MMA News
Frank Mir weighs-in 70-pounds heavier than Steve Cunningham ahead of pro boxing debut
Cole Shelton - April 16, 2021
Frank Mir will have a size advantage on Saturday night in his pro boxing debut. Originally, the former UFC heavyweight champion was set to fight Antonio Tarver, where he would’ve been at least 50-pounds heavier. However, the Georgia commission wouldn’t clear him and he was replaced by former IBF cruiserweight champion, Steve Cunningham.
Nate Diaz responds after Conor McGregor suggests the UFC make two belts for his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier
Christopher Taylor - April 16, 2021
Nate Diaz has responded after his longtime rival Conor McGregor told the UFC to make two new belts for his upcoming trilogy with Dustin Poirier. McGregor and Poirier are set to collide for a third time on July 10 at UFC 264, this after splitting their first two encounters.
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3 sells out in "seconds"
Cole Shelton - April 16, 2021
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will have their trilogy fight in front of a sold out crowd. McGregor and Poirier are set to meet in the main event of UFC 264 on July 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. On Friday, tickets went on sale, and to no surprise, given it is the first UFC event with fans in Vegas since the pandemic, they went quickly.
Francis Ngannou to return favor, will corner Kamaru Usman at UFC 261
Cole Shelton - April 16, 2021
Francis Ngannou will be in Kamaru Usman’s corner at UFC 261 on April 24. When Ngannou had his rematch against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260, he added Usman to his corner for some wrestling advice. It ended up working as Ngannou stuffed the takedown attempts and had some nice scrambles and went on to KO Miocic in the second.
Ben Askren and Jake Paul face off before their big boxing match (Video)
Adam Martin - April 16, 2021
Ben Askren guaranteed $500,000 to fight Jake Paul in boxing as full card salaries revealed
Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021
Former UFC and Bellator star Ben Askren is guaranteed to make $500,000 when he fights Jake Paul on Saturday night in their boxing match. Triller Fight Club is promoting another huge event for this Saturday, one that features Askren and Paul in the main event in a boxing grudge match. We knew they were both about to make some serious coin for the fight, and now we have the disclosed salaries. According to MMAFighting.com, Askren is guaranteed a purse of $500,000, while Paul is getting at least $690,000 for this fight. And that’s just the guaranteed portion, as they will both likely be in line for pay-per-view bonus points depending on how well the show does.
UFC Vegas 24 weigh-in results: Headliners on point, but two fighters miss weight
Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021
The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 24 took place on Friday, and Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum made weight for the main event fight. In the headliner, Whittaker and Gastelum meet with a potential middleweight title shot on the line. Whittaker, the former champion, is coming off of back-to-back wins over Darren Till and Jared Cannonier to jump back into title contention after losing his belt to Israel Adesanya in 2019. As for Gastelum, he recently snapped a three-fight win streak with a unanimous decision win over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258. After Paulo Costa fell out of the fight with an illness, Gastelum volunteered to step in on short notice and the UFC gave him the opportunity. The winner of this bout will surely figure into the title discussions at 185lbs.
Frank Mir uncertain when he will retire, still plans to compete for BKFC
Cole Shelton - April 16, 2021
Frank Mir knows he doesn’t have much longer in his career. The former UFC heavyweight champion is 41-years-old and is set to turn 42, isn’t putting a timeline on his retirement. Mir admits three years ago when he was in Bellator, he wanted to retire, but after taking care of his body, he says he’s in really good shape and isn’t sure when he will retire now.
Jorge Masvidal explains why he can't get behind Ben Askren in boxing: "He really disrespected striking" during his MMA career
Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021
Jorge Masvidal explained why he can’t get behind Ben Askren in boxing, suggesting “he really disrespected striking” during his MMA career. On Saturday, Askren makes his pro boxing debut when he faces off against YouTuber Jake Paul. For Askren, it’s his first boxing match after spending the last decade-plus in mixed martial arts, and so he will be somewhat representing the sport of MMA when he steps into the ring this weekend. However, not everyone is convinced he’s truly representing MMA.
Jorge Masvidal introduces his own platform: “I will also be traveling the world looking for the next Kimbo”
Harry Kettle - April 16, 2021
Jorge Masvidal has introduced his own video platform after seemingly being hit with copyright strikes or perhaps even bans on multiple social media sites. “Gamebred” has never been shy when it comes to voicing his opinion, and he also doesn’t hold back when given the opportunity to call someone out – and in this case, it seems to be the likes of YouTube and Instagram that he’s got a problem with.
Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena react after title fight booking at UFC 265
Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and rival Julianna Pena reacted after their title fight booking at UFC 265. Nunes vs. Pena will take place on August 7 at UFC 265. Pena was calling for the fight in recent months on social media and in interviews, and after UFC president Dana White admitted that he was thinking about giving her the title shot, the promotion ended up making good on those comments and booking it. Nunes vs. Pena will now take place this summer at UFC 265, though it’s unknown if it will headline or if another title fight will take place on the card. Either way, Nunes vs. Pena should be a highly-anticipated battle.
Eddie Alvarez to make quick turnaround after DQ loss, fights at ONE on TNT 4
Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021
ONE Championship lightweight contender Eddie Alvarez will make a quick turnaround after his recent DQ loss when he returns at ONE on TNT 4. Alvarez fought at ONE on TNT 1 earlier this month and the ending to his fight with Iuri Lapicus was extremely controversial, to say the least. After Alvarez took Lapicus to the ground and started to land some heavy shots, the referee deemed the punches illegal shots to the back of the head and, when Lapicus couldn’t continue, Alvarez was given a red card and disqualified. It was a very strange ending to a fight that Alvarez was dominating, and it led to figures such as Big John McCarthy blasting the referee for disqualifying the fighter.
Tony Ferguson labeled betting underdog for UFC 262 fight with Beneil Dariush
Adam D Martin - April 16, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson is currently a rare betting underdog for his fight against Beneil Dariush at UFC 262. Ferguson and Dariush meet on the UFC 262 main card on May 15 in Houston, Texas. It’s an awesome fight between the No. 5 ranked Ferguson and the No. 9 ranked Dariush, and the winner seems destined to take a big step towards fighting for the belt in a stacked division. Both Ferguson and Dariush are two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC lightweight division and it feels like fans everywhere can’t wait for these two to throw down on May 15.
Bellator 257: 'Nemkov vs. Davis 2' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - April 15, 2021
Tonight’s Bellator 257 event is headlined by a light heavyweight rematch between current champion Vadim Nemkov and former title holder Phil Davis. Nemkov (12-2 MMA) and Davis (22-5 MMA) originally collided at Bellator 209 in November of 2018, with the Russian emerging victorious by way of split decision.
Anthony Smith slams Jake Paul for recent CTE claims: "He’s exactly as stupid and careless as we all thought"
Christopher Taylor - April 15, 2021
Anthony Smith absolutely went off on Jake Paul after the YouTuber turned boxer claimed that he is already showing “early signs of CTE”. Paul (2-0), who is set to square off with former MMA champion Ben Askren on Saturday night, told media members on Thursday that he was already suffering the effects of being a professional boxer.
Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou steps down from role after six year run
Drake Riggs - April 15, 2021
It’s been a good run for longtime Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou, but now he’s moving on to work with Wimp 2 Warrior. Revealed on Thursday just ahead of tomorrow night’s big Bellator 257 event, the promotion informed the public of Chou’s coming departure as their matchmaker.
Jake Paul says a Conor McGregor fight is closer to happening "than anyone thinks"
Cole Shelton - April 15, 2021
Jake Paul believes he will fight Conor McGregor within the next two years. After Paul had a highlight-reel KO over Nate Robinson he called out several MMA fighters including McGregor. He began taking shots at the Irishman and on Saturday night, he will face Ben Askren, and many believe if he wins, he will call out McGregor again.
Tony Ferguson tells Khabib Nurmagomedov to "quit running" and "sign on the dotted line"
Cole Shelton - April 15, 2021
Tony Ferguson is still chasing the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight. Ferguson and Nurmagomedov have been scheduled to fight each other five times but due to fluke injuries, botched weight cuts, and a pandemic, the fight never took place. It is one of the fights many fans wanted to see and although Nurmagomedov is retired, Ferguson still hopes it happens.
Tony Ferguson analyzes the mistakes he made against Charles Oliveira
Adam Martin - April 15, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson analyzed the mistakes he made on the ground against Charles Oliveira last December at UFC 256. In that fight, Ferguson was the betting favorite but was completed dominated by Oliveira, who took “El Cucuy” down at will and controlled him on the mat for three full rounds en route to a lopsided victory. With Ferguson now preparing to fight another ground ace in Beneil Dariush at UFC 262, he’s been hard at work drilling his grappling so what happened against Oliveira won’t happen again. Taking to his social media, Ferguson explained what technical mistakes me made on the ground that didn’t allow for him to score a finish.