MMA News

Harry Kettle - October 12, 2021

UFC middleweight Sean Strickland has reacted to the news that Luke Rockhold has pulled out of UFC 268. It’s public knowledge that UFC 268 is shaping up to be one of the most stacked cards of the year for the UFC but unfortunately, a grudge match at 185 pounds has been lost after Luke Rockhold revealed a herniated disk will ensure he does not fight Sean Strickland at Madison Square Garden.

Andrew Whitelaw - October 11, 2021

Luke Rockhold’s return to action will have to wait after the middleweight star announced that injury has ruled im out of his UFC 268 clash wish Sean Strickland. “There’s no easy way to really say it, but the fight is off in New York,” Rockhold said on his Instagram story. “I ended up herniating a disc in my back. L4, L5. The docs say it’s nothing I can play with. I need to do some treatment and recovery time.”

Drake Riggs - October 11, 2021

Lauren Murphy has high praise for Valentina Shevchenko after challenging for the UFC flyweight crown at UFC 266. The former Invicta FC bantamweight champion in Murphy rode her best winning streak since her days as a titleholder heading into UFC 266’s co-main event on Sept. 25. Unfortunately for her, “The Bullet” continued her dominant ways by outperforming “Lucky” en route to a fourth-round TKO victory – her first time being finished.

Drake Riggs - October 11, 2021

Carla Esparza believes she should be the one rematching Rose Namajunas next – even more so after Mackenzie Dern’s recent loss. This past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39 main event saw No. 6 ranked strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez score a stout unanimous decision over Dern – leaving the 15-1-2 Brazilian with her lone loss coming to Esparza.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

Justin Gaethje doesn’t think Charles Oliveira is the best lightweight in the UFC, despite being the champion. Oliveira won the vacant lightweight title at UFC 262 as he knocked out Michael Chandler in the second round. However, for Gaethje, despite the Brazilian being the champ, “The Highlight” says Oliveira is not the best lightweight.

Adam Martin - October 11, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming welterweight bout featuring Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269. The news that Edwards would be fighting Masvidal at UFC 269 on December 11 came out Monday. The two welterweight rivals have not liked each other ever since the “three-piece and a soda” incident in London in March 2019. In the two-and-a-half years since then, they have talked a lot of smack to each other. Finally, they will meet inside the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards will finally share the Octagon with one another. According to MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, Masvidal and Edwards have agreed to fight one another at UFC 269 on December 11 in a three-round welterweight fight. The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. With the fight being added to the pay-per-view, Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 3 has been moved to UFC 270 in January. That event is targeted to happen in Las Vegas or Anaheim, according to Helwani.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

Longtime UFC flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez admits that he already had one foot out the door before his final UFC fight. Benavidez fought Askar Askarov earlier this year at UFC 259 and suffered a unanimous decision defeat in what marked the final fight of his UFC career. For a fighter who was for years one of the best in the world in his weight class, he just didn’t look like the same fighter against Askarov. Six months later, and Benavidez announced that he is done with MMA. After so many years in the sport, he finally made the decision to hang up his gloves.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

UFC light heavyweight fighter Dominick Reyes is not planning on a UFC return until 2022, saying “I gotta take care of my brain a little bit.” Reyes is one of the best light heavyweights in the UFC but he is coming off of three straight losses to Jiri Prochazka, Jan Blachowicz, and Jon Jones. The fight against Prochazka, in particular, was a brutal war that left Reyes knocked out cold. It was a very difficult fight for Reyes and he has taken off the past four months since then. In fact, Reyes says that he wants to take even more time off in order to heal his brain from that fight. He recognizes how much damage he took and he wants to make sure he does his comeback right.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze reacted to the news that he is fighting Calvin Kattar in his next fight in early 2022. Chikadze has been pushing for a big-name opponent, and he was calling out the likes of UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway. In the end, Chikadze has been booked to fight a top-five opponent in Kattar next. The two featherweights are being targeted to meet in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on January 15, 2022. With a win, Chikadze could be in line to earn a title shot at 185lbs.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 39, top-six strawweights collided as Mackenzie Dern was looking to extend her winning streak as she took on Marina Rodriguez. Dern entered the fight coming off an impressive submission win over Nina Nunes which was her fourth win in a row. Rodriguez, meanwhile, was combining off her first UFC main event where she beat Michelle Waterson by decision, and before that, she scored a vicious KO over Amanda Ribas.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

Derek Brunson explains how he underestimated UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya the first time they fought inside the Octagon. Brunson is coming off of five straight wins in the UFC middleweight division, and his next test is a matchup against Jared Cannonier in early 2022. It’s expected that the winner of that fight will take on the winner of Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 for the 185lbs belt. If Brunson does get by Cannonier and fight Adesanya again, it would be a rematch for him. The first time he fought Adesanya, Brunson was knocked out at UFC 230 back in 2018.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell was reportedly arrested for domestic violence and he is currently sitting in a Los Angeles jail. TMZ Sports reported that Liddell was arrested on Monday morning. According to TMZ, the “L.A. Sherriff’s Department received a call about a fight at a Liddell’s San Fernando Valley home. When cops arrived, they investigated, and determined the 51-year-old former fighter was involved in a verbal argument that turned physical.”

Harry Kettle - October 11, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier believes Daniel Cormier could replace Dana White as UFC president one day. It’s a task that many folks probably wouldn’t want, given the stress that comes with it, but for many years now Dana White has held the position of being UFC president. It doesn’t appear as if he’s going to step down anytime soon but when he does, the company needs to be ready to replace him.

Harry Kettle - October 11, 2021

UFC star Conor McGregor used his praise for Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder to also take a shot at rival Dustin Poirier. Last Saturday night saw Tyson Fury put a definitive end to his rivalry with Deontay Wilder by knocking him out in the 11th round of their trilogy showdown in Las Vegas. The back and forth war swung between both men but in the end, it was “The Gypsy King” who delivered the final blow.

Adam Martin - October 10, 2021

Former UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard shared hospital photos after breaking his orbital bone against veteran Joe Riggs in their BKFC fight. Guillard took on Riggs in a bare-knuckle boxing match in Billings, Montana on Saturday night. Riggs won the fight early in the first round when he caught Guillard with a big punch that sent him through the ropes. It was a huge punch, and Guillard immediately collapsed to the mat and held his face. It turns out that Guillard ended up breaking his orbital bone.

Adam Martin - October 10, 2021

Former UFC fighter Brendan Loughnane was among the alternate fighters named for the upcoming PFL $1 million tournament finals. Loughnane competed once in the Octagon in 2012, losing a decision to Mike Wilkinson. After putting in the work on the regional scene, Loughnane made his way to Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019. However, while he did win a decision over Bill Algeo, White passed on signing Loughnane to a UFC contract due to shooting for a takedown in the final 10 seconds of the fight. In a cruel twist of fate, Algeo would later be signed to the UFC.

Adam Martin - October 10, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns trashed “coward” Leon Edwards for reportedly turning down the Jorge Masvidal fight. Edwards and Masvidal got into it a few years ago at a UFC London event, where Masvidal struck Edwards backstage with his “three-piece and a soda” combo. Masvidal became a superstar following that incident and ended up fighting for the belt twice against Kamaru Usman, while Edwards has been fairly inactive since then. It’s now two years later, and these are still two of the best welterweights on the planet. With both Edwards and Masvidal currently without an upcoming fight, it does make sense for them to fight each other.