MMA News

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 37 took place on Friday in Las Vegas, and 27 of the 28 fighters scheduled to compete have made weight. In the headliner, Anthony Smith takes on Ryan Spann in a light heavyweight bout between two fighters ranked in the top-15 of the division. The No. 6 ranked Smith stepped onto the scale at 205.5lbs, while the No. 11 ranked Spann weighed in at 206lbs. This is a big fight in the UFC light heavyweight division, so expect the winner to face a big-name next time out.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defended the UFC ring card girls following the comments by Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov recently had some negative things to say about MMA ring card girls, essentially suggesting that they are pointless. That led to a number of the ring card girls, such as Arianny Celeste and Brittany Palmer, coming to their own defense, not to mention there have been other fighters who have disagreed with Nurmagomedov for his opinion. One of those fighters is Shevchenko, who did not agree at all with the recent comments that Nurmagomedov made. As far as Shevchenko goes, Nurmagomedov is wrong.

Cole Shelton - September 17, 2021

Chad Anheliger was confident he would be able to shock many and beat Muin Gafurov on the Contender Series. Anheliger entered the fight as a sizeable underdog and after dropping the first round, knocked down Gafurov in the second. The third round was close but when they went to the scorecards, the Canadian was confident he had done enough to win the fight.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

Olympic gold medal wrestler Gable Steveson says that he wished Dana White tried harder to sign him to the UFC when he was shopping around. Following his impressive performance at the Tokyo Olympic games, Steveson was pursued by several companies including the UFC and the WWE, where he eventually signed. However, while speaking to The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani, Steveson admitted that he was hoping White would have tried harder to sign him. Although Steveson is happy to join the WWE, he still wanted to see White make a stronger pitch to bring him to the UFC.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

MMA legend Demetrious Johnson praised his former UFC flyweight division rival Joseph Benavidez following his recent retirement announcement. Benavidez announced earlier this week that he is stepping away from MMA at age 37 and retiring. Since he announced that he is stepping away from the game, there have been a number of fellow fighters who have taken to social media to express their gratitude towards Benavidez, who was one of the best UFC fighters not to hold a belt over the past decade. One of those fighters who took to his social media to praise his former opponent is Johnson, who competed in a pair of memorable fights with Benavidez several years ago.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker is being targeted for January. Adesanya defeated Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision back in June at UFC 263, and the hope was that the UFC would be able to get the middleweight champ back in the cage one more time before 2021 was up. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel and quarantine rules for fighters in Australia and New Zealand, it has become difficult for the UFC to get this fight booked. In fact, as White told The Daily Telegraph in a recent interview, he is now targeting the Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2 fight to take place next year.

Adam D Martin - September 17, 2021

UFC president Dana White explained why YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul should fight Anderson Silva next, and not Jorge Masvidal. White and Paul have not seen eye to eye, especially in regards to the topic of fighter pay, as Paul has said numerous negative comments to White regarding what he pays UFC fighters. After recently beating former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, Paul is now busy trying to figure out who his next opponent will be. He recently came out and called out Masvidal for a fight, but White blocked that opportunity since “Gamebred” is under contract with the UFC. Instead, White suggested that Paul take on the UFC legend Silva instead.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2021

UFC fighter Sean O’Malley has voiced his criticism over transgender Alana McLaughlin competing in women’s MMA. This topic has been a source of great controversy over the course of the last few weeks ever since McLaughlin made her professional mixed martial arts debut for Combate Global. After a back and forth encounter McLaughlin managed to secure the win, beginning a conversation about whether or not she should have been permitted to compete in the first place.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Michael Bisping believes Conor McGregor was “out of his mind on the pain pills” during his altercation with Machine Gun Kelly at the VMA’s. McGregor (22-6 MMA) was involved in a scuffle with the multi-platinum recording artist at last weekend’s MTV Music Awards. While the altercation did not result in anything serious, it was another incident that had some fans alarmed.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is set to make his return to the Octagon at next weekend’s UFC 266 event opposite Nick Diaz. Lawler and Diaz initially collided seventeen years ago at UFC 47, with the Stockton prospect emerging victorious by way of second round knockout. Since then both men have gone on to have extremely successful MMA careers.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Jorge Masvidal was not at all happy with the recent criticism he received from fellow UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards. Edwards (19-3 MMA) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Nate Diaz in his most recent effort at UFC 263 this past June. The win extended the Birmingham natives current unbeaten streak to nine in a row.

Christopher Taylor - September 16, 2021

Dan Hooker is in jeopardy of having his UFC 266 fight canceled and has made a desperate plea to US Ambassador Kevin Covert for help. Hooker (20-10 MMA) is scheduled to fight Nasrat Haqparast (13-3 MMA) at UFC 266 in Las Vegas. However, ‘The Hangman’ recently discovered that his travel visa will not be ready until next week, a delay which would result in his upcoming fight being scratched.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2021

Carlos Condit has retired from MMA. Condit is 37-years-old and lost his last fight and now sources told MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz, Condit was retiring. The former UFC interim welterweight champion’s manager, Malki Kawa confirmed the news to MMAFighting. The JacksonWink MMA fighter has yet to formally announce his retirement

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns accused Leon Edwards of ducking Jorge Masvidal, telling him on social media that “you are scared!” Edwards took to his Twitter this week to announce that he will not fight Masvidal next, and instead, he confirmed that he will wait to fight the winner of UFC 268’s main event welterweight title fight rematch between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. That is leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of one of the division’s top contenders in Burns. The Brazilian took to his social media following Edwards’ proclamation that he will not fight Masvidal to suggest that the Brit is scared of facing “Gamebred” inside the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2021

Triller Fight Club put on their second legends event but this time around, the pay-per-view buys were not good. In the main event of Triller Fight Club Legends 2, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield stepped up on short notice to take on Vitor Belfort. The co-main event saw Anderson Silva box Tito Ortiz while David Haye also took on Joe Fournier. Despite the fact, the event had a bunch of well-known fighters, the pay-per-view bombed as it only did around 150,000 buys, according to boxing journalist, Dan Rafael.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight fighter Luke Sanders announced retirement from MMA after being recently released by the UFC. Sanders was in the UFC between 2016 and 2021, racking up a 3-5 record during that time with his wins coming against Renan Barao, Maximo Blanco, and Patrick Williams. However, after Sanders lost his last two fights in a row against Felipe Colares and Nate Maness, the UFC decided to release the 35-year-old veteran after his contract expired. Just a few months after the UFC decided to move on from Sanders, he has officially decided to hang up his gloves. “Cool Hand” took to his Instagram this week to officially confirm the news.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno reacted following the promotion’s recent announcement of the Deiveson Figueiredo trilogy fight. Moreno and Figueiredo have been involved in a pair of memorable fights over the past year. The two flyweight rivals first met in the main event of UFC 256 last December, with Moreno and Figueiredo fighting to a majority draw after a point was deducted to the champ Figueiredo due to a low blow. The two then rematched at UFC 263 in June, with Moreno submitting Figueiredo in the third round with a rear-naked choke in order to put some closure to their rivalry. However, Figueiredo has made it clear in the last few months that he wants the trilogy fight with Moreno. While Moreno initially said no to it and was expected to fight Alexandre Pantoja, the UFC decided to book Figueiredo to get the title fight at UFC 269 in December. With the fight now official, check out Moreno’s reaction.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje blasted “quitter” Charles Oliveira ahead of the Dustin Poirier title fight at UFC 269. Oliveira knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 to become the new UFC lightweight champion, and he will put his belt on the line against Poirier at UFC 269 in December. Gaethje has been critical of Oliveira since he won the belt, as he didn’t believe that Michael Chandler should have been the one fighting for the vacant belt. With Gaethje now fighting Chandler at UFC 268, a win there could very well earn him a title shot against the winner of the Oliveira vs. Poirier fight. And if you ask Gaethje, that will be Poirier getting the win.