MMA News

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Anthony Johnson congratulated his former foe Glover Teixeira on winning the UFC light heavyweight title, telling him “you deserve the belt.” Teixeira submitted Jan Blachowicz in the second round with a rear-naked choke in the main event of UFC 267 to capture the UFC light heavyweight title for the first time at age 42. It is an absolutely incredible story as Teixeira became the second-oldest fighter behind Randy Couture to win a UFC title. What makes it even more surprising is that it was just a few years ago when Teixeira was brutally knocked out by “Rumble” and left for dead by many fans. That was back in 2016, and two fights later, Teixeira got knocked out by Alexander Gustafsson. At that point, he had lost three of five fights and no one could have realistically expected him to ever win the belt. But he’s won his last six straight and is now a champ.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Watch Chuck Liddell freak out after his longtime friend Glover Teixeira won the UFC light heavyweight title on Saturday at UFC 267. Teixeira and Liddell are longtime friends and former training partners at The Pit under the tutelage of coach John Hackleman. The two fighters have remained good friends for years since then, and this weekend, their careers came full circle when Teixeira won the UFC light heavyweight title with a second-round submission win over Jan Blachowicz. Liddell was once the UFC light heavyweight champ himself, and now all these years later, it is Teixeira who is the champion, becoming the second fighter trained by Hackleman to win a belt.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Lalou Saint Denis, the wife of UFC fighter Benoit Saint Denis, reacted after her husband suffered an absolutely brutal beating at UFC 267. In what was one of the worst prolonged beatings we have ever seen inside the Octagon, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos poured heavy damage on Saint Denis over the course of 15 minutes. In the second round of the fight, it was a 10-8 round in favor of dos Santos, and there were numerous moments during the round where the referee could have stopped the fight. However, the fight continued, and it went into the third round. Incredibly, Saint Denis survived the third round and made it to the final bell. At the end of the 15 minutes, it was dos Santos who won the decision, but Saint Denis earned the respect of all watching.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Colby Covington says he “feels like a little kid before Christmas” ahead of the Kamaru Usman UFC welterweight title rematch at UFC 268. Covington and Usman first met at UFC 245 in December 2019. In what was one of the best fights of that year, Covington and Usman battled five hard rounds before Usman finished Covington in the final minute of round five. In the two years since then, Covington has been calling for a rematch, and next Saturday at UFC 268, he will finally get the rematch.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

With a potential welterweight bout between Khamzat Chimaev and Kamaru Usman on the horizon, the future UFC betting odds have been released. Chimaev submitted Li Jingliang in the first round of their welterweight bout on the UFC 267 main card. It was another amazing performance by Chimaev, who improved to 10-0 as a professional MMA fighter, with all 10 of his wins coming by stoppage. Since joining the UFC on Fight Island last year, Chimaev is a perfect 4-0 with four finishes. He has looked absolutely amazing so far in the UFC as he’s absolutely destroyed everyone in his path so far. Naturally, there are many fans who are now talking about Chimaev for a title shot.

Adam Martin - October 31, 2021

Veteran UFC featherweight fighter Makwan Amirkhani issued a statement following his devastating knee KO loss at UFC 267. Amirkhani fought undefeated prospect Lerone Murphy in a preliminary card fight that took place on Saturday at UFC 267. Murphy was a big favorite to win the fight, but in the first round, it was Amirkhani who was imposing his will as he took Murphy to the ground and controlled him. It was an easy 10-9 first round for Amirkhani, and for a second there, it was looking like he might pull off the upset as a huge underdog. However, that was not to be, as, in the second round, Amirkhani shot for a takedown and ate a knee for his troubles. It was a perfectly-timed knee finish by Murphy and it knocked Amirkhani out cold.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

New UFC champion Petr Yan reacted after defeating Cory Sandhagen to win the interim bantamweight title in the co-main event of UFC 267. Yan and Sandhagen met in the co-headliner of UFC 267 in what was easily one of the best fights of the year. Both men stood in the center of the Octagon and traded shots for nearly the entire 25 minutes in what was an all-out war. While Sandhagen fought as hard as he could for the entire five rounds, ultimately it just was not his day at the office. For Yan, he won 49-46 unanimously on all three of the judges’ scorecards to capture the interim belt. He will next face his rival Aljamain Sterling in a title unification bout sometime next year.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

UFC welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos scolded the referee for his non-stoppage at UFC 267, saying “he was putting people in danger.” Referee Vyacheslav Kiselev had one of the worst performances ever by a referee in a high-profile MMA fight as he left Saint-Denis to suffer unnecessary punishment over the course of 15 minutes. There were numerous times during the second round of the fight — which was a 10-8 round — where the fight could have been stopped as Saint-Denis was barely fighting back and yet absorbing plenty of punishment. However, the referee refused to stop the fight, which led to him being criticized by the UFC commentators on the calls, not to mention fans, media, and fellow fighters on social media. Dos Santos, too, was not happy.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

Jan Blachowicz issued a statement following title fight loss to new UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira at UFC 267. Blachowicz entered the fight against Teixeira as a sizable betting favorite, but he lost his 205lbs title in the second round when Teixeira submitted him with a rear-naked choke. It was one hell of a performance by Teixeira, who captured a UFC title at age 42, but for Blachowicz, it was one of the weakest showings in years. Blachowicz, who is known for his “legendary Polish power,” was not able to connect with Teixeira during the fight when it took place on the feet, and on the ground, he had absolutely no answers for Teixeira.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul went out for Halloween dressed as UFC president Dana White, mocking White in the process. Paul and White do not like each other, that much you can say. Paul has been on a crusade to improve fighter pay in combat sports, particularly in the UFC, while White has come out and said that Paul should mind his own business and stay out of the UFC’s finances. Paul has continued to try and take shots at White, who mostly ignores Paul when he does speak. On Saturday, Paul took to his social media to take another shot at White, this time mocking the UFC president by dressing up as him for Halloween. Take a look at the costume below.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

Corey Anderson trolled Jan Blachowicz following his title loss to new UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira at UFC 267. Blachowicz and Anderson fought twice in the UFC, and the two are still bitter rivals to this very day. The first time they met in the Octagon was at UFC 191 in September 2015. At that point in Blachowicz’s career, he was a very poor grappler and Anderson took advantage of it by taking him down for 15 minutes and grinding out a decision. The two then rematched five years later at UFC Rio Rancho in February 2020, with Blachowicz knocking out Anderson in the first round to earn a title shot at the light heavyweight belt.

Adam D Martin - October 31, 2021

Islam Makhachev wants a title shot after dominating Dan Hooker, saying that “when Michael Chandler beat Hooker they give him the title fight.” Makhachev submitted Chandler with a first-round kimura at UFC 267 in what was arguably the best performance of his UFC career to date. Makhachev took Hooker down almost immediately as soon as the fight began and he started to get to work right away on the ground. Not long after that, he grabbed Hooker’s arm and twisted it for the kimura finish.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Jon Jones attempted to establish a “new rule” for future UFC callouts this evening, but wound up getting ruthlessly trolled by fight fans. Jones (26-1 MMA), the UFC’s former light heavyweight kingpin, did not appear to be in the most cheerful of spirits this evening.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Cory Sandhagen has issued a statement following his unanimous decision loss to Petr Yan at today’s UFC 267 event in Abu Dhabi. Sandhagen (14-4 MMA) and Yan (16-2 MMA) collided on Saturday with the promotions interim bantamweight title up for grabs.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Daniel Cormier and Justin Gaethje were involved in a heated exchange on Twitter after ‘DC’ suggested Islam Makhachev should get a title fight. Makhachev (21-1 MMA) returned to action on today’s UFC 267 main card for a lightweight bout with perennial division contender Dan Hooker (21-11 MMA).

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Dana White has shared what Khamzat Chimaev was yelling at him during his fight with Li Jingliang at today’s UFC 267 event. Chimaev (10-0 MMA), one of the UFC’s most highly touted prospects, was returning to action for the first time in 13 months today in Abu Dhabi. In his most previous effort last September, ‘Borz’ had scored a sensational 18-second knockout win over Gerald Meerschaert (see that here).

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Dan Hooker has reacted following his disappointing first round submission loss to Islam Makhachev at today’s UFC 267 event. Hooker (21-11 MMA) was making a quick turnaround today in Abu Dhabi. ‘The Hangman‘ had most previously competed five weeks ago at UFC 266, where he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Nasrat Haqparast. That win had snapped a two-fight losing skid for the Auckland native, who had previously suffered setbacks to Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler respectively.

Christopher Taylor - October 30, 2021

Dana White reacted to Saturday’s absolute war between Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen during tonight’s UFC 267 post-fight press conference. Yan (16-2 MMA) and Sandhagen (14-4 MMA) squared off in today’s co-main event with the promotions interim bantamweight title up for grabs.