MMA News

Harry Kettle - November 16, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contenders Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev are set to battle in a UFC Fight Night main event on March 12. The news comes from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and will serve as the biggest test for Ankalaev thus far in the UFC. Both men are coming off the back of nice wins with Santos bouncing back from three straight losses with a victory over Johnny Walker.

Harry Kettle - November 16, 2021

Miesha Tate has defended her fierce criticism of Aspen Ladd following their feud over the last few weeks. Tate, who faces Ketlen Vieira in a bantamweight main event this weekend, voiced her criticism of Ladd earlier this year. The comments came as a result of Ladd missing weight for her contest with Macy Chiasson, forcing the bout to be cancelled due to concerns for Ladd’s health.

Christopher Taylor - November 15, 2021

The UFC continued to trim its roster on Monday as five more fighters have parted ways with the worlds leading mixed martial arts organization. The latest roster moves are not necessarily considered “releases”, but the promotion opted against renewing the contracts of the following fighters (via MMAJunkie).

Drake Riggs - November 15, 2021

Dana White and the UFC introduced the 145-pound women’s featherweight division in February 2017 and there has been little to no build since. The promotion began the process of bringing in featherweights by signing the weight class’ all-time best, Cris “Cyborg” Justino. However, the future UFC titleholder would compete at 140-pound catchweight contests prior to the division’s official creation in an attempt to get her down to the 135-pound bantamweight class.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

Justin Gaethje believes Conor McGregor is chasing his sloppy seconds. Gaethje has fought the who’s who of the lightweight division, but he has noticed McGregor is fighting or calling out people he just beat. It started with Donald Cerrone, and now after he beat Michael Chandler at UFC 268, Chandler and the Irishman have gone back-and-forth about fighting one another. For Gaethje, he isn’t a fan of McGregor going after his sloppy seconds.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

Leon Edwards says he isn’t surprised Jorge Masvidal pulled out of their fight at UFC 269. Edwards and Masvidal were set to have their highly-anticipated grudge match on December 11. The fight was years in the making after the three-piece and a soda, but it was revealed last week “Gamebred” was out of the fight which the Brit isn’t surprised about.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

Will Brooks, who fought and beat Michael Chandler twice in Bellator, believes “Iron” quit against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268. Although Gaethje and Chandler went toe-to-toe for three rounds and it was “The Highlight” winning a decision. Despite the fact the fight went to the scorecards, Brooks believes Chandler quit in a sense he didn’t try to win in the third round. Instead, he thinks Chandler tried to make it entertaining so people didn’t care that he lost.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones shared his thoughts on Ciryl Gane, saying “I think he’s pretty unique for a heavyweight.” Jones took to his social media this weekend to post some videos of him training with Henry Cejudo and the squad at Fight Ready. In response to the video that Jones posted, a fan asked Jones what his thoughts are on Gane, who is the UFC interim heavyweight champion. As far as Jones is concerned, he believes that Gane is a unique fighter to the division. However, he also wanted to make sure the fans know that he, too, is unique.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones fired back at his critics on social media, saying “your priorities are in the wrong place.” Jones was arrested on domestic battery charges back in September following the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony. Since then, Jones has been kicked out of Team Jackson-Wink and has been seen training at Fight Ready in Arizona. Jones is one of the best fighters in MMA history, but he has come under fire following this latest incident and his reaction to it.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 42, top-three featherweights collided as Max Holloway took on Yair Rodriguez in a highly-anticipated fight. Holloway entered the fight coming off a five-round dominant decision win over Calvin Kattar where he landed 445 significant strikes. Prior to that, he suffered back-to-back decision losses to Alexander Volkanovski to lose his featherweight title. Yair Rodriguez, meanwhile, hadn’t fought since 2019 due to a USADA suspension and injures but was coming off a decision win over Jeremy Stephens.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is open to fighting anyone, but he says that Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev top the list. Burns is the No. 2 ranked welterweight in the UFC, so it’s natural that he is connected to fights with the other top fighters in the division. On Sunday, reports emerged that Burns could be matched up against Chimaev sometime in 2022, though that fight is far from a done deal. Speaking to MMAjunkie.com in a recent interview, Burns was asked what he wants next. As far as Burns goes, he is down to fight anyone that the UFC offers him, but if he had to choose someone, in particular, it would be either Covington or Chimaev next.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira says that he has “way more weapons” than rival Dustin Poirier ahead of their UFC 269 title fight. Oliveira steps into the Octagon next month on December 11 when he meets Poirier in the headliner of UFC 269. For Oliveira, this marks his first title defense since winning the vacant belt over Michael Chandler back at UFC 262 in May, while for Poirier he is getting this title shot following back-to-back stoppage wins over Conor McGregor. It’s expected to be an awesome matchup for as long as it lasts, but Oliveira is confident he will prevail.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal questioned why Nick Diaz is still fighting, bringing up the IRS as a potential reason as to why. Diaz returned from a six-year layoff at UFC 266 in September, losing in the third round via TKO to longtime rival Robbie Lawler. For Diaz, it was a losing effort, and Masvidal is questioning why he even came back in the first place. Not only did Diaz not win the fight, but he also showed up fight week too heavy to make welterweight, forcing the fight to be moved up to middleweight. That has led to speculation among fans, fighters, and media as to why Diaz returned to the cage, and Masvidal believes it could be financially related.

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2021

According to Fernand Lopez, Francis Ngannou once advised the UFC that Ciryl Gane wasn’t quite ready to sign for the promotion. At UFC 270, Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane will battle it out with the undisputed UFC heavyweight title being on the line. It’s the definition of a blockbuster showdown between two men who, in more ways than one, share a lot of history together.

Harry Kettle - November 15, 2021

Conor McGregor has claimed that Khamzat Chimaev offered to help him prepare for Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. In the last few days we’ve seen some interesting developments regarding the future of Khamzat Chimaev. Between being offered top contenders and calling out the likes of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, it’s safe to say “Borz” is one of the most talked-about fighters on the roster.

Adam Martin - November 14, 2021

Rising UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is reportedly in discussions to fight top-five ranked Gilbert Burns in his next outing. Frontkick.Online reported on Sunday that the latest their sources have told them is that the UFC is currently in discussions to book Chimaev vs. Burns, characterizing the talks as “not done, but likely to get booked.” According to the report, the UFC is planning on booking this fight in January, rather than the December date that Chimaev originally wanted. Once again, the contracts for this fight are not officially signed yet, but talks are progressing.

Adam Martin - November 14, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul sent a warning to Nate Diaz, saying that “I’m going to Stockton slap the sh*t out of that bitch.” Paul is set to take on Tommy Fury next month in Tampa in his last test professional boxing match. On the undercard, Diaz’s teammate Chris Avila takes on Anthony Taylor, the man who Fury just defeated. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Paul was asked about having Diaz’s teammate on his undercard, and if he is interested in facing Diaz. Paul responded by taking a shot at Diaz’s boxing skills, slagging his record, and then saying he would beat him up.

Adam Martin - November 14, 2021

UFC lightweight fighter Marc Diakiese issued a statement following his quick stoppage loss to Rafael Alves at UFC Vegas 42. Diakiese was returning to the Octagon following a year-long layoff since he lost a decision to Rafael Fiziev on Fight Island last year. Despite the layoff, Diakiese entered this fight with Alves as a moderate betting favorite, mainly due to his superior UFC experience and strength in schedule, plus the fact that Alves lost his only fight in the UFC to this point. However, Diakiese was upset when he got dropped by a flying knee and then choked out with a guillotine by Alves less than two minutes into the first round. It was an incredible victory by Alves, while for Diakiese it was a disappointing way to return to the UFC.