MMA News
Darian Weeks plans to proves he belongs with stoppage win over Yohan Lainesse at UFC 279: "I'm better in a lot of positions than he is"
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Darian Weeks believes he will finally get his first UFC win when he faces Yohan Lainesse at UFC 279. Weeks is coming off a decision loss to Ian Garry back in April and before that, he suffered a decision loss to Bryan Barberena in a fight he took on a couple of days’ notice. He was then booked to face Cedric Doumbe at UFC Paris, but due to French commission rules the fight was scrapped and he was then quickly re-booked to face Lainesse at UFC 279 a week later.
Khamzat Chimaev hopes Nate Diaz can survive all five rounds at UFC 279: "If I beat him first round everyone is going to say the guy is too old"
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t want to score an early finish over Nate Diaz. Chimaev is set to headline UFC 279 opposite Diaz in a big fight for both men as ‘Borz’ gets the chance to become a bigger star by fighting and possibly beating Diaz. Although Chimaev is above a -1000 favorite and everyone expects him to finish Diaz, he doesn’t want to do it early. Instead, for the Swede, he says he’d rather go all five rounds as he believes if he finishes Diaz early people will discredit his win saying the Stockton native was too old.
Johnny Walker reveals previous CBD treatment left him with schizophrenia: “I was getting drugged every single day for the last three years and didn’t know”
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC light-heavyweight Johnny Walker had a horrific experience with CBD. The Brazilian is set to face Ion Cutelaba at UFC 279 this Saturday. The bout is an important one, as Walker badly needs a victory. Heading into this weekend, he’s lost four of his last five outings.
Kevin Holland says Khamzat Chimaev only puts on his “wannabe street” antics when the media is around: “When you guys aren’t around, he wants to do fist bumps and he wants to be your best friend”
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC welterweight Kevin Holland says Khamzat Chimaev only acts gangster when cameras are around. ‘The Wolf’ is set to return to action in the main event of UFC 279 on Saturday. The bout will be a rare non-title pay-per-view main event, as Chimaev will face Nate Diaz. It’s the first headlining role for the welterweight contender.
Tony Ferguson still believes he will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov: "I am the one to get him out of retirement"
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC welterweight Tony Ferguson believes he will one day share the octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ has been out of the cage since his fight with Justin Gaethje in October 2020. After securing a second-round submission, Nurmagomedov retired in the post-fight interview. The Russian later explained that his mother pleaded with him to retire.
Khamzat Chimaev open to fighting Nate Diaz and his team before UFC 279: "I have like 20 guys with me"
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Khamzat Chimaev is open to fighting Nate Diaz and his entire team before they collide in the Octagon at UFC 279. In the past we have seen Diaz’s team get into it at pre-fight press conferences, most notably the water bottle incident when he was facing Conor McGregor. For Chimaev, he says he wants that to happen ahead of UFC 279, as he says he brought 20 guys with him ready to fight before Saturday if need be.
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler official for UFC 281
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler has been made official. For months, Poirier and Chandler have been going back and forth with one another hoping a fight would happen. They were linked to facing one another at UFC 281 and now according to UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell – who told ESPN – the bout has been made official for the November pay-per-view card. The fight will also only be three rounds.
UFC Fighter Salaries: Kamaru Usman takes home top disclosed payout
Susan Cox - September 7, 2022
Former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, took home the top disclosed payday from last month’s UFC 278 event. Usman, (20-2 MMA) received a flat $500,000 for his fifth round knockout loss at the hands of Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA) who pocketed a $350,000 purse and earned himself the UFC welterweight title. Although neither headliner was to receive a win bonus, the welterweights probably shared in the pay-per-view profits.
Chris Barnett expecting a "war" in "the king of the dad bods battle" against Jake Collier at UFC 279: "We are going to strike, we are going to spin"
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Chris Barnett is excited to face Jake Collier at UFC 279 and to fight in front of fans again. Barnett is coming off a decision loss to Martin Buday, however, the entire camp was a hard one as his wife was in the hospital, and 30 hours before the fight he got a call that he had to make a decision about her. Following the loss, she, unfortunately, passed away. With that, Barnett spent the next few months with his kids but now finally feels ready to fight again.
UFC asked Li Jingliang to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 three hours before announcing bout
Ryan Harkness - September 7, 2022
UFC 279 featuring Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz got a much-needed boost to its undercard when the UFC announced that Tony Ferguson would be moving up to welterweight to fight Li Jingliang in the new co-main event. It was something of a last-minute addition, as the bout was announced at UFC 278 on August 20, just 22 days before UFC 279 takes place on September 10. And according to Li Jingliang, the matchmaking occurred just hours before the UFC revealed the fight on-air.
UFC President Dana White responds to rumors that he and Nate Diaz nearly went at it in a nightclub years ago: “We were drinking”
Susan Cox - September 7, 2022
UFC President Dana White is responding to rumors that he and Nate Diaz nearly went at it in a nightclub years ago. It was during an interview with ESPN that Nate Diaz revealed there was an incident which occurred between the UFC President and the fighter way back in 2014. Laughing, Diaz said he ‘almost beat up’ White during the altercation:
Paulo Costa believes verbal altercation with Khamzat Chimaev "was just for show": "He's a fake gangster"
Ryan Harkness - September 7, 2022
Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev got into a heated argument at the UFC Performance Institute earlier this week that almost turned into an all-out brawl. If you believe Chimaev, a fight was only avoided because his training partners held him back. According to Costa, the whole thing was just a show for the cameras. In an interview with Full Send MMA’s Shawny Mack, the popular Brazilian middleweight described how ‘Borz’ and his team withdrew quickly after it looked like Costa was willing to throw down.
Uriah Hall and Most Valuable Promotions get into heated exchange after ‘Primetime’ dubs Jake Paul a “tyrant”
Harry Kettle - September 7, 2022
Uriah Hall got into a heated debate with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions during a social media exchange this week. While he may never have lived up to the hype from his season of The Ultimate Fighter, Uriah Hall was still a valuable member of the UFC roster throughout his time with the company. He managed to register big wins along the way over the likes of Gegard Mousasi, Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman, firmly establishing himself as a contender at middleweight.
Canelo Alvarez reacts to Kamaru Usman’s title loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 278
Harry Kettle - September 7, 2022
Canelo Alvarez has given his thoughts on Kamaru Usman‘s recent title loss at the hands of Leon Edwards at UFC 278. While he may be best known as one of boxing’s biggest stars, Canelo Alvarez has certainly been making some waves in the mixed martial arts world over the course of the last few months – largely because Kamaru Usman couldn’t stop talking about the possibility of landing a fight with him.
Nate Diaz reveals four opponents that the UFC wouldn’t allow him to fight in his swan song
Harry Kettle - September 7, 2022
Nate Diaz has revealed the names of four potential opponents that he has suggested the UFC didn’t let him fight. This Saturday night in the main event of UFC 279, Nate Diaz will make the walk to the Octagon for what could well be the final time. He’ll be going head to head with rising star Khamzat Chimaev and while many are counting him out, we all know that if anyone is capable of springing a surprise, it’s going to be Nate Diaz.
Julian Erosa believes he has to make it a "dirty" and "crazy" fight against Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 279: "I'm a bonus chaser"
Cole Shelton - September 6, 2022
Julian Erosa is expecting a very fun fight at UFC 279 against Hakeem Dawodu. After Erosa beat Steven Peterson back in February, in a ‘Fight of the Night’ performance, he called out Dawodu and Alex Caceres. Erosa wanted a bigger step-up in competition and got his wish as he will face Dawodu this weekend at UFC 279. Although he got the matchup he wanted, Erosa says his return was pushed back a couple of times.
Nate Diaz says he was "nowhere near" a new contract, claims he told the UFC to sign all his friends in order for him to re-sign
Cole Shelton - September 6, 2022
Nate Diaz says he was nowhere near re-signing with the UFC before his fight against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279. It has been well-documented that Diaz has one fight left on his deal and the UFC was looking to re-sign him. The hope was to get him locked into a new multi-fight deal but that never happened and he will now face Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279. According to Diaz, he says he was never close to re-signing with the deal.
Brendan Schaub laughs off UFC fighters praising Mark Zuckerberg's MMA technique: "Guys have a little respect for yourselves"
Josh Evanoff - September 6, 2022
Former heavyweight Brendan Schaub isn’t a fan of UFC fighters praising Mark Zuckerberg. The CEO of Facebook is a noted MMA fan. Zuckerberg became a fan of the UFC years ago and soon decided to begin training himself. The 38-year-old began training jiu-jitsu, then full-blown MMA, including sparring.