MMA News
Coach Firas Zahabi voices concern about his kids’ school curriculum: “It’s become encouraged now to feminize men”
Susan Cox - December 15, 2021
Firas Zahabi, the coach of UFC icon Georges St-Pierre, has voiced concern about his kids’ school curriculum in Montreal. “It’s become encouraged now to feminize men,” Zahabi said during an episode of The 3Muslims podcast (h/t r/MMAPoliticsAndCulture). “If they want to feminize their men, they can do it, but they aren’t going to feminize our men.”
Julianna Pena shoots down the idea of facing “B League” fighter Kayla Harrison next
Susan Cox - December 15, 2021
Newly crowned UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena is not interested in facing Kayla Harrison next. Pena (11-4 MMA) scored one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history last weekend at UFC 269, dethroning longtime champion Amanda Nunes with a second round submission (see that here).
Sean O’Malley reacts after entering the top-15 of the UFC bantamweight rankings: “I have zero craving to go to parties at the moment”
Susan Cox - December 15, 2021
Fan favorite ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has reacted after earning a spot in the top-15 of the official UFC bantamweight rankings. O’Malley (15-1 MMA), who had previously dubbed himself ‘The Unranked Champ’, returned to the Octagon at last Saturday’s UFC 269 event for a bantamweight showdown with Raulian Paiva.
Darren Rovell claps back at Dana White for ‘dipsh*t’ remarks about Amanda Nunes: “I’ll debate him in any forum on this topic with data and crush him”
Susan Cox - December 15, 2021
Sport business analyst Darren Rovell has clapped back at Dana White after the UFC President called him a dipsh*t. Rovell and White have a storied past. After Amanda Nunes dethroned Cris Cyborg to become the promotions featherweight champion at UFC 232 in Los Angeles, the Action Network producer suggested the outcome would be “brutally damaging to UFC”.
Rose Namajunas can’t figure out why UFC won’t “get behind” Carla Esparza for a rematch: “Nothing really interests me other than Carla”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2021
UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas can’t understand why the UFC won’t back Carla Esparza to get a title shot. At UFC 268, Rose Namajunas was able to defeat Zhang Weili for the second time this year to successfully retain her UFC strawweight title. Carla Esparza, meanwhile, finished Yan Xiaonan in May to take her current win streak up to five.
Sean Strickland warns Israel Adesanya to “cycle off” prior to their inevitable clash: “I don’t want to f*cking bring you a bra”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2021
UFC middleweight Sean Strickland has accused Israel Adesanya of lying about steroid use after predicting a future meeting between the two. Over the course of the last twelve months, Sean Strickland has emerged as a real contender in the middleweight division. In February 2022, he’ll attempt to take the next step forward in his career when he goes head to head with fellow top 15 fighter Jack Hermansson.
Michael Bisping weighs in on a potential title fight between Conor McGregor and Charles Oliveira: “He could come back and knock out Charles Oliveira”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2021
UFC commentator Michael Bisping believes Conor McGregor has a genuine chance at beating UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Last Saturday night at UFC 269, Charles Oliveira submitted Dustin Poirier to successfully retain the UFC lightweight title. It was a fascinating main event encounter but in the end, “Do Bronx” overwhelmed Poirier and secured the finish fairly comfortably in the third round.
Photo | Francis Ngannou appears to have dropped some muscle mass ahead of his title fight with Ciryl Gane at UFC 270
Christopher Taylor - December 14, 2021
Francis Ngannou appears to have dropped some muscle mass ahead of his title unification bout with Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. The former training partners, Ngannou (16-3 MMA) and Gane (10-0 MMA), will collide on January 22 in Anaheim with the title of “baddest man on the planet” up for grabs.
Colby Covington says Khamzat Chimaev's hype 'would get halted in a very violent way' if they were to fight
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
Colby Covington thinks he would beat Khamzat Chimaev badly if they were to fight. Ever since Chimaev had two fights in 10 days on Fight Island he has become a massive star. The hype only continued after he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert with one punch and a year later, submitted Li Jingliang at UFC 267 to cement himself as a contender. Yet for Covington, he thinks he would halt all of Chimaev’s hype and beat him badly, and possibly derail his career.
Dan Hooker asks the UFC for Brian Ortega in return to featherweight with Korean Zombie injured
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
Dan Hooker is looking to fight Brian Ortega in his return to featherweight. Hooker recently did a test cut and made 145-pounds with ease and after that, he called for a fight with Chan Sung Jung aka Korean Zombie. However, Jung is injured and with that, Hooker says he talked to Sean Shelby at UFC 269 and asked for Brian Ortega which Shelby did not shut down, so “The Hangman” is hoping that is the fight.
Chris Daukaus expects to 'outwork' Derrick Lewis en route to a stoppage win, eyes Stipe Miocic next
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2021
Chris Daukaus didn’t expect to be headlining a UFC event or fighting Derrick Lewis in his fifth UFC fight. Daukaus is set to face Lewis in the main event of UFC Vegas 45 and when he heard the news he was stoked. He does admit it caught him by surprise but he is now eager for the challenge.
Report | Nate Diaz has contract extended by the UFC
Susan Cox - December 14, 2021
UFC star Nate Diaz will reportedly be sticking around after having his current contract extended by Dana White and company. That news come from MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani who reported the following news via a post on his Substack page.
Henry Cejudo responds to callout from former opponent Dominick Cruz
Susan Cox - December 14, 2021
Henry Cejudo has responded after receiving a callout from his former opponent Dominick Cruz. Cejudo (16-2 MMA) and Cruz (24-3 MMA) previously collided at UFC 249 in May of 2020, with ‘Triple C’ successfully defending his bantamweight crown by way of a second round TKO.
Conor McGregor responds to diss from Islam Makhachev
Susan Cox - December 14, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor was clearly not happy about Islam Makhachev weighing in on his title aspirations. McGregor (22-6 MMA) took to Twitter on Monday afternoon where he posed the question: “So what date am I fighting (Charles) Oliveira?”
Dana White explodes after Israel Adesanya implies his rematch with Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 is not a done deal
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC president Dana White has reacted angrily to Israel Adesanya’s implication that his rematch with Robert Whittaker isn’t a done deal. Dana White has often been involved in verbal spats with fighters and, most of the time, the exchanges take place indirectly. This serves as yet another example of that with Israel Adesanya using a “cap” symbol to indicate he believes Dana White and the UFC are lying about his Robert Whittaker rematch being signed, sealed and delivered. The pair are currently set to clash at UFC 271 but Adesanya seems to disagree with the current state of play.
Julianna Pena shoots down claims that Amanda Nunes quit at UFC 269: “She didn’t quit, she was getting choked”
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena disagrees with those who say Amanda Nunes quit at UFC 269 last weekend. In one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history, Julianna Pena submitted Amanda Nunes on Saturday night to break the incredible winning streak of “The Lioness”. The victory was hailed by many as being one of the best moments of the year for the UFC and beyond that, the resilience of Pena was also heavily praised.
Colby Covington wasn’t surprised to see Dustin Poirier “quit” and “leave his neck open” at UFC 269
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington has said he wasn’t surprised to see Dustin Poirier “quit” at UFC 269. Back in the day, Colby Covington and Dustin Poirier were teammates and friends during their time together at American Top Team. Alas, as the years have gone on their relationship has somewhat soured, with Covington throwing a parade of shots towards Poirier which has prompted various responses from “The Diamond”.
Israel Adesanya erupts while watching Kai Kara-France knock out Cody Garbrandt (Video)
Harry Kettle - December 14, 2021
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has posted his insane video reaction to Kai Kara-France knocking Cody Garbrandt out at UFC 269. Last Saturday night, Kai Kara-France put his name on the map in a big way by spoiling Cody Garbrandt’s big flyweight debut. It was supposed to be a moment of rejuvenation for the former bantamweight king but instead, Kara-France put a first round beating on him before Herb Dean stepped in and put an end to proceedings.