MMA News

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC 262 card featuring the vacant lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. The UFC 262 main event sees longtime contender, Charles Oliveira get his first UFC title shot against former Bellator champ, Michael Chandler. Oliveira is riding an eight-fight winning streak and coming off a decision win over Tony Ferguson and before that submitted Kevin Lee. Chandler, meanwhile, made good of his UFC debut as he scored a first-round TKO over Dan Hooker in January.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is not convinced that PFL star Kayla Harrison is ready to fight in the world’s leading promotion just yet. Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, made her MMA debut in 2018 for PFL and has since racked up a perfect 9-0 record in MMA while fighting for both PFL and in Invicta FC. She has been absolutely destroying everyone in her path and no one has been even somewhat competitive with her. In her most recent outing, Harrison defeated Mariana Morais via first-round TKO at PFL 3 in a lightweight regular season bout. It was yet another easy win for Harrison and another fight where she was a massive betting favorite. It’s led to fans hoping that she can finally join the UFC and fight some tougher competition.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

Welterweight KO artist Paul Daley has signed a new contract with Bellator and fights Jason Jackson in a potential No. 1 contender bout next. Daley is coming off of an incredible KO win over Sabah Homasi at Bellator 257 in one of the most exciting fights of the year. The win over Homasi gives Daley a three-fight win streak with other recent victories over Erick Silva and Saad Awad, and it has also earned him a new contract with Bellator under President Scott Coker, his old boss in his Strikeforce days.

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2021

Edson Barboza didn’t know what his future in the UFC was going to be like after he beat Makwan Amirkhani last time out. After Barboza won, he said he either wanted to be released from the UFC or sign a new contract. The Brazilian ended up working with the UFC to sign a new deal which he says is a very fair deal.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler called his UFC 262 rival Charles Oliveira the “scariest” opponent he’s ever faced in his MMA career. Chandler and Oliveira meet this Saturday night in the main event of UFC 262 for the vacant lightweight strap. It’s an incredible matchup between the No. 3 ranked lightweight in the UFC in Oliveira, a BJJ wizard who has improved his standup skills, and Chandler, the No. 4 ranked lightweight who has huge knockout power and wrestling skills to boot. It’s a dream fight between two of the best lightweights in the world and the winner will be the champ.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

Anderson Silva explained why he is done with MMA, saying that “it’s hard to stay training at a good level because you hurt yourself a lot.” Silva is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time and was a huge star in the UFC for nearly 15 years. However, after losing by knockout to Uriah Hall last fall, he was released by UFC president Dana White. Silva has since resurfaced in boxing, and he will take on Julio Cesar Chavez this summer in a high-profile boxing match. Silva has had two professional boxing matches earlier in his career and he has always made it clear he wanted to box again. Now that he’s not under UFC contract, he can do just that.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

Former UFC welterweight Dan Hardy asked the world’s leading MMA promotion to release Nick Diaz so he can fight the legend in RIZIN. Hardy requested his release from the UFC, where he had still been under an old contract, in order to take his talents to RIZIN in Japan. On Tuesday, Hardy posted on his Twitter that he was “free,” indicating that the UFC has likely given him his release as he requested.

Harry Kettle - May 12, 2021

UFC heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson has announced that he plans to make his return to the Octagon this summer. The popular Swede hasn’t fought since last July when he was beaten by Fabricio Werdum in an upset submission defeat over on Fight Island. The loss marked his third in a row but his first at heavyweight after setbacks against Jon Jones and Anthony Smith at 205 pounds.

Christopher Taylor - May 11, 2021

Diego Sanchez did not hold back while addressing Donald Cerrone’s recent knockout loss to Alex Morono at UFC Vegas 26. Sanchez and Cerrone were originally slated to co-headline last weekend’s event in Las Vegas. However, following an altercation between Diego’s coach and mentor Joshua Fabia and UFC officials, ‘The Nightmare’ was handed his walking papers from the promotion.

Drake Riggs - May 11, 2021

Maurice Greene now finds himself testing the waters of free agency after a tough loss on Saturday at UFC Vegas 26 to Marcos Rogerio de Lima. Greene and de Lima clashed directly in the middle of the event’s main card as the third fight. Unable to mount any effective offense, the 6-foot-7 heavyweight ultimately found himself shut down by his opponent’s strong clinch and grappling game.

Drake Riggs - May 11, 2021

UFC Vegas 26 drew in the best TV ratings on May 8. No. 6 ranked 115-pound strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez was later than usual for a typical trip to Las Vegas last week. After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of his highly-anticipated return bout against Cory Sandhagen, the promotion turned to make another top 10 fight.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

Dana White doesn’t have any interest in loaning a UFC fighter to box Jake Paul. After Paul knocked out Ben Askren, several UFC fighters have been calling him out. They have all said that they want to be the one to shut Jake up, but according to White, he says he will not loan any UFC fighter to box the brash YouTuber.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight star Anthony Johnson was arrested for identity theft in Connecticut following his big win last weekend. The Daily Voice was the first to report the arrest of Johnson. According to police reports, Johnson illegally used a credit card in November 2019 in order to purchase a round-trip ticket from Newark, New Jersey, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Johnson was named as the passenger of the ticket. New Canaan police obtained a warrant for Johnson’s arrest, and “Rumble” was taken into custody following his fight last weekend at Bellator 258 where he knocked out Jose Augusto in one of the most exciting MMA fights of the year.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Yan Xiaonan is hoping to earn a title shot with a win over Carla Esparza next weekend at UFC Vegas 27. Xiaonan (13-1, 1 NC) has quickly emerged as one of the top strawweights on the UFC roster ever since making her promotional debut in 2017. Since then, she has won all six of her UFC fights, including notable wins over Claudia Gadelha, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and Angela Hill. Many analysts of the sport believe that Xiaonan has all the makings of a future UFC champion and a win over Esparza at UFC Vegas 27 could very well get here there.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Misha Cirkunov and Gillian Robertson have both tested positive for marijuana following their recent UFC fights in Nevada. Cirkunov lost via first-round TKO to Ryan Spann at Vegas 21: Edwards vs. Muhammad, while Robertson dropped a decision to Miranda Maverick at UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2. Unfortunately, not only did both fighters lose their fights, but they have both tested positive for marijuana and have been handed temporary suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission. It is worth noting that while many states don’t test for marijuana anymore, Nevada is a state that still does, and Cirkunov and Robertson were nabbed.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says a matchup between former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former 205lbs kingpin Jon Jones is possible. Miocic recently lost his belt when he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March, but he remains one of the top heavyweights in the sport and has given no indication yet that he will be retiring despite the brutal KO loss. Ngannou is currently set to take on Derrick Lewis in a rematch that marks his first title defense, which means that Jones — who was originally set to fight the winner of Ngannou vs. Lewis — is currently on the sidelines waiting for a fight to be booked. With both Miocic and Jones both without opponents and with both men looking to fight for the heavyweight belt, a matchup with them is possible.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed that Bellator is considering the bantamweight division for the organization’s next Grand Prix. Coker is currently holding Bellator’s light heavyweight Grand Prix and featherweight Grand Prix, and two years ago held the welterweight Grand Prix. Coker is a big fan of the tournament format going back to his Strikeforce days and so he is already thinking about what the next tournament in Bellator would be, and it could very well be bantamweight.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says that Tony Ferguson will be back in the lightweight elite with a win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 262. Ferguson is coming off of a rough 2020 that saw him lose via TKO to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 and then via unanimous decision to Charles Oliveira at UFC 256. Coming into the year, Ferguson was one of the top-three lightweights in the world, but after losing in such one-sided fashion to both Gaethje and Oliveira, it’s fair to question where he sits in the division now. At age 37, Ferguson is one of the oldest lightweights on the UFC roster and after seeing how poorly he performed, there are many fans who think he’s on a sharp decline.