MMA News

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2021

Demian Maia called out Nate Diaz for the final fight of his UFC career, telling Diaz “you’re a great fighter who also represents jiu-jitsu.” Maia lost a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad on the UFC 263 main card, and Diaz lost a decision to Leon Edwards in the very next fight. Following the event, UFC president Dana White said that Maia’s UFC contract is up and he doesn’t see the legend fighting in the promotion anytime soon. But for the 43-year-old Maia, he says he still has one more fight left in him. And he says if he wants anyone for the final walk, he wants it to be Diaz.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards revealed the advice that Nate Diaz gave him following their five-round battle at UFC 263. Edwards defeated Diaz via unanimous decision in the first five-round non-title, non-main event fight in promotional history this past weekend at UFC 263. It was a fantastic performance by Edwards, who was dominating the fight up until the final minute of the bout when Diaz rocked him with a straight left and had Edwards badly wobbled. Edwards was able to hang on and survive and make it to the final bell and was rewarded the decision. Although Edwards and Diaz had some words to say in the leadup to the fight, they were extremely respectful after going to battle with each other for 25 minutes.

Cole Shelton - June 14, 2021

The UFC was back in front of a full capacity crowd in Glendale, Arizona for UFC 263. The card saw two titles on the line as Israel Adesanya fought Marvin Vettori, Deiveson Figueiredo rematched Brandon Moreno and Nate Diaz returned against Leon Edwards in a five-round non-title fight. The event ended up being a good one as Adesanya dominated the Italian in their rematch winning every round to defend his belt. Moreno, meanwhile, became the new flyweight champ as he submitted Figueiredo in a great performance. Finally, it was Edwards winning a clear-cut decision over Diaz but the final minute is what most will remember.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2021

UFC president Dana White admitted that he was surprised Brandon Moreno beat Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263, further admitting “I was wrong.” Moreno submitted Figueiredo in the third round with a rear-naked choke to become the new UFC flyweight champion. The two rivals previously met in the main event of UFC 256 last December, and they fought to a majority draw after the referee deducted a point from Figueiredo for a low blow. The rematch at UFC 263, however, proved to be decisive for the challenger as he dethroned the champion by taking him out in the third round by submission. It was an incredible performance by Moreno, and one White didn’t see coming.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Bigfoot Silva suffered a TKO loss in his return to MMA this past weekend in Serbia. Silva traveled to Sabac, Serbia to take on Quentin Domingos at Megdan Fighting 9. For Silva, this was his first MMA fight since 2017 when he was knocked out by Vitaly Minakov in Russia. Since then, he has competed for GLORY kickboxing and BKFC, losing by knockout to Rico Verhoeven and Gabriel Gonzaga, respectively. But after taking the last two years off to rest up, Silva was feeling confident heading into this fight that he could get back into the win column. Unfortunately for Silva, the fight ended like many of his fights do, with him getting stopped with strikes by his opponent, though some have questioned this stoppage.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad praised the “legend” Demian Maia following his win at UFC 263, calling the Brazilian a “class act.” Muhammad won a unanimous decision over Maia on the main card of UFC 263 this past Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona. For Muhammad, this was arguably the biggest win of his career, and by taking out Maia, he will now be ranked in the top-10 of the UFC welterweight division. For Maia, however, this could have been the last time we saw him in the Octagon, as UFC president Dana White suggested later his time with the UFC is over.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2021

Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo reacted after losing his belt to Brandon Moreno by third-round submission at UFC 263. Figueiredo entered the rematch with Moreno as the champion after they fought to a draw in a 2020 “Fight of the Year” candidate at UFC 256 last December. But after struggling on the scale to make weight on Friday, Figueiredo looked slow in the fight and wasn’t able to get anything going. On the other hand, Moreno looked fast and sharp and he put together the most complete performance of his MMA career to date when he finished Figueiredo in the third round with a rear-naked choke. It was an absolutely phenomenal performance by Moreno to steal Figueiredo’s title away from him, and now he’s the new champion.

Harry Kettle - June 14, 2021

Former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed that he is contemplating a move over to association football. After his win over Justin Gaethje last year, Khabib officially retired from mixed martial arts and left with a 29-0 unbeaten record. “The Eagle” is considered to be the greatest lightweight of all time and while some may dispute that, it’s hard to argue with what he’s accomplished.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

Henry Cejudo praised his former training partner Brandon Moreno after winning the UFC flyweight title from Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263. Moreno finished Figueiredo in the third round with a rear-naked choke to become the new UFC flyweight champion. Following the event, Moreno ran into Cejudo backstage and the former UFC flyweight champ congratulated Moreno on his victory. The two were former training partners and Moreno even helped Cejudo prepare for his fights with Demetrious Johnson and Jussier Formiga. Cejudo was nothing but happy for his longtime friend.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Paul Craig received his BJJ black belt following his spectacular finish over Jamahal Hill at UFC 263. Craig pulled guard in the first round of his main card fight against Hill on Saturday night and quickly proceeded to pull off one of the most stunning finishes we have seen on the ground in quite some time. Craig was able to grab a hold of Hill’s arm and he dislocated it with an armbar, but the referee didn’t see the injury, nor did he see Hill’s attempt at a tap, and the fight continued on, with Craig raining down hammer fists while having Hill tied up with a triangle. The referee, Al Guinee, then stopped the fight due to TKO (punches).

Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori issued a statement following his unanimous decision loss to champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. Vettori was confident he had the skillset to beat Adesanya in a rematch after they fought to a split decision three years ago, but the champion proved why he’s the best middleweight in the world with a clear unanimous decision victory.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

Robert Whittaker is up next for UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his next title defense, confirmed UFC president Dana White. Whittaker was expected to be next in line to fight Adesanya following three straight wins over Darren Till, Jared Cannonier, and Kelvin Gastelum, but he had to turn down the title shot against Adesanya at UFC 263 for several reasons. According to Whittaker, the turnaround following the Gastelum fight in April was too soon for him to fight again in June, especially since he needed to quarantine once he got home to Australia. With Whittaker not being able to take the fight for June 12, the UFC instead got Marvin Vettori to fight Adesanya, and the champ defended his title with a unanimous decision victory at UFC 263.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC fan favorite Nate Diaz wants to fight again in three or four months following his unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 263. Diaz dropped a hard-fought decision to Edwards in a five-round fight at UFC 263. After clearly losing the first four rounds of the fight, Diaz nearly made a comeback late in the fifth round when he rocked Edwards in the final minute of the bout, but ultimately, he came up short and lost 49-46 unanimously on all three judges’ scorecards. But while he didn’t get his hand raised against Edwards, Diaz is hoping to get back into the Octagon soon.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill praised “warrior” opponent Paul Craig following his brutal submission loss at UFC 263. Hill had his arm dislocated by a first-round armbar submission attempt by Craig in their UFC 263 pay-per-view fight. Craig pulled guard and was able to grab a hold of Hill’s arm, and he was able to dislocate it with a nasty submission. However, referee Al Guinee didn’t see the arm dislocate, and he also missed Hill tapping out, and the fight continued for a few more seconds, with Paul pounding Hill out with hammer fists and winning via TKO. It was an absolutely brutal submission and it temporarily cost Hill the use of his arm. Fortunately, the arm wasn’t broken, but he lost the fight as the favorite nonetheless.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

Welterweight veteran Demian Maia is likely done with the UFC following his latest loss to Belal Muhammad, says UFC president Dana White. Maia lost a unanimous decision to Muhammad in a main card fight at Saturday’s UFC 263 pay-per-view card. After winning the first round by pushing Muhammad against the fence and securing one takedown, Maia really faded as the fight went on. Muhammad was able to stuff nearly all of his takedowns from there on out and also outstruck him on the feet as “Remember the Name” won a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. For Maia, this was his second straight loss in the UFC following a KO defeat to Gilbert Burns last March.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC featherweight Chase Hooper issued a statement following his loss at UFC 263: “I always give it my all and leave everything in the cage.” Just 21 years of age, Hooper is one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster, but he entered his UFC 263 fight against Steven Peterson with a 2-1 record in the promotion. A talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, Hooper defeated Daniel Teymur in his UFC debut via TKO and also submitted Peter Barrett via heel hook in his last outing, which sandwiched a unanimous decision loss to Alex Caceres in between. With Hooper being super young and improving his game, he entered the fight with Peterson as a very slight favorite to win. However, the fight did not go his way, and Peterson ended up winning a clear decision.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is open to booking a welterweight matchup between Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal following UFC 263. Edwards defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision at UFC 263 to extend his unbeaten streak to 10 fights in a row (9-0, 1 NC). However, White has remained adamant that the next title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will go to Colby Covington next, not Edwards. With Edwards not being next in line for a title shot, that means that Edwards could potentially take another fight instead of waiting around. And if that’s the case, then one fighter that is available for a fight could be his rival Masvidal.

Adam Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is not committed to giving Lauren Murphy a title shot against flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko next. Murphy defeated Joanne Calderwood via split decision on the UFC 263 preliminary card for her fifth win in a row, and she wants to fight for the belt next. Murphy hasn’t fought the champion Shevchenko yet so it would be a fresh fight, and based on her five-fight win streak it’s hard to ignore what she has been doing in the division. But as far as the UFC bossman White is concerned, he isn’t sure what he wants to do yet with Murphy.