MMA News
Rafael dos Anjos reveals plans to retire at the end of his current UFC contract: "Martial arts changed my life"
Josh Evanoff - March 24, 2023
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos has revealed his retirement plans. The Brazilian has been out of action since his clash with Bryan Barberena in December. In that outing at UFC Orlando, dos Anjos secured the win by second-round submission. The victory was a big one for the former champion, as it was his third in his last four octagon appearances. Dos Anjos had previously defeated Paul Felder and Renato Moicano in that stretch.
Michael Bisping defends Jon Anik after Colby Covington's recent threat: "He’s just stating facts"
Josh Evanoff - March 24, 2023
UFC commentator Michael Bisping has responded to Colby Covington’s recent threat. ‘Chaos’ has been out of the cage for over a year, since his unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal last March. Weeks following the defeat, ‘Gamebred’ allegedly assaulted Covington outside a Miami steakhouse. For over a year following the incident, the welterweight contender was out of the spotlight.
Jack Shore "really happy" with his UFC 286 submission win over Makwan Amirkhani, eyes return at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi
Cole Shelton - March 24, 2023
Jack Shore knew he had a ton of pressure on him heading into his fight at UFC 286. Shore was moving up to featherweight after suffering his first career loss to Ricky Simon at bantamweight. After that loss and a knee injury, Shore decided the time was right to make the move to featherweight.
Paulo Costa now the highest paid fighter from Brazil with his new UFC contract
Susan Cox - March 24, 2023
Paulo Costa is now the highest paid fighter from Brazil with his new UFC contract. ‘Borrachinha’ (14-2 MMA) last fought in August of 2022 at UFC 278 where he defeated Luke Rockhold (16-6 MMA) via unanimous decision.
UFC San Antonio: ‘Vera vs. Sandhagen’ Weigh-in Results: One Fight Cancelled
Susan Cox - March 24, 2023
UFC San Antonio kicks off with fighter weigh-ins which took place today, Friday, March 24, 2023, at 10 AM ET. UFC Fight Night will depart the APEX and take place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, March 25th. UFC San Antonio will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.
Cody Garbrandt wants to return at UFC 290 and has an opponent in mind: “I'd really like to whoop his ass”
Susan Cox - March 24, 2023
Cody Garbrandt wants to return at UFC 290 and has an opponent in mind. Garbrandt (13-5 MMA) is hot off a unanimous decision victory over Trevin Jones (13-10 MMA) earlier this month at UFC 285.
Cory Sandhagen doesn’t believe Henry Cejudo deserves a title shot: ‘It’s pretty lame to me’
Zain Bando - March 23, 2023
UFC San Antonio headliner, Cory Sandhagen, is less than pleased with former double-champion, Henry Cejudo, and his immediate title shot post-retirement. Cejudo last fought in May 2020, announcing his retirement after finishing inaugural bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, at UFC 249. The belt lineage then saw Yan fight Sandhagen for the interim belt as Aljamain Sterling and Yan had their two-fight spree in the midst of it.
Austin Lingo expecting a "firefight" against Nate Landwehr at UFC San Antonio: "It will be a great striking fight"
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2023
Austin Lingo wasn’t sure when he was going to fight again. After Lingo got injured in 2022 and had to pull out of two fights, he was booked to face Ricardo Ramos at UFC Las Vegas on March 11. Yet, on weigh-in day, Ramos missed weight by eight pounds and the fight was scrapped which was frustrating for Lingo.
Jorge Masvidal explains how he will know when it's his time to retire: "I don't want to be a stepping stone for nobody"
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2023
Jorge Masvidal doesn’t plan on being any fighter’s stepping stone. Masvidal is currently 38-years-old and is on a three-fight losing skid and set to take on Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 on April 8. Although he has lost three in a row, he says he isn’t thinking about retiring as he is still holding his own in the gym. But, once he starts losing the rounds in the gym to other pro fighters he says that is when he will know he needs to retire.
Video | Merab Dvalishvili shows off hand injury he sustained two weeks before Petr Yan bout: "I was ignoring the pain so I could fight"
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2023
Merab Dvalishvili revealed he suffered a hand injury just two weeks before he was set to headline UFC Las Vegas against Petr Yan. Dvalishvili headlined his first UFC event tow weeks ago and it was a pivotal scrap for the division. With a win, Merab knew he would be in the title conversation. Yet, just two weeks before the fight, Dvalishvili revealed he suffered a hand injury, and just moments into the fight, he reinjured it.
Jorge Masvidal feels Gilbert Burns is "tailor-made" for a highlight-reel knockout: "He makes a lot of mistakes"
Josh Evanoff - March 23, 2023
UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal is expecting a big knockout win in his return. ‘Gamebred’ has been out of action since his clash with Colby Covington at UFC 272. In their five-round welterweight main event last March, ‘Chaos’ earned a win by unanimous decision. Weeks following the incident, Masvidal reportedly assaulted Covington outside a Miami steakhouse.
Cory Sandhagen hoping for Sean O'Malley clash after Marlon Vera fight: "One of the most exciting fights in the 135 division"
Josh Evanoff - March 23, 2023
UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen already has a callout set for this weekend. ‘The Sandman’ has been out of action since his clash with Song Yadong last September. In that outing, Sandhagen scored a fourth-round stoppage win over ‘The Kung Fu Kid’. That victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for the former title challenger, as he previously suffered losses to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan.
Jiri Prochazka warns Khamzat Chimaev he will show him "his true power" in the cage after the Swede claims he beat up 'Denisa' in training
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2023
Jiri Prochazka and Khamzat Chimaev are having a back-and-forth on how their previous training sessions went years ago. On Wednesday, Chimaev was on The MMA Hour and said he used to train with Prochzka, this while claiming he would submit him and beat him up. He also noted that he was surprised the UFC signed Prochazka, as Chimaev didn’t think he was very good.
Chael Sonnen claims Joe Rogan "is on drugs" after his take on Jorge Masvidal being a better fighter than Georges St-Pierre
Lewis Simpson - March 23, 2023
Chael Sonnen is known for having no filter when voicing his thoughts to his audience. The fighter-turned-analyst weighed in on Joe Rogan’s recent comments regarding Jorge Masvidal and two-time UFC champion Georges St-Pierre. Rogan believes the sport has evolved so much over the years that Masvidal is technically the more skilled fighter than St-Pierre during his time as UFC welterweight champion.
Jorge Masvidal shuts down talk of a Colby Covington title shot: “I just got some insider information”
Susan Cox - March 23, 2023
Jorge Masvidal is shutting down talk of a Colby Covington title shot. Seemingly ‘Gamebred’ is casting shade on the idea of Colby Covington (17-3 MMA) getting the next title shot against Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA).
Khamzat Chimaev believes Jake Paul would defeat Nate Diaz in potential boxing match: “Too weak, too old”
Susan Cox - March 23, 2023
Khamzat Chimaev believes Jake Paul would defeat Nate Diaz in a potential boxing match. Jake Paul signed a deal with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) earlier this year and spoke about an MMA fight/boxing match with Diaz in the near future.
Jorge Masvidal vows he will fight Colby Covington again before closing the book on his MMA career: “I’m gonna f**kng take his soul”
Harry Kettle - March 23, 2023
UFC star Jorge Masvidal has vowed to fight Colby Covington again before he decides to retire from mixed martial arts. Last year at UFC 272, Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal finally settled their feud on the big stage. The two had previously been best friends but over time, their relationship deteriorated in a big way.
Khamzat Chimaev says current UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira would be the easiest fight of his career: “First round. First minute”
Harry Kettle - March 23, 2023
UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has suggested that a fight against Alex Pereira would be the easiest of his mixed martial arts career. For the last little while, there’s been some tension brewing between Alex Pereira and Khamzat Chimaev. The two have gone back and forth with one another on social media, potentially setting up a fight between them at some point in the future.