MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Jake Paul is back with another round of impressions, and this time, he’s targeting Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, and a host of other MMA stars. Paul became a star on YouTube, but has since become a fixture of the combat sports industry thanks to a handful of high-profile boxing matches.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley recently did a bit of training with Francis Ngannou, and he seems to be pretty blown away by the heavyweight contender’s sheer strength. Ngannou, currently the No. 1 contender in the UFC heavyweight division, is widely viewed as one of the hardest hitters in mixed martial arts history—maybe the hardest hitter outright.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier believes Derrick Lewis is potentially a harder puncher than Francis Ngannou. Lewis and Ngannou, the UFC’s No. 1 and 2-ranked heavyweights, are widely accepted as the hardest punchers in mixed martial arts at present. Deciding which man punches harder, however, has been the subject of much debate among fight fans.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has identified the toughest opponent he’s ever faced in mixed martial arts competition. While Woodley has shared the cage with fighters like Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, Darren Till, Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Robbie Lawler, Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck and Nate Marquardt, he says his toughest foe to date was American Top Team veteran Nathan Coy.

Harry Kettle - February 23, 2021

MMA veteran Phil Baroni has taken aim at UFC lightweights Justin Gaethje and Donald Cerrone for their defeats to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. Baroni is well known for being an outspoken figure on social media and based on recent evidence, it doesn’t seem as if that’ll stop being the case anytime soon.

Harry Kettle - February 23, 2021

UFC light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz says he doesn’t have bad blood with Israel Adesanya right now – but that could change leading up to UFC 259. The two men are set to clash for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship as Blachowicz defends the belt for the very first time. Adesanya, on the other hand, is hoping to join an elite group of fighters to have won belts in two different weight classes.

Drake Riggs - February 22, 2021

UFC Vegas 19 got off to a hot start with a plethora of awesome finishes, and it would end the night on the same note. However, directly before the main event, there was some controversy at bantamweight — UFC President Dana White believes the judges got things right. At 135-pounds, top-ranked contenders Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya took centerstage. After a competitive grappling heavy contest that saw round-by-round momentum shifts, “Foxy” would come out on top (literally) and get her hand raised by unanimous decision.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee says he wants to run it back with Tony Ferguson when he returns to the Octagon later this year. Lee has not competed since last March when he was submitted by Charles Oliveira in the main event of the last UFC card before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He had double surgery after the fight, and after missing a full year of action, he’s ready to return to the Octagon in the coming months. And when he makes his return, he wants to rematch Ferguson.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

John McCarthy has assessed Herb Dean’s performance at UFC Vegas 19. In the main event of the card, Dean was the third man in the Octagon for Derrick Lewis vs Curtis Blaydes. In the early going, Dean was doing a solid job monitoring the eye pokes. Yet, as Lewis landed the KO punch, “The Black Beast” followed it up with some more shots. He said it was Herb Dean’s fault, but John McCarthy believes Dean did everything he was supposed to.

Drake Riggs - February 22, 2021

All-women’s promotion Invicta FC has truly left its mark on the sport of MMA. However, going forward it will no longer air on UFC Fight Pass. On Monday, Fight Bananas reported the separation between the two parties. Erik Kowal of MyMMANews would later confirm the report.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

Kamaru Usman will likely get his wish of fighting Jorge Masvidal next time out. After Usman scored a third-round TKO win over Gilbert Burns to defend his welterweight title he called out Masvidal. Although he clearly won the fight at UFC 251, Usman wasn’t happy that he didn’t get the finish and the excuse of “Gamebred” taking it on six day’s notice was being used.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

George Foreman believes Conor McGregor would beat Manny Pacquiao in a boxing match. In the lead-up to Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2, the Irishman has said it was to help him prepare to fight Pacquiao. Poirier, like Pacquiao, is a southpaw and the Irishman thought their styles were similar. However, the fight did not go McGregor’s way and it is now likely he will have the trilogy with Poirier.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw is hoping for an immediate title shot in his UFC return, saying that he’s “ready to go straight for the belt.” Dillashaw has not fought since January 2019 after he testing positive for PEDs following a TKO loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC on ESPN+ 1. Dillashaw was then suspended for two years by USADA, but he recently completed his suspension and is now ready to return to the cage. There has been plenty of speculation about who Dillashaw could fight in his Octagon comeback, with whispers that he could get a title shot against UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Remember, Dillashaw didn’t lose his belt, he vacated it. So in his mind, there is a justification for him coming back to fight for the belt despite the PEDs.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC featherweight Dan Ige is staying on the UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad card after Gavin Tucker stepped up on short notice. Ige was originally set to fight Ryan Hall in what would have been a really intriguing matchup, but BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton reported that Hall was forced out of the fight due to injury. The UFC looked around for potential opponents to fill in for Hall and eventually settled on Tucker. It is worth noting that Tucker was supposed to fight Cub Swanson on May 1, and it’s unclear what immediate impact that this booking will have on that fight. Ige vs. Tucker will now fight on the UFC Fight Night card that is set to take place on March 13 in Las Vegas. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the word of the fight.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Travis Fulton, a mixed martial arts veteran with north of 300 professional fights, is reportedly facing child pornography charges, according to The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. According to the report, Fulton, a 43-year-old native of Waterloo, Iowa, has been charged with “with sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child porn and receipt of child porn.”

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Footage of a fight fan allegedly video calling and harassing UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has emerged on social media. Blaydes, who has long stood out as one of the top heavyweights on earth, returned to action in the main event of UFC Vegas 19 last Saturday, where he succumbed to a knockout loss at the hands of the underdog Derrick Lewis.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 19, a pivotal heavyweight bout headlined UFC Vegas 19 as Curtis Blaydes took on Derrick Lewis. In the lead-up to the fight, many thought Blaydes would use his wrestling to control the fight and win a clear-cut decision or get a late stoppage. However, when “Razor” did shoot, Lewis stuffed the takedowns and scored a second-round KO win.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Spencer Jones, a wide receiver for OU football, sustained serious injuries during a bathroom brawl with a young mixed martial arts practitioner. Accounts of this fight between the OU football star and MMA specialist, which left the former with a badly damaged eye, vary depending on the source.