MMA News
Sijara Eubanks and Mick Maynard respond to criticism of the UFC's safety protocols
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
Women’s bantamweight Sijara Eubanks and UFC Vise President of Talent Relations Mick Maynard responded to criticism of the promotions safety protocol this evening. After tonight’s UFC Vegas 16 event lost three bouts in the matter of one hour (two due to Covid-19), mixed martial arts journalist Ben Fowlkes issued the following statement on Twitter.
UFC Vegas 16 down to 8 total bouts after losing two more fights
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
You know the old saying “when it rains it pours”, well that certainly suits tonight’s UFC Vegas 16: ‘Hermansson vs. Vettori’ event. In the span of the past twenty-minutes, the UFC Vegas 16 lineup has gone from 11 scheduled contests down to a total of 8.
Breaking! UFC Vegas 16 is down to ten total fights
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 16 event just took another hit as news broke moments ago that featherweight Movsar Evloev is no longer eligible to compete. Evleov (13-0 MMA) was slated to compete against Nate Landwehr in the opening bout of tonight’s main card but has been forced out after testing positive for Covid-19.
Sean O'Malley claims he was offered Thomas Almeida for UFC 258, but 'Thominhas' turned him down
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
UFC bantamweight standout Sean O’Malley claims he was offered a bout with Thomas Almeida for UFC 258, but ‘Thominhas’ turned him down. O’Malley (12-1 MMA) suffered the first loss of his professional career in his most recent effort back at UFC 252, this after being stopped by Chito Vera in the very first round. ‘Sugar’ also endured a foot injury during the defeat, but says he is now fully healed an back in training.
Darren Till reacts to news that Yoel Romero is no longer with the UFC
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
Darren Till continues to entertain fight fans with social media posts, his latest being a reaction to the news that Yoel Romero is no longer with the UFC. On Friday evening, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani made the shocking announcement that Yoel Romero was no longer under contract with the UFC.
Breaking! Former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz set to return at UFC 259 against Casey Kenney
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will be returning to the Octagon at UFC 259 on March 6, 2021. The news comes from MMAJunkie, who reported moments ago that ‘The Dominator’ will square off with Casey Kenney.
Colby Covington has a message for those who doubt he would make LeBron James "eat the canvas"
Chris Taylor - December 5, 2020
Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington shared a message for anyone doubting that he could destroy LeBron James. Following Jake Paul’s nasty knockout victory over former NBA player Nate Robinson at last weekend’s ‘Tyson vs. Jones Jr.’ event, Covington shared the following statement on social media.
UFC cuts continue as four more fighters part ways with the promotion
Chris Taylor - December 4, 2020
Dana White and the UFC continue to make cuts to their current roster as four more fighters have parted ways with the promotion. When UFC Flyweight contender Jussier Formiga received his walking papers last month it came as a shock to many fans and analysts. That trend repeated itself earlier this evening when news broke that the UFC had parted ways with former title challenger Yoel Romero.
Claressa Shields starts training at JacksonWink ahead of PFL debut in 2021
Cole Shelton - December 4, 2020
Claressa Shields has found an MMA camp ahead of her Professional Fighters League debut in 2021. Shields, who is arguably the best female boxer in the world shocked many when she signed with PFL. She will have non-tournament bouts in 2021 and is still allowed to box. Immediately after she signed with the promotion many wondered where she would train and it appears that will be JacksonWink.
UFC parts ways with Yoel Romero
Cole Shelton - December 4, 2020
Yoel Romero is no longer a UFC fighter. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the Las Vegas-based promotion has decided to part ways with former title challenger, Yoel Romero.
UFC procures backup fighter for Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno title fight at UFC 256
Cole Shelton - December 4, 2020
The UFC now has a backup fighter in place for the UFC 256 flyweight title fight between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. According to MMAFighting’s Mike Heck, Manel Kape, who was supposed to fight Alexandre Pantoja on Dec. 19 will now be the backup fighter for UFC 256.
UFC Vegas 17 loses another main card fight
Adam Martin - December 4, 2020
The year-end UFC Vegas 17 card has lost another fight as Misha Cirkunov is out of his light heavyweight bout against Ryan Spann due to injury. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter reported on Friday that Cirkunov suffered an undisclosed injury in training. The Canadian has been forced off the card, where he was scheduled to take on Spann in a battle between two of the top-15 light heavyweights in the UFC. Instead of fighting on December 19, the UFC is now hoping to re-book this battle for February.
Jack Hermansson rooting for Adesanya over Blachowicz: "It would be cooler to beat the double champ"
Cole Shelton - December 4, 2020
Jack Hermansson is okay with Israel Adesanya moving up to light heavyweight to fight Jan Blachowicz. Sometime in early 2021, Adesanya will look to become a champ-champ against Blachowicz. However, many people didn’t get the fight as both men have plenty of options to defend their own titles. Yet, for Hermansson, he is fine with the fight being made as long as the middleweight champion wins.
Photo | UFC 256 poster featuring Figueiredo, Moreno, Ferguson and Oliveira
Tom Taylor - December 4, 2020
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has dropped the official poster for UFC 256, the final pay-per-view on the calendar for this most turbulent of years. See it below:
Petr Yan responds to TJ Dillashaw's title shot demands
Tom Taylor - December 4, 2020
UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has responded to the former champion TJ Dillashaw’s recent demands for a title shot. Dillashaw has not fought in close to two years, having been suspended for his use of the injectable-only banned substance EPO ahead of a 2019 TKO loss to Henry Cejudo.
Khabib Nurmagomedov lays out plans to create UFC feeder league
Tom Taylor - December 4, 2020
Undefeated lightweight star Khabib Nurmagomedov is hoping to create a feeder league for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Nurmagomedov, who still holds the UFC lightweight title despite retiring in October, recently partook in a press conference in Moscow to announce that he purchased Dagestani MMA promotion Gorilla Fighting Championship, and rebranded it Eagle Fighting Championship.
Evander Kane challenges Jake Paul and Logan Paul: "They're both getting KO'd"
Adam Martin - December 4, 2020
Evander Kane of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks called out brothers Jake Paul and Logan Paul, proclaiming that “they’re both getting KO’d.” Kane was one of a handful of pro athletes from other sports to take an interest in last week’s boxing match between Jake Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, and Nate Robinson, a former NBA dunk contest champion. The fight featured a devastating knockout win by Paul, who improved to 2-0 as a pro boxer. Paul brings a lot of eyeballs to the sport and the pay-per-view, which featured a main event between heavyweights Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., reportedly solid 1.2 million pay-per-views. Now everyone wants to cash in.
Marvin Vettori expects Jan Blachowicz to "clean the mat with Israel Adesanya"
Cole Shelton - December 4, 2020
Marvin Vettori doesn’t believe Israel Adesanya’s light heavyweight run will go well. Sometime in early 2021, it is expected that Adesanya will move up in weight to battle Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title. Although many don’t think the fight should happen all signs point to that being the case.