MMA News

Adam D Martin - May 28, 2021

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has leaked the planned date for his upcoming TUF coaches’ fight against rival Brian Ortega. Volkanovski and Ortega will be the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 29, which starts airing next week on June 1. The two featherweights were originally supposed to meet at UFC 260 in March but the fight was scrapped after Volkanovski tested positive for COVID-19. Following the cancelation of the fight, the UFC decided to book them as the TUF coaches and keep the matchup intact, and we now have a potential date for the re-booked bout.

Adam D Martin - May 28, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan responded to Rob Font, saying “You couldn’t even knock Cody No Chin out with your pillow hands.” Font recently said that if he had his way, he would be matched up against Yan next. Yan, of course, is the former bantamweight champ who lost his belt in a controversial fashion when he was DQed against Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 in March to lose his title. Since that fight happened, we haven’t heard much in the way of Yan’s return to the Octagon as Sterling is currently out against getting surgery on his neck. That means that Yan could potentially be available to fight, and if that’s the case then Font wants to fight him next.

Adam D Martin - May 28, 2021

Women’s bare-knuckle fighters Paige VanZant and Rachael Ostovich reacted after their rematch was officially booked in BKFC. BKFC announced this week that the VanZant vs. Ostovich rematch will take place on July 23 at BKFC 19. It’s a rematch of the pair’s fight at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January 2019, which VanZant won via second-round tapout. This time around, the two will meet in the BKFC ring with no grappling involved. It’s a striking-only fight and considering the popularity of both women, it figures to be one of the biggest fights that BKFC will hold this summer.

Adam D Martin - May 28, 2021

UFC commentator Michael Bisping says that Jan Blachowicz “set the tone” for how Marvin Vettori can beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 263. Back at UFC 259 in March, Blachowicz handed Adesanya his first loss in MMA when he was able to win a unanimous decision to defend the UFC light heavyweight title. Although Blachowicz held his own on the feet, the key to beating Adesanya was to take him down in open space. Other fighters saw that the blueprint to beat Adesanya is there, and according to Bisping, it’s a tactic that other fighters will use against the champion going forward.

Adam D Martin - May 28, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones clapped back at an online troll for suggesting that he’s been skipping leg day. Jones has been bulking up in anticipation of a potential move to the UFC heavyweight division for the past year, and he has been regularly posting videos and photos of his transformation to the UFC’s heaviest weight class. On Thursday, Jones clapped back at one of the trolls who took a shot at him for suggesting that he has skipped leg day. Seeing that comment, Jones decided to take a shot at the fan, though he later deleted the tweet.

Harry Kettle - May 28, 2021

The UFC has released the first trailer for the return of The Ultimate Fighter as fans prepare for the 29th season of the show. The return of TUF has been a long time coming but finally, we’ve arrived at the new season with a brand new set of coaches and fighters. The divisions that’ll be featured are bantamweight and middleweight, with top 145-pounders Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega serving as the head coaches.

Harry Kettle - May 28, 2021

The UFC has officially added Michel Pereira vs Niko Price to their insanely stacked UFC 264 event that’s set to take place on July 10. UFC 264 is set to feature one of the biggest fights of the year as Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier prepare to meet for the third time in their trilogy bout. In addition to that, however, we’re also going to be treated to a variety of other amazing fights – including this one.

Christopher Taylor - May 27, 2021

Richard Schaefer, the new advisor to MMA legend Jon Jones, has detailed his strategy to represent ‘Bones’ against the UFC. According to Schaefer, he was recently introduced to Jones through a mutual friend, and after meeting with Jon he knew “this is the kind of guy” he’d like to work with.

Andrew Whitelaw - May 27, 2021

If there’s one man who knows Conor McGregor (22-5) the fighter as well as anyone; it’s Artem Lobov. The pair have spent years sparring at SBG gym in Ireland and the Russian was coached by McGregor for The Ultimate Fighter 22.

Drake Riggs - May 27, 2021

Fallon Fox is known as MMA’s first openly transgender fighter. Upon her coming out in 2013, she was met with mixed reactions. The most notable of the criticism came from UFC commentator Joe Rogan who openly spoke against Fox’s MMA involvement on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Seven years removed from her MMA career and Fox recently reflected on her time in the sport.

Cole Shelton - May 27, 2021

Max Holloway has opened as a sizeable favorite over Yair Rodriguez. In the main event of UFC Vegas 31 on July 17, Holloway is set to welcome Rodriguez back to the Octagon in a highly-anticipated fight. Both men are top-three featherweights and have proven themselves to be phenomenal strikers, but oddsmakers are liking the former champ in Holloway to win the fight.

Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021

UFC president Dana White has revealed the potential locations of upcoming UFC pay-per-view cards, saying he’s looking at several U.S. cities. The UFC has begun to visit different cities in the United States now that the country is opening back up following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UFC has already held two pay-per-view events, UFC 261 and UFC 262, in Jacksonville, Florida, and Houston, Texas, respectively, and next month heads to Phoenix, Arizona for UFC 263. The promotion then heads back to Las Vegas, Nevada in July for UFC 264 before going back to Houston in August for UFC 265 with the rematch between Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis.

Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021

RIZIN FF women’s star Gaby Garcia called out PFL standout Kayla Harrison for an upcoming match, saying that she wants to fight her. Garcia, who is a heavyweight, spoke to AG Fight and said that she wants to fight Harrison. According to Gacia, Harrison has been talking smack about her on the internet and Garcia is now answering the bell, but she says that Harrison is trying to duck her now instead.

Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021

UFC president Dana White said that former Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez can “pick up the phone and call” him after being released. White recently released Sanchez from the UFC after he got into a disagreement with the promotion about the release of medical records. In addition, Sanchez’s former manager Joshua Fabia also played a role in the release as he got into an argument with UFC employees on Fight Island that didn’t necessarily help Sanchez’s cause with the UFC.

Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler welcomes a fan-friendly fight with Justin Gaethje, promising a highlight-reel finish either way. Chandler recently lost in his bid to become the new UFC lightweight champion when he was finished by Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 262. Though Chandler was stopped in the second round of the fight, it was an incredible match for as long as it lasted, and Chandler had a ton of success in the first round, nearly finishing Oliveira. So despite the fact he was stopped in the fight, his stock overall didn’t drop that much in the division.

Cole Shelton - May 27, 2021

Jared Vanderaa was excited when he found out he was fighting Justin Tafa and the scrap lived up to his expectations. Although Vanderaa knew he had the grappling advantage, he wanted to get into a striking fight with Tafa to show off his striking. However, in the fight, Vanderaa suffered a cut in his hairline, but when he saw all the blood rushing down him, he was worried the cut would stop the fight.

Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021

UFC welterweight Colby Covington trashed Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega as TUF coaches: “There’s just no entertainment factor there.” TUF returns to television screens next week with Volkanovski and Ortega as the coaches. Before those two featherweights were picked to coach the show, there were rumors for months that the UFC was considering booking Covington on the show against his rival Jorge Masvidal or against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, but neither of those two bookings ever materialized, and the UFC decided to go with the featherweights instead.

Adam D Martin - May 27, 2021

New UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira admits that he thought about quitting MMA, but he’s glad that he chose to stay the course. It took Oliveira 11 years to reach the top of the mountain in the UFC, and along the way, he admits that he thought about stepping away from the sport. Though he’s clearly one of the most talented fighters in the game, it wasn’t always like that. In fact, at many points in time, he questioned his ability to make it as a fighter in one of the world’s toughest sports.