MMA News

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contenders will collide this spring when Brazil’s Amanda Ribas locks horns with American Angela Hill. Ribas and Hill are set to meet on May 8 when they clash on the undercard of the upcoming TJ Dillashaw vs. Cory Sandhagen bantamweight No. 1 contender fight. The event currently does not have a location or a venue finalized. MMAFighting.com was the first to report the Ribas vs. Hill bout. It seems likely that this fight will take place on the event’s main card.

Cole Shelton - April 5, 2021

Leon Edwards knows he is a tough stylistic matchup for Nate Diaz. At UFC 262 on May 15, Edwards and Diaz will fight in the first-ever five-round, non-title fight co-main event. It’s an intriguing matchup where the winner seems to be in line for a title shot.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov dubbed fellow Russian Zabit Magomedsharipov as “the best featherweight in the world.” Nurmagomedov recently retired from mixed martial arts, giving up the UFC’s 155lbs belt in the process. Still, he’s one of the greatest fighters in the world, and his opinion matters a lot. When it comes to the best featherweights in the world, right now UFC champion Alex Volkanovski is at the top of the list and Max Holloway is right behind him. But if you ask “The Eagle,” it’s actually Magomedsharipov who is the best featherweight in the sport.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling praised fellow divisional rival Sean O’Malley, suggesting that “Suga” is “the real deal.” Sterling is coming off of his title fight DQ win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259 last month, a victory that saw him crowned the new champion at 135lbs. While Sterling appears poised for a rematch with his rival Petr Yan sometime later this year, he’s obviously still very aware of what else is going on in his division, and one of the fighters he’s keeping a close eye on is O’Malley. Coming off of an incredible KO win over Thomas Almeida at UFC 260, O’Malley appears poised to breakout in 2021 provided he can stay healthy. What O’Malley did against Almeida hasn’t gone unnoticed by anyone, namely the champion himself.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

New UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou says he is open to meeting boxing superstar Tyson Fury in the ring at some point. Ngannou is coming off of a massive knockout win over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 to become the new heavyweight champion of the world in mixed martial arts. “The Predator” is currently in talks to fight former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones or potentially even Derrick Lewis if that fight doesn’t work out. He knows that his calling right now is in the Octagon and Ngannou is fully prepared and ready to take on all comers in MMA. However, he came up as a boxer and he still has aspirations to competing in boxing again.

Cole Shelton - April 5, 2021

Vicente Luque was pleased with his win over Tyron Woodley at UFC 260. In the co-main event of the pay-per-view card, Luque knew he had to beat Woodley in order to prove he’s a future title challenger. Although the former champ was on a three-fight losing streak and wasn’t throwing many punches, Luque expected a very aggressive Woodley and that is exactly what he got.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

The UFC has offered heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou a rematch with Derrick Lewis for June 12, but ‘The Predator’ has declined it. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Monday that the UFC would like to add Ngannou vs. Lewis 2 to the UFC 263 pay-per-view card in June. This makes sense considering that card is a bit light on star power right now as the main event is a rematch between UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. That’s a great fight but the promotion would be wise to add another big title fight to the card to beef it up, and it doesn’t get any beefier than Ngannou vs. Lewis. However, according to Helwani’s report, Ngannou is not interested in taking the fight at this time as the timing doesn’t necessarily work for him.

Adam D Martin - April 5, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker is targeting a matchup against former champion Rafael dos Anjos the next time he steps into the Octagon. Hooker hasn’t fought since January when he suffered a first-round KO loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257. It was a tough loss for Hooker, who prior to that had lost a unanimous decision to Dustin Poirier in a 2020 “Fight of the Year” candidate. Prior to those two defeats, Hooker had won three straight fights including wins over Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, and James Vick. Despite dropping his last two bouts, the Kiwi has proven time and time again that he’s one of the best lightweights in the world, and even though he hasn’t got his hand raised in over a year, he’s still a top-10 ranked lightweight in the UFC.

bjpenndotcom - April 5, 2021

It’s easy to consider the monumental main event match between reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes and ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion Demetrious Johnson at ONE on TNT 1 as a war between the East against the West. One is an absolute legend, considered by many as one of the all-time greats, who is looking to fortify his lore in a new realm after leaving a warpath in his past stops, most notably in UFC. The other, meanwhile, is a dominant champion who is seeking to cement his status as one of the greats by knocking off his greatest challenger yet and reminding everyone who the top dog is in ONE Championship.

bjpenndotcom - April 5, 2021

Alyse Anderson grew up watching the likes of Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez build legendary careers and establish themselves at the pinnacle of the sport. Fast forward to now and the 26-year-old atomweight from Mason, Michigan feels ecstatic to be under the same umbrella with the aforementioned greats in ONE Championship.

Harry Kettle - April 5, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker has explained the decision behind Mike Goldberg no longer being part of Bellator broadcasts on Showtime. Mike Goldberg has been one of the most consistent and recognizable voices in all of mixed martial arts across the last few decades and as we look ahead to the future, it’s hard to imagine a world where he’s not on the call for a big promotion.

Christopher Taylor - April 4, 2021

Former Raiders offensive tackle, allegedly Bruce Campbell, was taken to hospital with a broken jaw following a wild altercation at Walmart. The incident, which was caught on camera, occurred in front of hundreds of fellow customers and stunned Walmart staff.

Adam Martin - April 4, 2021

PFL welterweight Rory MacDonald praised former opponent BJ Penn, saying that he was someone who he looked up to coming up in the sport. MacDonald returns to the cage later this month when he takes on David Michaud in a welterweight bout as part of PFL’s season three. MacDonald is a former UFC title challenger and a former Bellator welterweight champion, but he took his talents to PFL in search of a new challenge and the lure of the $1 million grand prize. For someone who has been fighting the best welterweights in the world for the past decade, the chance for MacDonald to go to the PFL and try to win another world title was something he couldn’t pass up.

Adam Martin - April 4, 2021

Women’s MMA pioneer and Hollywood actress Gina Carano has received a ‘shadow ban’ from Twitter which limits the reach of her tweets. Carano has come under fire lately for some tweets which landed her in hot water with Disney and resulted in her being fired from “The Mandalorian.” Her tweets have apparently now drawn the ire of Twitter, which has limited her ability to reach others on its platform. This weekend, fans noticed that Carano’s profile has become limited. There is a warning if you go to her profile in a logged-out account that says “Caution: This profile may include potentially sensitive content.” In addition, it is now more difficult to find Carano’s Twitter handle as it is being excluded in searches unless you directly know her profile handle. Carano’s fans are not happy about what is going on as they pointed out the changes.

Adam Martin - April 4, 2021

UFC superstar Jon Jones said that he weighs 255lbs in his latest heavyweight weight update ahead of the potential Francis Ngannou superfight. Jones has been bulking up for the better part of the past year in preparation for a planned move up to the UFC heavyweight division. Though he fought his entire MMA career up to this point at 205lbs, Jones has apparently had no trouble putting on the weight as he steps up to the UFC’s heaviest weight division. In February, Jones posted a video of himself hitting pads with striking coach Mike Winkeljohn when he weighed in at 252lbs. Some fans felt that Jones looked slow at that weight, but he fired back saying he was still getting into shape. Then in March, Jones posted an update saying he was weighed in around 245lbs.

Adam Martin - April 4, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler praised “combat sports icon” Conor McGregor and said he wants to fight him in November or December. Chandler made his UFC debut earlier this year on the undercard of the Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor rematch at UFC 257, where he scored a first-round KO over Dan Hooker. That was a massive win for Chandler, and he will return to the Octagon on May 15 when he meets Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 262 with the lightweight title on the line. That fight was made possible when Poirier turned down Oliveira so he could fight McGregor in a trilogy fight. The rivals will meet for the third time this summer at UFC 264 on July 10.

Adam D Martin - April 4, 2021

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski reacted after he was named the coach of TUF opposite his divisional rival Brian Ortega. It was recently revealed that Volkanovski and Ortega will be the coaches of the 29th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” after their fight was postponed due to Volkanovski testing positive for COVID-19. The two were supposed to meet at UFC 260 last weekend but after the champ tested positive for the coronavirus, the fight was scratched. Rather than just re-book the fight, the UFC decided to go a different route. Volkanovski and Ortega will still fight each other this year, but only after they step into their coaching shoes on TUF 29.

Adam D Martin - April 4, 2021

Coach Mike Winkeljohn suggested that the UFC should pay superstar Jon Jones $50 million for a Francis Ngannou superfight. Jones is currently involved in a financial dispute with the UFC related to a potential superfight against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Jones recently took to his social media to reveal that he told the UFC that $8 to $10 million would be “way too low” for a fight against Ngannou. “Bones” is looking for the biggest payday of his career and for a fight against Ngannou that seems destined to do huge numbers, he wants more money.