MMA News

Cole Shelton - May 20, 2020

Francis Ngannou didn’t expect to knock out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds at UFC 249 and is semi-disappointed that he did. Entering the fight, Ngannou was on a three-fight winning with all three wins coming by knockout in under two minutes. Against Rozenstruik, however, Ngannou wanted to show off his much-improved cardio and ground game to prove to people he was ready for a title shot.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after the promotion’s recent events in Jacksonville, and there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, former light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira made a climb up the light heavyweight list on the strength of his Wednesday night defeat of Anthony Smith.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2020

The UFC’s planned May 30 card finally has a home. As widely expected, the event will go down at the new UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White confirmed the card’s location in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2020

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson believes Tyron Woodley will defeat Gilbert Burns when the pair collide on May 30. Woodley and Burns will meet in the main event of the May 30 card, which still doesn’t have an official location but is expected to go down in Las Vegas or somewhere in Arizona. Woodley, the former welterweight champ, will be looking to be rebound from a title loss to Kamaru Usman, while Burns will be hunting for the biggest win of his career so far.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2020

Yesterday afternoon, news surfaced that the popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the creation of UFC commentator Joe Rogan, will be streaming exclusively on Spotify by year’s end. A followup report from the Wall Street Journal, which cites a source familiar with the situation, suggests the deal between Rogan and Spotify is worth more than $100M. The WSJ report adds that this is one of the biggest deals in history of the podcast business.

Adam Martin - May 20, 2020

Following a dominant victory over Maycee Barber at UFC 246, Roxanne Modafferi has been booked for her next fight in the Octagon against Lauren Murphy. Mke Heck of MMAFighting.com reported that Modafferi vs. Murphy will take place at a UFC event scheduled for June 20. According to the report, the UFC hopes to have this event take place at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, but UFC president Dana White admitted this week that the state of Arizona is a realistic possibility if Vegas can’t happen.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2020

Daniel Cormier is eager to close out his career with a tie-breaking trilogy fight with reigning UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. Unfortunately for Cormier, Miocic is in no rush when it comes to his next fight. The champ also works as a firefighter, and is busy with his duties as a first-responder during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. His gym is also closed, which means committing to a full fight camp is not currently possible.

Tom Taylor - May 20, 2020

Last Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8 event in Jacksonville, Florida delivered strong viewership ratings for the promotion. According to a report from MMA Fighting, which cites data collected by the Nielsen Ratings System, the UFC on ESPN 8 main card averaged 1.198 million viewers and finished second in the valuable 18-49 demographic. It was No. 1 for the male audience in that age grouping.

Harry Kettle - May 20, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem has called for a rematch with Jairzinho Rozenstruik following his TKO win over Walt Harris. The Dutchman was able to return to winning ways at the weekend with an emotional and impressive triumph over the aforementioned Harris, overcoming an early onslaught in the process.

Natasha Hooper - May 20, 2020

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is playing a Twitter post and delete game as he attempts to bait Francis Ngannou into a fight. Jon Jones’ reign as the 205-pound king has been put into question since his last fight against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. Jones won the fight by decision, but many spectators felt “The Devastator” gave the stronger performance.

Natasha Hooper - May 20, 2020

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, the father of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, has been put into a medically induced coma in Moscow. The news was confirmed by the champion’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz through ESPN on Tuesday. Abdelaziz confirmed that Abdulmanap was transported from his home in Dagestan to Moscow by airlift earlier this month. Khabib also recently revealed that his father underwent heart surgery stemming from complications related to a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Cole Shelton - May 19, 2020

Walt Harris says he will be taking Alistair Overeem up on his offer to train together following his TKO loss. In the main event of UFC on ESPN 8 in Jacksonville, Florida, Harris returned to the Octagon to battle Overeem. It was an important fight for the heavyweight division and early on, “The Big Ticket” dropped the 40-year-old and nearly finished him in the first round.

Cole Shelton - May 19, 2020

Francis Ngannou doesn’t think Jon Jones truly wants to fight him. Ever since Ngannou knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds at UFC 249, Jones has taken to social media to say he wants to fight Ngannou. He has hinted at a move to heavyweight for some time now, but the heavyweight contender is skeptical he actually means it.

Cole Shelton - May 19, 2020

Edson Barboza hopes the UFC and Dana White finally show him some love and respect following his split decision loss to Dan Ige. At UFC on ESPN 8, Barboza dropped down to featherweight to take on 15th ranked Ige. Many had wondered how the Brazilian would fare in his debut and early on he had a ton of success by even dropping Ige in the first.

Jordy McElroy - May 19, 2020

Justin Gaethje didn’t need a shtick, funky fighting style or exalted name to beat the odds set by the black suits in Vegas at UFC 249. The blue collar slugger simply bit down on his mouthpiece and went to hell and back with a man that makes weight for fun. An emptied arena that surely would have been rollicking stirred in silence as he stood in the blood-spattered cage the victor, after knocking off previous No. 1 contender Tony Ferguson. UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov’s name had previously been tied to Ferguson, Conor McGregor and even MMA legend Georges St-Pierre.

Adam Martin - May 19, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou opened as the betting favorite in a potential superfight against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Ngannou and Jones have been going back-and-forth on social media as of late with talks of a potential heavyweight superfight between two of the UFC’s biggest stars. Jones would be moving up in weight to take on Ngannou in what would undoubtedly be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Now the sportsbooks are getting in on the action.

Tom Taylor - May 19, 2020

If Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje collide in the Octagon, Eddie Alvarez believes McGregor will come out on top. Gaethje, who captured the interim lightweight title with a win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 249, has been called out by McGregor several times since, renewing discussions about a potential fight between them.

Tom Taylor - May 19, 2020

Alistair Overeem is very confident that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones could win a heavyweight fight with Francis Ngannou. Jones and Ngannou have been going back and forth on social media over the last week or so, with both men expressing their interest in a potential fight.