MMA News
UFC 272 betting odds: Petr Yan and Alex Volkanovski open as favorites
Harry Kettle - January 7, 2022
Petr Yan and Alexander Volkanovski have opened as the two betting favorites for UFC 272 after their recent fight announcements. While a lot of the UFC’s immediate focus is going on UFC 270, and understandably so, the UFC 272 pay-per-view in March is already beginning to take shape. The promotion recently announced that it will be headlined by two blockbuster title bouts: Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway 3 for the UFC featherweight title, and Aljamain Sterling vs Petr Yan 2 for the UFC bantamweight title.
Sean Strickland details his interactions with Muslims and Christians: “I find the death threats way more entertaining”
Harry Kettle - January 7, 2022
UFC middleweight Sean Strickland has spoken about some of the backlash he’s received for his comments towards various religions. Over the course of the last few months we’ve seen Sean Strickland come into the spotlight in a big way. His win over Uriah Hall certainly helped but in addition to that, Strickland has made the headlines for a series of remarks he’s made about a variety of different topics.
Paddy Pimblett on Dustin Poirier: “Lad, if Oliveira can do that to you Dustin, I can”
Harry Kettle - January 7, 2022
UFC newcomer Paddy Pimblett believes he could submit Dustin Poirier in a similar manner to Charles Oliveira. Ever since arriving in the UFC last year, Paddy Pimblett hasn’t been afraid to make some noise. From his knockout win over Luigi Vendramini to his cocky persona, “The Baddy” is someone that plenty of folks are going to be keeping an eye on throughout 2022.
UFC and ESPN announce price hike beginning with this month’s pay-per-view event
Harry Kettle - January 7, 2022
The UFC and ESPN have announced an increase in the price of pay-per-views – beginning this month with UFC 270. Over the course of the last few years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and ESPN have enjoyed a strong relationship with one another. The UFC serves as one of the top products ESPN has at their disposal, with ESPN offering the UFC some great exposure.
Sean O'Malley doesn't blame Dana White for his stance on fighter pay: "Some of these f*cking people have zero following"
Christopher Taylor - January 6, 2022
Bantamweight standout Sean O’Malley does not blame UFC President Dana White for his current stance on fighter pay. The UFC’s pay structure has been a hot topic in recent months, with boxer Jake Paul doing his best to promote changes in the way Dana White and company treat fighters.
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega is 'the greatest fight in MMA history,' claims Henry Cejudo
Cole Shelton - January 6, 2022
Henry Cejudo believes Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266 was the greatest fight in MMA history. Volkanovski was looking to defend his belt for the second time as he took on Ortega in a highly-anticipated bout. The two coached TUF and on the show, they began to dislike one another which only added to the excitement of the fight.
Chael Sonnen claps back at 'stupid' Paddy Pimblett
Andrew Whitelaw - January 6, 2022
Chael Sonnen has not taken kindly to UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett accusing him of ‘clickbait.’ The Brit was strongly rumoured to be fighting Donald Cerrone but ‘the Baddy’ appeared on Michael Bisping’s podcast where he denied the fight was happening and accused Sonnen of stirring the pot for clicks.
Urijah Faber responds to Cub Swanson's callout: 'We might find out who the king of California is'
Cole Shelton - January 6, 2022
Urijah Faber has some interest in fighting Cub Swanson. After Swanson beat Darren Elkins back in December, he hinted at a possible matchup with Faber and a drop to bantamweight. Swanson said Urijah is his dream fight and he wants the two to fight in California to find out who the real ‘King of Cali’ is.
Sean O'Malley shuts down Cody Garbrandt fight, claims the former champ has CTE
Cole Shelton - January 6, 2022
Sean O’Malley doesn’t have much interest in facing Cody Garbrandt next. O’Malley and Garbrandt have taken shots at one another over the past year and that continued at last month’s UFC 269 press conference. So, after Garbrandt was knocked out by Kai Kara-France in his UFC flyweight debut, he hinted at possibly moving back up to 135lbs to fight O’Malley.
Tyson Fury open to having a boxing match with Francis a Ngannou in UFC gloves
Susan Cox - January 6, 2022
Francis Ngannou has expressed an interest in boxing Tyson Fury for years and both have taken to Twitter today citing a challenge to one another. Fury tweeting: “Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules @ufc gloves?”
Sean O’Malley responds after receiving “super weird” charity criticism from Marlon Vera: “Some people have no respect”
Susan Cox - January 6, 2022
Sean O’Malley has responded after receiving some “super weird” charity criticism from former opponent Marlon Vera. Over the past year and a half there has been an ongoing feud between Vera and O’Malley. It seemingly began after UFC 252 when Vera defeated O’Malley resulting in the first professional MMA loss of Sean’s career.
Tai Tuivasa calls out viral self defense trainer Dale Brown: “Everyone wants to fight Jake Paul, but I want to fight this gammon”
Susan Cox - January 6, 2022
In a recent Instagram post Tai Tuivasa sarcastically took aim at Dale Brown to meet him for a fight inside the Octagon: “Everyone wants to fight Jake Paul, but I want to fight this gammon c**t @danawhite set it up unk yellah 🙄🤣 ESSSSHHHAAAAY.”
Derrick Lewis explains why a fight with Stipe Miocic makes sense: “He’s more of a wrestler, and I’m more of a wrestler, too”
Harry Kettle - January 6, 2022
UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis has explained why a fight between him and Stipe Miocic “makes sense”. After his defeat to Ciryl Gane last summer, many fans questioned whether or not Derrick Lewis was closing in on retirement. Then, last month, he rejected that notion in a big way by knocking Chris Daukaus out in impressive fashion to round off the year for the UFC.
Brendan Schaub believes the UFC learned their lesson with Conor McGregor: “I don't think they are ever going to let another guy get as much power”
Harry Kettle - January 6, 2022
Brendan Schaub believes the UFC won’t allow a fighter to have as much power as Conor McGregor did ever again. While Conor McGregor may not have the same kind of stock he once did in the eyes of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, there’s no denying that he’s the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts. He’s been able to do some incredible things in the sport and as he eyes a return to the Octagon in 2022, it’s safe to say his days of making headlines are far from over.
Josh Thomson explains why the UFC won’t put together a Nate Diaz vs Dustin Poirier fight: “The UFC does not want to allow him to fight a big name guy for his last fight on his contract”
Harry Kettle - January 6, 2022
Josh Thomson has explained why he doesn’t think the UFC will book the rumoured fight between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier. For weeks now we’ve been hearing about a potential showdown between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier – a collision that has quite literally been years in the making. Unfortunately for mixed martial arts fans across the globe, it doesn’t appear as if we’re going to get it, at least not for the time being.
Chael Sonnen: 'Khabib was telling the truth!' 'The American Gangster' recalls Gaethje armbar incident
Andrew Whitelaw - January 5, 2022
Chael Sonnen has backed up Khabib Nurmagomedov’s story of what went down at the end of his infamous retirement fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Khabib submitted ‘the Highlight’ with a triangle choke in the second round. The Dagestani had the opportunity to finish the fight with an armbar but later admitted that he switched to the triangle because didn’t want to break Gaethje’s arm in front of his parents who were in attendance.
Ciryl Gane dropped Francis Ngannou in sparring, claims Fernand Lopez: 'I’ll release the footage'
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2022
The rivalry between Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou has only grown over the past few weeks in the lead-up to their title fight at UFC 270. Gane and Ngannou used to train together under Fernand Lopez in France, but ‘The Predator’ and Lopez had a major falling out which forced the heavyweight champ to change gyms. Now, given they are about to fight on January 22, sparring footage was leaked of the two training with one another.
Artem Lobov says retirement was hard because he had to admit he wasn't 'good enough'
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2022
Artem Lobov says he had a hard time realizing he had to retire from fighting. Lobov is a fan favorite and is known as ‘the GOAT’ to much of the MMA community, but his record did not illustrate such. He finished with an MMA record of 13-15-1 and one No Contest along with a bare-knuckle record of 2-2.