MMA News
Aljamain Sterling forced out of UFC 267 rematch with Petr Yan, Sean O'Malley offers to step in
Christopher Taylor - September 25, 2021
Aljamain Sterling has been forced out of his scheduled rematch with Petr Yan at UFC 267 and Sean O’Malley is willing to fill the void. Sterling (20-3 MMA) captured the promotions bantamweight title back in March, this after Yan (15-2 MMA) was disqualified from their fight due to an illegal knee in round four. Prior to the fight-ending strike, the Russian appeared to well on his way to earning his first career title defense.
Update: Jon Jones posts bail, court date set for October 26
Chris Taylor - September 25, 2021
Jon Jones posted bail on Friday and is no longer in custody, the UFC star is now scheduled to appear in court on October 26. Jones (261-1 MMA) was detained by Las Vegas police early Friday morning, shortly following his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame. ‘Bones’ was arrested on charges of battery, domestic violence, and injuring and tampering with a vehicle.
Jorge Masvidal KO's Chris Jericho with flying knee at AEW event (Video)
Christopher Taylor - September 24, 2021
Jorge Masvidal made quite the statement at tonight’s AEW event when he KO’d wrestling great Chris Jericho with a flying knee. The former UFC welterweight title challenger, Masvidal (35-15 MMA), appeared in a segment of All Elite Wrestling that aired on Friday. Jorge’s appearance culminated in him knocking out wrestling icon Chris Jericho with his infamous flying knee.
Sean O’Malley sheds light on his recent conversation with Conor McGregor
Christopher Taylor - September 24, 2021
Sean O’Malley has shed some light on his recent conversation with former UFC champion Conor McGregor from last Sunday’s Cowboys vs Chargers game. O’Malley (14-1 MMA) made headlines on Monday after he shared a video of himself and ‘Notorious’ conversing at the game. Immediately speculation began as to what the two UFC stars were discussing.
Dana White rips Jon Jones after latest arrest: 'It's not even shocking anymore'
Cole Shelton - September 24, 2021
UFC president, Dana White wasn’t surprised when he heard Jon Jones was arrested once again. On Friday, it was revealed the former UFC light heavyweight champion in Jones was arrested by Las Vegas PD. According to reports, Jones was charged with battery, domestic violence, and injuring and tampering with a vehicle. It was shocking news to many due to the fact on Thursday night, Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his first fight with Alexander Gustafsson. Yet, for White, he says Vegas is trouble for “Bones” and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
Dana Cam catches all of the heat from the UFC 266 weigh-ins
Christopher Taylor - September 24, 2021
Dana White had his camera rolling for today’s UFC 266 weigh-ins, which included the highly anticipated staredown between Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler. Diaz (26-9 MMA) and Lawler (28-15 MMA) are set to rematch on the main card of tomorrow night’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. The pair originally collided seventeen years ago in a welterweight bout at UFC 47, with the Stockton native emerging victorious by way of second round knockout. This time around Diaz and Lawler will be competing at middleweight, a decision that was made earlier this week.
Georges St-Pierre explains why he wants Nick Diaz to get a shot at a UFC title: "I’m afraid that he left a lot of money on the table"
Christopher Taylor - September 24, 2021
Georges St-Pierre is hoping that his former opponent Nick Diaz will return better than ever at UFC 266 and score a shot at a UFC title. St-Pierre (26-2 MMA) and Diaz (26-9 MMA) collided for the UFC welterweight title back at UFC 158 in March of 2013. That evening in Montreal, ‘GSP’ was able to outpoint the Stockton native on route to a unanimous decision victory.
Colby Covington and Israel Adesanya react after Jon Jones is arrested in Las Vegas
Christopher Taylor - September 24, 2021
Colby Covington and Israel Adesanya were quick to react after news broke that former UFC champion Jon Jones had been arrested in Las Vegas. Jones was in attendance for the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday night, where his 2013 battle against Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the UFC HOF. ‘Bones’ seemed to be in good spirits at the event and even shared optimism about fighting for the UFC heavyweight title in 2022.
UFC 266 weigh-in results: Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler on weight for middleweight rematch
Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021
The official weigh-ins for UFC 266 took place on Friday in Las Vegas and all 26 of the 26 fighters scheduled to compete have made weight. In the main event, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski puts his belt on the line when he takes on Brian Ortega. Volkanovski stepped onto the scale at 144.5lbs while Ortega weighed in at 144lbs, so their title fight is official. Similarly, the co-main event is official as both UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and challenger Lauren Murphy both successfully made weight. Shevchenko stepped onto the scales at 124lbs while Murphy weighed in at 125lbs as the UFC 266 co-main event is now official.
Dana White says only "an idiot" would book Nick Diaz vs. Kamaru Usman
Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021
UFC president Dana White says that only “an idiot” would book Nick Diaz to step in the Octagon vs. UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Diaz returns to the Octagon this Saturday night at UFC 266 when he meets longtime rival Robbie Lawler in a middleweight rematch. Ahead of his comeback, Diaz spoke to ESPN in an interview and said that he thinks the UFC should have matched him up with Usman instead of Diaz. Speaking to Yahoo! Sports, White responded to the comments from Diaz, explaining quite simply why the UFC never seriously entertained a Diaz vs. Usman fight.
Dan Hooker says City Kickboxing will likely relocate from New Zealand due to lockdown rules: 'Our hand is forced'
Cole Shelton - September 24, 2021
Dan Hooker, a captain of City Kickboxing, says the gym will likely move from New Zealand. Due to New Zealand’s strict lockdown rules, the gym was shut down, and Hooker and other fighters couldn’t train. To make matters worse, the country has closed the quarantine booking system, meaning if you leave the country now, it may be a year or before you are allowed to return. With that, Hooker says the team at CKB has discussed moving the gym elsewhere to get away from New Zealand.
Jalin Turner expects to 'put away' Uros Medic in the first round at UFC 266: 'I'm going to take his hype'
Cole Shelton - September 24, 2021
Jalin Turner knows he’s being overlooked ahead of his UFC 266 fight. Turner is set to return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year as he faces the undefeated, Uros Medic at UFC 266. It’s an intriguing matchup but for Turner, he says he’s just glad to be able to fight again after everything he has gone through in the past year.
Dustin Poirier disagrees with Justin Gaethje calling Charles Oliveira a "quitter"
Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021
Dustin Poirier disagrees with divisional rival Justin Gaethje calling UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira a “quitter.” There were times in the past when Oliveira would close up shop if things weren’t going his way in his fights, but those days are long ago. Oliveira is now the UFC lightweight champion and he showed in his title fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 262 that he can take a punch and still keep on coming. After losing a 10-8 first round on the judges’ scorecards to Chandler at UFC 266, Oliveira came back in the second round and knocked his rival out. While in the past, Oliveira may have given up after getting hurt and facing adversity, he showed Chandler that he has a lot more heart in it now than he did before.
Merab Dvalishvili explains why he would never fight Aljamain Sterling
Adam D Martin - September 24, 2021
One of the rising contenders at 135lbs, Merab Dvalishvili explained why he would never fight UFC bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling. Dvalishvili is currently riding a six-fight win streak into his bantamweight bout against Marlon Moraes at this Saturday’s UFC 266 event. Should Dvalishvili win the fight, he would move closer to the top-five of the 135lbs weight class, and therefore, closer to the man at the top, his teammate at Serra-Longo Fight Team, Sterling. The team right now has two of the best bantamweights in the world in the same stable, which could lead to a tricky situation if both men keep winning. But as far as Dvalishvili is concerned, he will not be fighting Sterling, regardless of whether or not there is a belt on the line between them.
Din Thomas calls “foul play” on Nick Diaz’s late weight change for Robbie Lawler rematch at UFC 266
Harry Kettle - September 24, 2021
Din Thomas has called out Nick Diaz for requesting a swap from welterweight to middleweight just days before his fight against Robbie Lawler. It was reported earlier in the week that Diaz, who has been known to make waves during fight week before, had asked the UFC to change his fight versus Lawler from 170 pounds to 185 pounds. It appears as if Lawler obliged, meaning the change was confirmed for UFC 266.
Kelvin Gastelum plans to hire a dietitian and return to the UFC’s welterweight division
Harry Kettle - September 24, 2021
UFC middleweight Kelvin Gastelum has revealed that he’s considering hiring a dietitian to help him move back down to welterweight. Just a few years ago Gastelum was on the verge of winning the strap at 185 pounds but now, he’s lost five of his last six with many being left to question whether or not he’s really at that elite level anymore.
Israel Adesanya says 'you will never see me fight in New Zealand ever again' due to lockdown rules
Cole Shelton - September 23, 2021
Israel Adesanya has given up on his dream of headlining a UFC card in New Zealand. Adesanya called for his next title defense to happen in Auckland as he wanted to fight at home. Yet, as the country continues to lock down to the pandemic, which includes shutting down gyms like City Kickboxing and making it hard for fighters like Dan Hooker to fight, “The Last Stylebender” has no interest in fighting at home. Instead, he says the ‘bureaucrats’ can make their money elsewhere.
Kamaru Usman responds after Nick Diaz suggests he would “beat the sh*t” out of him
Adam D Martin - September 23, 2021
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman responded after Nick Diaz suggested that he would “beat the sh*t” out of him in a recent interview. Diaz recently sat down in an interview with ESPN and said that he believes that he should actually be fighting Usman next, not Robbie Lawler, who he fights in a rematch at UFC 266. As far as Diaz goes, this rematch with Lawler is pointless since he already has a previous win over his rival. As far as Diaz goes, he believes that he should be the one fighting Usman next, not Colby Covington. Taking to his social media to respond to what Diaz recently said, Usman reacted to what Diaz said, indicating he’s ready to fight Diaz as well.