MMA News
Marvin Vettori makes case for 2020's Fighter of the Year honors
Tom Taylor - December 14, 2020
Italian middleweight contender Marvin Vettori believes he should receive Fighter of the Year honors for 2020. As we prepare to close our 2020 calendars, debates about the year’s top fighter are already roiling. Vettori is certainly in the conversation, but so are several other fighters, such as his fellow middleweight contender Kevin Holland.
Conor McGregor saves Irish MMA gym from closing due to pandemic
Tom Taylor - December 14, 2020
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has stepped in to prevent an Irish MMA gym from closing its doors due to the pandemic. Earlier this month, SBG Portarlington was forced to shut down due to the financial strains caused by the pandemic. McGregor, who is a long-time friend and training partner of the gym’s owner, decided to intervene.
Ciryl Gane explains why he only wants to fight Francis Ngannou if the UFC heavyweight title is on the line
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2020
UFC heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane has explained why he’d only want to fight Francis Ngannou if a title is on the line. Gane was able to improve on his undefeated record in mixed martial arts this past weekend as he took out Junior dos Santos at UFC 256. With such a big name on his resume, many believe that it’s time for him to take an even bigger step up in competition.
Brandon Moreno reveals he suffered a shoulder injury during UFC 256 war with Deiveson Figueiredo
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2020
UFC flyweight contender Brandon Moreno has revealed that he suffered a shoulder injury during the UFC 256 main event. The Flyweight Championship bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno on Saturday night exceeded all expectations with Figueiredo holding onto the belt after an absolute war.
Cody Garbrant calls out Henry Cejudo to fight on March 6, 'Triple C' responds
Christopher Taylor - December 13, 2020
Cody Garbrandt called out fellow former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo following last night’s UFC 256 event in Las Vegas. Yesterday’s pay-per-view fight card was headlined by a flyweight title fight featuring reigning champion Deiveson Figueiredo taking on challenger Brandon Moreno. The result was one of the greatest fights in promotional history, as Figueiredo and Moreno went to absolute war for twenty-five straight minutes.
Video | UFC drops 'Poirier vs McGregor 2: Ready for War’ promo
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
The UFC has officially dropped the promo video for UFC 257: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor, titling it “Ready for War.” On January 23, 2021, at UFC 257 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, Poirier and McGregor meet for the second time nearly seven years since their first bout at UFC 178 in September 2014, back when both men fought as featherweights. McGregor won that fight by knockout and went on to become the featherweight champion, and later the lightweight champion, not to mention a global superstar. Poirier, meanwhile, has continued to be a top contender in the lightweight division in the years since then.
Photo | Cub Swanson reveals he broke his hand before KOing Daniel Pineda at UFC 256
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
Veteran UFC featherweight Cub Swanson says he broke his hand in the first round before KOing Daniel Pineda in the second round at UFC 256. Swanson was coming off of a long layoff after tearing his ACL, and the sportsbooks listed him as the underdog against Pineda in this fight. Despite being counted out by the oddsmakers yet again — he was also the underdog in his unanimous decision win over Kron Gracie last year — Swanson had another tremendous performance. After a tough first round where he suffered some heavy damage via Pineda leg kicks, Swanson stormed back in the second round and scored a beautiful knockout win.
Jason Herzog responds to backlash from UFC 256 main event point reduction
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
Referee Jason Herzog responded to the backlash from fans after taking a point from Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC 256. In the third round of the epic title fight between Figueiredo and Moreno, the champ connected on a vicious low blow that caused Moreno a considerable amount of pain. Figueiredo had also committed a lesser foul earlier in the fight with an accidental eye poke, and Herzog decided that it was time to take a point. The referee, wanting to get the fight under control, deducted one point from Figueiredo for the low blow foul.
Brandon Moreno issues statement after war with Deiveson Figueiredo: "Yesterday's fight is why I dedicate myself to this"
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
Brandon Moreno issued a statement after his war with Deiveson Figueiredo, saying “Yesterday’s fight is why I dedicate myself to this.” Moreno had the biggest fight of his life on Saturday night at UFC 256, going all-out for 25 minutes in a crazy war with Figueiredo. It was an extremely close fight to call, and the judges ultimately ended up scoring the bout as a draw. Regardless, it was an incredible fight and both men need to be commended for their epic performances. For Moreno, especially, it was a great showing for him considering he was a big underdog heading into the fight. But he showed in this matchup that he’s an elite UFC flyweight.
Dana White says he thought Deiveson Figueiredo beat Brandon Moreno at UFC 256
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC president Dana White says he thought that UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo beat challenger Brandon Moreno at UFC 256. Figueiredo and Moreno fought tooth-and-nail for five rounds in the main event of UFC 256. It was an incredible fight between two warriors who badly wanted to win, and at the end of 25 minutes, it was difficult to know just exactly how the judges would score the bout. Although it appeared that Figueiredo had the upper hand, an untimely point deduction cost him in the end. Ultimately, the judges scored the bout a majority draw after one judge scored it 48-46 for Figueiredo and two had it 47-47 for a draw.
Video | Bruce Buffer hired to dump a dude’s girlfriend on Cameo
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer was hired by some guy on the Internet to help dump his girlfriend with a Buffer video on Cameo. Buffer has been the lead UFC ring announcer for many years, but he is a man of many hats and has numerous other ventures outside of the Octagon. One of those is his Cameo page, as fans can hire Buffer to record audio and video clips with sayings of their own. Well, it turns one out fan took it to the next level and decided to enlist the services of Buffer to help him dump his girlfriend in the most savage way.
Photo | See the UFC 256 scorecards for Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
Following their main event of UFC 256, the official judges’ scorecards were released for the Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno war. The UFC 256 headliner turned out to be one of the greatest fights of the year, the greatest flyweight fight of all time, and one of the best fights in UFC history, period. Both Figueiredo and Moreno went to the well for the full 25 minutes and the fight went down to the wire as both men had their moments. As well, a point deduction from referee Jason Herzog also had to be factored in. At the end of the five rounds, most fans and media were unsure about who the judges would ultimately side with.
UFC 256 bonus report: Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno war wins "Fight of the Night"
Adam Martin - December 13, 2020
The bonus awards for UFC 256 have been handed out, and Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno won “Fight of the Night” for their crazy war. Figueiredo and Moreno went five hard rounds in the main event of UFC 256, fighting to a majority draw at the end of 25 minutes. Both men threw everything they had at each other in the best flyweight fight ever, and one of the greatest fights in UFC history, in general. It was an epic contest between two amazing fighters at the top of their game and fans were lucky they were treated to such an incredible contest.
Video | Kevin Holland issues a challenge to Khamzat Chimaev
Adam D Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland has issued a challenge to Khamzat Chimaev, challenging him to a fight at next week’s UFC Vegas 17. Holland is one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster. Since May, Holland has fought five times in the Octagon, winning all five of those fights, including a brutal KO win over Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 that should cement his place in the top-15 of the UFC middleweight division. Not surprisingly considering how often Holland likes to fight, he used his post-fight interview after the win over Souza as an opportunity to call out another fighter who likes to step into the cage as often as possible in Chimaev.
Dana White says he plans to meet with Khabib Nurmagomedov the week of UFC 257
Adam D Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC president Dana White confirmed that he plans to meet with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov the week of UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi. Following his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov retired from MMA, citing a close relationship with his deceased father Abdulmanap as one of the reasons why he wanted to hang up his gloves. However, in the weeks since then, there have been rumors that Nurmagomedov could fight again. Indeed, White has said that he believes Nurmagomedov will step into the Octagon one last time in an effort to go 30-0 in his professional MMA career. Right now, he’s one win away from that mark.
Charles Oliveira issues statement following lopsided win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 256
Adam D Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira issued a statement following his lopsided unanimous decision win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 256. Oliveira picked up the best win of his UFC career to date when he defeated one of the best lightweights of all time in Ferguson in a blowout. Oliveira was able to land big strikes early in the fight before reverting to his grappling, which allowed him to absolutely dominate the fight. At the end of three rounds, all three judges scored the bout in favor of the Brazilian, who now has an amazing eight-fight win streak going.
Kevin Holland on UFC 256 win over Ronaldo Souza: "I hate that it had to be Jacare that I did like that"
Adam D Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC middleweight Kevin Holland picked up a KO win over Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256, but he wishes it hadn’t been “Jacare” who got knocked out. Holland picked up arguably the biggest win of his MMA career to date when he brutally knocked Souza out in the first round with punches off his back. It was a unique knockout and extremely violent, too, as Souza’s body was contorted on the mat while Holland KOed him. It was the kind of win that officially announced Holland as a serious title contender in the UFC middleweight division, and also the kind of win that makes you wonder what Souza has left in the tank considering how devastating the KO was.
Dana White discusses what’s next for Tony Ferguson following UFC 256 loss to Charles Oliveira
Adam D Martin - December 13, 2020
UFC president Dana White discussed what’s next for Tony Ferguson following his unanimous decision loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 256. Ferguson was the betting favorite entering the fight with Oliveira, but the fight turned out to be a mismatch the other way. Oliveira began the fight extremely aggressively with a wild striking attack on the feet, and soon he was able to get a takedown and control Ferguson on the mat. Although Oliveira wasn’t able to get a finish in the fight — he came close with an armbar at the end of the first round — he dominated the bout for three complete rounds. BJPenn.com scored the fight 30-24 in favor of Oliveira.