MMA News

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

Tito Ortiz reacted to his boxing match with Anderson Silva, saying that “I’ve been working extensively on my boxing over the past 10 years.” Coming out of left field, the Ortiz vs. Silva boxing match was officially announced on Wednesday by Triller. It will take place on September 11 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, and will be a 195lbs professional boxing match set for eight rounds or less. The main event of the card features former UFC champion Vitor Belfort against Oscar de la Hoya. With the addition of Ortiz vs. Silva, this is expected to be one of Triller’s biggest boxing events to date, one that features a number of combat sports legends.

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

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.

Drake Riggs - August 11, 2021

Jake Paul and Dana White aren’t exactly each other’s biggest fans. The UFC boss hasn’t been shy to share his critique of Paul and his endeavors whenever asked. Recently he shared the belief that this current era of the Paul brothers and celebrity boxing will fade away sooner rather than later.

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.

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

Dustin Poirier seemingly has his eyes on Nate Diaz. Although Poirier is likely to get the next title shot against Charles Oliveira, he has made it clear he is after big paydays and that’s exactly what Diaz is. Poirier and Diaz also have had a rivalry as they were supposed to fight at UFC 230 and both men accuse one another of pulling out of the contest.

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

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.

Harry Kettle - August 11, 2021

Bellator star Gegard Mousasi believes Tyron Woodley could be in for a rude awakening when he faces Jake Paul later this month. After months of build-up and anticipation we’re now just a few weeks and change away from Woodley battling Paul in a boxing match. It’ll serve as the second attempt from an MMA fighter to hand Paul his first professional loss, whereas Woodley seems to be in this for two reasons: pride and bragging rights.

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 welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is more interested in fighting Vicente Luque than Leon Edwards, according to manager Ali Abdelaziz. Luque submitted Michael Chiesa with a first-round D’Arce choke to improve his win streak to five straight fights and make it into the top-five rankings at 170lbs. Unlike many of the other top contenders in the weight class, Luque has not yet fought Usman, which automatically makes him an intriguing option for the champ for an upcoming title defense. Usman has his hands full at the moment with Colby Covington, who he fights in a rematch at UFC 268, but according to Abdelaziz, the champ is already looking at Luque as a rival.

Adam D Martin - August 11, 2021

A potential Jose Aldo vs. TJ Dillashaw bantamweight “clash of former champions would be monumental,” says Aldo’s coach, Andre Pederneiras. Aldo defeated Pedro Munhoz via unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 265, while Dillashaw is coming off of a split decision win over Cory Sandhagen last month. As soon as Aldo defeated Munhoz, the one name that he had in mind was Dillashaw. Both Aldo and Dillashaw are former UFC champions and, with both men ranked in the top-five of the UFC bantamweight division in 2021, this could be a potential No. 1 contender matchup.