MMA News

Pedro Munhoz, UFC
MMA News

UFC 258 loses main card bantamweight fight between Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

The upcoming UFC 258 card has lost an intriguing bantamweight fight between Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera. UFC 258 goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas. Munhoz and Rivera were scheduled to meet on the event’s main card, in a rematch of a 2015 fight that Rivera won by split decision.

Fabricio Werdum
Kayla Harrison

Fabricio Werdum, Kayla Harrison highlight PFL heavyweight and women's lightweight brackets

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

Fabricio Werdum and Kayla Harrison are among the fighters in the upcoming PFL season three men’s heavyweight and women’s lightweight brackets. PFL’s third season kicks off in April and the promotion has been busy in the last week releasing the rosters for its light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight rosters. On Tuesday, PFL released the rosters for heavyweight and women’s lightweight. Among the participants in these tournaments are former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and women’s star Kayla Harrison.

Anthony Smith, UFC Vegas 15
Jimmy Crute

Anthony Smith returns to the Octagon at UFC 261 against Jimmy Crute

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

A pair of light heavyweight contenders will meet at UFC 261 as Anthony Smith is set to take on Jimmy Crute, who recently lost his opponent. Crute was originally set to take on Johnny Walker at UFC 260, but Walker was forced to withdraw from that fight due to a torn pectoral muscle. Instead, Crute is now shifted back a month but he gets to take on a higher-ranked fighter instead when he meets Smith at UFC 261, which takes place on April 24. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news that Smith would be fighting Crute.

Sarah-Patterson
Invicta FC

Former Invicta FC fighter Sarah Patterson passes away at 36

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

Former Invicta FC featherweight fighter Sarah Patterson has passed away at age 36, the promotion announced late Monday. Invicta released the following statement on its Twitter following the passing of Patterson. No details have been given about the cause of death at this time.

Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz

Conor McGregor trolls Nate Diaz over ESPN interview: "Look out, we got a bad ass"

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

It didn’t take long for Conor McGregor to respond to Nate Diaz’s Tuesday morning interview with ESPN. Diaz and McGregor have fought twice previously. They first met at welterweight in March, 2016, with Diaz submitting McGregor in round two. The pair then met in an immediate rematch in August of the same year. In that fight, McGregor evened the score with a hard-fought majority decision victory.

Anthony Johnson, Yoel Romero, Bellator
Bellator

Bellator reportedly plotting 8-man LHW tournament featuring Romero, Rumble, Anderson

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

Bellator MMA is reportedly plotting an eight-man light heavyweight tournament featuring former UFC stars Yoel Romero, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Corey Anderson, and more. Bellator’s light heavyweight division has been quite strong for awhile now, as the home of fighters like Phil Davis, Ryan Bader, and reigning champion Vadim Nemkov. After the promotion signed former UFC contenders like Romero, Rumble and Anderson, however, its light heavyweight division is better than ever—debatably even better than the UFC’s.

Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather
UFC

Nate Diaz says he created blueprint for Floyd Mayweather's win over Conor McGregor

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

Nate Diaz says he created the blueprint for defeating Conor McGregor, and that Floyd Mayweather followed that blueprint in his boxing match with the Irishman. Diaz defeated McGregor by second-round submission in a welterweight fight in 2016. It was McGregor’s first setback in the UFC.

Maycee Barber
Maycee Barber

Maycee Barber expects to dominate and finish Alexa Grasso and fight Joanne Calderwood next

Cole Shelton - February 9, 2021

Maycee Barber plans to remind the world just how good she is. In the co-main event of UFC 258, Barber is set to return after her first career loss and a torn ACL to battle Alexa Grasso. It’s a very intriguing matchup but many fans are surprised this is the fight because both Barber and Grasso are two up and comer prospects.

RIZIN, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Spike Carlyle
RIZIN FF

RIZIN boss responds to Spike Carlyle, lays out plans for featherweight GP

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

RIZIN CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara has responded to some recent comments from Spike Carlyle, and laid out plans for a Featherweight Grand Prix. Carlyle was recently released by the UFC after going 1-2 in the promotion’s featherweight division. After his release, he expressed interest in migrating to RIZIN because he’s always wanted to fight in Japan, where the promotion is based.

Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Joe Rogan
Dustin Poirier

Nate Diaz explains what Conor McGregor did wrong against Dustin Poirier

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

Nate Diaz has shared his thoughts on what Conor McGregor did wrong in his recent TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. McGregor and Poirier met in the main event of UFC 257 last month, in a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight that the former won by first-round knockout. In their UFC 257 rematch, Poirier evened the score, mangling McGregor’s lead leg with calf kicks, and stopping him with punches in round two.

Nate Diaz, Miami Herald
Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz targets fight with Charles Oliveira—with a catch

Tom Taylor - February 9, 2021

Nate Diaz wants to fight the UFC’s No. 3-ranked lightweight contender Charles Oliveira—but he wants to fight him at 170 pounds. Diaz has not fought since November, 2019, when he was stopped by Jorge Masvidal in a welterweight fight. That being said, UFC President Dana White recently divulged that he is working on a lightweight fight for the fan favorite.

Amanda Nunes
Jon Jones

Amanda Nunes responds to recent MMA GOAT praise from Jon Jones

Harry Kettle - February 9, 2021

Amanda Nunes has taken note of Jon Jones‘ praise in the latest round of “greatest of all time” discussions on social media. The GOAT debate has been raging for many years in mixed martial arts and with so many of the big names in the conversation still competing, you’d have to imagine that trend will continue for quite some time to come.

Jon Jones, Jan Blachowicz, Chael Sonnen, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor
Jon Jones

Jon Jones says there is one fighter who comes a "close second" in the MMA Goat conversation

Christopher Taylor - February 8, 2021

Jon Jones believes there is one fighter who comes a “close second” to him in the hotly debated MMA Goat conversation. Fans and analysts are always debating who is the greatest mixed martial artist of all time and the general consensus ends with either Khabib Nurmagomedov or Jon Jones. Many pundits consider ‘Bones’ to be at the top of the list because of his sensational record UFC in title fights. Jones is 14-0, with 1 no-contest, in his fifteen career UFC title fights.

Khabib Nurmagomedov
MMA News

Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals his all-time top fantasy fight

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2021

Everyone loves to fantasy matchmake. That includes lightweight icon Khabib Nurmagomedov who recently shared his all-time top fight to make. Given the possibility of unlimited resources to make any fight happen, “The Eagle” couldn’t help but answer with a fight that surely many others would choose as well.

Daniel-Straus
Daniel Straus

Police report reveals former Bellator champ Daniel Straus was arrested for allegedly stabbing a female victim

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2021

Former two-time Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus was arrested last Friday for an incident that took place late last month. MMA Junkie confirmed on Monday after an initial report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Straus was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The bond is currently $100,000.

Jon Jones, Dominick Reyes
Jon Jones

Jon Jones quotes Vince Lombardi while reflecting on one-year anniversary of Dominick Reyes fight

Adam Martin - February 8, 2021

UFC superstar Jon Jones quoted NFL legend Vince Lombardi while reflecting on the one-year anniversary of his fight against Dominick Reyes. The day after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Jones used a quote from the legendary football coach Lombardi to discuss his feelings one year after the fight with Reyes. In what was one of the toughest fights Jones has ever had in the Octagon, he won a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards in a fight that many observers felt Reyes should have won. In the months following that fight, Jones announced he will move up to heavyweight. Still, he couldn’t help but take to his social media and comment on the Reyes fight exactly one year to the day it happened. Check out what he wrote on Instagram.

Urijah-Faber-Jimmie-Rivera
UFC

Jimmie Rivera explains why he wants to "beat the sh*t" out of Urijah Faber

Adam Martin - February 8, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Jimmie Rivera explained why he wants to “beat the sh*t” out of his former opponent and rival Urijah Faber. Rivera and Faber first met back at UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem in September 2016. In a fight that marked his first true coming-out party in the UFC, Rivera won a unanimous decision over the legend Faber that night. However, he suffered a nasty eye poke during the fight and was also the victim of a low blow. Although that fight was five years ago, Rivera still holds a grudge, and of course, there is only one way to settle the score: a rematch between the two veterans.

Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals new meeting with Dana White, says lightweight division "needs to go on"

Adam Martin - February 8, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed he has a new meeting with Dana White, and suggested the lightweight division “needs to go on.” Nurmagomedov announced his retirement last fall following a submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, but he left open the door for a return pending the outcome of UFC 257’s main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. White was angling hard for Nurmagomedov to have a big-money rematch with McGregor, but once Poirier knocked him out and ended all hopes of it happening anytime soon, the Russian told White that he doesn’t see any challengers out there for him. As good as Poirier is, Nurmagomedov already finished him.