MMA News

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2021

Paige VanZant’s highly-anticipated BKFC debut on February 5 has reportedly struggled with pay-per-views. VanZant made the move to the sans gloves promotion after she was submitted by Amanda Ribas at UFC 251. It was a surprise to many, but also created interest to see how she would fare against Britain Hart in her debut. The fight seemed like it would gain some solid attraction, but according to the Wrestling Observer, the fight only sold 5,000 pay-per-views on TV.

Adam D Martin - April 30, 2021

The UFC Vegas 25: Reyes vs. Prochazka weigh-ins took place on Friday and 22 of the 24 fighters scheduled to compete made weigh for the event. The main event of UFC Vegas 25 features Jiri Prochazka and Dominick Reyes going at it for 25 minutes or less in a light heavyweight headliner. Prochazka has won 11 straight fights entering this bout, including a knockout win over Volkan Oezdemir in his UFC debut. Reyes, on the other hand, rides into this fight on the first two-fight losing streak of his career, having dropped back-to-back fights against Jon Jones and Jan Blachowicz. Both Reyes and Prochazka made weight and the UFC Vegas 25 headliner is now official for Saturday night.

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2021

Kamaru Usman is hoping to be active in 2021 and eyes his next title defense against Michael Chiesa, his manager, Ali Abdelaziz revealed. After Usman knocked out Jorge Masvidal in the second round at UFC 261, Dana White confirmed Colby Covington would be next. However, according to Abdelaziz, he and Usman don’t know why Covington is so special and believe he needs to get another win. Instead, they are hoping they can fight again in June against Michael Chiesa.

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2021

Diego Sanchez was released from the UFC on Thursday night, but he was paid his show and win money. Sanchez was supposed to have his retirement fight on May 8 against Donald Cerrone in a very intriguing bout. However, it was revealed he was out of the fight, and shortly thereafter, it was announced he was released from the promotion.

Adam D Martin - April 30, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva believes that YouTubers are disrespecting boxing and he hopes that changes going forward. Silva is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and he also has professional boxing experience, having had two fights over the course of his legendary combat sports career. In June, Silva will return to the boxing ring when he takes on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in what is his first boxing match since 2005. For Silva, he has been boxing for over 20 years and has always made it known that he wanted to return to the squared circle one day. He will get that opportunity next month when he takes on Chavez Jr. in a pro boxing match.

Adam D Martin - April 30, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman detailed the emotions he felt when he realized his leg broke against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. The first kick that Weidman threw against Hall resulted in him seeing his right leg break in half in one of the most gruesome injuries we have ever seen in the UFC. It was a horrific injury that no one wishes upon their opponents, and it stands to reason that Weidman will be on the shelf for a long time now while he tries to mend his leg. Taking to his Instagram live in the days following the brutal injury, Weidman took fans through his headspace of when the finish happened and what exactly was going through his head at the time.

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender, Devin Clark has seen Jon Jones training for his heavyweight move and has sky-high expectations for him. After Jones beat Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 to defend his light heavyweight title, he vacated the belt as the plan was to move up to heavyweight. However, a deal is not done and Dana White has said Jones has priced himself out of the negotiations.

Harry Kettle - April 30, 2021

Francis Ngannou has suggested he would welcome the opportunity to fight Tyson Fury – but only after he’s done with Jon Jones. Ngannou is on top of the world right now after beating Stipe Miocic to become UFC heavyweight champion. Many believe he could be a dominant champion for years to come, but right now, it feels as if the UFC are taking things one step at a time.

Adam D Martin - April 30, 2021

Former UFC and Bellator welterweight star Rory MacDonald reacted after beating Curtis Millender by first-round submission at PFL 2. MacDonald hadn’t fought since October 2019, when he dropped a decision to Douglas Lima in Bellator in what was his final fight before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. After taking all of 2020 off, PFL is back for its third season in 2021, and MacDonald was matched up in his first regular-season fight against Millender at PFL 2 on Thursday night. It didn’t take long for “The Red King” to land the takedown, take the back of Millender, and get back in the win column. It was a fantastic win by MacDonald and showed he’s still a talented fighter.

Harry Kettle - April 30, 2021

UFC president Dana White has reacted to the news that the promotion has parted ways with MMA legend Diego Sanchez. It was revealed overnight that Sanchez, who has been with the UFC for 16 years, has now left after what appeared to be a mutual agreement between the two parties. The move came despite Sanchez winning three of his last five fights with his final appearance being a decision loss to Jake Matthews last September.

Drake Riggs - April 29, 2021

China’s first-ever UFC champion was the strawweight division’s Zhang Weili (21-2). After performing in the UFC 261 co-main event, the promotion’s owner, Ari Emanuel, didn’t appear to know who she was. On Thursday, the UFC went public as an organization. To discuss the news, Emanuel got in front of the cameras for a change just days removed from the huge UFC 261 event in Jacksonville, Florida.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021

Yoel Romero is out of his fight against Anthony Johnson on May 7. Romero and Johnson were set to make their Bellator debuts in the quarterfinals of the light heavyweight grand prix. It was a highly-anticipated fight but on Thursday evening, the promotion revealed to CBS Sports that Romero is out of the scrap and the tournament after he failed his pre-fight medical. The nature of Romero’s issue of why he failed the medical was not disclosed.

Drake Riggs - April 29, 2021

Diego Sanchez’s run in the UFC has seemingly come to an abrupt ending just a week before his matchup against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. On Tuesday it was revealed that Sanchez was out of his fight next weekend at UFC Vegas 26. However, no reason was given upon the initial report. As of today, MiddleEasy came out reporting that Sanchez had been released by the promotion due to his recent “trash-talking” of the company.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021

Calvin Kattar is hoping to rematch Max Holloway down the line. In the first UFC event of 2021, Kattar and Holloway fought on UFC on ABC 1 on Fight Island and many expected it to be a competitive fight. Yet, it was far from that as Holloway landed the most significant strikes in a fight and won a clear-cut decision.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021

Robert Whittaker put on a dominant performance over Kelvin Gastelum on April 17 and did so while fighting with an injury. Whittaker was supposed to face Paulo Costa on the card but the Brazilian was forced out of the bout and Gastelum stepped up on short notice. However, when Whittaker arrived in Las Vegas and began training he tore ligaments in his hand. Even though he had torn ligaments in his hand, he still earned a dominant decision over Gastelum.

Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021

Former UFC lightweight Gleison Tibau revealed that he recently won an unsanctioned four-man tournament while filming a rap music video. Tibau, who fought in the UFC between 2006 and 2018, recently signed a contract to fight with the PFL as part of the promotion’s third season. He will take on Joao Zeferino on Thursday night at PFL 2. Ahead of his return to the cage, Tibau revealed that his fight record needs updating. Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz, Tibau explained how he recently was involved in a four-man, one-night tournament in Germany that was unsanctioned. He won both of the fights, and get this, it’s all part of a rap music video.

Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya explained why he is fighting Marvin Vettori next and not Robert Whittaker as many expected him to. Adesanya was widely expected to fight Whittaker in a rematch after the Aussie had a stellar performance at UFC Vegas 24 recently to pick up his third straight win. However, the UFC instead chose to go with Vettori for the title shot, which surprised a lot of people. According to the champ himself, it was a matter of timing as to why Vettori is getting the title shot.

Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021

Former UFC champion Henry Cejudo explained why YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is becoming one of the biggest stars in the sport of boxing. Despite not having a boxing background, Paul has become one of the sport’s pay-per-view stars following back-to-back wins over Ben Askren and Nate Robinson on Triller Fight Club pay-per-view. Although Paul doesn’t get a ton of respect from those in the combat sports community, it’s hard to find fault in how much money he is making for himself and for his opponents. According to “The Problem Child,” the pay-per-view with Askren sold over 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, making everyone involved in that show a ton of money.