MMA News
Justin Tafa says he’s ‘coming for war’ against Jared Vanderaa at UFC Vegas 27
Andrew Whitelaw - May 22, 2021
Justin Tafa hasn’t been in the UFC long, but his no-nonsense style means he’s fast becoming a fan favourite. The 27-year-old lost a split decision to Carlos Felipe in his last outing. It was an action-packed affair and one which he felt should have gone his way.
UFC Vegas 27: 'Font vs. Garbrandt' Live Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
The Octagon returns to Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by bantamweights Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt. Font (18-4 MMA) will enter tonight’s main event on a three-fight win streak, his latest being a first round TKO victory over Marlon Moraes this past December. That win was preceded by unanimous decision victories over Ricky Simon and Sergio Pettis.
UFC Vegas 27 is down to twelve fights following another last minute cancellation
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event is down to a total of twelve fights after a lightweight bout between Yancy Medeiros and Damir Hadzovic was called off. Medeiros and Hadzovic were expected to throw down on today’s preliminary fight card, but due to health complications the bout has now been postponed.
Photo | Austin Vanderford suffers nasty gash in win over Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259
Chris Taylor - May 21, 2021
Austin Vanderford suffered a nasty gash during his unanimous decision win over Fabian Edwards this evening at Bellator 259. Vanderford (11-0 MMA) and Edwards (9-2 MMA) squared off in a pivotal middleweight matchup tonight in Uncasville.
Bellator 259: 'Cyborg vs. Smith 2' Results and Highlights
Chris Taylor - May 21, 2021
Bellator 259 took place this evening at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, a thirteen-bout fight card headlined by Cris Cyborg vs. Leslie Smith 2. Cyborg (24-2 MMA) and Smith (12-9-1 MMA) had originally collided under the UFC banner in May of 2016, with the Brazilian emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.
Judge Sal D'Amato explains 10-8 scorecard for Michael Chandler in Charles Oliveira title fight at UFC 262
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
Veteran MMA judge Sal D’Amato explained why he scored a 10-8 scorecard for Michael Chandler in the Charles Oliveira title fight at UFC 262. Oliveira didn’t need the judges to come into the equation because he knocked Chandler out in the second round to win the vacant UFC lightweight belt. But the fact the first round was scored 10-8 for Chandler by Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee despite the fact Oliveira had back control on Chandler during the round is troubling. The correct scorecard according to most fans was a 10-9 Chandler card, but instead, we somehow got two 10-8 rounds instead. That led to UFC commentator Daniel Cormier taking the judges to town for their cards.
Christos Giagos blasts commentary team for being bias towards Sean Soriano, doubles down on Donald Cerrone callout
Cole Shelton - May 21, 2021
Christos Giagos wasn’t a fan of the UFC 262 commentary team. Opening up the card, Giagos fought short-notice replacement, Sean Soriano. Soriano is one of Michael Chandler’s main training partners. Throughout the fight, Giagos believes the commentary team was biased towards his opponent and they weren’t mentioning anything he was doing well.
UFC Vegas 27 weigh-in results: Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt official for headliner
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 27 took place on Friday in Las Vegas and all but one fighter scheduled to compete has made weight. The main event of UFC Vegas 27 sees top-five ranked bantamweights battle it out as Rob Font takes on Cody Garbrandt. Font has won his last three fights in a row, including a KO win over Marlon Moraes in his last outing, while Garbrandt is coming off of a ridiculous highlight-reel KO over Raphael Assuncao. Both men hit very hard and this should be an exciting fight for as long as it lasts, with someone likely getting brutally knocked out here.
Jared Vanderaa predicts "spinning wheel kick KO" over Justin Tafa at UFC Vegas 27
Cole Shelton - May 21, 2021
Jared Vanderaa is looking to get his first UFC win in a big way. On the main card of UFC Vegas 27, Vanderaa is set to return to the Octagon against Justin Tafa. In his promotional debut, Vanderaa suffered a TKO loss to Sergey Spivak, but before the fight, “The Mountain” says he was super nervous and nearly puked prior to walking out.
UFC Vegas 27 loses fight after Raulian Paiva hospitalized after brutal weight cut
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
UFC Vegas 27 has lost one of its fights after flyweight Raulian Paiva fell ill during a tough weight cut and had to be hospitalized. MMAFighting.com’s Damon Martin first reported that Paiva got sick during his weight cut and was pulled from the card. His scheduled flyweight bout against fellow top-15 ranked contender David Dvorak will not go on as planned any longer. Right now, UFC Vegas 27 still has 12 fights scheduled, though it’s possible something else could happen during weigh-ins. Hopefully, this is the only fight that gets scratched and we go on with 12 fights.
Carla Esparza wants rematch with Rose Namajunas with win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 27
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
UFC women’s strawweight contender Carla Esparza wants a rematch with champion Rose Namajunas with a win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 27. Esparza meets Xiaonan in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 27 this Saturday night. Esparza is the No. 4 ranked women’s strawweight while Xiaonan is ranked No. 3, so the winner of this fight will put themselves in a tremendous position to challenge Namajunas, who recently beat No. 1 ranked contender Weili Zhang at UFC 262 to win the 115lbs belt.
Luke Rockhold says no one in the UFC middleweight top-15 wants to fight him
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold says that no one in the current UFC middleweight top-15 wants to have a fight against him. Rockhold hasn’t fought since a KO loss to current UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 in July 2019. He has been dealing with injuries ever since then, including a shoulder injury, that has resulted in him having had an extended layoff. However, he has been back in the gym recently and has made it clear that he is hoping to return to the Octagon later this summer or sometime in the fall. And when he does return to the cage, Rockhold has made it clear that he desires a top-15 opponent in his return.
Ray Borg announces comeback, returns to MMA action on June 19
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
Former UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg has announced his comeback to the cage, and he returns to MMA action on June 19. Borg will next take on Canadian MMA veteran Jesse Arnett at UAE Warriors on June 19. MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the bout, with Borg’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirming the booking. It will be Borg’s first MMA fight in over a year since he was released from the UFC after several failed weigh-in attempts that frustrated the promotion.
Dana White claims he has “absolutely moved on” from the idea of Jon Jones fighting at heavyweight
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
UFC president Dana White claims that he has “absolutely moved on” from the idea of former 205lbs champion Jon Jones fighting at heavyweight. It was last summer that Jones vacated the UFC light heavyweight title and made his intentions known that he was moving up to heavyweight in 2021. He has spent the last year bulking up to get stronger, and he was widely expected to fight the winner of the UFC 260 main event between Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic, which Ngannou won via second-round knockout. However, after going through a very public contract negotiation with White for his move up to heavyweight, it appears that move is not on the table.
Diego Sanchez following split with Joshua Fabia: "Sometimes you have to look hard in the mirror to see yourself clearly"
Christopher Taylor - May 20, 2021
It sounds like former TUF 1 winner Diego Sanchez did a lot of soul searching following his recent release from the UFC. Sanchez (30-13 MMA) was expected to have his final fight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship earlier this month at UFC Vegas 26 against fellow veteran Donald Cerrone. However, that fight was scrapped just ten days prior to the event after Diego’s coach and mentor Joshua Fabia had a confrontation with promotional officials. The incident also resulted in Diego Sanchez’s release from the organization.
Brendan Schaub confirms that he knew Jake Paul would interrupt his Dillon Danis interview
Drake Riggs - May 20, 2021
Brendan Schaub almost saw a brawl of sorts break out on his Food Truck Diaries set between Jake Paul and Dillon Danis. Paul’s drive-by water balloon and toilet paper attack on Danis was speculated as staged by many. Now several months removed from the December episode of Below the Belt’s Food Truck Diaries, Schaub reveals he at the very least knew something was bound to go down.
UFC 263: ‘Adesanya vs Vettori 2’ Fight Card and Start Times
Christopher Taylor - May 20, 2021
The Octagon returns to Arizona for next month’s UFC 263 event, a fifteen-bout fight card headlined by Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori 2. Adesanya (20-1 MMA) and Vettori (17-4-1 MMA) originally collided in April of 2018, with the promotions reigning middleweight champion emerging victorious by way of split decision.
UFC 262 reportedly does 300,000 pay-per-views buys in the United States
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
The pay-per-view buy rate for UFC 262 is reportedly in. According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, UFC 262 sold 300,000 PPV buys on ESPN+ in the United States. That number does not include international buys, as it is domestic buys only.