MMA News

Harry Kettle - October 13, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has revealed that he wasn’t particularly surprised by the recent arrest of Jon Jones. Ever since Jones departed the 205-pound division, Jan Blachowicz has been the main man at the top of the mountain. He beat Dominick Reyes for the strap before successfully defending it against Israel Adesanya and at the end of this month, he’ll take his talents to Fight Island where he will defend the gold against fellow veteran Glover Teixeira.

Harry Kettle - October 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White has spoken about the UFC release of Luis Pena and whether something similar could happen to Jon Jones. Just a few days ago Luis Pena was arrested on charges of domestic violence, just a few months removed from being arrested for robbery, battery, and criminal mischief. While the outcome of his case has yet to be determined, the UFC acted swiftly by releasing Pena from his contract with the promotion.

Christopher Taylor - October 12, 2021

UFC President Dana White shared his thoughts on last weekend’s Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder trilogy following tonight’s Contender Series event. Fury put his WBO and The Ring heavyweight titles on the line last Saturday in Las Vegas, when he squared off with Wilder for a third time.

Drake Riggs - October 12, 2021

Benson Henderson knows a thing or two about being a champion in the 155-pound lightweight division. The former WEC and UFC titleholder secured four total title defenses throughout his illustrious career which puts him right in the mix with some of his fellow greats such as BJ Penn and Khabib Nurmagomedov. When it comes to who deserves the top spot as all-time best, “Smooth” has some thoughts.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021

Sean Strickland is not a fan of Belal Muhammad and he says he wants to smack him. After Luke Rockhold was forced out of his UFC 268 fight against Strickland, several fighters including Muhammad called him out. Although Muhammad competes at welterweight he said Strickland isn’t a big middleweight and wants to beat him up as he “hates that piece of trash.” To no surprise, that did not sit well for the seventh-ranked middleweight.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021

Raulian Paiva believes his UFC 269 opponent in Sean O’Malley wimps out when the going gets tough and put under pressure. Paiva is coming off a decision win over Kyler Phillips in a hard-fought fight and will now fight O’Malley at UFC 269. It’s an intriguing matchup but for the Brazilian, he says he plans to pressure “Suga” from the get-go and make it a difficult fight for him.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

The UFC rankings have been updated following UFC Vegas 39, and notably, Joanna Jedrzejczyk moved up women’s P4P rankings. Notably, Jedrzejczyk didn’t even compete at UFC Vegas 39. In fact, the main event saw fellow strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez fight against Mackenzie Dern in the main event and defeat her via unanimous decision in a breakthrough performance. As expected, Rodriguez moved up in the 115lbs rankings. She moved from No. 6 to No. 4, with Dern dropping down to No. 6 and with Yan Xiaonan at No. 5. As well, Rodriguez debuted at No. 10 overall in the women’s P4P rankings. It is a well-deserved ranking given how good she has looked in her last three fights, wins over Dern, Michelle Waterson, and Amanda Ribas.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker is only showing up for the paycheck against Islam Makhachev, says manager Ali Abdelaziz. Hooker filled in on short notice against Makhachev at UFC 267 later this month after Rafael dos Anjos pulled out with an injury. Hooker admitted that the UFC paid him a lot of money in order to take the fight, and as far as Abdelaziz goes, that’s the only reason why he took the fight. Speaking to MMAjunkie.com, Abdelaziz accused Hooker of taking the fight with Makhachev only because he will get paid hadnsomely not because he can actually win it.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

Dustin Poirier is the best lightweight in the world, not UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, says his coach Mike Brown. Poirier takes on Oliveira at UFC 269 in December with the 155lbs belt on the line. Oliveira won the vacant title when he knocked out Michael Chandler back at UFC 262 in May. But despite being the UFC lightweight champion and holding the belt, there are still a number of people in the MMA community who think that he isn’t the best lightweight in the sport. After all, Poirier turned down the title shot to fight Conor McGregor in a trilogy match. So it’s the opinion of some, including Brown, that Poirier is actually the true No. 1 lightweight.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader shared his thoughts on Jon Jones’ recent arrest, suggesting Jones’ legal issues are “a habit.” Jones was arrested last month in Las Vegas after reportedly putting his hands on his fiancee, Jessie Moses, and also damaging a police vehicle. This is far from the first time that Jones has gotten in trouble with the law, though it’s the first time he has been accused of domestic violence. Jones’ arrest sent shockwaves through the MMA community and everyone seems to have an opinion about it. One of those fighters who has an opinion is Jones’ former UFC rival, Bader. The two were at one point the top two light heavyweight prospects in the UFC, but Jones submitted Bader a decade ago and became the champ. Jones would go on to become a UFC legend, while Bader became a champ in Bellator.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021

Demetrious Johnson didn’t have any hesitation when he got the call to have a special rules fight against Rodtang. At ONE X in December, Johnson and Rodtang will fight in a special rules bout. The first and third rounds will be muay Thai will the second and fourth will be MMA. The rounds will also be three minutes and for Johnson, he’s super excited for the fight.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

An excellent matchup between two of the best welterweights in the UFC is booked as Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio was added to UFC 269. ESPN first revealed the news that Neal vs. Ponzinibbio is set for UFC 269, which takes place on December 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 269 is a stacked pay-per-view card that is headlined by UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier vs. Charles Oliveira. As well, the co-main event features UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes against Julianna Pena. Additionally, there is a welterweight grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards also on the card. And now we have Neal vs. Ponzinibbio, too.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

Top-ranked UFC welterweight contenders Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards reacted to their upcoming fight booking at UFC 269. It was revealed on Monday that the grudge match between Masvidal and Edwards will finally be happening at UFC 269, which takes place on December 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a grudge match nearly three years in the making, ever since the “three-piece and a soda” incident at UFC London back in March 2019. Both Masvidal and Edwards do not like each other and this should be one of the most exciting fights of the year when it finally goes down in December. Now that the fight is official, both men took to their social media to react to the fight booking. Take a look at what both men said below.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Patrick Cote ripped fan-favorite Sam Alvey following his latest UFC fight announcement. On Monday, word broke that Alvey would be getting another fight in the UFC against Ian Heinisch in early 2022. For Alvey, he is very fortunate to be getting another fight in the UFC considering he is 0-6-1 over his last seven fights. In his last matchup, Alvey lost a split decision to Wellington Turman, and following the fight, UFC president Dana White hinted he would get one more fight in the Octagon. However, there are a lot of other fighters who are not pleased that Alvey is getting another chance. Although he is an exciting fighter and a fan favorite, the fact is he hasn’t won a fight in three years. There are other fighters who have not been given as much rope as Alvey has, and Cote wanted to point it out.

Harry Kettle - October 12, 2021

Demetrious Johnson stands by his thoughts on the “downed opponent” rule despite Aljamain Sterling’s karma remarks. We’ve over six months removed from Aljamain Sterling’s DQ win over Petr Yan that had many questioning Sterling as he went on to claim the UFC bantamweight title. Demetrious Johnson, in the immediate aftermath, said that the knee Yan struck Sterling with should’ve been deemed legal, suggesting Sterling knew where to put his hands as he could feel the momentum of the fight shifting.

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.

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.