MMA News

Adam Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC welterweights Max Griffin and Carlos Condit traded autographed jerseys following their fight at Saturday night’s UFC 264 pay-per-view. Griffin won a unanimous decision over Condit in a great welterweight fight that served as the main event of the UFC 264 preliminary card. Griffin won the first round with his striking, then Condit took back the second with his own standup, and then “Pain” won the third by outstriking Condit and then taking him down in the final minute of the fight to seal the deal. It was an outstanding effort by both fighters, who have lots of mutual respect.

Adam Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White told the UFC fighters not to expect $75,000 bonuses on the regular, saying it would “seriously f*ck up our budget.” White and the UFC increased the bonuses from $50,000 to $75,000 for UFC 264 and with the athletes having even more motivation, fans were rewarded with some amazing performances. At the end of the night, the promotion gave $75,000 each to bantamweight Sean O’Malley and Kris Moutimnho for “Fight of the Night,” and $75,000 to heavyweight Tai Tuivasa and also to middleweight Dricus Du Plessis for “Performance of the Night.”

Adam Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC vet Travis Fulton, who holds the record for most mixed martial arts bouts with 320 MMA fights, was found dead in his jail cell at age 44. KWWL in Cedar Rapids, Iowa reported that Fulton was found dead in his cell at Linn County Jail on Saturday morning. According to the report, “staff members made the discovery just before 4:00 AM in a dormitory-style cellblock. The inmate, a middle-aged white male (later confirmed as Fulton), was believed to have hung himself. Linn County Correctional staff immediately started performing lifesaving measures. Area ambulance personnel arrived within minutes and provided advanced medical care and transported him to Mercy Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased at 5:00 AM.”

Adam Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos reacted after his fiancée Yana Kunitskaya got knocked out by Irene Aldana at UFC 264. Santos and Kunitskaya have been dating for several years and have been engaged since last Christmas. They both train together at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and both are top-10 ranked fighters in the UFC. On Saturday night at UFC 264, Santos was in Kunitskaya’s corner as he always is when she suffered a tough first-round knockout loss to Aldana. Although Kunitskaya closed as the slight favorite to win the fight, she got caught with a giant left hook in the first round and then got stopped with ground and pound. It was a tough loss for “Foxy” and it must not have been easy for Santos to watch it go down.

Adam Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley reacted following his “Fight of the Night” TKO win over the ultra-durable Kris Moutinho at UFC 264. O’Malley landed 230 significant strikes in the fight — eight short of the UFC record for a three-round bout set by Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 — before referee Herb Dean called a stop to the fight with just seconds to go in the third and final round. It was an incredible performance by O’Malley, who broke bantamweight records for strikes landed in a fight, and for Moutinho, it was an amazing show for a fighter who very few fans knew a week ago. For Moutinho, even though O’Malley won, his stock also went up with the fight.

Adam Martin - July 11, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul offered Dustin Poirier his 100k Conor McGregor chain as a reward for his TKO win over his rival at UFC 264. Paul was a guest at UFC 264 and before the fight, he trolled McGregor with a $100,000 “sleepy” necklace that he had custom made for himself, with the figurine hanging from it mimicking what McGregor looked like when he Poirier slept him at UFC 257. After Poirier defeated McGregor via first-round TKO when the doctor stopped the fight due to an ankle break, Paul took to his social media to offer Poirier the necklace as a reward for his finish.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC heavyweight and former NFL defensive lineman Greg Hardy reacted following his first-round KO loss to Tai Tuivasa at UFC 264. Hardy rocked Tuivasa with punches and his legs started to go, but Hardy made a mistake and rushed in with his chin exposed and Tuivasa caught him with a massive counter shot and knocked him out. It was the third straight win for Tuivasa by knockout following wins over Harry Hunsucker and Stefan Struve in his last two fights. As for Hardy, this was his second straight knockout defeat after he was stopped by Marcin Tybura his last time out.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor responded after his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, saying that “you need people like me.” McGregor broke his ankle and lost via first-round TKO (doctor stoppage) to his rival Poirier in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 264 pay-per-view card. It was a tough loss for the Irishman, who was also stopped by Poirier’s punches back in January at UFC 257. Now that Poirier has won the trilogy by a score of 2-1, it’s hard to say what is next for McGregor, but he is still holding out hope that the UFC will give him the chance to fight Poirier again given how the fight ended. Either way, it’s clear McGregor’s spirit was not broken by the loss.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White reacted to Gilbert Burns defeating Stephen Thompson at UFC 264, saying that “it wasn’t a good fight, but he won.” Burns and Thompson were the co-headliners underneath the main event trilogy fight between lightweight stars Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Although he entered the fight as the betting favorite, Thompson lost the match as Burns was able to take him down and control him on the mat to win a unanimous decision win. It wasn’t the most exciting fight to watch by any means, but Burns did what he had to do to go out there and get the win.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was happy to see Conor McGregor get a taste of his own medicine with his injury at UFC 264. McGregor broke his ankle and lost via TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of the first round against rival Dustin Poirier in the main event of Saturday’s big pay-per-view card in Las Vegas. For dos Anjos, seeing the Irishman break his ankle was karma for the way that McGregor talked about RDA when he broke his foot five years ago. Remember, RDA and McGregor were supposed to fight at UFC 196 in March 2016, but the fight never ended up materializing due to RDA’s injury. Instead of dos Anjos vs. McGregor, Nate Diaz stepped up on short notice, submitted McGregor with a rear-naked choke, and the rest is history.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier confirmed a fourth fight with rival Conor McGregor will happen following their trilogy bout at UFC 264. Poirier finished McGregor via TKO (doctor stoppage) at the end of the first round of their third meeting which headlined Saturday’s blockbuster pay-per-view card. After a strong start by McGregor with kicks in the standup department, Poirier took over with his grappling, and he was dominating McGregor with his wrestling and ground-and-pound before McGregor broke his ankle and the fight was stopped at the end of the first round. It was an unfortunate ending to the trilogy fight between these two bitter rivals, and while Poirier is now officially 2-1 overall in their trilogy, he thinks a fourth fight is coming.

Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt responded to the callout from UFC 264 winner Sean O’Malley following last night’s PPV event. Following his “Fight of the Night” knockout win over Kris Moutinho in the opening pay-per-view bout at Saturday’s UFC 264 card, O’Malley used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to call out several other fighters in the UFC bantamweight division, including the former champ Garbrandt, who most recently lost to Rob Font by decision back in May. Taking to his social media following the event, “No Love” responded to O’Malley’s request to fight him, and it appears as though Garbrandt isn’t interesting in fighting “Suga.”

Christopher Taylor - July 10, 2021

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather was able to cash in on Dustin Poirier defeating Conor McGregor for a second time at UFC 264 in Las Vegas. McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Poirier (28-6 MMA) squared off in a rubber match on Saturday night, this after splitting their first two encounters. The pair had initially collided in a featherweight bout at UFC 178 in September of 2014, with the Conor McGregor emerging victorious by way of first round knockout. Then, in their second contest at UFC 257 (this time at lightweight), ‘The Diamond’ was able to exact his revenge by stopping the Irishman with punches in the second round.

Chris Taylor - July 10, 2021

The Octagon remained in Las Vegas for tonight’s UFC 264 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3. The lightweight main event proved to be a wild but short-lived contest. After Conor McGregor got off to a hot start with some nasty low kicks, a failed guillotine attempt ultimately turned the tide in Dustin Poirier’s favor. Once on the ground ‘The Diamond’ was able to control the Irishman while unloading some solid ground and pound. McGregor would eventually get back up to his feet in the final seconds, only to collapse due to a rolled ankle which subsequently broke his leg.

Chris Taylor - July 10, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (31-8 MMA) had a cageside seat for tonight’s Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy fight at UFC 264. McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Poirier (28-6 MMA) squared off in a rubber match on Saturday night, this after splitting their first two encounters.

Chris Taylor - July 10, 2021

Dana White spoke with reporters following the conclusion of UFC 264 where he reacted to Dustin Poirier’s win as well as the post-fight comments from Conor McGregor. McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Poirier (27-7 MMA) collided in their rubber match this evening in Las Vegas. The pair had split their first two encounters, with the Conor McGregor winning their featherweight fight at UFC 178, and ‘The Diamond’ emerging victorious in their lightweight rematch at UFC 257.

Christopher Taylor - July 10, 2021

Former UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov blasted ‘evil’ Conor McGregor following the Irishman’s loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Poirier (27-7 MMA) collided in their rubber match this evening in Las Vegas, with the winner expected to be booked against newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

Chris Taylor - July 10, 2021

Tonight’s UFC 264 was headlined by a highly anticipated trilogy fight between lightweight standouts Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Poirier (28-6 MMA) collided in their rubber match this evening in Las Vegas, with the winner expected to be booked against newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.