MMA News

Harry Kettle - June 1, 2021

Former UFC fighter Albert Tumenov has defended Georges St-Pierre after Colby Covington claimed the legend would be an “easy” fight for him. Tumenov was with the UFC between 2014 and 2016, accumulating a 5-3 record in that time. He was released after two consecutive submission losses to Gunnar Nelson and Leon Edwards, but since then, he’s gone on a five-fight win streak and won the ACA Welterweight Championship.

Harry Kettle - June 1, 2021

Chael Sonnen has joked about the idea of him entering the world of celebrity boxing to take on the likes of Jake Paul. Sonnen was the king of trash talk back in his UFC days and even now, he likes to throw out the occasional joke from time to time either on social media or through his YouTube channel.

Drake Riggs - May 31, 2021

RIZIN 28 is the return to the Tokyo Dome for the great sport of MMA and Japan’s premier organization. The centerpiece of the next two RIZIN events is undeniably the big 16-man bantamweight Grand Prix tournament. The action begins with four opening round bouts on this first June 13 card while things conclude on the 27th in Osaka at RIZIN 29. But first, there needs to be some rounding out for the big show in PRIDE’s old stomping grounds.

Drake Riggs - May 31, 2021

Anything Jake Paul-related practically guarantees shenanigans. After his next fight announcement today, Ali Abdelaziz provided even more. The news came out Monday that Paul will have his fourth career pro boxing match. To the surprise of no one, it was yet again a non-boxer revealed as his would-be opponent.

Cole Shelton - May 31, 2021

Stipe Miocic knows he has what it takes to beat Francis Ngannou. At UFC 260, Miocic suffered a second-round KO loss to Ngannou to lose his heavyweight title. Since then, he has been in the gym training and has talked about wanting the trilogy. Although Ngannou is likely to face Derrick Lewis next, Miocic says he wants the trilogy fight as he knows he can get the win.

Cole Shelton - May 31, 2021

Jake Paul has his next boxing fight booked and he will face a former UFC champion in Tyron Woodley. After Paul knocked out Ben Askren in April, several MMA fighters and celebrities had called out the brash YouTuber. Woodley was among those calling for the fight and now according to The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger the fight is agreed to for a date not yet known.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is confident he will finish Brandon Moreno at UFC 263, saying “I’m going to knock this guy out.” Figueiredo and Moreno meet in a rematch at next weekend’s UFC 263 with 125lbs gold on the line. The two rivals previously met at UFC 256 in December, with the pair fighting to a majority draw after a low blow cost Figueiredo one point on the judges’ scorecards. The hope is that the two will now be able to settle their differences at UFC 263 and the winner of the fight will prove beyond a doubt they are the best active flyweight on the UFC roster.

Cole Shelton - May 31, 2021

Sean Woodson is looking to remind UFC fans that he’s a problem in the featherweight division. Woodson came into the UFC at 6-0 after winning a flying knee KO over Terrance McKinney on the Contender Series. In his debut, he earned a decision win over Kyle Bochniak. In his second appearance, he took on short-notice replacement Julian Erosa. Early on, he had success but in the third round he lost by submission for his first career loss. Although it was disappointing, he says it was a good learning experience.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards is confident that he will finish Nate Diaz at UFC 263, suggesting that “he’s not no invincible man.” Edwards and Diaz meet in a five-round fight on the UFC 263 main card, which takes place on June 13 in Phoenix, Arizona. The two welterweights were supposed to meet last month at UFC 262, but the fight was postponed due to a minor training injury suffered by Diaz. Thankfully, the UFC was able to get the fight re-booked quickly and we’ll see it in just two weeks. On paper, it’s a great fight and the winner could very well be in line for a title shot.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

UFC bantamweight Rob Font laid out his plan, which including fighting winner of TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen, then fighting for the belt. Font is coming off of the biggest win of his UFC career to date, a five-round unanimous decision victory over former champ Cody Garbrandt at UFC Vegas 27. With four wins in a row and a top-three ranking at 135lbs, Font knows that he is coming up on a title shot in the stacked UFC bantamweight division, and speaking to TMZ Sports, he laid out his plan.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

Boxing superstar Teofimo Lopez praised UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal, saying that he’s a big fan of the way “Gamebred” conducts himself. Lopez puts his lightweight belt on the line in June when he takes on George Kambosos Jr. With a 16-0 record as a professional boxer and coming off of an upset win over Vasyl Lomachenko, Lopez’s star has never been brighter. Ahead of his upcoming fight, Lopez was a guest on the “1, 2 with James and Kendrick” podcast and he was asked what he thinks about MMA fighters. Speaking to the hosts, Lopez was quick to point out that he’s a big fan of Masvidal, the UFC fighter who exploded into a true superstar over the last few years.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes COVID-19 symptoms may still be affecting cardio as he prepares for his next fight. Volkanovski is currently set to coach The Ultimate Fighter 29 opposite divisional rival Brian Ortega. The show begins airing on June 1, and the coaches’ fight is expected to happen this fall. However, it is worth noting that this fight was originally set to take place at UFC 260 in March. The fight didn’t end up happening because Volkanovski got COVID-19 and the fight had to be canceled, so the UFC went ahead and had the two coach TUF while he got better.

Adam D Martin - May 31, 2021

Joanna Jedrzejczyk has shot down the idea of a title fight rematch between Carla Esparza and UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Jedrzejczyk hasn’t fought since UFC 248 in March 2020, when she lost a spirited split decision to former champ Weili Zhang in one of the best fights of last year. Since then, the Polish fighter hasn’t stepped back into the Octagon, but she is hoping to return to the cage later this year, and she has been adamant that she fights for the belt when she returns. However, Esparza’s recent TKO win over Yan Xiaonan would indicate she’s next in line.

Adam Martin - May 30, 2021

The manager for UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov says he “will not return to the Octagon” until his health problems are resolved. Magomedsharipov was one of the top-five ranked featherweights on the UFC roster but he was taken out of the rankings earlier this year due to inactivity, as his last fight was a decision win over Calvin Kattar in November 2019. Since then, Magomedsharipov has been connected to numerous fights with rival Yair Rodriguez, but the fight never materialized due to COVID-19 logistical issues, injuries, and Rodriguez’s issues with USADA. It’s led to an extended layoff for Magomedsharipov, and he recently said he was considering retiring.

Adam Martin - May 30, 2021

UFC welterweight superstar Jorge Masvidal reacted after the first-ever Gamebred Fighting Championship event was officially announced. Masvidal last month announced that he would be launching Gamebred FC, which is a bare-knuckle MMA promotion. We have seen bare-knuckle fighting make a rise in popularity over the last few years with organizations such as BKFC at the forefront, but we haven’t seen a bare-knuckle MMA promotion really take off. With Masvidal leading the way, the hope is that this first Gamebred FC event is the first of many events for the UFC welterweight star.

Adam Martin - May 30, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez explained why the proposed Mackenzie Dern fight isn’t happening in July as was expected. Rodriguez is coming off of a big win over Michelle Waterson in her last outing and beat Amanda Ribas by knockout before that, so she’s one of the hottest fighters at 115lbs right now. Similarly, Dern has been red hot as of late with a four-fight win streak including a submission over Nina Nunes in her last fight. With both Rodriguez and Dern ranked in the top-10 of the division, UFC president Dana White recently said that the promotion was planning on having these two women headline a UFC Fight Night card on July 21.

Adam D Martin - May 30, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight Bigfoot Silva is excited for his MMA comeback after four years away, saying “Pezao from 10 years ago will return.” Bigfoot hasn’t fought in MMA since June 2017, when he was knocked out by Vitaly Minakov in Russia. He has competed in Glory Kickboxing and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship since then but he lost to Rico Verhoeven and Gabriel Gonzaga by brutal knockout. Overall, Bigfoot has lost his last five MMA fights dating back to 2015, with his last victory coming against Soa Palelei all the way back at UFC 190: Rousey vs. Correia in August 2015.

Adam D Martin - May 30, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that former rival Dustin Poirier will be crowned the new champion within a year. Nurmagomedov was the best lightweight fighter in the sport before officially announcing his retirement from MMA earlier this year. As part of his retirement, Nurmagomedov vacated the UFC’s 155lbs belt, which Oliveira won when he knocked out Michael Chandler at UFC 262. Speaking to Sport 24, Nurmagomedov praised the new champion Oliveira for his victory, but cautioned that he won’t be champion for long. As far as “The Eagle” is concerned, Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier will take Oliveira’s belt from him.