MMA News

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2020

Eric Albarracin knows the stakes are high for a potential Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa matchup. Ever since Adesanya became the UFC’s middleweight champion, it was expected his first title defense would be against Paulo Costa. Yet, the Brazilian got hurt and Adesanya ended up fighting Yoel Romero.

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2020

Henry Cejudo will be paying close attention to the featherweight title fight at UFC 251. In the new main event of the pay-per-view card, Alex Volkanovski will look to defend his featherweight title in a rematch against former champion Max Holloway. It is an intriguing matchup, but ahead of the fight, Volkanovski and Cejudo have traded shots and many have wondered if a fight between the two will happen.

Chris Taylor - July 4, 2020

Like many fighters, Max Holloway has been forced to make serious alterations to his training camp ahead of his UFC 251 rematch with Alex Volkanovski. The former UFC featherweight champion in Holloway (21-5 MMA) will square off with Volkanovski (21-1 MMA) for a second time in next weekend’s UFC 251 pay-per-view event headliner.

Chris Taylor - July 4, 2020

Dustin Poirier returned to the Octagon last weekend for the first time since suffering a submission loss to reigning lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov. Poirier was matched up with streaking lightweight contender Dan Hooker in last Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 12 main event and the bout seemingly surpassed it’s high expectations.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2020

Former two division UFC champion Daniel Cormier sent his good friend and training partner Khabib Nurmagomedov a lengthy message following the death of his father Abdulmanap. Earlier today the tragic news broke that Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, had died at age 57.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2020

A featherweight title fight rematch featuring former champ Max Holloway taking on Alex Volkanovski is the new main event of UFC 251. Next weekend’s UFC 251 pay-per-view event on Fight Island was originally slated to be headlined by a welterweight title fight between challenger Gilbert Burns and champion Kamaru Usman.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2020

Surging contender Gilbert Burns was expected to challenge Kamaru Usman for the promotions welterweight title in the main event of UFC 251. Unfortunately for fight fans, Burns (19-3 MMA) has been forced out of the highly anticipated contest after contracting the Coronavirus.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2020

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington has reacted following news that Gilbert Burns will no longer be fighting Kamaru Usman at UFC 251. Earlier this evening news broke that Burns (19-3 MMA) had contracted the Coronavirus and was thus ineligible to compete in next weekend’s pay-per-view headliner against Usman (16-1 MMA) as scheduled.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2020

Streaking contender Gilbert Burns will no longer be challenging Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title at next weekend’s UFC 251 event. Burns (18-3 MMA) was set to challenge his former training partner in Usman (16-1 MMA) in the headliner of next weekend’s pay-per-view event on Fight Island.

Cole Shelton - July 3, 2020

Maurice Greene says he has a massive weight lifted off his shoulders following his UFC on ESPN 12 win. Greene was looking to snap his two-fight losing streak when he welcomed Gian Villante to the heavyweight division last month. Early on, “The Crochet Boss” had success. But, in the third round, he got dropped but stay in after some heavy ground and pound shots.

Cole Shelton - July 3, 2020

Tony Ferguson has offered his condolences to Khabib Nurmagomedov following the passing of his father, Abdulmanap. It was revealed on Friday that Abdulmanap, who was just 57-years-old, passed away due to complications with COVID-19. He was put in a coma but it was recently announced he was conscious and doing much better. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse and he passed away.

Cole Shelton - July 3, 2020

Kay Hansen is the youngest female on the UFC roster at just 20-years-old and is already 1-0 inside the Octagon. Hansen recently made her UFC debut against Jinh Yu Frey, the former Invicta champion, where Hansen won by third-round armbar. Although it was her UFC debut, Hansen says she wasn’t nervous due to the fact everything was happening so fast.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2020

Colby Covington was not impressed by his former training partner Dustin Poirier’s recent decision victory over Dan Hooker. Poirier and Hooker, two top lightweight contenders, collided in the main event of UFC on ESPN 12 last Saturday, battling for 25 hard minutes in what many viewed as a Fight of the Year contender. In the end, Poirier won the fight by unanimous decision—but the performance didn’t do much to move Covington.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2020

Justin Gaethje has sent a warm message to his next opponent, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, whose father Abdulmanap passed away this week. Abdulmanap died in a Moscow hospital this week, succumbing to COVID-19-related complications. There was an immediate outpouring of condolences and well-wishes from many notable members of the MMA community, all of whom recognize the massive influence Abdulmanap had not only on Khabib but many other fighters in Dagestan.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2020

The UFC’s four-event stint on Fight Island (Yas Island in Abu Dhabi) has been hit by three shake-ups, including two resulting from positive COVID-19 tests. Earlier this week, MMA Junkie reported that England’s Danny Roberts has withdrawn from his welterweight fight with Denmark’s Nicolas Dalby, and Kazakhstan’s Shavkat Rakhmonov is out of his welterweight fight with Russia’s Ramazan Emeev. The report did not specify why Roberts and Rakhmonov withdrew. Both fights were scheduled to occur on the UFC’s July 25 Fight Island card — the final event in that location. Since then, Dalby has accepted Canada’s Jesse Ronson as a replacement opponent for the same card. Emeev is still without a replacement opponent.

Harry Kettle - July 3, 2020

UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson believes a win over Kelvin Gastelum holds more value than a win over former champion Chris Weidman. Hermansson, who last fought in a losing effort to Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC Copenhagen last September, was scheduled to take on Weidman at the start of May in Oklahoma City. Alas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those plans were scrapped – and instead, Hermansson is now set to go head-to-head with former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum on July 18.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2020

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, has died at 57. The renowned trainer, who also coached a number of other combat sports notables, passed away in a Moscow hospital due to COVID-19 complications. This tragic news was reported by Russian publication RT on Friday morning.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2020

ONE Championship middleweight and light heavyweight champion Aung La N Sang has tested positive for COVID-19. Aung La announced his positive test on Instagram on Thursday evening, adding that he and his wife and two children will now self-isolate for 14 days in their South Florida home.