MMA News

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2021

Aoriqileng is confident he’ll get his first UFC win in a violent fashion on Saturday at UFC Vegas 43. Aoriqileng made his UFC debut at UFC 261 and had a back-and-forth war against Jeff Molina which won Fight of the Night. Although he lost the fight, the Chinese fighter learned a lot from it, and ahead of his scrap against Cody Durden on Saturday, he moved his camp to Las Vegas to prepare for his sophomore Octagon appearance.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 43 took place on Friday in Las Vegas, and 24 of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete have made weight. In the main event of UFC Vegas 43, both women’s bantamweight headliners Miesha Tate and Ketlen Vieira successfully made weight. Vieira stepped onto the scale at the maximum non-title limit of 136lbs for a women’s bantamweight contest, while Tate was just a smidge below her at 135.5lbs. And with that, the main event of Saturday’s UFC card is official.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

UFC superstar Nate Diaz and former champ Rafael Dos Anjos ripped UFC analyst Daniel Cormier over his best boxers in MMA list. Cormier and his “RC and DC” co-host Ryan Clark recently shared their list of the top five boxers in mixed martial arts. Check out the full lists that both fighters shared below.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith explained why Conor McGregor has become “the outsider” amongst his fellow MMA fighters. Smith and McGregor have taken some shots at each other over the past several months, including McGregor recently criticizing Smith’s analysis on the UFC post-fight desk. If you ask Smith, though, McGregor isn’t actually trying to take shots at his fellow fighters to try and get under their skin. Instead, Smith thinks McGregor is just trying to fit in with his fellow fighters, but his peers have no interest in letting him back into their world.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker responds to recent criticism from Jan Blachowicz, saying that “I haven’t changed my style.” Walker fought Thiago Santos in October in a dull, five-round snoozefest between two powerful light heavyweights known for their knockout power. Both Walker and Santos are two of the best fighters in the world at 205lbs, but the fight ended up being a total disappointment as neither man seemed to fight with any sort of urgency. Moreover, Walker refused to take the risks that he was once known for taking. While initially coming up in the UFC, Walker was known for his flying knees and spinning back fists. But for whatever reason, a different version of Walker showed up against Santos, and Blachowicz criticized him for his performance at the time. According to Blachowicz, something happened to him.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight fighter John Allan announced himself that the UFC released him following his loss to Dustin Jacoby at UFC 268. Allan lost a unanimous decision to Jacoby on the UFC 268 undercard. Although he was able to win the third round of the fight on two of the judges’ scorecards, it was too little, too late as he lost the first two rounds and therefore dropped the decision. The loss to Jacoby dropped Allen’s overall UFC record to 0-2, 1 NC. He previously had lost a decision to Roman Dolidze and had a decision win over Mike Rodriguez overturned to a No Contest. As well, Allan lost via submission to Vinicius Moreira when he appeared on Contender Series Brazil.

Adam D Martin - November 19, 2021

Miesha Tate believes that Julianna Pena has the ability to dethrone UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes when they meet at UFC 269. Tate coached Pena during her winning season on The Ultimate Fighter, and in the years since then, Pena has become one of the top women’s bantamweights in the UFC. Next month at UFC 269, Pena takes on Nunes for the 135lbs title. Speaking to the media ahead of her own fight this weekend against Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 43, Tate was asked to size up Pena’s chances of defeating Nunes next month, and she thinks there is a good chance.

Harry Kettle - November 19, 2021

Francis Ngannou has brought in kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven to help him prepare for Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. At UFC 270, Francis Ngannou will face arguably the most technical test of his career when he goes toe to toe with Ciryl Gane. The former teammates will battle it out for the UFC heavyweight title in a contest that many believe Ngannou could really struggle with.

Drake Riggs - November 18, 2021

Valentina Shevchenko is even a champion in the fictional world. The reigning UFC flyweight champion recently began expanding her horizons by getting into the acting world when recruited by Halle Berry to be in her directorial debut, Bruised – in theaters now.

Drake Riggs - November 18, 2021

Kayla Harrison is in search of a fighting home. Whether old or new, she has her priorities set and isn’t willing to settle for anything less. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in Harrison most recently capped off another dominant run through the PFL’s 155-pound lightweight season to extend her record to 12-0 and claim another million-dollar title. Ultimately, it could end up being the last time we see her in the PFL cage as she currently tests free agency.

Cole Shelton - November 18, 2021

Al Iaquinta says his career is likely over. At UFC 268 in Madison Square Garden, Iaquinta made his return after a three-year layoff to face Bobby Green. It appeared to be a winnable fight, but the contest did not go his way as he lost by first-round TKO.

Cole Shelton - November 18, 2021

Henry Cejudo is officially a father. Cejudo announced on Instagram on Thursday night his partner, Karolina gave birth to their daughter, America. The couple announced they were having a baby earlier in the summer and the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion announced it was a healthy baby that was born on November 18.

Adam D Martin - November 18, 2021

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal trashed “bitter old man” Conor McGregor, suggesting “this dude’s gonna end up snorting himself to death”. Masvidal was a guest on MMAFighting.com’s The MMA Hour and he took McGregor to task. The two have taken shots at each other on social media over the past few years and especially lately, and Masvidal did not hold back when asked for his thoughts on McGregor.

Adam D Martin - November 18, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Vicente Luque is interested in a title eliminator fight against Leon Edwards, saying “it would remove any doubts.” Edwards is the No. 3 ranked contender in the UFC welterweight division, and Luque is the No. 4 ranked fighter. Edwards was supposed to fight Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269 next month, but that fight fell apart after Masvidal pulled out with an injury. With Masvidal out, Edwards was taken off the card. There is a chance that he could be re-booked for another fight in early 2022, but he has said that he plans on waiting for the next title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who recently beat Colby Covington again.

Adam D Martin - November 18, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Miesha Tate explained why finishing rival Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 43 is so important to her. Tate returns to the Octagon on Saturday at UFC Vegas 43 when she takes on Vieira in a five-round headliner. For Tate, this is her second fight back since returning to the sport following a five-year layoff after starting a family. She defeated Marion Reneau in her last outing back in July via third-round TKO, and now she is looking to do the same to Vieira.

Cole Shelton - November 18, 2021

Cody Durden is finally making the walk to the Octagon again as he will face Aoriqileng at UFC Vegas 43 on Saturday. Durden tore his ACL in his last fight against Jimmy Flick which is a fight he lost by submission. Although it happened last December, he said he was able to fight a month or so ago and that is due to the work he put in, in his rehab.

Adam D Martin - November 18, 2021

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski suggested that Max Holloway might be “scared” of a trilogy fight against him. Volkanovski fought Holloway on Fight Island last year in a rematch and won a controversial split decision to keep his belt. Many people who watched that fight felt that Holloway did enough to win it, but Volkanovski got the judges’ decision to move to 2-0 against Holloway. Since then, Holloway has beaten both Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez by decision and he seems to be the next man up for a title shot at 145lbs. However, following Holloway’s recent win over Rodriguez, he also mentioned Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor as potential opponents, though most fans thought he would target Volkanovski specifically.

Adam D Martin - November 18, 2021

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk believes that the Weili Zhang rematch could be her comeback fight. Joanna Jedrzejczyk has not fought since March 2020 when she fought 25 minutes to a narrow split decision defeat against Zhang at UFC 248. It was one of the best fights of last year, and many fans and observers believe it was the single greatest women’s MMA fight of all time. Ever since that fight, there have been calls for a potential rematch between the two. However, Jedrzejczyk has taken the past 18+ months off for a number of reasons. Zhang, meanwhile, has continued to stay active, losing twice to rival Rose Namajunas.