MMA News
Colby Covington questions the UFC's decision to "reward" Jorge Masvidal with a title shot: "He ran from me for 6 months and was scared to fight me"
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
Colby Covington can’t wrap his head around the UFC’s decision to give Jorge Masvidal another welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman. Masvidal (35-14 MMA) and Usman (18-1 MMA) originally collided at UFC 251 in July of 2020. That evening in Las Vegas, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ earned a dominant decision victory over ‘Gamebred’ to retain his welterweight world title.
Photo | Marvin Vettori is absolutely shredded for his UFC on ABC 2 fight with Kevin Holland
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
Perennial middleweight contender Marvin Vettori is looking absolutely shredded ahead of his UFC on ABC 2 fight with Kevin Holland. Vettori (16-4-1 MMA) and Holland (21-6 MMA) are set to square off in the headliner of next weekend’s UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas.
Rafael dos Anjos responds after Ali Abdelaziz suggests everyone is "running" from Justin Gaethje
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos had made it clear that he is interested in fighting Justin Gaethje his next time out. Dos Anjos (30-13 MMA) returned to the promotions lightweight division back in November, where he picked up a thrilling ‘fight of the night’ split-decision victory over Paul Felder.
Tito Ortiz reveals the advice he shared with Conor McGregor when they first met
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
Former UFC champion Tito Ortiz revealed that he shared some advice with Conor McGregor following the Irishman’s loss to Floyd Mayweather in 2017. McGregor (22-5 MMA, 0-1 Boxing) squared off with Mayweather (50-0 Boxing) 3.5 years ago in Las Vegas, where suffered a tenth-round TKO loss in his professional boxing debut.
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier react after trilogy is made official for UFC 264
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier have shared their respective reactions after their trilogy bout was made official for UFC 264. Poirier and McGregor are set to have their rubber match at 155-pounds on July 10, likely in Las Vegas. The pair split their first two encounters, with Conor earning a first round knockout at UFC 178, and then Dustin most recently earning a second round KO victory at UFC 257.
UFC adds two massive fights to June lineup including The Korean Zombie vs. Dan Ige
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
The UFC has added two huge fights to their upcoming June lineup, including a featherweight bout between The Korean Zombie and Dan Ige. Ige (15-3 MMA) had called out Chan Sung Jung immediately following his sensational first-round knockout victory over Gavin Tucker at UFC Vegas 21.
Khamzat Chimaev issues bold statement ahead of UFC return: "I'm the champ here"
Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021
Khamzat Chimaev has issued a bold statement ahead of his proposed UFC return, this while taking a shot at reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Chimaev (9-0 MMA) has been one of the many unfortunate victims of the global pandemic and due to lingering symptoms, has been unable to compete since the fall of 2020.
Video | Jon Jones changes up his training style, tells fight fans to "be ready for something different in this next fight"
Christopher Taylor - April 2, 2021
Despite struggling in his recent negotiations with the UFC, Jon Jones is still clearly focused on fighting Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight title next. The UFC’s longtime light heavyweight kingpin, Jones (26-1 MMA), vacated the promotions 205lbs title back in 2020, this in order to make a run at heavyweight.
UFC 264 adds dynamic welterweight bout between former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns
Chris Taylor - April 2, 2021
A huge welterweight bout has been added to UFC 264, as ESPN is reporting that former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns will collide on July 10. Thompson (16-4-1 MMA) is coming off of back-to-back unanimous decision victories over perennial division contenders Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque in his most recent Octagon appearances. ‘Wonderboy’ has gone 3-3 over his past six fight overall.
Patricio Pitbull submits Emmanuel Sanchez in Round 1 at Bellator 255 (Highlights)
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
In the main event of Bellator 255, Patricio Pitbull and Emmanuel Sanchez were set for a rematch three years in the making. The fight also served as the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix. Patricio Pitbull (31-4) is riding a six-fight winning streak and coming off a vicious KO win over Pedro Carvalho last November. Before that, he beat Juan Archuleta by decision and knocked out Michael Chandler in 61 seconds to claim the lightweight title and become a champ-champ. He also beat Sanchez back in November of 2018.
Alexander Volkanovski, Brian Ortega set to coach TUF 29, featherweight title fight at conclusion of season
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
The TUF coaches for season 29 have been revealed and it will be Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Ever since UFC president, Dana White announced TUF would be coming back, many were interested in seeing who the coaches would be. It was rumored to be Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, but “Gamebred” got a title shot so that was off. Now, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Volkanovski and Ortega will coach the return season of TUF. The show will feature bantamweights and middleweights.
Anthony Johnson shares prediction for potential Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou fight
Chris Taylor - April 2, 2021
Former UFC title challenger Anthony Johnson has shared his thoughts on a potential heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. Ever since Ngannou (16-3 MMA) dethroned Stipe Miocic to become “The Baddest Man on the Planet” at UFC 260, all the talk has been of a potential super-fight with Jones.
Mike Goldberg no longer commentating Bellator events, reveals Scott Coker: "I think we had a great run"
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
Mike Goldberg will no longer be the play-by-play voice of Bellator. With Bellator set to move to Showtime, Scott Coker revealed they decided to undergo some changes and Goldberg will not be with the promotion anymore. The longtime UFC commentator joined Bellator in 2017 after parting ways with the UFC.
Jon Jones blasts Jan Blachowicz over recent trash talk: “How about you build your own legacy”
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
Jon Jones isn’t a fan of Jan Blachowicz continuing to call him out. After Blachowicz TKO’d Dominik Reyes to win the vacant light heavyweight title he mentioned how he wanted to fight Jones. The two were supposed to fight after Blachowicz knocked out Anderson but “Bones” vacated the belt for a move to heavyweight.
Khetag Pliev issues statement after losing finger at CFFC fight
Adam D Martin - April 2, 2021
MMA fighter Khetag Pliev has issued a statement after losing one of his fingers at a Cage Fury Fighting Championships fight on Thursday night. It almost seemed like it couldn’t be real when Pliev lost his finger during his fight against Devin Goodale at CFFC 94. But he in fact did lose his finger during the fight. The photos are not for a weak stomach. It was an absolutely bizarre injury and one that happened apparently as a result of his opponent grabbing into his gloves and causing the injury. Fortunately, the finger was located in a quick fashion and the fighter was able to have it reattached at a hospital. The fighter took to his social media afterward and told fans that he is feeling better, not to worry, and he specifically thanked the doctor for her good work.
Dustin Poirier officially signs contract for Conor McGregor trilogy at UFC 264
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor 3 will happen at UFC 264 on July 10. For quite some time, reports have circulated that the fight would happen on that date, however, nothing had been signed. Poirier had even turned down a title shot in order to pursue the trilogy fight.
Dustin Poirier confirms he turned down title shot against Charles Oliveira at UFC 262
Adam D Martin - April 2, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier confirmed that he turned down a potential 155lbs title shot against Charles Oliveira at UFC 262. After knocking out Conor McGregor at UFC 257 in January, it was widely expected that Poirier would be in the next lightweight title fight after former champion Khabib Nurmagomedov retired and vacated his title. However, the UFC instead booked Oliveira against Michael Chandler for the vacant belt in the main event of UFC 262. That news surprised a lot of fans, who thought Poirier deserved the title shot. However, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Poirier turned down the title shot to fight McGregor in a trilogy. Considering how much money that fight is destined to produce, it made sense for Poirier to decline the title show in order to take the money trilogy fight against McGregor instead.
Kevin Holland promises to step it up against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2
Adam D Martin - April 2, 2021
UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland is promising to step it up against divisional rival Marvin Vettori next weekend at UFC on ABC 2. Holland is filling in on short notice for the injured Darren Till, who withdrew from the fight due to a broken collarbone. He’s a big underdog at the sportsbooks right now, and it makes sense given his poor showing against Derek Brunson last month. Though Holland was favored to defeat Brunson at the sportsbooks, he lost that fight via unanimous decision when he was unable to stop the takedowns and got planted on his back for five rounds. In addition to being outwrestled, Holland showed no sense of urgency at any time throughout that fight, and he seemed to be more focused on talking rather than actually fighting.