stop him from believing it. Wilder accused Fury of having loaded gloves to be able to hit harder. It has never been proven and when he got his hands wrapped and his gloves put on, a member of Wilder’s team was in Fury’s locker room so it’s highly unlikely Fury had anything in his glove. Yet, Wilder still believes the WBC heavyweight champ cheated.

Drake Riggs - October 7, 2021

Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili are set to lock horns once again. As their UFC 268 rematch draws near on Nov. 6, the former champion turned challenger in Zhang has made some changes by altering her appearance with a new hairstyle as well as moving her training camp stateside.

Drake Riggs - October 7, 2021

Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas’ first encounter at UFC 261 in April became a lot more political than anticipated. Ahead of the strawweight title clash, Namajunas gave an interview to Lithuanian media where she expressed her thoughts on her background along with Zhang’s ultimately leading to her “better dead than red” comments.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley reacted after Jon Jones got arrested in Las Vegas, saying that “you can’t beat on your boo.” Jones was arrested two weeks ago in Las Vegas, just hours after his 2013 classic with Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Jones was arrested on charges of domestic battery after an incident with his fiancee, Jessie Moses, as well as damaging a police car. Since the arrest happened, the reaction towards Jones has generally been negative, as this is far from the first time that he has gotten in trouble with the law.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern promised the Marina Rodriguez fight will be better than Johnny Walker vs. Thiago Santos. Dern takes on Rodriguez in the five-round women’s 115lbs headliner of this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39 card. This is an important fight in the division as both Dern and Rodriguez are closing in on a title shot, so an impressive win could very well earn them a crack at the belt. But more than anything, Dern says she just wants to put on a good fight for the fans.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2021

Jared Vanderaa didn’t expect his next opponent to be Alexandr Romanov. After Vanderaa picked up his first UFC win back in May against Justin Tafa, Vanderaa wasn’t sure who would be next for him. However, when he was offered Romanov he was surprised but he did immediately accept it.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker was “scared as hell” against Thiago Santos at UFC Vegas 38, says his opponent’s coach. In what was expected to be a slugfest between two Brazilian KO artists, the fight was anything but. Both Walker and Santos were content to stand on the outside and essentially spar for five rounds, with Santos earning a unanimous decision victory at the end of the 25 minutes. It was not the fight that the fans expected and many of them took to social media to vent their complaints following the fight. But while many have put the blame on Santos for making it a tactical fight, his coach believes that it is actually Walker’s fault that it was.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker can thwart the wrestling of elite grappler Islam Makhachev at UFC 267, says his coach, Frank Hickman. When Rafael dos Anjos fell off of the UFC 267 card with an injury, Hooker stepped up on short notice to take on Makhachev, who is considered one of the most feared fighters in the UFC lightweight division. Just a week after he beat Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 266, Hooker accepted the fight with Makhachev for the end of October on Fight Island. The oddsmakers are not particularly high on Hooker’s chances in the matchup, as he’s a big underdog.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov doubled down on his ring girl comments in wake of the recent backlash against him. Nurmagomedov made the controversial comments back in August when he was asked if his own promotion, the Eagle Fighting Championship, would feature ring card girls. According to “The Eagle,” he views ring card girls as pointless and said his promotion will not feature them. After saying these comments, there were many fans, fighters, and media who shot back at Nurmagomedov for what he said. But he says that he stands by his comments.

Adam D Martin - October 7, 2021

UFC lightweight Justin Gaethje explained how “special circumstances” should have resulted in him fighting for the vacant lightweight title. Gaethje lost via second-round submission to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov a year ago at UFC 254. Following the fight, however, “The Eagle” announced that he was retiring from combat sports and he vacated his belt. While many thought that Gaethje would get the first crack at the vacant belt, the UFC instead chose to go with Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, instead. The two lightweights met in the main event of UFC 262 back in May, with Oliveira winning the belt via second-round TKO.

Harry Kettle - October 7, 2021

TJ Dillashaw has doubts that UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will be able to return after his recent neck surgery. The top of the bantamweight division has been an interesting place for many months now ever since Sterling won the belt from Petr Yan via disqualification. We were scheduled to see the rematch later this month but as a result of Sterling pulling out due to lingering issues following neck surgery, Yan will now fight Cory Sandhagen for the interim strap.