MMA News
Anthony Smith explains why he is rooting for Glover Teixeira to win the UFC light heavyweight title
Adam D Martin - September 19, 2021
Top-ranked title contender Anthony Smith explained why he is rooting for Glover Teixeira to win the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 267. At age 41, Teixeira will step into the Octagon next month in the main event of UFC 267 when he fights UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz for the belt. It should be an exceptional matchup between two elite 205lbers who have been around the game for a long time, and it’s also nice to see Teixeira get rewarded with a title shot after going on a long winning streak later in his career. If you ask Smith, seeing what Teixeira has been doing lately in the Octagon is truly special, and it’s part of the reason why he wants his former opponent to pull off the upset and pick up the win over Blachowicz in October.
Valentina Shevchenko open to trilogy fight with rival Amanda Nunes
Adam D Martin - September 19, 2021
UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko says she is open to a trilogy fight with her rival, UFC double champion Amanda Nunes. Shevchenko is currently getting ready to defend the women’s 125lbs belt against top contender Lauren Murphy at UFC 266 next Saturday night. Should Shevchenko win that fight, it would be her eighth win in a row in the flyweight division, and the calls for her to move back up to bantamweight and fight Nunes again will be high. After all, Shevchenko was one of the only UFC fighters who has ever given problems to Nunes. Although Nunes holds two wins over Shevchenko, the second fight was a split decision that some people that Shevchenko won, and so a trilogy fight seems like something that could happen.
Scott Coker hints at potential five-round, non-title main events in Bellator
Adam D Martin - September 19, 2021
Bellator president Scott Coker hinted at potential five-round, non-title main events taking place in his promotion in the near future. For the past 10 years, the UFC has had all of its non-title main events set as five-round fights. While fans have gotten used to this change over the past decade and have even embraced it, Bellator has continued to hold three-round non-title main events. Case in point, Saturday’s headliner at Bellator 266 between Phil Davis and Yoel Romero. The fight was only scheduled for three rounds because it was a non-title fight in the Bellator light heavyweight division. Davis dominated all three rounds of the fight and, following the event, Romero indicated that he was upset the fight was not scheduled for five rounds.
Anthony Smith calls for Aleksandar Rakic rematch following Ryan Spann finish at UFC Vegas 37
Adam D Martin - September 19, 2021
UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith calls for the Aleksandar Rakic rematch following the Ryan Spann finish at UFC Vegas 37. Smith won his third straight fight in the Octagon when he submitted Spann in the first round of their UFC Vegas 37 main event. For Smith, he has now won three straight fights by stoppage over Spann, Jimmy Crute, and Devin Clark. With a three-fight win streak now in his back pocket, “Lionheart” believes he has the ammunition he needs in order to call out the top dogs at 205lbs, and right now, Rakic is one of the best fighters in the weight class.
Pros react after Phil Davis defeats Yoel Romero at Bellator 266
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
Tonight’s Bellator 266 event was headlined by a light heavyweight bout featuring Yoel Romero taking on Phil Davis. Romero (13-6 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya for the UFC’s middleweight championship in March of 2020. That setback had marked Yoel’s third in a row, as ‘The Soldier of God’ had previously been outpointed by Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker.
Bellator 266 Results: Phil Davis defeats Yoel Romero (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
Tonight’s Bellator 266 event is headlined by a light heavyweight bout featuring Yoel Romero taking on Phil Davis. Romero (13-5 MMA) has not competed since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya for the UFC’s middleweight championship in March of 2020. That setback marked his third in a row, as ‘The Soldier of God’ had previously been outpointed by Paulo Costa and Robert Whittaker.
UFC Vegas 37 Bonus Report: Anthony Smith among 4 'POTN' winners
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 37 event, a fourteen bout fight card headlined by Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann. The light heavyweight main event proved to be a wild and short lived affair. Anthony Smith and Devin Clark both landed big shots in the early moments of the fight, but it was a right hand from ‘Lionheart’ that sent ‘Superman’ crashing to the canvas. From there, Smith would eventually lockup a rear-naked choke which forced Spann to tapout.
Photo | Devin Clark's mouth was a mess following UFC fight with Ion Cutelaba
Christopher Taylor - September 18, 2021
Devin Clark squared off with Ion Cutelaba in the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Vegas 37 event in Nevada. Clark (12-6 MMA) had entered the contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a submission loss to Anthony Smith in his most previous effort. Prior to being stopped by ‘Lionheart’, Devin Clark was coming off back-to-back wins over Dequan Townsend and Alonzo Menifield.
UFC Vegas 37 Results: Anthony Smith stops Ryan Spann in Round 1 (Video)
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
A key light heavyweight bout featuring Anthony Smith taking on Ryan Spann headlines tonight’s UFC Vegas 37 event. Smith (35-16 MMA) will be looking to extend his current win streak to three in a row when he makes the walk this evening. ‘Lionheart’ is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins over Jimmy Crute and Devin Clark in his most recent efforts.
Pros react after Ion Cutelaba defeats Devin Clark at UFC Vegas 37
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 37 event was co-headlined by another fun light heavyweight scrap as Ion Cutelaba takes on Devin Clark. Cutelaba (16-6-1 MMA) was to pick up his first win since 2019 when he took to the Octagon this evening. ‘The Hulk‘ had gone 0-2-1 over his last three fights prior to tonight’s affair.
UFC Vegas 37 Results: Ion Cutelaba defeats Devin Clark (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 37 event is co-headlined by another fun light heavyweight scrap as Ion Cutelaba takes on Devin Clark. Cutelaba (15-6-1 MMA) will be looking to pick up his first win since 2019 when he takes to the Octagon this evening. ‘The Hulk‘ has gone 0-2-1 over his last three fights.
UFC continues roster purge by releasing four more fighters
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
The UFC has continued its roster purge releasing four more fighters including lightweight Roosevelt Roberts (10-3 MMA). The news was first reported by MMAFighting, who revealed that Anderson dos Santos, Drako Rodriguez and Jamey Simmons were also cut in addition to Roberts.
UFC Vegas 37: 'Smith vs. Spann' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
The Octagon remains in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 37 event, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann. Smith (35-16 MMA) will be looking to extend his current win streak to three in a row when he makes the walk this evening. ‘Lionheart’ is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins over Jimmy Crute and Devin Clark in his most recent efforts.
Anthony Johnson forced to withdraw from Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix: "Never been this afraid of anything in my life"
Chris Taylor - September 18, 2021
Anthony Johnson has been forced to withdraw from the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix and the situation sounds rather serious. Johnson (23-6 MMA), a former UFC title challenger, advanced to the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinals back in May with a second round knockout victory over Jose Augusto.
BRAVE Combat Federation to launch FIFA-based MMA league, BRAVE National League
Alfredo Zullino - September 17, 2021
If you have ever dreamed about an MMA league similar to a more famous sport, such as football, your dreams could become reality within two years, as Bahrain’s promotion BRAVE CF is about to launch BRAVE National League. On Friday, September 17, the promotion sent a press release, stating that they are going to introduce a new system that will create a global ecosystem for the MMA industry under one umbrella, to the effect of FIFA, called BRAVE National League.
Dan Hooker provides positive update on obtaining visa to fight at UFC 266
Cole Shelton - September 17, 2021
Dan Hooker may fight at UFC 266 after all. Hooker is set to fight Nasrat Haqparast next Saturday in Las Vegas in an intriguing lightweight bout. However, on Thursday, the Kiwi took to social media to plea with the New Zealand US embassy to fast track his visa so he can travel to the States to fight.
Valentina Shevchenko defends UFC ring card girls following comments by Khabib Nurmagomedov
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.
Chad Anheliger open to dropping down to flyweight, wants UFC debut this year
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.