MMA News

Adam D Martin - April 20, 2021

A heavyweight bout between top-10 heavyweights Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Augusto Sakai will headline a UFC Fight Night card in June. MMA reporter Marcelo Barone of Globo first reported that Sakai’s upcoming fight on May 1 against Shamil Adburakhimov was scrapped due to visa issues for the Russian. Instead of finding Sakai a new opponent for that card, the promotion has instead shifted Sakai to the main event showdown with Rozenstruik on June 5. The two top-10 ranked heavyweights will now meet for five rounds or less in a fight that likely won’t go the full five rounds.

Adam D Martin - April 20, 2021

Former UFC champion Robbie Lawler says he is ready to return to the Octagon, and he says he will not “picky” about who his next opponent is. Lawler hasn’t fought since last summer when he dropped a unanimous decision to Neil Magny. “Ruthless” has actually lost his last four fights and five of his last six, which is a far cry from the championship form he displayed back in 2014 to 2016. Despite being on a losing skid, however, Lawler is not thinking about retirement anytime soon. In fact, the team Sanford MMA product says he is excited to return to the Octagon in short order.

Adam D Martin - April 20, 2021

Former MMA fighter-turned-boxer Ben Askren revealed that former NBA star Nate Robinson reached out to him following his KO loss to Jake Paul. Robinson, of course, was knocked out by Paul last November in Paul’s second professional boxing match. Robinson became a bit of an Internet meme following that loss, which was a devastating second-round KO, something that Askren himself is facing now that he’s been knocked out by Paul, too, having been finished by “The Problem Child” this past weekend.

Harry Kettle - April 20, 2021

UFC president Dana White believes a rematch against Derrick Lewis is “probably” next for UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Ngannou has been riding high ever since knocking out Stipe Miocic to finally win the title – three years on from his first shot at the strap. It was easily one of the most impressive championship-level performances we’ve seen in years in the UFC, and it’s put Ngannou on the map as one of the most dangerous men on the planet.

Christopher Taylor - April 19, 2021

Bellator has parted ways with a total of nine fighters including notable MMA veterans Roger Huerta and Brandon Girtz. Promotional officials told MMAJunkie on Monday that Bellator had released nine athletes from their current roster.

Christopher Taylor - April 19, 2021

Dana White has reacted after a push delivered by Jeremy Stephens to Drakkar Klose resulted in the UFC Vegas 24 co-main event being called off. Klose and Stephens were expected to collide in a highly anticipated lightweight bout this past Saturday in Nevada. Unfortunately for fight fans, just minutes prior to the commencement of the event, Dana White and promotional officials announced that the scheduled co-headliner had been called off due to an injury suffered by the Michigan native in Klose.

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

Ben Askren has no regrets about taking the boxing fight against Jake Paul, but says the loss is still embarrassing. Askren was far from a boxer and admitted if Paul was actually good he would lose. However, he didn’t get to show much as the YouTuber turned boxer landed an overhand right that connected and dropped him and the ref waived the fight off.

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

Conor McGregor has made it clear he would beat up Justin Gaethje after “The Highlight” took a shot at him on social media. After McGregor took to social media to release a new glove design, many including Gaethje thought they looked very similar to his coach, Trevor Wittman’s. Wittman has been vocal about his glove design and trying to sell it to the UFC to limit eye pokes.

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

Jorge Masvidal isn’t worried about Kamaru Usman’s power ahead of their rematch at UFC 261. Masvidal and Usman fought last July at UFC 251 where Usman used his wrestling and clinch work to win a decision, in a fight “Gamebred” took on six day’s notice. It was a highly-anticipated bout, but the fight was lackluster. Now, heading into the rematch, Masvidal says Usman doesn’t have fight-ending power.

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

Tyron Woodley is looking to box Jake Paul. On Saturday night, Paul scored a first-round TKO over Ben Askren in just his third professional boxing match. It was a hyped-up fight but after the win, many wondered who would be next for Paul. Several MMA fighters have called him out and one of them is Tyron Woodley who makes it clear he wants the fight, as he was in Askren’s corner on Saturday.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

With UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler now less than a month away from taking place, take a look at the new poster for the event. UFC 262 takes place on May 15 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event features the vacant UFC lightweight title on the line as Charles Oliveira takes on Michael Chandler. Oliveira has won his last eight fights in a row and has been absolutely running through everyone on his path with relative ease. Chandler, meanwhile, knocked out Dan Hooker in his UFC debut earlier this year and overall has won his last three fights in a row by knockout. Both Oliveira and Chandler are two of the best lightweight in the world and this should be a fantastic matchup to determine the heir to Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Cole Shelton - April 19, 2021

AJ McKee has known it would be him and Patricio Pitbull in the finals of the featherweight grand prix. McKee made quick work of Georgi Karakhanyan and then submitted Derek Camps and Darrion Caldwell to reach the finals. Pitbull, meanwhile, beat Juan Archuleta and then KO’d Pedro Carvalho and submitted Emmanuel Sanchez to reach the finals.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

The full cast and the premiere date have officially been revealed for the 29th season of The Ultimate Fighter reality television show. UFC president Dana White has teased for months now that TUF would be returning now that the world’s leading MMA promotion has a deal with ESPN. Up to this point, we haven’t heard many details about the 29th season of the show, except that it would feature bantamweights and middleweights. Recently, we found out that the coaches would be UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Brian Ortega.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori sent a message to divisional champion Israel Adesanya, telling him that he can’t hide forever. Vettori is coming off of a one-sided beating over Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 23, and immediately after the fight was over, he made it clear that he’s targeting a rematch with Adesanya, the man who defeated him via split decision in 2018. To this date, this was the closest fight that the champ has had at 185lbs, and Vettori makes sure to let him know that on a daily basis. While it seems like Adesanya will be fighting Robert Whittaker next in another rematch, Vettori is still remaining optimistic that he will be the next man in line.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes opened up as a big betting favorite for her upcoming title defense against Julianna Pena. It was revealed last week that Nunes will move back down to 135lbs for her next fight and put her belt on the line against Pena at UFC 265, which takes place on August 7 at a location that has yet to be determined. Pena was extremely vocal in the media about wanting to get the title shot and, in a division where there are very few other fresh contenders, UFC president Dana White eventually gave in and gave her the title shot.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker issued a statement following his unanimous decision win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24. In one of his most complete performances to date, Whittaker won a lopsided unanimous decision in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 24 card. Whittaker outstruck Gastelum on the feet and he also utilized his wrestling in order to mix things up and take Gastelum out of his element. It was one of Whittaker’s best performances in the Octagon to date as he picked up his third straight victory. It was the kind of win that could earn him a title shot rematch against UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his next fight.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has opened up as a big favorite for a potential rematch against No. 1 contender Robert Whittaker. Whittaker defeated Kelvin Gastelum at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 24 event in dominant fashion. The Aussie used a combination of grappling and striking to outpoint Gastelum for 25 minutes and take home the decision. Prior to beating Gastelum, Whittaker had won decisions over Jared Cannonier and Darren Till, so he is currently riding a three-fight win streak and that could possibly be enough for him to get another title shot at 185.

Harry Kettle - April 19, 2021

UFC executive Jeff Novitzky has issued a response after Conor McGregor continued to call him out on social media over the weekend. It’s safe to say UFC fans and USADA have always had an interesting relationship since the two organisations started working together, and in more ways than one, that has extended to the fighters on the roster.