MMA News

Adam Martin - March 23, 2020

A pivotal bantamweight bout between top-ranked contenders Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen is the latest addition to the UFC San Diego card. Sandhagen had been tabbed to fight former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, but “The Dominator” reportedly was not interested in the matchup. According to a report from Aaron Bronsteter of TSN, Sandhagen will instead take on Sterling in a battle between two of the top-five bantamweights in the world.

Cole Shelton - March 23, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t know what is going on with his UFC 249 fight against Tony Ferguson. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were expected to headline UFC 249 in Brooklyn, New York on April 18. Yet, the scrap will not happen in Brooklyn due to COVID-19. But, UFC president Dana White recently said the new location is set and it will be behind closed doors.

Adam Martin - March 23, 2020

UFC president Dana White confirmed Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson for the lightweight title is still a go and the event will be closed off to fans. Despite White trying his best to keep UFC events from being scrapped, the UFC was forced to suspend its operations due to the coronavirus outbreak, which led to UFC London, UFC Columbus, and UFC Portland being postponed. UFC 249 will not be allowed to take place in Brooklyn, New York, but White has remained adamant that the card, featuring the main event for the lightweight belt between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson, will still go on.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2020

On Sunday, Serbian Battle Championship announced that it had signed former UFC bantamweight champ Renan Barao to a multi-fight deal. It appears there’s been some kind of miscommunication.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2020

According to a new report from USA TODAY, the 2020 Olympics will be most likely postponed from this summer to sometime in 2021. The upcoming Olympic Games, which were scheduled to begin on July 24 in Tokyo, Japan, have been the topic of much discussion as the coronavirus pandemic has swept the planet over the last few weeks. Obviously, the risks associated with such a massive, international event are incredibly high, not to mention the logistical nightmare of organizing the event with so many travel restrictions in place.

Harry Kettle - March 23, 2020

Notable members of the MMA community, including a handful of fighters, have gathered together to sing the famous UFC anthem “Face The Pain”. The coronavirus outbreak has generated a series of intriguing, and somewhat bizarre, reactions from around the world with everyone from influencers to athletes to celebrities trying to raise the spirits of those who are self-isolating.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2020

Din Thomas, a long-serving coach at American Top Team in South Florida, has parted ways with the world famous MMA gym. Thomas announced his departure, which he says was amicable, to MMA Fighting. The long-time coach says he now plans to train fighters as a head coach.

Adam Martin - March 23, 2020

MMA legend Tito Ortiz says that a muscle relaxer caused his bout against Albert Del Rio to briefly be overturned to a No Decision. Ortiz defeated his rival Del Rio at a Combate Americas event in Hidalgo, Texas back in December via first-round submission. The win gave Ortiz his first three-fight win streak since back in 2006. However, the result of the fight was later turned to a No Decision (or No Contest) after Ortiz’s drug test results were flagged. Fortunately for Ortiz, however, the Texas State Athletic Commission soon afterward reversed their original call and reinstated his win back after looking into the case further.

Adam Martin - March 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Saunders says he was willing to fight on five days’ notice in order to get another chance to fight in the Octagon. The UFC was forced to cancel its card scheduled for London and immediately began looking at other options in order to save the event. UFC president Dana White admitted the promotion was in talks of doing a card at a tribal casino in Oklahoma, but ultimately couldn’t pull off the event due to the coronavirus quarantine. Saunders, though, was willing to fight on that card in order to get another chance to fight in the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo is gunning for the top spot on the UFC’s vaunted pound-for-pound list, and not even the coronavirus pandemic will stop him. At least, that’s the message he shared on Instagram recently.

Natasha Hooper - March 23, 2020

Marvin Vettori wants to run it back in the Octagon with Israel Adesanya. Until then, the middleweight slugger wants fans to realise that Adesanya isn’t as great as they think he is. Vettori fought “The Last Stylebender” in 2018. He lost the bout via split decision, but believes he had the upper hand in the close contest.

Harry Kettle - March 23, 2020

UFC welterweight Leon Edwards has revealed the lengths that the promotion wanted him to go to in order to fight Tyron Woodley this past weekend. Due to the chaos surrounding the sports world courtesy of the coronavirus outbreak, the UFC London card, scheduled for this past Saturday night, was called off with the UFC hoping to reschedule the event over in the United States.

Natasha Hooper - March 23, 2020

Tito Ortiz may be taking up a new career as an infectious disease specialist, as he has shared a conspiracy theory about the coronavirus outbreak. During a live stream on social media, Ortiz declared that Coronavirus is a man-made illness.

Adam Martin - March 22, 2020

UFC superstar Conor McGregor took to social media on Sunday to offer up a prayer to Italy, a country that has been ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Over 5000 people have died in Italy as a result of the coronavirus, and more deaths are being reported every day. Italy has been hit harder than any other country in the world during one of the most deadly outbreaks in modern human memory. McGregor has been active on social media promoting awareness of coronavirus, and on Sunday he took time out of his day to post a prayer to Italy.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao has signed a new free-agent deal with the Serbian Battle Championship. SBC recently announced the signing of Barao to a multi-fight deal. Here’s the statement the promotion released on Instagram regarding Barao’s arrival.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2020

Boxing legend Mike Tyson predicts that we will see more MMA vs. boxing crossover bouts in the future, including potentially with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Tyson recently spoke to The Sportsman and gave a fascinating interviewing answering questions about a wide variety of topics. Many of the topics included Tyson’s own boxing career, but he was also asked about the possibility of MMA vs. boxing crossover bouts.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2020

Nearly 18 years later, relive one of the greatest knockouts of all time in the UFC between Phil Baroni and Dave Menne at UFC 39. In just his sixth pro fight, Baroni met the former UFC welterweight champion Menne in a main card bout at UFC 39: Ricco Rodriguez vs. Randy Couture in September 2002. At that time Menne was one of the top-five welterweights in the sport while Baroni was an emerging prospect. The UFC paired them up and it produced fireworks.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2020

UFC welterweight fan favorite Mike Perry told his fans on social media that he’s either hungover or carry the coronavirus. Perry, always a practical joker, took to his Twitter to tells his fans that he either had too much to drink or contracted the coronavirus. While some fans will say Perry shouldn’t be joking about this kind of thing, other fans would say it made them laugh during a time of panic across the world.