MMA News

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.

Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021

Jon Jones revealed his end goal with his UFC heavyweight run, saying “I’ve always had this thing where I wanted to win 20 championships.” Jones is the former UFC light heavyweight champion and universally regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. He has competed solely at 205lbs for his entire MMA career, but Jones is expected to move up to heavyweight for his next fight in order to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. However, Jones has been involved in a public pay dispute with UFC president Dana White over how much money he will make to fight Ngannou, and at this point, the fight hasn’t been booked yet. Instead, White has confirmed that Ngannou will fight Derrick Lewis in a rematch at UFC 265 this summer.

Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul reacted to the fights at UFC 263, claiming that he will knock out Nate Diaz after he KOs Tyron Woodley. Paul has become one of the biggest names in combat sports these days after winning several boxing matches over the likes of Ben Askren and Nate Robinson, and this summer he takes on the former UFC welterweight champion Woodley. Paul has often been tweeting during the UFC cards as of late, and it was no different this weekend at UFC 263. Following the fight between Diaz and Leon Edwards, Paul took to his social media to claim that he will knock Diaz out, once he gets through with Woodley after their boxing match on August 28.

Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White provided an update on his relationship with Paulo Costa, saying “he said some nutty sh*t and I straightened it out.” Costa recently blasted the UFC over fighter pay, suggesting that he never signed a contract to fight Jared Cannonier this summer because he wanted to get paid more for the fight. Costa compared UFC fighters to YouTubers-turned-boxers such as Jake Paul, who are making huge money these days. In response to those comments from Costa, White quipped that Costa should have started a YouTube channel when he was a teenager.

Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White slammed Tyron Woodley ahead of the Jake Paul boxing match, saying that he hasn’t won an MMA fight in three years. Woodley recently concluded his UFC contract following four straight losses to Vicente Luque, Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and Kamaru Usman. Not long after this contract expired, Woodley agreed to terms with Paul for a boxing match later this summer. The two will now meet on August 28 in a highly-anticipated boxing match between the YouTuber Paul and the former UFC welterweight champion Woodley. But while the fight seems destined to be a pay-per-view blockbuster, it doesn’t appear as though White is a fan of it.

Adam D Martin - June 13, 2021

Leon Edwards reacted after UFC president Dana White reaffirmed that Colby Covington is next in line for UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Edwards defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision in a five-round fight at UFC 263 on Saturday night. The win was Edwards’ ninth victory in a row, save for a No Contest with Belal Muhammad earlier this year. The Brit looks like he is ready to compete for a title and he’s hoping that he gets the opportunity to get his rematch with the champ Usman later this year. But according to White, the next title shot is still going to go to Covington.

Christopher Taylor - June 13, 2021

Israel Adesanya had a brief scare in tonight’s rematch with Marvin Vettori at UFC 263, this after getting caught in a rear-naked choke. After seemingly cruising through the opening two rounds of his rematch with Vettori, Adesanya was taken down in the early moments of round two. ‘The Italian Dream’ quickly transitioned to the champs back and proceeded to lockup a rear-naked choke. However, ‘Stylebender’ miraculously broke free from the hold and instantly transitioned into top position.

Christopher Taylor - June 12, 2021

Former light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones was clearly watching tonight’s UFC 263 main event rematch between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. Jones (26-1 MMA) and Adesanya (21-1 MMA) have become bitter rivals over the past couple of years, so it was no surprise to see that ‘Bones’ tuned in for tonight’s headliner.

Chris Taylor - June 12, 2021

The Octagon returned to Arizona for tonight’s UFC 263 event, a fourteen-bout fight card headlined by a rematch between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori. The middleweight title fight proved to be a dominant showing from Adesanya. The champ was able to seemingly stifle the grappling of Marvin Vettori, which left the Italian standing in Izzy’s wheelhouse. Although ‘Stylebender’ did not deliver on the finish that he promised, he won every round on all three of the judges scorecards.