MMA News
Israel Adesanya "will come hunting for the Polish Power again," says coach
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
Israel Adesanya will eventually seek out a rematch with Jan Blachowicz, according to his long-time coach Eugene Bareman. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, challenged Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 259 last weekend. While Adesanya performed well in the matchup, Blachowicz ultimately left the cage with a unanimous decision win, and the light heavyweight belt still slung over his shoulder.
Conor McGregor was "overlooking" Dustin Poirier, says Dana White
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
UFC President Dana White believes former two-division champ Conor McGregor was looking past Dustin Poirier in the pair’s recent fight. McGregor and Poirier, two top lightweight contenders, met in the main event of UFC 257 in January. The bout was a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight that McGregor won by knockout.
Petr Yan accuses Aljamain Sterling of exaggerating injury to win title via DQ
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has hit his latest opponent, Aljamain Sterling, with some serious accusations. Yan and Sterling met on the UFC 259 main card, with the bantamweight title on the line. Yan, who entered the cage as the champion, seemed to be in control through most of the fight, but ultimately blasted Sterling with an illegal knee to the head. When Sterling couldn’t continue, he was named the winner by disqualification—which meant he left the cage as the new UFC bantamweight champ.
Jake Paul reacts to Dana White's planned $1M bet on Ben Askren
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
UFC President Dana White plans to bet $1 million on Ben Askren beating Jake Paul this April—and now, Paul has responded. Askren and Paul will collide in an eight-round boxing match in Atlanta, Georgia on April 17. Heading into the matchup, there’s widespread debate as to who will come out on top.
Report | UFC 259 sold 800,000 pay-per-views worldwide
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
According to a new report from the Sports Business Journal, this past Saturday’s UFC 259 pay-per-view event sold 800,000 PPVs worldwide. UFC 259 featured a super fight in the main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya, one of the sport’s biggest stars. Along with that big fight, the event also featured two other title fights: Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson for the UFC women’s featherweight title, and Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight title. Overall, it was a great card and paper and mostly lived up to the hype. But the question that UFC president Dana White and the other organizational executives wanted to know was how many PPV buys the card would sell.
Eryk Anders expects to "swing leather" with Darren Stewart until one of them falls
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Eryk Anders is expecting a highly entertaining fight for the fans on Saturday night To open up the UFC Vegas 21 main card, Anders is set to face Darren Stewart. In the lead-up to the fight, Anders, the former D-1 football star at Alabama, left home to go to Arizona and train at Fight Ready. For Anders, he says he needed a change in order to improve.
Tim Elliott "not happy" with his UFC 259 performance, wants Kai Kara-France next
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Tim Elliott dominated Jordan Espinosa for 15 minutes, but he still wasn’t happy with his performance. On the prelims of the card, Elliott and Espinosa were finally set to meet after the fight was rumored to take place for months. Throughout the fight, Elliott used his wrestling to take Espinosa down and control him. However, although he clearly won all three rounds, Elliott wasn’t happy with his performance.
Mike Tyson says Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes was the "Fight of the Year"
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
Boxing legend Mike Tyson says Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes was the “Fight of the Year” and praised Lewis for his massive knockout power. Lewis picked up one of the biggest upset wins of 2021 when he KOed Blaydes with a nasty uppercut in the main event of UFC Vegas 19. Lewis was a +350 betting underdog heading into the fight and he shocked the world when he caught Blaydes right on the chin after a sloppy takedown shot. Lewis is one of the best heavyweights in the sport, not to mention one of MMA’s best personalities, so it’s not surprising he has caught the attention of Tyson. From one KO artist to another, there seems to be a lot of mutual appreciation here.
Dan Hardy releases a statement after being let go from the UFC
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Dan Hardy has cleared the air regarding his departure from the UFC. Earlier this week, a report came out that the former UFC fighter was let go due to an incident on Fight Island. Immediately, Hardy took to social media to comment on the matter, but he has now taken to his website, Full Reptile to release a lengthy statement.
Dana White plans to make a massive wager on Ben Askren to beat Jake Paul
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Dana White likes Ben Askren’s chances to beat Jake Paul. On April 17, Askren will make his professional boxing debut against YouTuber turned boxer, Jake Paul. It is a fight that has captured the attention of the world as this will be Paul’s toughest test to date, and if he can get past Askren, he proves to everyone he is a legit combat sports athlete.
Jon Jones shuts down Israel Adesanya fight, takes shot at Eugene Bareman: "Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back"
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
UFC heavyweight Jon Jones took a shot at Israel Adesanya’s coach, saying “Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back.” Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Jan Blachowicz in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 259 event. Aside from being statistically outstruck on the feet, Adesanya was also dominated on the floor. Blachowicz was able to take his opponent down in the later rounds of the fight, lay on him, and beat him up from the top position. Adesanya, who was tired at that point of the fight from a bigger man laying on top of him, was not able to muster any offense from his back and went on to drop the decision on the judges’ cards.
Veteran MMA referee Neil Hall passes away due to COVID-19 complications, fellow officials react
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
Veteran MMA official Neil Hall passed away on Wednesday after battling COVID-19 complications, his family announced in a public statement. His wife Kath Hall shared on Facebook that her husband passed away after battling COVID-19. According to the statement, Hall had back surgery last summer but had an infection in the surgery area which wasn’t noticed until January. While getting treatment for his infection, Hall picked up COVID-19 and after three weeks of fighting, he passed away. Hall’s age was not immediately available. The family’s statement is as follows:
Jon Jones vows to become heavyweight champion, but not until the UFC "sees more value" in him
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is confident that he’ll eventually become the promotion’s heavyweight champion. That being said, the man widely regarded as the greatest fighter of all time is in no rush— particularly when he feels undervalued by the UFC. Jones got to talking about his legacy and future in the sport on Twitter on Wednesday.
Rafael dos Anjos open to fighting Islam Makhachev, with one condition
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
UFC lightweight Rafael dos Anjos says he is open to fighting Islam Makhachev but there is a special condition that needs to be met first. Dos Anjos and Makhachev were supposed to meet back at UFC 254 in October and then at a UFC Fight Night card in November, but the fight was postponed and eventually scratched. Dos Anjos instead fought Paul Felder and beat him by split decision, while Makhachev returned to the Octagon this past Saturday at UFC 259, defeating Drew Dober via third-round submission.
Conor McGregor reportedly doubled his net worth with Proper No. Twelve sale
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor reportedly doubled his net worth by selling his popular Irish whiskey company, Proper No. Twelve. McGregor and his business partners launched Proper No. Twelve in September, 2018. The whiskey was an immediate financial success, and a little over three years later, the Irish MMA star has reportedly sold his stake in the company for a gargantuan fortune.
Aljamain Sterling receives advice from Daniel Cormier: "Get off the Internet, bro"
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has some advice for the promotion’s new bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling: Step away from the Internet. Sterling returned to the cage at UFC 259 last weekend, when he challenged Petr Yan for the bantamweight title. Regrettably, this fight ended in disaster when Yan blasted Sterling with an illegal knee. When Sterling was unable to continue, he was named the victor by disqualification, which meant that he became the new champion—but under pretty unfortunate circumstances.
Ben Askren teams up with Freddie Roach: Beating Jake Paul "ain’t gonna be that hard"
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Ben Askren has enlisted the help of legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach ahead of his anticipated showdown with YouTube celebrity Jake Paul. Askren, the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight titleholder, will meet Paul in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17. The bout will air on pay-per-view at a price of $49.99.
UFC Vegas 22 loses co-main event fight between Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
The upcoming UFC Vegas 22 card has lost a light heavyweight fight between Scotland’s Paul Craig and American Jamahal Hill, which would have served as the evening’s co-main event. Craig announced this news on Instagram on Wednesday, claiming that Hill withdrew from the fight, and noting that the bout has already been rescheduled by the promotion.