MMA News

Andrew Whitelaw - June 30, 2021

Sarah Alpar has responded to Jake Paul’s generous contribution to her GoFundMePage. The YouTuber-turned-boxer showed his support this week by donating 5K USD to the UFC flyweight’s campaign.

Cole Shelton - June 30, 2021

Sean O’Malley says he agreed to fight Ricky Simon but the bantamweight contender declined because he couldn’t make weight. Simon was one of many bantamweights who called out O’Malley after the news that Louis Smolka was out of the fight. “Suga” then went on Instagram seemingly accepting the fight but just minutes later he took to Twitter to claim the 28-year-old couldn’t make weight.

Cole Shelton - June 30, 2021

Sean O’Malley will fight on UFC 264 next weekend after all. It was revealed on Tuesday that Louis Smolka was out of his fight against O’Malley due to a staph infection. After the news became public, several bantamweights began calling him out and O’Malley hinted on social media he agreed to face Ricky Simon. Unfortunately, Simon couldn’t make the weight and O’Malley revealed on his Twitch that he will now face UFC newcomer Kris Moutinho.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira says he is confident that he would knock out Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier if they fight. Oliveira won the vacant UFC lightweight title when he knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262 in May. The winner of his last nine fights in a row, “Do Bronx” seems poised to fight the winner of the UFC 264 trilogy fight between McGregor and Poirier next. Speaking to the media ahead of next weekend’s blockbuster event, Oliveira said that he is feeling good about the possibility of facing either “Notorious” or “The Diamond” and is predicting that he will knock out either man if they step foot into the Octagon with him.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

Jake Paul donated $5000 to the GoFundMe for UFC fighter Sarah Alpar, adding “imagine a rookie in the NBA had to start a GoFundMe to play.” Earlier this week, Alpar let her fans know that she was starting a fundraiser in order to raise money for fight camp expenses. The 30-year-old Alpar fought on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019 and made it to the UFC with a submission win over Shanna Young. She then made her UFC debut in September 2020 and lost via third-round TKO to Jessica-Rose Clark. Alpar then had two fights fall apart for May 2021 against Stephanie Egger and Lupita Godinez, before finally being re-booked for her second UFC fight when she faces off against prospect Erin Blanchfield, but that won’t take place until Septmber.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

UFC lightweight Jeremy Stephens says that YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul might knock out Tyron Woodley in their upcoming boxing match. Paul meets Woodley on August 28 in a professional boxing match promoted by Showtime PPV. For Paul, it’s his fourth pro boxing match and he earned the opportunity to fight a big name in the world of combat sports in Woodley after defeating his longtime friend and training partner Ben Askren in his last outing. For Woodley, after losing four straight fights in the UFC he was released and chose to fight Paul and earn a big payday in the process. This summer’s blockbuster PPV is expected to make both men several million dollars.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

Women’s combat sports superstar Paige VanZant has no regrets about leaving the UFC for BKFC, calling it “the best decision I’ve ever made.” VanZant competed in MMA from 2012 to 2020, and between 2014 and 2020 she fought exclusively for the UFC, where she went 4-5 overall. After becoming a free agent last summer, VanZant decided to take her talents to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Although she lost a decision to Britain Hart in her BKFC debut, VanZant has already been booked for her next fight, a rematch with her former UFC opponent Rachael Ostovich.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and her husband, former UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, revealed their baby’s gender. Rousey and Browne announced back in April that the UFC Hall of Famer is pregnant with her first child and expecting to give birth to the baby in September. Two months later, and Rousey and Browne are now ready to reveal the gender of their child to the world. Check out the video that Rousey and Browne posted on their YouTube featuring a gender reveal.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg said in a recent interview that “the best thing for my career was leaving the UFC.” Cyborg was once the UFC women’s featherweight champion, but after beating Felicia Spencer at UFC 240 in July 2019, UFC president Dana White released her from her contract after not being able to come to an agreement on a rematch with Amanda Nunes. Cyborg then became a free agent and, not long after that, she signed with Bellator. She has since become the Bellator women’s 145lbs champion as she has continued to dominate her foes.

Adam D Martin - June 30, 2021

The UFC has released the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3 hype video and it uses a quote from the famous “The Man in the Arena” speech. McGregor and Poirier meet for the third, and presumably the final time at UFC 264, which takes place on July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. For McGregor and Poirier both, this is absolutely a must-win fight after both men split the first two fights between the pair. McGregor won the first meeting between the two rivals back at UFC 178 in September 2014 when he knocked Poirier out in the first round in a featherweight fight. Poirier then returned the favor at UFC 257 earlier this year at 155lbs when he stopped McGregor in the second round with punches after compromising his legs with calf kicks.

Drake Riggs - June 29, 2021

Jeremy Stephens was just a day away from stepping into the Octagon with Drakkar Klose in what would have been his last time out. As one of the longest-tenured athletes in the UFC, Stephens has practically seen it all — but having a fight canceled via shove was a new experience. Stephens ended up getting physical with his would-be opponent at weigh-ins ahead of UFC Vegas 24. As a result, the two never got to fight.

Andrew Whitelaw - June 29, 2021

Ever since he decided to try his hand at boxing, Jake Paul has had no shortage of suitors looking to teach him a lesson, the latest being Hector Lombard. The former Bellator middleweight champion took to instagram to make an intriguing offer and wrote,

Cole Shelton - June 29, 2021

Tatiana Suarez will finally make the walk to the Octagon again. Suarez, who many pegged as a future UFC champion, has not competed since she beat Nina Nunes at UFC 238 in June of 2019. Since then, she has been dealing with neck injuries but has recently been cleared. The plan was for her to also move up in weight to flyweight.

Cole Shelton - June 29, 2021

Georges St-Pierre believes it will be Conor McGregor getting his hand raised at UFC 264. McGregor is set for his trilogy match against Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 264 on July 10. They had their rematch back in January where “The Diamond” scored a second-round TKO. In the lead-up to the trilogy, Poirier has said he will finish McGregor again, but St-Pierre believes it will be the Irishman winning early by KO.

Cole Shelton - June 29, 2021

Dustin Poirier has a reason as to why he will finish Conor McGregor again at UFC 264. Poirier and McGregor had their highly-anticipated rematch on Fight Island in January at UFC 257. Early on in the fight, the Irishman had success but Poirier kept landing leg kicks which opened up the head, and “The Diamond” capitalized with a second-round TKO win.

Adam D Martin - June 29, 2021

The official UFC rankings have been updated following UFC Vegas 30, and women’s bantamweight contender Julia Avila is among those moving up. Avila submitted Julija Stoliarenko in a women’s 135lbs bout on the preliminary card. After two close rounds which actually had the judges split heading into the third and final round, Avila put a stamp on the victory by catching a rear-naked choke submission late in the final stanza. It was a tremendous performance by Avila, and she afterward took to social media to vent that she wasn’t one of the card’s $50,000 bonus winners. Regardless of whether or not she got a bonus, Avila looked good and is now the No. 14 ranked fighter at 135lbs.

Adam D Martin - June 29, 2021

Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen reacted after one of his longtime rivals, UFC superstar Jon Jones, blocked him on Twitter. Sonnen took to social media on Tuesday to reveal that Jones hit the block button and no longer will see Sonnen’s tweets, to which “The West Linn Gangster” wrote the following.

Cole Shelton - June 29, 2021

Artem Lobov believes Conor McGregor overlooked Dustin Poirier back in January at UFC 257. Although Lobov says McGregor was focused on the fight, he says he was also preparing to box Manny Pacquiao which was a done deal. With that, Lobov says McGregor didn’t give Poirier the respect he deserved as he expected to be able to walk through him.