MMA News

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.

Cole Shelton - September 16, 2021

Yoel Romero was close to boxing Jake Paul but the YouTuber’s team didn’t want it. When Romero was released from the UFC, he was looking at options and one fight that was offered was to box Paul. At the time, Paul just knocked out Nate Robinson and was looking to fight a real fighter, yet when Romero showed interest in the bout, Paul and his team decided to cancel the fight and went with Ben Askren instead.

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.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight contender Yoel Romero says that he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Bernard Hopkins and fight into his 50s. Hopkins last competed in 2016 when he was 51 years old, and Romero hopes to follow in his footsteps. Now 44 years old, Romero will be making his debut for Bellator this Saturday night when he takes on fellow former UFC fighter Phil Davis. Romero has not fought in over a year since a loss to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and given that he is already 44 and has battled health problems that delayed his Bellator debut, one would think that he maybe doesn’t have much time left in this sport. However, as far as Romero goes, he still has several good years left in him. In fact, he believes he can fight in his 50s.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC flyweight contender Deiveson Figueiredo paid tribute to former opponent Joseph Benavidez following his retirement from MMA. Figueiredo and Benavidez fought twice in 2020, with Figueiredo winning both of the fights. In the first fight in February 2020, Figueiredo knocked Benavidez out with punches after a headbutt led to the finish. In addition, Figueiredo had missed weight for that fight and was not able to win the title. The UFC then re-booked the rematch due to the controversial ending, but this time around, the Brazilian proved he was the better fighter with a dominant first-round submission win. It was in the second fight that Figueiredo won the vacant flyweight belt. Overall, the pair had a very memorable pair of UFC title fights.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC lightweight title contender Michael Chandler explained why he hasn’t gotten himself vaccinated against COVID-19 yet. Chandler is set to take on rival Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 in November at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. When the fight was first announced, one of the potential issues in booking the fight was that Chandler is not yet vaccinated. At first, it was expected that athletes competing on the New York card would have to show proof of being vaccinated. However, that won’t be the case as the fighters won’t have to be vaccinated.

Adam D Martin - September 16, 2021

UFC president Dana White reacted after former flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez announced that he has retired from the UFC. Benavidez announced on Wednesday that he is stepping away from MMA. Now 37 years old, Benavidez lost his last three fights against Askar Askarov and Deiveson Figueiredo twice, and after taking so much damage in those fights, he decided that it’s time to walk away. As such, the Xtreme Couture-based product revealed that he is done with fighting.

Cole Shelton - September 15, 2021

Brandon Moreno and Deiveson Figueiredo will be running it back again. Moreno and Figueiredo first met at UFC 256 last December. There, they fought to a draw where the Brazilian retained his belt. They then had their rematch in June where Moreno dominated the fight and got a submission victory to become the new flyweight champ. After the fight, the trilogy was talked about but after Alexandre Pantoja defeated Brandon Royval, it looked like that fight would be next.

Drake Riggs - September 15, 2021

Demetrious Johnson’s next fight will be unlike any other he’s ever had before. ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced Wednesday on MMA Fighting’s The MMA Hour that the UFC’s record holder for title defenses will compete on Dec. 5 at ONE: X. However, it won’t just be any old MMA bout as Johnson (30-4-1) squares off with Muay Thai legend Rodtang Jitmuangnon (267-42-10 in MT) in a hybrid bout.

Cole Shelton - September 15, 2021

The medical suspensions from Triller Fight Club last Saturday in Florida have been revealed and Evander Holyfield only got a 30-day suspension. In the main event of the card, 58-year-old, Evander Holyfield stepped up on short notice to box Vitor Belfort. It was revealed the fight would be an exhibition which many thought would mean it would be a light sparring match like Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. was. Yet, it was far from that as Belfort blitzed Holyfield and hurt him a few times before dropping him and then getting the first-round TKO victory. Despite him getting beat badly, Holyfield only got a 30-day suspension.

Drake Riggs - September 15, 2021

Joseph Benavidez has called it a career. The four-time UFC title challenger was removed from the official UFC rankings and fan rankings on Wednesday as it was eventually revealed that he was departing the sport overall.

Adam D Martin - September 15, 2021

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero shared a terrifying new photo ahead of his Bellator debut this weekend. Romero makes his long-awaited Bellator debut this Saturday night when he faces off against former Bellator light heavyweight champion Phil Davis. Romero was originally set to fight Anthony Johnson during the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix, but he was forced out of the tournament due to an eye injury. Now that Romero is healthy, he will be making his Bellator debut as expected this weekend when he faces off against the tough Davis.

Tom Taylor - September 15, 2021

At ONE: Battleground 3 in August, Bi Nguyen lost a competitive decision to rising Filipina talent Jenelyn Olsim. It was Nguyen’s fourth decision loss since joining the ONE Championship roster in early 2019, and like the three that preceded it, it wasn’t exactly cut-and-dry. “Story of my life,” Nguyen told BJPENN.com looking back on her loss to Olsim. “I’m always going to be honest with you, and there’s a lot of factors that go into this fight. If this fight was graded round-by-round, I would win, no doubt. If it was judged in America, I would win, no doubt. But it’s not, and that’s the reality of it—and that’s part of the reason I won the Ritu [Phogat] fight, because it was graded overall.

Adam D Martin - September 15, 2021

UFC president Dana White praised former UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, saying he “might actually be the GOAT of combat sports.” Silva knocked out Tito Ortiz in a boxing match this past Saturday night for Triller Fight Club, this coming after defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. with a split decision upset earlier this year. Even at age 46, Silva is still competing and looking great. As far as White goes, it’s proof that the former UFC middleweight kingpin could possibly be the greatest combat sports fighter of all time, as he told media following Tuesday night’s Contender Series.

Cole Shelton - September 15, 2021

Devin Clark admits he doesn’t like his UFC vegas 37 opponent Ion Cutelaba. Clark and Cutelaba were set to fight in May but Clark tested positive for COVID-19 which forced Clark out of the fight. Once he recovered, “Brown Bear” asked for the fight to be rebooked as he says he doesn’t like Cutelaba.

Adam D Martin - September 15, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says that he should have retired following his win over Nick Diaz in 2013. St-Pierre fought Diaz at UFC 158 in March 2013 in his hometown of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and he won a unanimous decision with a dominant showing that night at Bell Centre. St-Pierre then returned to the Octagon at UFC 167 later that year, where he won a controversial split decision over Johny Hendricks to defend his belt. However, soon after defeating Hendricks, GSP walked away from MMA, though he later returned in 2017 as a middleweight when he defeated Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to claim the 185lbs strap.

Adam D Martin - September 15, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is set to return to the analyst desk at UFC Vegas 37 this Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada. Woodley will join Karyn Bryant and Alan Jouban on the analyst desk, according to MMAjunkie.com. Woodley has not worked on the desk since it was announced that he was stepping into the boxing ring to fight Jake Paul. In late August, Woodley finally fought Paul and lost a split decision. “The Chosen One” has been busy calling out Paul for a potential rematch but so far, Paul has resisted those requests. Either way, with Woodley likely not fighting until the end of the year, at least, he has more time to do other things that he enjoys doing, and one of those things is working as an analyst at the ESPN UFC desk.