MMA News
Tyron Woodley removed from UFC rankings
Cole Shelton - April 23, 2021
Tyron Woodley was removed from the UFC rankings, likely signaling the end of his time in the promotion. Just recently, the UFC removed Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem from the rankings, and shortly after it was confirmed they were released from the promotion. The same could be happening here to Woodley as he is not available on the fan rankings, or listed on the UFC roster on their website.
Kamaru Usman on comparisons to Georges St-Pierre: "We’re both great in our own light"
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman doesn’t necessarily like being compared to Georges St-Pierre, saying they are both great fighters. When Usman beat Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 in February, it gave him a 13-fight win streak at welterweight, which is one more than the legendary GSP achieved. That led to UFC president Dana White recently remarking that Usman has taken over from GSP as the “GOAT” at welterweight. It’s a title that Usman will take, but in the end he believes that both he and GSP are great fighters from two differently times in the sport’s history.
UFC 261 fighter salaries will not be disclosed due to "trade secret"
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
The salaries for the fighters competing on Saturday’s UFC 261 pay-per-view card in Jacksonville, Florida will not be revealed to the public. Nolan King of MMAjunkie.com spoke to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations Patrick Fargason, who said that salaries will not be made available publicly.
Neil Magny says Khamzat Chimaev is "all talk," willing to fight him in the future
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny says that Khamzat Chimaev is “all talk” and he is open to fighting him when he returns to the Octagon. Magny returns to the Octagon on May 8 when he takes on fellow top-15 ranked welterweight Geoff Neal. Before the Magny vs. Neal fight was booked, Magny was linked to a fight against Khamzat Chimaev, but the fight wasn’t booked as the Swede is stilll not cleared to fight again after a vicious battle with COVID-19. Still, should Magny get by Neal in a few weeks’ time, he is interested in stepping into the Octagon with Chimaev as well.
Jon Jones wants $30 million to fight Francis Ngannou, says Dana White
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
Wonderboy tells Joe Rogan that the will of Jorge Masvidal cannot be broken
Andrew Whitelaw - April 23, 2021
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson knows exactly what it takes to beat Jorge Masvidal – He did just that when he scored the unanimous decision over ‘Gamebred’ at UFC 217. Masvidal (35-14) is a different beast nowadays, and will have his second crack at winning the UFC welterweight title when he takes on Kamaru Usman (18-1) in the rematch at UFC 261 this weekend.
Marvin Vettori vs. Israel Adesanya could be next, confirms Dana White
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
UFC president Dana White confirmed that Marvin Vettori could be next in line to fight UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. After beating Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24 last weekend for his third straight win, it was widely assumed that Robert Whittaker, the No. 1 contender at 185lbs, would be the next in line to fight Adesanya. However, while speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, White said that the UFC is now looking at Vettori for the next title shot. The reason that’s the case is becuase the UFC is hoping Adesanya returns on June 12 at UFC 263. Right now, that event is headlined by UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, so another title fight taking place on the card could be beneficial for PPV sales.
Jeff Molina says he will earn a "dominant finish in the second round" over Aoriqileng
Cole Shelton - April 23, 2021
Jeff Molina is excited to finally make his UFC debut after a few canceled fights. Molina was supposed to fight Zarrukh Adashev in November but his opponent tested positive for COVID-19, they were then rebooked for January, but Molina tested positive for the virus. The fight was then scrapped, but Molina will face Aoriqileng on Saturday night at UFC 261 in front of fans, which “El Jefe” is excited about.
UFC 261 weigh-in results: Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal official for main event rematch
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
The UFC 261 weigh-ins took place on Friday and all of the fighters on the card made weight, including Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The main event of UFC 261 features Usman and Masvidal going at it for the second time with the UFC welterweight strap on the line. These two met last July at UFC 251 with Usman winning a unanimous decision that night. A year later and they meet again for all the marbles. Both men successfully weighed in on Friday morning and this fight is official.
Kamaru Usman blasts Jorge Masvidal for bringing BMF belt to presser: “There's 3 shiny belts here, that's what's important, not that piece of s*it”
Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman blasted Jorge Masvidal for bringing BMF belt to the UFC 261 pre-fight press conference on Friday. Usman takes on Masvidal in the main event on Saturday’s UFC 261 event. For Usman, it’s a chance to get another win over “Gamebred” after the two first met last summer at UFC 251 on Fight Island, while for Masvidal it’s a chance to get revenge. Almost a year later and they meet again on this weekend’s stacked pay-per-view card, one that features three title fights. In addition to Usman defending his belt against Masvidal, we also have UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang defending her belt against Rose Namajunas, and UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko takes on Jessica Andrade.
Oscar De La Hoya apologizes for Triller commentary disaster: "I got a little over carried away"
Christopher Taylor - April 22, 2021
Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has apologized after his commentary during last Saturday’s Triller: Askren vs. Paul event in Atlanta. De La Hoya joined the Triller commentary booth during Saturday’s pay-per-view and appeared to be under the influence. Oscar’s commentary was actually so outlandish that it began to overshadow the actually boxing matches.
Kamaru Usman says Jorge Masvidal is only fighting for the belt because he "chose" him, expects to "break his will"
Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021
Kamaru Usman says Jorge Masvidal is only fighting for the belt because he chose him. Usman and Masvidal fought back at UFC 251 in July, in a fight, “Gamebred” took on six days’ notice. Usman ended up winning a clear-cut decision, but after the champ scored a TKO win over Gilbert Burns, he called for the rematch with Masvidal as he wanted to finish him this time around.
Jorge Masvidal reacts to Jake Paul's KO win over Ben Askren: "I told you so"
Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021
Jorge Masvidal was not surprised to see Jake Paul KO Ben Askren in their recent boxing match. In the lead-up to the highly-anticipated fight, Jorge and Jake were training together. Paul even called “Gamebred” at the press conference to try and troll Askren. It was interesting to see Masvidal backing Paul given the fact the majority of the MMA community were behind Askren.
Khamzat Chimaev says he can fight at light heavyweight, confident he would beat Jan Blachowicz
Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021
Khamzat Chimaev believes he can compete at light heavyweight and beat the current champ in Jan Blachowicz. Chimaev took the MMA world by storm in 2020 as he fought twice in 10 days and earned wins at welterweight and middleweight. He followed that up with a one-punch KO over Gerald Meerschaert and was then booked to face Leon Edwards. Unfortunately, he has been dealing with lingering effects of COVID-19 but is eyeing a July or August return.
Jorge Masvidal officially launches Gamebred Fighting Championship, a bare-knuckle MMA promotion
Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021
Jorge Masvidal is going back to his roots as he’s launching a bare-knuckle MMA promotion. Recently, Masvidal teased the news as he said he would be trying to find the best bare-knuckle fighters, just like Kimbo Slice did for him. Although many weren’t expecting a full-on promotion, “Gamebred” took to Instagram to announce the launch of Gamebred Fighting Championship. The first event will on June 25 in Miami.
Colby Covington trolls 'Gamebred' ahead of UFC 261, shares photo with Mrs. Masvidal
Christopher Taylor - April 22, 2021
Colby Covington will be watching this weekend’s UFC 261 main event with keen interest as he is slated to face the winner of Masvidal vs. Usman 2. Earlier this week UFC President Dana White confirmed that Covington (16-2 MMA) would be the next man to challenge for the promotions coveted welterweight title, regardless of what happens this Saturday night in Jacksonville.
Video | Rafael Fiziev issues hilarious callout of Kevin Lee
Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021
UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev issued a hilarious callout of fellow divisional contender Kevin Lee with a video posted on his social media. In the video that Fiziev shared on his social media, the striker is seen walking around in a forest while calling out Lee’s name. Take a look at the video that “Ataman” posted below.
Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier back in the commentary booth for UFC 261
Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021
UFC commentator Joe Rogan will be back in the booth for this weekend’s UFC 261 pay-per-view card alongside Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik. Rogan, Cormier, and Anik have been the UFC’s go-to commentary team for its pay-per-view events in recent years. Rogan has been, of course, the UFC’s A-team color commentator for well over a decade and has been part of the UFC team for over 20 years. As for Cormier, he is the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion. As far as Anik goes, he has been the A-team play-by-play announcer ever since Mike Goldberg left. Betwen Rogan, Cormier, and Anik, they bring an incredible amount of knowledge and experience to the booth, so it’s not a surprise the UFC loves to use this set-up for PPVs.
John Wayne Parr reacts after head kick KO against Nieky Holzken (Video)
Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021
Kickboxing legend John Wayne Parr reacted after getting knocked out by a head kick against Nieky Holzken in a Muay Thai bout at ONE on TNT 3. The 44-year-old Parr and the 37-year-old Holzken put on four-ounce MMA gloves as they stepped into the ONE Championship cage with each other for a Muay Thai fight. Unfortuantely for Parr, it was not a night to remember as he suffered a vicious knockout when Holzken knocked him out with a high kick. You can see the highlights below.