MMA News

Adam D Martin - November 8, 2021

UFC middleweight fighter Alex Pereira released a statement following his incredible flying knee KO win over Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. Pereira is a former GLORY kickboxing champion who made his UFC debut this past Saturday at UFC 268. The only man to ever KO current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in combat sports, there was a ton of hype behind Pereira entering the UFC, and he made good on it with the spectacular knockout win over Michailidis. After losing the first round by getting controlled on the ground, Pereira landed the insane flying knee KO in the second round to collect the first win in his UFC career, as well as a $50k bonus.

Adam D Martin - November 8, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler called out Conor McGregor, and McGregor replied by saying that “I’m down” to fight at some point. Chandler fought three hard rounds with Justin Gaethje at this past Saturday’s UFC 268 pay-per-view card. Although Chandler lost the unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards, his stock arguably went up despite the loss just because it was such an incredible fight. Importantly, Chandler’s durability allowed him to stay in the fight despite Gaethje throwing everything that he had at him. It was an amazing fight and it looks like the performance of Chandler caught the eye of the sport’s biggest star in McGregor.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2021

The UFC returned to Madison Square Garden for the first time since November of 2019 for a stacked UFC 268 card. The event saw two titles on the line as Kamaru Usman was looking to defend his welterweight title in a rematch against Colby Covington. Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang were also running it back from their fight in April for the strawweight strap. UFC 268 ended up being one of the best cards in recent memory as in the main event, Usman edged out Covington in a super close fight. Namajunas, meanwhile, went up 2-0 on Zhang as she defended her belt with a split decision win. Now, after UFC 268, here’s what I think should be next for the four fighters involved in the title fights.

Adam D Martin - November 8, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes that Justin Gaethje has earned the next UFC lightweight title shot over his teammate Islam Makhachev. Cormier and Gaethje recently got into it on social media after “The Highlight” accused DC of being biased during his commentary for the recent Makhachev vs. Dan Hooker fight. Following that match, which Makhachev won in an impressive fashion, Cormier suggested that he should be next in line to fight for the belt, and Gaethje felt that he was biased since they are teammates at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). However, it now appears that DC has changed his tune and is now supporting Gaethje for the title shot.

Adam D Martin - November 8, 2021

Former champion Carla Esparza respectfully requested a rematch with current champ Rose Namajunas for the UFC women’s strawweight title. Esparza is arguably the No. 1 contender in the UFC women’s strawweight division, so she watched anxiously this past Saturday night as Namajunas duked it out with former champ Weili Zhang at UFC 268. It was a hard-fought fight between the two women, but it was Namajunas who earned the split decision win on the judges’ scorecards to defend her belt.

Adam D Martin - November 8, 2021

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman says he is open to a Colby Covington trilogy fight down the road if his rival works his way back up. Usman defeated Covington via unanimous decision in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 268 pay-per-view card. Just like their first meeting at UFC 245 in December 2019, which came down to the wire before a late stoppage in the fifth round. the rematch was a close fight, with Usman edging out a tight decision on the judges’ scorecards. It was an excellent matchup and even though he lost, Covington showed once again that he is the second-best welterweight in the division. It just so happens that Usman is the best fighter in the weight class and he has now beaten Covington twice.

Harry Kettle - November 8, 2021

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson has joined those calling for Frankie Edgar to consider retiring from mixed martial arts. At UFC 268 on Saturday night, Frankie Edgar was knocked out by Marlon Vera in their bantamweight clash – marking the fourth time he’s been KO’d in the last four years. It was another worrying sign for a veteran who, in the eyes of many, has the potential to become a UFC Hall of Famer one day.

Harry Kettle - November 8, 2021

UFC president Dana White hasn’t ruled out the idea of Frankie Edgar returning to the Octagon after his UFC 268 defeat. As part of UFC 268’s main card, Frankie Edgar went toe to toe with Marlon Vera in what proved to be a pretty tense bantamweight affair. Edgar seemed to be faring pretty well for long spells but ultimately, it was a front kick that proved to be the difference maker as Vera walked away with the knockout win.

Christopher Taylor - November 7, 2021

Dana White is not ready to proclaim Carla Esparza as the next strawweight title challenger, this despite Rose Namajunas’ win at UFC 268. Esparza (18-6 MMA), the promotions former strawweight champion, is currently on a five-fight winning streak and seemingly has the best case for a title shot when compared to any of the other divisions contenders.

Chris Taylor - November 7, 2021

Jorge Masvidal clearly tuned in to watch his former friend turned bitter enemy Colby Covington rematch Kamaru Usman at UFC 268. Usman (20-1 MMA) and Covington (16-3 MMA) originally collided back at UFC 245 in December of 2019, with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ emerging victorious by way of a thrilling fifth round TKO.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

Former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo praised Weili Zhang following her hard-fought loss in the main event at UFC 268 on Saturday night. Zhang had been training with Cejudo and the gang at Fight Ready MMA ahead of her UFC women’s strawweight title rematch against Rose Namajunas, which co-headlined UFC 268. One of the reasons Zhang switched her camp for this fight was because of the disastrous result of the first fight with Namajunas at UFC 261 that saw her lose via head kick KO.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones says he “definitely won’t be going back” to Team Jackson-Wink after his recent ban from the gym. Jones was involved in a domestic battery incident in Las Vegas in September, and last month, his former coach Mike Winkeljohn admitted that he kicked Jones out of the gym. The reason Winkeljohn gave Jones the boot from his longtime gym is twofold. One, because Winkeljohn is a husband and father of daughters himself and he felt conflicted continuing to train Jones while the domestic issue is looming over him. And two, Jones’ issues with alcohol. Jones has admitted that he has a problem with alcohol, and Winkeljohn wants him to get the help he needed before coming back to the gym.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC president Dana White revealed he bet $100,000 on Canelo Alvarez to knock out Caleb Plant, winning over $41,000 when he got the job done. Alvarez fought Plant in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and on the other side of the country, UFC 268 took place in New York City. While White was busy overseeing UFC 268 and sitting cageside during the event, he also had the Alvarez vs. Plant fight on his monitor in front of his desk outside of the Octagon. The reason he was so interested in the Alvarez vs. Plant fight? While White is a massive boxing fan, it wasn’t just because he was so interested in watching the fight, but also because he had a $100,000 bet on Alvarez.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev says he wants to make a December return, and he is taking aim at the UFC welterweight top-10. Chimaev is one of the hottest fighters in the sport right now after winning his first four UFC fights by stoppage, including a vicious submission win over Li Jingliang at UFC 267. It was the type of quality victory that moved Chimaev into the top-15 rankings in the stacked UFC welterweight division, and now he is hoping that he gets a step up in competition for his next fight. That may or may not include a title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, which is what he wants more than anything, but even if he doesn’t get the title shot against Usman, he figures to get a top-10 opponent.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland took a shot at rival Luke Rockhold after his teammate Chris Curtis pulled off an upset at UFC 268. Strickland was originally set to take on Rockhold in a high-profile middleweight bout on the UFC 268 pay-per-view card. However, Rockhold was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury, and the UFC decided against booking Strickland against another opponent on the same card. Instead, the promotion had an open slot on the card, and, crazy enough, the open slot was given to Strickland’s teammate Curtis, who took on Phil Hawes. Hawes vs. Curtis was supposed to happen last month in Las Vegas, but Hawes wanted more time to prepare for his opponent. With Strickland/Rockhold off, there was a spot open at UFC 268, and so Strickland decided to make the trip to New York and support Curtis.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC heavyweight Chris Barnett reacted after landing an incredible spinning wheel kick KO on Gian Villante at Saturday’s UFC 268 event. Barnett was making his second UFC appearance after losing by submission to Ben Rothwell earlier this year. At 5’9″ and weighing in around the 265lbs heavyweight limit, Barnett is far from the most physically-imposing heavyweight on the UFC roster. But just because someone doesn’t have a six-pack doesn’t mean that they can’t fight. On Saturday night at UFC 268, Barnett picked up the first win of his UFC career when he landed an absolutely astonishing spinning wheel kick KO on Villante. It was an absolutely insane knockout and the fact that Barnett of all people landed the kick was beyond incredible.

Adam Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera reacted after knocking out MMA legend Frankie Edgar at UFC 268, saying “this is a dream come true.” Vera knocked out Edgar with a front kick late in the third round of their UFC 268 main card bantamweight fight. It was a phenomenal victory by Vera, who is now poised to enter the top-10 rankings in the stacked UFC 135lbs weight class. For Vera, this knockout over Edgar represents by far the biggest win of his career on paper, and he did it in style, too, winning a $50,000 bonus for “Performance of the Night” for his incredible knockout.

Adam D Martin - November 7, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas wants to fight Carla Esparza next following her big win over Weili Zhang at UFC 268. Namajunas edged out a split decision over Zhang in a razor-thin fight that served as the co-main event of UFC 268. It was another fantastic performance by Namajunas, who overcame a slow start to turn it on late and steal the decision on the judges’ scorecards. Namajunas is now 2-0 over Zhang and it seems unlikely that the UFC will run back an immediate trilogy fight, so it seems likely that Namajunas will get a new opponent next.