MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

A long-awaited welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns has a new date. It’s now scheduled for UFC 258 on February 12. News of this bout was first reported by Combate and has now been confirmed by MMA Fighting.

Drake Riggs - January 4, 2021

The tail-end of 2020 saw the UFC make some surprising releases from their roster. In turn, that led to Bellator President Scott Coker picking them up. To the surprise of many, several names within the larger weight classes parted ways with the UFC this past year. All of which have since joined their counterpart in Bellator MMA. Most notably these names include perennial top light heavyweight contender Corey Anderson, and former UFC title challengers, Yoel Romero, and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

Adam Martin - January 4, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson reflected on what was a tough year for him in 2020, promising to be “biggest and meanest” in 2021. Ferguson had a very tough year in 2020 for various reasons. The calendar started off with Ferguson being booked to fight UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in Brooklyn back in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that fight fell apart for the fifth time. Instead of getting his dream matchup against Nurmagomedov, Ferguson instead fought Justin Gaethje for the interim belt at UFC 249 and he suffered a vicious fifth-round TKO defeat.

Drake Riggs - January 4, 2021

The first UFC pay-per-view event of 2021 will see the returning Conor McGregor rematch Dustin Poirier — and it may end up being for a title after all. On Monday, those within the MMA community began revealing Twitter messages that they received from the official UFC Twitter account about UFC 257 event info. This, of course, is the event where Poirier and McGregor will be headlining on Jan. 23.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Dana White has sent a warning to any fight fans that plan on illegally streaming UFC 257. In the main event of UFC 257, Conor McGregor is set to face Dustin Poirier in a highly-anticipated fight. The event will do massive pay-per-view numbers but illegal streams have been a problem for combat sports so White plans on putting an end to that.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Michael Chandler wanted to have his UFC debut against Tony Ferguson, but that did not come to fruition. After Chandler signed with the UFC, it was reported he would be on the UFC 254 card against Ferguson. However, negotiations stalled, and the former Bellator lightweight champion ended up being the backup fighter for the Gaethje vs. Khabib title fight. Now, as Chandler is set to face Dan Hooker at UFC 257, Chandler explained why the Ferguson fight didn’t happen.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Michael Chandler is confident in his skill set as he believes he is a nightmare matchup for Conor McGregor. In the co-main event of UFC 257, Michael Chandler will finally make his Octagon debut against Dan Hooker in an intriguing matchup. If the former Bellator lightweight champion wins, he will likely be in line for a big fight against someone like Justin Gaethje, or the winner of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. If it happens to be the latter, and McGregor wins, Chandler believes he would get his hand raised.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes will still fight one another. Originally, Derrick Lewis and Blaydes were supposed to headline the November 28 card, but Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19. The hope was to have the fight rescheduled for January, but according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the fight will headline the February 20 card.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

Controversial UFC welterweight star Mike Perry has gotten stitched up after a bizarre and bloody incident on Sunday night. The incident in question seemingly occured after Perry attempted to smash a sheet of glass with his foot. That decision left him laying in a pool of his own blood in a hallway—a concerning situation he shared with his fans via his Instagram story.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

Rose Namajunas is ready to challenge Weili Zhang for the UFC strawweight title, according to the pair’s manager Brian Butler. UFC President Dana White recently claimed that Namajunas, the division’s former champion, isn’t interested in challenging Zhang in a bid to reclaim the title, and that Carla Esparza could get the opportunity in her stead.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

Neil Magny has no objection to the big promotional push the UFC is giving Khamzat Chimaev. In fact, he’s on board with it. Khamzat Chimaev is one of the most hyped fighters on the UFC roster at present, despite being just 3-0 in the promotion with all of his wins coming against unranked foes.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

Tito Ortiz and Josh Barnett have both expressed interest in fighting Fedor Emelianenko in the Russian legend’s final mixed martial arts bout. Emelianenko, 44, is expected to retire after his next bout, which will occur under the Bellator MMA banner.

Adam Martin - January 4, 2021

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk broke down the upcoming 205lbs matchup between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya. Jedrzejczyk and Blachowicz have been friends for years as they are two of the best fighters to ever come out of Poland. Ahead of Blachowicz’s upcoming title defense at UFC 259 for the UFC light heavyweight championship against Israel Adesanya, Jedrzejczyk spoke to South China Morning Post and broke down the matchup. While she acknowledges that she has a close friendship with Blachowicz, she also admits Adesanya is a unique challenge.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz believes YouTube star Jake Paul would “beat the sh*t” out of Conor McGregor if they met in the boxing ring. Paul has been the talk of the combat sports world since he knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson in a boxing match late last year. Since that win, he’s kept his name in the headlines by calling out a number of MMA stars, most notably, McGregor.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes he’ll “break” Brian Ortega when they collide in the Octagon. Volkanovski is expected to defend his title against Ortega in February.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

ONE atomweight champ Angela Lee is “shocked and disgusted” after her family gym, United BJJ Hawaii, was vandalized last week. Lee opened up on this unfortunate incident, which delayed the opening of the gym, in a recent Instagram post. She also shared video of the incident, which is now being investigated by local police.

Harry Kettle - January 4, 2021

MMA legend Dan Henderson gave his daughter’s boyfriend a gift he won’t forget on New Year’s Eve – a swift low kick to the knee. Henderson hasn’t been seen inside the Octagon since back at UFC 204 when he failed to beat rival Michael Bisping for the UFC Middleweight Championship in October 2016.

Christopher Taylor - January 3, 2021

A disturbing video of Mike Perry surfaced on social media this evening showcasing the UFC welterweight spilling his own blood. ‘Platinum’ had made headlines earlier today when he warned fight fans against approaching him in 2021.