MMA News

Adam D Martin - July 5, 2021

UFC bantamweight veteran Louis Smolka explained why he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Sean O’Malley at UFC 264. Smolka and O’Malley were expected to kick off the pay-per-view portion of this weekend’s blockbuster UFC 264 card, but “Da Last Samurai” was forced to pull out of the fight last week. Instead of fighting Smolka, O’Malley now faces off against UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho. It’s a disappointing turn of events, and Smolka took to his Instagram to explain exactly why he is not able to fight.

Harry Kettle - July 5, 2021

UFC has released a video documenting all of Dustin Poirier‘s finishes with the promotion heading into UFC 264 this weekend. For over a decade now we’ve all seen “The Diamond” thrive at the highest level in the Ultimate Fighting Championship at both featherweight and lightweight. Of course, while he may be viewed as one of the very best in the game right now, he’s also had to endure some setbacks – but that’s not what the enclosed video is about.

Harry Kettle - July 5, 2021

Chan Sung Jung aka The Korean Zombie isn’t interested in trying to change the opinion of his haters anymore. Zombie has had one of the featherweight division’s most interesting careers from his time as a title challenger to his mandatory military service to his consistently exciting fight style inside the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2021

Sean O’Malley has a unique reason as to why Louis Smolka pulled out of their fight at UFC 264. Less than two weeks before O’Malley and Smolka were set to fight, the Hawaiian was forced out of the bout due to a staph infection. However, according to “Suga”, he thinks there is more to it.

Adam Martin - July 4, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum called for the Fedor Emelianenko rematch, suggesting that “Fedor was never the GOAT.” It was just over 11 years ago in Strikeforce that Werdum and Emelianenko met inside the cage and the Brazilian pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time when he tapped the Russian out with a triangle-armbar. Fans have always wanted to see a rematch between these two rivals, but it has never happened. With Emelianenko set to return to the Bellator cage later this year in Russia, Bellator president Scott Coker has admitted that a number of big names have been in touch with his company to fight Emelianenko, naming fighters such as Josh Barnett, Junior dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem among the possibilities.

Adam Martin - July 4, 2021

Former UFC title contender Nate Marquardt announced his return to MMA, and “The Great” is set to compete for Titan FC later this summer. Marquardt announced this weekend at Titan FC 70 that he is set to return to mixed martial arts on August 6 when he fights at middleweight for the Titan promotion. “The Great” is now 42 years old and he hasn’t fought since a close split decision loss to Cezar Ferreira in November 2017. Marquardt mentioned back in November 2019 that he was considering a comeback and confirmed he was talking to Bellator. Nearly two years later and it appears as though Marquardt is finally able to get back into the cage, only this time for Titan FC.

Adam Martin - July 4, 2021

Lauren Murphy explained how she can dethrone UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko if she gets the next title shot at 125lbs. Murphy is currently the No. 3 ranked contender in the women’s flyweight division and she seems poised to be the next title challenger for the champion Shevchenko. With Murphy coming off of five straight wins, including a decision over Joanne Calderwood at UFC 263 that seemingly earned her the right to fight Shevchenko next, “Lucky” is hoping that the UFC matchmakers do the right thing and reward her long win streak with a title shot.

Adam Martin - July 4, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili confirmed that he is considering a move to the UFC flyweight division in the near future. Dvalishvili is currently the No. 10 ranked bantamweight in the UFC. The 30-year-old Georgia native is 13-4 in his MMA career, including a 6-2 record in the Octagon. “The Machine” has won his last six fights in a row and is quickly emerging as a title contender at 135lbs, where the belt is currently held by Dvalishvili’s teammate Aljamain Sterling. Following a win over Cody Stamann in his last fight, Dvalishvili next faces off against the No. 6 ranked contender Marlon Moraes at UFC 266, and a win would be huge for him.

Adam D Martin - July 4, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington shared his prediction for the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy fight at UFC 264. Covington is a former teammate with Poirier at American Top Team and there is no love lost between them, but even if he doesn’t like “The Diamond,” he recognizes the fact that Poirier has some advantages in this upcoming trilogy fight with McGregor. As far as Covington goes, the third fight between Poirier and McGregor will look more like the second encounter between these two rivals rather than the first, meaning Poirier will win the fight.

Adam D Martin - July 4, 2021

Ciryl Gane says that he doesn’t feel bad for Francis Ngannou that an interim UFC heavyweight title was created for him and Derrick Lewis. Ngannou was fully expected to fight Lewis in the main event of UFC 265 in August, but the UFC did an about-face this week and created an interim title fight between Lewis and Gane for the event instead. According to the UFC, Ngannou wasn’t able to fight in August and the promotion already had an event booked in Houston, Texas, and needed Lewis to fight on the card. With Gane coming off of a great win over Alexander Volkov in a fight where he didn’t absorb much damage, the UFC matchmakers called up Gane to quickly turn around and fight Lewis for the interim belt. Of course, Gane said yes right away to the fight.

Adam D Martin - July 4, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Michael Chiesa blasted “sh*t human being” Colby Covington, saying that “he’s just sitting on the sidelines.” Chiesa takes on Vicente Luque at UFC 265 in August in a battle between top-10 contenders at 170lbs. UFC president Dana White has already confirmed that Covington is next in line to fight champion Kamaru Usman for the belt next, but if you ask Chiesa, Covington has no business fighting for the title when there are several other title contenders out there.

Adam D Martin - July 4, 2021

Hector Lombard on fighting Jake Paul in bare-knuckle boxing: “I don’t think he’s ever going to have the balls to fight bare-knuckle.” Lombard, who is the BKFC middleweight champion, recently took to his social media to offer a challenge to Paul, the YouTuber-turned boxer, to fight him in bare-knuckle boxing. We haven’t heard back from Paul yet on the offer and it seems doubtful that we will hear from him about this, considering that he is already busy preparing for his boxing match this summer with Tyron Woodley. And as much as Lombard is a recognizable name in the world of combat sports, he likely doesn’t have the name value that Paul wants in an opponent.

Adam D Martin - July 4, 2021

UFC lightweight superstar Conor McGregor shadowboxed for a mob of fight fans ahead of his UFC 264 trilogy fight against rival Dustin Poirier. McGregor was leaving dinner on Saturday night when a massive group of fans surrounded the restaurant he was eating at. With security guards keeping the fans at bay, McGregor gave them a taste of what they can expect next Saturday night at UFC 264 as he shadowboxed for the mob of fans ahead of his trilogy matchup next weekend with Poirier. Check out the video of “Notorious” giving fans a glimpse of what they can look forward to.

Adam D Martin - July 4, 2021

Former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez shared his prediction for the upcoming trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. McGregor and Poirier square off next Saturday night in the main event of UFC 264, which takes place on July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ahead of next weekend’s blockbuster pay-per-view card, Alvarez was asked who he thinks will win this megafight between two of his former rivals. Alvarez, of course, fought Poirier twice in the UFC and McGregor once, so he knows these two as well as anyone. Speaking to Helen Yee, “The Underground King” shared his prediction for the upcoming McGregor vs. Poirier trilogy.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2021

Kevin Lee has shared his prediction for McGregor vs. Poirier 3, this while adding that neither man possesses the complete game needed to beat Charles Oliveira. McGregor (22-5 MMA) and Poirier (27-6 MMA) are set to collide for a third time on July 10, this after splitting their first two encounters.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2021

Former UFC title challenger John Dodson has provided an update after he and his family were involved in a near-death automobile accident. Dodson (21-12 MMA), who was let go by the UFC shortly following his unanimous decision loss to Merab Dvalishvili in August of 2020, was set to make his return to the cage on July 30 at an XMMA event in Greenville, South Carolina.

Chris Taylor - July 3, 2021

Michael Bisping has a ton of respect for Conor McGregor, but that is not stopping ‘The Count’ from leaning towards Dustin Poirier in their upcoming trilogy. McGregor (22-5 MMA) and Poirier (27-6 MMA) are set to collide for a third time on July 10, this after splitting their first two encounters. The pair initially squared off in a featherweight bout at UFC 178 in September of 2014, with the Irishman 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 Conor McGregor with punches in the second round.

Drake Riggs - July 3, 2021

Maryna Moroz didn’t hold back when recently speaking about her fellow UFC flyweight and former training partner, Mariya Agapova. In an hour-long interview with Russian media outlet MMA Herald, Moroz made multiple problematic claims.