MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2021

On Wednesday, the UFC returned to our screens for the second time this week with UFC Fight Island 8: “Chiesa vs. Magny” from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The card, which began at 9:00am ET, was originally scheduled to be headlined by a welterweight fight between No. 3-ranked contender Leon Edwards and rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev. When Chimaev was forced out of the fight, however, the main event spot went to ranked welterweight contenders Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2021

UFC President Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters he’s dealt with in mixed martial arts. Nurmagomedov last fought in October, when he defended the UFC lightweight title with a second-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje. After that fight, he announced his retirement from MMA.

Cole Shelton - January 20, 2021

Matt Frevola is ready to remind everyone he is a force to be reckoned with at lightweight. Frevola, like most, had a rough 2020 as he had two fights canceled due to COVID-19 and had to pull out of another with an injury. However, the good news for Frevola was the injury allowed him to get on the main card of a Conor McGregor pay-per-view in UFC 257 which he is excited about.

Adam Martin - January 20, 2021

UFC welterweight Rhys McKee has been released from the world’s leading MMA promotion after losing both of his fights inside the Octagon. UFC president Dana White promised up to 60 fighters would be released. The promotion had 660 fighters under contract when White said that, and he’s already made good on his promise. We saw the promotion make plenty of cuts in late 2020, including cutting stars like Anderson Silva and Yoel Romero, and the organization figures to release many more in early 2021. Unfortunately for McKee, he was among the latest casualties of the UFC’s bloated roster issue.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2021

Owen Roddy, one of the coaches behind Conor McGregor, says the Irishman is prepared to fight Dustin Poirier for five rounds if needed. McGregor and Poirier will collide in the main event of UFC 257 this Saturday on Fight Island. Heading into the fight, Poirier has emphasized that he intends to avoid McGregor’s offense early, and turn the fight into a bloody war of attrition.

Harry Kettle - January 20, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker believes that the hype surrounding Michael Chandler heading into UFC 257 is justified. Hooker has a huge opportunity in front of him this Saturday night with the belief being that if he can overcome Chandler in a dominant manner, there’s a chance he could go on to fight for the Lightweight Championship sooner rather than later.

Harry Kettle - January 20, 2021

UFC newcomer Michael Chandler has explained why he isn’t focused on trying to impress Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 257. Chandler is set to make his UFC debut when he locks horns with fellow lightweight contender Dan Hooker in what should be a fascinating co-main event on Fight Island this weekend.

Christopher Taylor - January 19, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov has issued a statement after receiving the “Submission of the year” award from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Although the undefeated UFC lightweight champion only competed once during the 2020 calendar year, Khabib’s lone effort still produced hardware.

Christopher Taylor - January 19, 2021

UFC welterweight Mike Perry has gone to bat for Conor McGregor after the Irishman was once again insulted by Khamzat Chimaev. Chimaev (9-0 MMA), a product of Ali Abdelaziz’s Dominance MMA, has been relentless in his callouts of McGregor despite being booked to fight perennial contender Leon Edwards in his next Octagon appearance.

Drake Riggs - January 19, 2021

One of the biggest rising superstars among the UFC’s female competitors in the past two years has been Brazil’s Amanda Ribas. With a win on Saturday night at UFC 257, she’ll be all that much closer to her goal of holding a world championship. Kicking off the main card on Jan. 23 will be strawweight action as Ribas looks to leapfrog the No. 8 ranked Marina Rodriguez. Currently ranked just a spot below her Brazilian counterpart, Ribas would extend her winning streak to six with a victory (five in the UFC).

Drake Riggs - January 19, 2021

There’s no denying the fact that Max Holloway and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire are two of the best featherweights on the planet. However, the latter isn’t so much impressed with the former. This past Saturday night at UFC Fight Island 7, the former UFC champion in Holloway competed in his first non-title tilt since June 2016. In the said bout, the Hawaiian would go on to set nine UFC records in a masterclass at the expense of the No. 6 ranked UFC contender, Calvin Kattar. One of which is the most significant strikes landed in a single fight (445).

Adam Martin - January 19, 2021

Henry Cejudo took a shot at rival TJ Dillashaw on the two-year anniversary of the night he knocked him out at UFC on ESPN+ 1. It was at UFC on ESPN+ 1 on January 19, 2019, when Dillashaw dropped down to 125lbs in order to win a second UFC title. At the time, he was the UFC bantamweight champion and Cejudo was the UFC flyweight champion, fresh off of an upset win over Demetrious Johnson. That night, Cejudo didn’t even need a minute to finish Dillashaw, stopping him in just 32 seconds via TKO.

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

Roxanne Modafferi is happy she gets to fight someone new. Over her last several fights, she has rematched the likes of Andrea Lee, Sijara Eubanks, and Jennifer Maia. Now, at UFC Fight Island 8, she will fight Viviane Araujo for the first time, which Modafferi is very excited about.

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

Conor McGregor has made it clear he wants to fight all the top-ranked lightweights and revealed Al Iaquinta is on that list. McGregor is set to return to the lightweight division at UFC 257 against Dustin Poirier and the Irishman has said it will be the start of a lengthy run at the division. If he goes out and beats Poirier, McGregor will likely fight a top-five opponent next time out. However, he says he would be open to fighting Al Iaquinta.

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Former ONE welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam says he’s an improved fighter ahead of his imminent return to competition. Kadestam will take on the unbeaten Gadjimurad Abdulaev at ONE: Unbreakable this Friday in Singapore. Abdulaev is replacing Kadestam’s originally slated opponent, Raimond Magomedaliev, on short notice, but the former champion is expecting a tough fight nonetheless.

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, two of the fiercest rivals in MMA history, nearly crossed paths on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. See the pair’s near encounter, as captured by Dan Hardy’s Full Reptile, below:

Adam Martin - January 19, 2021

Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend and former PRIDE fighter Ralph Gracie was sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting Flavio Almeida. Globo first reported that a United States court sentenced Gracie to six months in prison for the assault, along with three years of probation. According to Almeida’s lawyers, Gracie was also fined $50,000, will have to attend anger-management classes, and is prohibited from leaving the United States.

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

Michael Chiesa is eager to finally step back into the Octagon. In the main event of UFC Fight Island 8, Chiesa is set to battle Neil Magny in his first fight in nearly a year. Since Chiesa beat Rafael dos Anjos last January, he had a ton of momentum but injuries and the pandemic kept him out of the Octagon.