MMA News
Valerie Loureda returns at Bellator 258
Adam D Martin - April 8, 2021
Women’s flyweight prospect Valerie Loureda returns to the cage at Bellator 258 when she takes on promotional newcomer Hannah Guy. Tom Taylor of Maxim.com was the first to report the Loureda vs. Guy fight, which will take place at Bellator 258 on May 7. The stacked card already features Bellator bantamweight champion Juan Archuleta vs. Sergio Pettis in the main event, plus a five-round co-main event bout between light heavyweights Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson. Romero is Loureda’s teammate at American Top Team and they will both be on the same card.
Eddie Alvarez shuts down any talk of retirement after being disqualified at ONE on TNT 1
Adam D Martin - April 8, 2021
ONE Championship lightweight Eddie Alvarez shut down any potential retirement talks after losing to Iuri Lapicus via DQ at ONE on TNT 1. Alvarez joined ONE Championship in 2018 after a successful run in the Octagon that saw him win the UFC lightweight title. Since joining ONE, however, Alvarez has not achieved the success that most people thought he would. He lost his promotional debut in an upset when he was knocked out by the underrated power punch Timofey Nastyukhin, bounced back with a submission win over Eduard Folayang, and then suffered the DQ loss to Lapicus when the referee deemed his punches illegal strikes to the back of the head. All told, Alvarez is 1-2 in ONE on paper, and at age 37, some are starting to mention retirement.
Adriano Moraes credits Jorge Masvidal for knee that knocked out Demetrious Johnson
Adam D Martin - April 8, 2021
ONE Championship flyweight champion Adriano Moraes credited teammate Jorge Masvidal for the knee that knocked out Demetrious Johnson. Moraes shocked the world when he knocked out Johnson at ONE on TNT 1 on Wednesday night. The underrated Brazilian was a +500 underdog at the sportsbooks to defeat Johnson, who was a 10-to-1 favorite, but he did just that and more with flying colors. After a competitive first round that saw Moraes utilize his size advantage, in the second round Moraes dropped Johnson with an uppercut, and then he finished him off with a brutal knee on the ground. It was an incredible win for Moraes that legitimizes him as a champion.
Ryan Bader unwilling to vacate heavyweight title, suggests Bellator make an interim belt
Harry Kettle - April 8, 2021
Ryan Bader isn’t willing to vacate his Bellator Heavyweight Championship as he prepares to enter the promotion’s light heavyweight tournament. Bader has been one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in Bellator for a few years now and while he may be moving into the twilight of his career, it definitely feels like he has the chance to cause some real damage in the aforementioned tournament.
Demetrious Johnson issues statement following first knockout loss
Drake Riggs - April 7, 2021
The unthinkable happened during ONE Championship’s first TNT event, ONE on TNT 1. The legendary Demetrious Johnson suffered a knockout loss. Entering his fourth bout with the promotion, Johnson had earned his title opportunity by winning his way through the ONE flyweight Grand Prix. Unfortunately for him, the champion in Adriano Moraes proved he was more legit than ever by putting away “Mighty Mouse” in just the second round.
Pros react after Adriano Moraes KO's Demetrious Johnson at ONE on TNT 1
Christopher Taylor - April 7, 2021
Demetrious Johnson returned to the caged circle at tonight’s ONE on TNT 1 event where he challenged Adriano Moraes for the flyweight championship. Johnson (30-4-1 MMA) had won the ONE Championship Flyweight Grand Prix back in October of 2019, this after defeating Danny Kingad by unanimous decision. The former UFC flyweight kingpin, ‘Mighty Mouse’, had gone 3-0 under the ONE banner prior to tonight’s main event, this after being traded to the promotion in 2018.
ONE on TNT 1 Results: Adriano Moraes KO's Demetrious Johnson (Video)
Christopher Taylor - April 7, 2021
After claiming Grand Prix victory, Demetrious Johnson is set to challenge Adriano Moraes for the flyweight championship at tonight’s ONE on TNT 1 event. Johnson (30-4-1 MMA) won the ONE Championship Flyweight Grand Prix back in October of 2019, this after defeating Danny Kingad by unanimous decision. The former UFC flyweight kingpin, ‘Mighty Mouse’, has gone 3-0 since being traded to ONE in October of 2018.
Pros react after Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus is ruled a DQ at ONE on TNT 1
Christopher Taylor - April 7, 2021
Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez returned to action at tonight’s ONE on TNT 1 event for a bout with Iuri Lapicus. Alvarez (30-7 MMA) was returning to action for this first time since scoring a first-round submission victory over Eduard Folayang in August of 2019. That victory had marked Eddie’s first under the ONE banner, as he had suffered a TKO loss to Timofey Nastyukhin in his promotional debut.
Mike Perry 'was looking forward to maybe slapping' Darren Till at UFC Vegas 23, wants to fight him next
Drake Riggs - April 7, 2021
Originally, Darren Till and Mike Perry were both booked to compete at UFC Vegas 23 this Saturday night. Unfortunately, a broken collarbone forced Till out of his main event with Marvin Vettori. Having had a very colorful history with one another, Perry remains interested in getting his hands on Till at some point. He was actually hoping to do so during their shared fight week.
Zhang Weili hopes to befriend Rose Namajunas after UFC 261 clash
Drake Riggs - April 7, 2021
At UFC 261 on April 24, Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas will be anything but friendly with one another – the current champ hopes that won’t be the case in the aftermath. Coming into the co-main event of the first event to have full crowds back in the UFC, Zhang expects a great battle with her challenger. From there, they can go on to be cordial.
Andrei Arlovski steps in on short notice to fight Chase Sherman on April 17
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Andrei Arlovski is stepping up on short notice to fight Chase Sherman on April 17. Originally, Sherman was supposed to fight Parker Porter, but unfortunately, due to undisclosed reasons, Porter is out of the fight. Yet, the good news for Sherman is he gets a bigger name as former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski has agreed to step up on short notice according to Fight Bananas.
Jorge Masvidal says he would've ended up in jail if he did TUF with Colby Covington: "I was for sure going to end up in handcuffs"
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Jorge Masvidal has an interesting reason why he didn’t end up coaching The Ultimate Fighter against Colby Covington. When the UFC announced the return of the show, all the signs pointed to Masvidal and Covington serving as the coaches. Dana White said the coaches would be welterweights. Yet, as the UFC wanted to have a full capacity crowd in Jacksonville, those plans changed. The promotion decided to book Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2 and Covington was left on the outside looking in.
Jorge Masvidal says he got kicked out of ATT for "trying to assault" Colby Covington
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Jorge Masvidal was removed from American Top Team for a brief time before being allowed back in due to his feud with Colby Covington. As Covington and Masvidal’s relationship turned sour, both men trashed one another on social media and in interviews. That then turned into them getting into arguments at the gym. After that, according to Masvidal, both men were kicked out by Dan Lambert.
UFC on ABC 2: Vettori vs. Holland full betting odds
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC on ABC 2 card featuring an intriguing middleweight bout between Marvin Vettori and Kevin Holland. The UFC on ABC 2 main event sees Vettori fight short-notice replacement, Kevin Holland. Originally, Vettori was supposed to face Darren Till but last week, the Englishman was forced out with a broken collarbone. Vettori is coming off a dominant decision win over Jack Hermansson in December. He’s also on a four-fight losing streak since losing a split decision to Israel Adesanya. Holland, meanwhile, is on coming off a disappointing loss to Derek Brunson just three weeks ago.
Conor McGregor blasts Kamaru Usman for stealing his promotional one liners
Adam D Martin - April 7, 2021
UFC superstar Conor McGregor blasted welterweight kingpin Kamaru Usman over his use of the term “green panty night.” McGregor is of course the originator of the term “red panty night,” a term he coined during a press conference in 2016 to promote his fight against Rafael dos Anjos, a fight that never materialized. On Wednesday, the promotional superstar took to his social media to take a shot at Usman recently saying that fighting him is “green panty night” to Jorge Masvidal.
Sam Alvey expects to "put on a show" against Julian Marquez: "I will test his chin"
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Sam Alvey is going into another do-or-die fight for his UFC career. Alvey enters his UFC on ABC 2 fight against Jullian Marquez being 0-4-1 in his last five. However, all five of those took place at light heavyweight so Alvey is moving back down to 185lbs and plans to take advantage of the UFC giving him one more fight.
Ben Askren says Jorge Masvidal "looks like a dope" for supporting Jake Paul
Adam D Martin - April 7, 2021
Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren says that rival Jorge Masvidal “looks like a dope” for supporting his upcoming boxing opponent Jake Paul. Askren is set to take on Paul in a boxing match on Triller on April 17. As part of his training camp, Paul brought in Masvidal to help train with him for Askren. As well, Masvidal made a guest appearance during the recent Triller press conference when Paul called him up on FaceTime. These two have been going back-and-forth on social media as of late, arguing about the famous flying knee about UFC 239. It’s still one of the most incredible highlight-reel finishes we have ever seen in mixed martial arts. Even though it was two years ago, there isn’t a day that goes by that Masvidal or fans don’t remind him of the flying knee.
MMA veteran Tyler East killed during domestic dispute
Adam D Martin - April 7, 2021
Former MMA fighter Tyler East, the brother of UFC veteran Cody East, was shot and killed in a domestic dispute on Monday night in New Mexico. According to New Mexico State Police in a report from KOB4, the 30-year-old East was shot and killed near the airport in Los Lunas. Police responded to a call about domestic violence and they found East dead and his girlfriend with a gunshot wound. According to police, East and his girlfriend got into a domestic dispute and East shot her and dragged her out of the house. East was then allegedly shot by someone else, who killed him. The person who shot East fled the scene before police arrived, and New Mexico police are still looking for this person. According to the report, East’s girlfriend is at a hospital and is in stable condition.