MMA News
Dana White comments on Mike Perry's plan to auction off corner spot
Tom Taylor - October 16, 2020
UFC President Dana White has shut down Mike Perry’s plan to auction off a spot in his corner for his fight with Robbie Lawler. Perry is scheduled to take on Lawler, the former UFC welterweight champion, at UFC 255. Ahead of the fight, he announced plans to auction off a spot in his corner for his fight. The premise was simple: The highest bidder would join his girlfriend Latory Gonzalez in his corner between rounds.
Cynthia Calvillo releases statement on positive COVID-19 test, out of UFC 254 bout against Lauren Murphy
Adam Martin - October 16, 2020
UFC women’s flyweight contender Cynthia Calvillo released a statement announcing she is out of UFC 254 after testing positive for COVID-19. Calvillo was set to take on Lauren Muphy in a potential No. 1 contender fight at 125lbs at next weekend’s UFC 254 pay-per-view card. However, she was forced to withdraw from the contest after testing positive for COVID-19. The former strawweight prospect made the announcement that she is out of the flyweight fight against Murphy on her Instagram.
Dana White considering matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Chris Weidman
Tom Taylor - October 16, 2020
UFC President Dana White says he’s considering booking a fight between Khamzat Chimaev and former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. White updated on the next move for Chimaev ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 6 card.
MMA community reacts to Cris Cyborg submitting Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 249
Tom Taylor - October 16, 2020
On Thursday night, Cris Cyborg defended the Bellator MMA women’s featherweight title with a submission win over Arlene Blencowe. It was the first submission victory on her resume. As ever, the MMA was very quick to react to this feat. See some of the best reactions below:
Video | Brian Ortega unveils new look at UFC Fight Island 6 weigh-ins
Tom Taylor - October 16, 2020
Brian Ortega will look a little different when he steps into the cage with “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung on Saturday night. Ortega and the Korean Zombie will clash in the main event of UFC Fight Island 6 on the promotion’s “Fight Island” this Saturday night. Ahead of the matchup, Ortega has made a pretty significant change to his look.
UFC Fight Island 6 weigh-in results: Korean Zombie, Brian Ortega on point
Tom Taylor - October 16, 2020
On Saturday night, the UFC will return to our screens with the compelling UFC Fight Island 6 from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The card will be headlined by a clash of top-5 featherweight contenders, as former title challengers Brian Ortega and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung collide in hopes of earning a crack at the division’s current champ, Alexander Volkanovski.
Chris Weidman offers to humble Khamzat Chimaev in January
Tom Taylor - October 16, 2020
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman says Khamzat Chimaev needs a humbling, and he’s willing to provide that humbling in January. Chimaev was the breakout UFC star of summer, 2020. The Chechen-Swede first picked up two wins in the span of 10 days on Fight Island in July, defeating John Phillips by first-round submission and Rhys McKee by first-round TKO, then picked up his third win of the season when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, also in the first round.
Bellator 249 Results: Cris Cyborg submits Arlene Blencowe (Video)
Christopher Taylor - October 15, 2020
Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg was looking to earn her first title defense at tonight’s Bellator 249 event when she squared off with Arlene Blencowe. Cyborg (23-2 MMA) had made her Bellator debut back in January, where she captured the promotions featherweight title by scoring a TKO victory over Julia Budd.
Anthony Smith looks to end his two-fight losing skid in November against Devin Clark
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith will look to end his two-fight losing skid when he takes on Devin Clark in a key fight this November. News of the Smith vs. Clark fight was first reported by MMAjunkie.com, who noted that the two will fight at a UFC event scheduled to take place on November 28 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. That event is targeted to be headlined by an important, five-round heavyweight fight between top title contenders Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis.
UFC legend Mark Coleman praises Khamzat Chimaev: “I think he fights for a long time”
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
UFC heavyweight legend Mark Coleman praised top prospect Khamzat Chimaev, saying that he believes Chimaev has a long career in MMA. Coleman is one of the greatest heavyweight MMA fighters of all time and he knows a thing-or-two about the art of ground-and-pound. Coleman, after all, is considered along with Tito Ortiz as the pioneers of GNP, with “The Hammer” also going by the nickname “The Godfather of Ground and Pound.” One of Chimaev’s top moves is to take his opponents down and beat them up, and it looks like the legend Coleman has taken notice.
Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has a "50 percent chance" of happening according to coach
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has a 50 percent chance of happening according to St-Pierre’s coach, Firas Zahabi. For quite some time, St-Pierre and Nurmagomedov have been linked to fighting one another. However, the UFC didn’t want to book it in case “GSP” won and walked away with the belt. Yet, with Nurmagomedov saying he will retire at 30-0, Zahabi says if the undefeated Russian beats Justin Gaethje he thinks the fight could happen.
James Vick released from the UFC, already in talks with multiple other promotions
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
James Vick’s time as a UFC fighter is now over. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter was first to report the news that Vick has been released from the promotion.
James Krause knows he's a "tough stylistic matchup for Claudio Silva" at UFC Fight Island 6
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
James Krause is taking another short-notice fight. At UFC 247, Krause stepped up to fight Trevin Giles at middleweight on 24 hours notice. Even though he took the fight on very short notice he had a ton of success and lost a very controversial decision.
Khamzat Chimaev sizes up Darren Till as a potential opponent
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Khamzat Chimaev has shared his thoughts on a potential showdown with ranked middleweight contender Darren Till. Till is currently ranked far above Chimaev. The British striking specialist has a spot in the middleweight division’s top-5, while the Chechen prospect is not yet ranked at middleweight or welterweight—the two divisions he competes in.
Joaquin Buckley shares funny encounter with St. Louis police officer after going viral
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
UFC middleweight Joaquin Buckley shared a funny encounter with a St. Louis police officer after going viral on the internet in the last week. Buckley became an overnight celebrity with his incredible spinning back kick KO over Impa Kasanganay at last weekend’s UFC Fight Island 5 card. The KO went viral and was even picked up by rapper Kanye West. Buckley was not well known coming into the fight, with his other lone appearance in the UFC being a KO loss to Kevin Holland. But with the win over Kasanganay, Buckley is now one of the most talked-about fighters in the sport today.
Martin Nguyen vows to be the "best version" of himself against Thanh Le
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
ONE Championship featherweight titleholder Martin Nguyen says he’ll be better than ever when he steps into the cage with streaking challenger Thanh Le on October 30. The bout will be Nguyen’s first since August, 2019, and the champion is unsurprisingly very excited to get back into the cage—particularly when so many athletes are unable to compete during the coronavirus pandemic.
Khamzat Chimaev believes he could choke out Demian Maia
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Red hot UFC welterweight and middleweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev believes he could choke out legendary BJJ specialist Demian Maia. Chimaev is currently looking for an opponent for his fourth fight in the Octagon and Maia has been mentioned many times as a potential dance partner for the prospect.
Scott Coker says Fedor Emelianenko is "50/50" on a rematch with Fabricio Werdum
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
Bellator president Scott Coker says that heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko is “50/50” on whether he wants a rematch with Fabricio Werdum. It’s been over 10 years since Werdum pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when he finished Emelianenko by submission in a Strikeforce fight in June 2010. Werdum would parlay that win over Emelianenko into a UFC contract, where he eventually became the promotion’s champion. As for Emelianenko, he was very up-and-down during the 2010s after being the fighter of the decade in the 2000s. In recent years, Emelianenko has found a home in Bellator, whose promoter Scott Coker is also close friends with Werdum.