MMA News
UFC Vegas 27 Results: Carla Esparza TKO's Yan Xiaonan (Video)
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event is co-headlined by a key women’s strawweight matchup between top division contenders Carla Esparza and Yan Xiaonan. Esparza (18-6 MMA) will enter tonight’s contest sporting a four-fight winning streak, her latest being a split-decision victory over Marina Rodriguez. The former strawweight champion has gone 7-3 overall since losing her title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Paul Felder announces his retirement from MMA, UFC fighters react
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
Perennial lightweight contender Paul Felder shocked fight fans this evening when he announced his MMA retirement during the UFC Vegas 27 broadcast. Felder (17-6 MMA) had most recently competed this past November where he suffered a split-decision setback to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 14. The ruling marked Paul’s third straight split-decision result, as he had previously suffered a loss to Dan Hooker which was preceded by a win over Edson Barboza.
Pros react after Jack Hermansson defeats Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 27
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
A middleweight bout between perennial division contenders Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan kicked off tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 main card. Hermansson (22-6 MMA) entered tonight’s fight looking to rebound from his recent unanimous decision loss to Marvin Vettori. Prior to that setback, ‘The Joker’ had earned an impressive first round submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum.
UFC Vegas 27 Results: Jack Hermansson defeats Edmen Shahbazyan (Highlights)
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
A middleweight bout between perennial division contenders Jack Hermansson and Edmen Shahbazyan kicks off tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 main card. Hermansson (21-6 MMA) enters tonight’s fight looking to rebound from his recent unanimous decision loss to Marvin Vettori. Prior to that setback, ‘The Joker’ was coming off an impressive first round submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum.
UFC Vegas 27 Results: Ben Rothwell stops Chris Barnett in Round 2 (Video)
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
A heavyweight bout between Ben Rothwell and Chris Barnett serves as the featured prelim of tonight’s UFC Vegas 27 event. Rothwell (38-13 MMA) was originally slated to face Philipe Lins at tonight’s event, but the Brazilian was forced to pullout of the fight due to undisclosed reasons.
Kamaru Usman claims Conor McGregor is no longer a top-tier mixed martial artist: "He’s just a regular fighter"
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
Kamaru Usman believes Conor McGregor’s best days are behind him, suggesting that the former two-division UFC champ is now just a “regular fighter”. The promotions reigning welterweight kingpin, Usman (19-1 MMA), successfully defended his strap at for a fourth time at UFC 261, scoring a second round knockout of Jorge Masvidal.
Valerie Loureda issues statement following first career loss at Bellator 259
Chris Taylor - May 22, 2021
Valerie Loureda has issued a statement after suffering her first career loss to Hannah Guy at last night’s Bellator 259 event in Uncasville. Loureda (3-1 MMA) had entered last night’s bout with Guy (3-1 MMA) looking to build off her impressive knockout victory over Tara Graff at Bellator 243.
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 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.
Oscar De La Hoya issues challenge to Dana White in hopes of securing future boxing match with Georges St-Pierre
Chris Taylor - May 21, 2021
Oscar De La Hoya has issued a challenge to UFC President Dana White in hopes of securing a future boxing match with Georges St-Pierre. Earlier this week Triller boss Ryan Kavanaugh accused White and company of blocking GSP from competing in a proposed boxing match with De La Hoya.
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.
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.
Anderson Silva praises longtime rival Vitor Belfort as both MMA legends transition into boxing
Adam D Martin - May 21, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva praised his longtime rival Vitor Belfort as both MMA legends make the transition into boxing. Silva makes his return to boxing next month when he takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in his first boxing match since 2005. At age 46, Silva was released by the UFC last year after getting knocked out by Uriah Hall, but he has moved quickly to re-establish himself in the world of boxing. Like many older fighters, Silva is using his name to cash in on the current boxing craze that was started by older fighters such as Mike Tyson returning to the ring.
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.
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.