MMA News
Stephen Thompson praises Leon Edwards for "perfect technique" to KO Kamaru Usman, but believes 'The Nigerian Nightmare' wins the trilogy
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Stephen Thompson believes Leon Edwards landed the perfect technique to KO Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. Edwards entered the fifth round clearly losing the fight and did not get off to the best start in the final frame. It appeared that Usman would be defending his belt by decision but Edwards landed a clean head kick that KO’d Usman in the final minute which Thompson says was a great technique.
Rafael dos Anjos says he’s had his "last title run," lists four potential opponents that would motivate him to fight
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Rafael dos Anjos has four names in mind for his next fight. The Brazilian is coming off a KO loss to Rafael Fiziev which snapped his two-fight winning streak. During the win streak, he beat Renato Moicano in a catchweight bout and beat Paul Felder in his return to 155lbs to make another run at the title.
Charles Oliveira says Islam Makhachev refused to fight him in Brazil in January: "They took it where they wanted"
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Charles Oliveira says the original plan was to have his vacant lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev headline UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January. The UFC announced they are set to return to Brazil in January and according to Oliveira, he was supposed to face Makhachev on the card. However, according to the former lightweight champ, he claims Makhachev refused to go to Brazil and rather pleaded to have the fight in Abu Dhabi, which is where it will now take place.
‘Anatomy of a Fighter’ video from UFC 278 shows backstage footage of Kamaru Usman immediately following his KO loss to Leon Edwards
Josh Evanoff - August 25, 2022
Footage of Kamaru Usman’s reaction following UFC 278 has been released. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ faced Leon Edwards as the headliner in Salt Lake City last Saturday night. The bout was a rematch of their previous encounter at UFC on Fox in December 2015. In that outing, Usman scored a unanimous decision victory.
Chael Sonnen believes Colby Covington could receive title shot upon return: "There's not a lot of players left on the board"
Josh Evanoff - August 25, 2022
Chael Sonnen believes that UFC welterweight Colby Covington could return for a chance at gold. ‘Chaos’ has been out of action since UFC 272 in March. In that outing, Covington scored a lopsided unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal. In the weeks following the fight, ‘Gamebred’ allegedly attacked his friend-turned-foe in a Miami bar.
The UFC parts ways with four more fighters
Christopher Taylor - August 25, 2022
The UFC has parted ways with another four fighters according to recent reports from @UFCRosterWatch on ‘Twitter’. It should also be noted that it has not been confirmed if all of these moves were outright releases or simply contracts which were not renewed.
Mike Perry describes sparring sessions with Jake Paul: "I kind of wanted him to hit me"
Josh Evanoff - August 25, 2022
Mike Perry has shared some details of his sparring sessions with Jake Paul. ‘Platinum’ is coming off a decision victory over Michael ‘Venom’ Page in London last weekend. The victory was the second in a row for the 30-year-old inside the BKFC ring. However, he’s looking to make the move to the standard boxing ring next.
Stephen Thompson not interested in fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov next: "It doesn't make sense for me to face another heavy grappler"
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Stephen Thompson isn’t interested in fighting Shavkat Rakhmonov next. Thompson hasn’t fought since last December when he lost by decision to Belal Muhammad. It was his second straight defeat, and in both losses, he was out grappled and outwrestled.
Leon Edwards’ coach Dave Lovell responds to Jorge Masvidal’s call for a title shot: “Mr. Masvidal, you little rat Judas, your time will come also”
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Leon Edwards’s coach Dave Lovell doesn’t think Jorge Masvidal is anywhere near a title shot. Edwards and Masvidal of course have a history due to the three-piece and a soda incident, and from previously being booked to fight at UFC 269 before ‘Gamebred’ was forced out with an injury. With that, after Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman to become the UFC’s new welterweight champ, Masvidal was vocal in wanting to make the fight finally happen, despite being on a three-fight losing skid.
Khabib Nurmagomedov details the recent conversation he had with longtime friend Cain Velasquez: “God chose to test him in this way”
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov says he recently talked to Cain Velasquez and opened up on how the call went. Velasquez has been in jail since February 28 and has been denied bail three times since then. The former UFC heavyweight champion is facing a total of 10 charges including attempted murder and if he is found guilty of attempted murder, he faces a minimum of 20 years and up to life in prison, with additional time being added for the other charges, if found guilty.
Merab Dvalishvili responds to fans critical of his win over Jose Aldo at UFC 278: “It’s his job to move and do something”
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2022
Merab Dvalishvili thinks Jose Aldo is also to blame for their UFC 278 fight not being fan-friendly. Dvalishvili won a lackluster decision over Aldo in Salt Lake City, Utah in a fight that was primarily Dvalishvili pushing Aldo up against the Octagon. It was a disappointing fight that even Dana White ripped Dvalishvili for his performance.
Mike Perry tells Jake Paul, "I'm the real problem" in latest callout
Andrew Whitelaw - August 24, 2022
Mike Perry has once again called out Jake Paul to box him. The YouTube star turned pugilist recently saw his fight against Tommy Fury and Hasim Rahman Jr. fall through with both opponents withdrawing.
Luke Rockhold explains why he was so mad at UFC president Dana White: "Dana never gave me a chance"
Andrew Whitelaw - August 24, 2022
Luke Rockhold has aired some of the reasons he’s felt animosity towards UFC president, Dana White. The former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion is recently retired from the sport having given a memorable performance despite losing to Paulo Costa at UFC 278 last weekend.
ONE Championship's Rodtang Jitmuangnon announces intentions to move to MMA after next outing: "I'm ready to fight"
Josh Evanoff - August 24, 2022
ONE Championship flyweight Muay Thai champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon will be making his way to MMA shortly. ‘The Iron Man’ returns to action this Friday night at ONE on Amazon Prime 1 against Savvas Michael. There, Jitmuangnon will look to pick up his seventh straight victory in Muay Thai. His most recent victory came in May, a decision win over Jacob Smith.
Luke Rockhold blasts Jake Paul over UFC 278 comments: "Go back in your f****** hole before I f****** smack the s*** out of you"
Josh Evanoff - August 24, 2022
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has blasted Jake Paul. At UFC 278 last Saturday night in Salt Lake City, the 37-year-old returned to action. The co-main event against Paulo Costa was Rockhold’s first fight since 2019. Despite the layoff, the former UFC champion looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.
Daniel Cormier hits back at idea that Leon Edwards win over Kamaru Usman was a fluke: "It's not the first time he has knocked somebody out with this kick"
Josh Evanoff - August 24, 2022
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe Leon Edwards’s knockout against Kamaru Usman was a fluke. In the main event of UFC 278 last Saturday night in Salt Lake City, ‘Rocky’ faced ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’. The matchup was a rematch of their previous outing in 2015 on UFC on Fox 17. In their first matchup, Usman scored a unanimous decision victory.
Khabib Nurmagomedov explains why Eagle FC will never partner with betting sites: “Gambling is more dangerous than alcohol"
Cole Shelton - August 24, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov says Eagle FC will never be partnered with any betting sites. With sports betting being legalized throughout the States and in Canada, commercials and ads featuring betting have become more popular. Along with that, the UFC has partnered with DraftKings while the other major sports all have gambling partnerships, but Eagle FC will be much different as Nurmagomedov believes sports betting is bad.
Ben Askren blasts Jorge Masvidal for trying to lockup a title fight with Leon Edwards: “You can’t avoid someone for 3 years then try to pick a fight once they get a belt”
Cole Shelton - August 24, 2022
Ben Askren doesn’t think Jorge Masvidal should be fighting for UFC gold his next time out. After Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 to become the new welterweight champ, Masvidal was quick to campaign for the fight. Of course, the two have a history with the three-piece and a soda incident in London as well as being booked to face one another at UFC 269.