MMA News

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was pranked with a giant snake by Brian Ortega on TUF 29, and you can watch the video of it. Volkanovski and Ortega are the two head coaches on the latest installment on TUF, and they will meet inside the Octagon for Volkanovski’s 145lbs title in September at UFC 266. The current season of the show still has one more episode to still air, but in the penultimate episode of the show, Ortega decided to prank his rival in a hilarious fashion.

Cole Shelton - August 12, 2021

Ciryl Gane is hoping his heavyweight title unification fight against Francis Ngannou happens in Paris, France. Gane claimed the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265 with a TKO victory over Derrick Lewis. It was the Frenchman’s fourth fight since December of 2020 and now with his wife set to give birth, he is looking to take some time off but is interested in the fight happening late this year or early next.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Former UFC welterweight Dan Hardy was praised as a “true martial artist” by Kenny Florian ahead of his comeback against John Wayne Parr. Hardy has not fought since September 2012 when he defeated Amir Sadollah in the UFC. Since then, the Brit has dealt with a heart issue that has left him unable to compete for the UFC. However, he has always wanted to make a comeback to combat sports and was recently given his full release by the UFC. Now that he’s a free agent and free to fight anywhere around the world, “The Outlaw” has zeroed in on a potential Muay Thai bout against Parr in ONE Championship. That fight is not yet official, but there appears to be a good chance of it going down, and if that’s the case, Hardy’s friend Florian will be watching.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

UFC welterweight Kevin Lee got a short-notice replacement opponent for UFC Vegas 35, as he now takes on rising contender Daniel Rodriguez. Lee was expected to fight top prospect Sean Brady at UFC Vegas 35, which is set to take place on August 28 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately for fight fans who were very much looking forward to that fight, Brady pulled out with an injury, which temporarily left Lee without an opponent. “The Motown Phenom” then took to his social media, where he called out several other fighters including Mike Perry, but in the end, he will end up facing the man who last defeated Perry in Rodriguez. ESPN broke the news.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Former UFC featherweight title contender Chad Mendes revealed that his former organization gave him permission to make a comeback in BKFC. Mendes recently signed a contract with BKFC to make his return to combat sports in bare-knuckle boxing. Now 36 years old, Mendes hasn’t competed in MMA since December 2018 when he was knocked out by current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Mendes struggled on his way out of the UFC, losing three of his last four bouts, but to be fair to him, those losses came against Volkanovski, Conor McGregor, and Frankie Edgar.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Boxer-turned-MMA fighter Claressa Shields will make her second walk to the PFL cage later this year when she faces a promotional newcomer. The Washington Post revealed that Shields will take on Abigail Montes at the PFL Championship on Wednesday, October 27. Montes is 2-0 as a professional MMA fighter and is just 21 years old. She has previously competed in the Combate Americas and iFF organizations in her native Mexico, where she has defeated both of her opponents.

Adam D Martin - August 12, 2021

Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi says he is open to fighting former UFC standout Yoel Romero in the Bellator cage. Mousasi returns to the Bellator cage on Friday night when he takes on John Salter for the Bellator middleweight title. While “The Dream Catcher” knows he can’t look too far ahead, when the media asked him who he wants to fight next, he had to give them a name. That name would be Romero, the former UFC middleweight title challenger who recently signed with Bellator. “The Soldier of God” was supposed to take part in the promotion’s 205lbs tournament, but he was forced out of the tournament due to a medical issue. Once he’s healthy, Mousasi says that he is open to fighting the man that no one else wants to fight.

Drake Riggs - August 11, 2021

Rory MacDonald has fought some of the biggest and best names in MMA. “The Red King” initially rose to prominence in the UFC welterweight division often touted as the heir to Georges St-Pierre as the two trained together at TriStar in Montreal. MacDonald started off his career with a strong 13-1 record but it wasn’t until his 14th victory that many believed he was ready for the upper-echelon of the weight class.

Christopher Taylor - August 11, 2021

Conor McGregor went scorched earth on Daniel Cormier tonight, this after ‘DC’ told the Irishman to “worry about the dudes” who keep beating his ass. The beef between McGregor and Cormier started after ‘Notorious’ appeared to mock the death of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father on Twitter.

Cole Shelton - August 11, 2021

Daniel Cormier has responded to Conor McGregor. McGregor has taken some shots at Cormier on social media recently, this after ‘DC’ labelled some of his posts as being “a cry for help”. He also criticized Cormier for suggesting Dustin Poirier was checking his kicks in their trilogy fight at UFC 264.

Christopher Taylor - August 11, 2021

Nate Diaz has responded after receiving a callout from fellow UFC superstar Dustin Poirier on Wednesday afternoon. Poirier (28-6 MMA) was originally challenged to a middleweight fight by Diaz (20-13 MMA) immediately after winning his rubber match with Conor McGregor at UFC 264.

Cole Shelton - August 11, 2021

Justin Gaethje is hoping to earn a rematch with Dustin Poirier after he beats Michael Chandler at UFC 268. Gaethje is set to return to the Octagon in November in a highly-anticipated fight against Chandler. The winner of the fight will likely be in line for a title shot. For “The Highlight” he believes Poirier will KO Charles Oliveira to become the new champ and after he beats “Iron” it will set up their rematch.

Cole Shelton - August 11, 2021

Ciryl Gane never expected he would be fighting for UFC gold in just his 10th professional MMA fight. Gane signed to the UFC at 3-0 and quickly rose up the heavyweight ranks. In his 10th professional fight, he headlined UFC 265 against Derrick Lewis for the interim heavyweight title. For the Frenchman, he says he always knew he would fight for UFC gold but didn’t think it would happen this quickly.

Adam D Martin - August 11, 2021

Veteran MMA official John McCarthy trashed Texas MMA judge JJ Ferraro for his scoring in the Bobby Green vs. Rafael Fiziev fight at UFC 265. Although most observers saw the fight as a clear 29-28 victory for Fiziev, with him winning the first two rounds and then Green taking the third, Ferraro scored the bout 30-27 in Fiziev’s favor. The scorecard was controversial, and the judge even took the step of going to social media and explaining why he scored the fight that way. McCarthy, however, isn’t buying his explanation. Speaking on the “Weighing In” Podcast, McCarthy absolutely took judge Ferraro to school, calling him a “complete dumbass” for his scorecard and saying he needs to re-learn the scoring criteria in mixed martial arts before he judges again.

Adam D Martin - August 11, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture praised the “very impressive” Ciryl Gane following his third-round TKO win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. Couture is the former UFC heavyweight champion himself so he knows a thing or two about what it takes to be the best heavyweight in the world. Following Gane’s performance against Lewis at UFC 265, Couture spoke to MMA reporter James Lynch and heaped praise upon “Bon Gamin.” According to “The Natural,” what impressed him the most about Gane’s performance is that he stood toe-to-toe with Lewis and beat him at his own game. It’s why Couture is now so excited to see Gane fight UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

Adam D Martin - August 11, 2021

A boxing matchup between former UFC champions Tito Ortiz and Anderson Silva is being targeted to take place on September 11 for Triller. MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz was the first to report that Ortiz vs. Silva is being targeted for September 11. We know that Silva had been looking for his next opponent in boxing after beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. back in June, and we knew that Ortiz was hoping to make a comeback to combat sports at some point, as well. So now we get the two legends of MMA putting on the boxing gloves and meeting in the ring this September. The bout will serve on the undercard of the Oscar de la Hoya vs. Vitor Belfort PPV event.

Adam D Martin - August 11, 2021

The official UFC rankings have been updated following UFC 265, and new interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane is now a top-15 P4P fighter. Gane knocked out Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC 265 to become the promotion’s new interim heavyweight champion. With the win, “Bon Gamin” improved to a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career, including an incredible 7-0 mark in the Octagon alone. Now that he’s a champ, the rankings panelists have decided to reward him as he entered the P4P top-15 rankings in the No. 14 spot. With Gane coming in at No. 14 P4P, Justin Gaethje moved down to No. 15, and UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling fell out of the rankings. At heavyweight, Gane moved into the No. 1 contender spot, which forced former champ Stipe Miocic into the No. 2 spot and Lewis into the No. 3 ranking at heavyweight.

Adam D Martin - August 11, 2021

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou didn’t give enough credit to MMA Factory for his career success, says former coach Fernand Lopez. Lopez is the head trainer and founder of MMA Factory in Paris, France. The gym is home to new UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, not to mention several other UFC fighters including middleweight Nassourdine Imavov and lightweight Fares Ziam. Of course, Ngannou used to train there before he made the decision to come to the United States and train in Las Vegas. Although Ngannou first came to the UFC as a member of Lopez’s stable, according to his former coach, he has rarely given MMA Factory any credit in interviews, even though Lopez says that he is the one who got him in the UFC in the first place.