MMA News

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling responded to criticism from veteran referee John McCarthy about the Petr Yan illegal knee. Sterling won the UFC’s 135lbs belt at UFC 259 earlier this month in controversial fashion after Yan landed a knee to the head of a downed opponent and was disqualified. Referee Mark Smith deemed the knee intentional and gave Yan the DQ when Sterling was unable to continue. Afterward, Sterling came under heavy criticism online from fans, media, fellow fighters, and even officials when McCarthy questioned his desire not to continue. Of course, McCarthy is a podcast host these days, but he is arguably the most notable MMA referee of all time. So when he criticized Sterling for the knee incident, people listened to him.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Adrian Yanez has put the bantamweight division on notice. Yanez entered his UFC Vegas 22 fight against Gustavo Lopez coming off a highlight reel KO in his UFC debut. The goal for Yanez was to get another viral KO, which he did, but it also came in the third round, which was a bonus for the surging contender.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

Ticket holders have warned that attending UFC 261 could result in severe and permanent damage to their health, according to the disclaimer. The UFC will have fans back in the crowd for the first time in over a year when the promotion heads to Jacksonville, Florida on April 24 for UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2. The card is stacked with three title fights. In the main event, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman puts his belt on the line for a second time when he faces rival Jorge Masvidal. The two met last summer on Fight Island, with Usman winning a unanimous decision in a short-notice fight. Nine months later and they are running the fight back.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

The official weigh-ins for UFC 260 took place on Friday, and both Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou made weight for their title fight. In the main event of the evening, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic puts his title on the line for the second time against Francis Ngannou in a high-profile fight between two elite talents. Miocic is coming off of back-to-back wins over Daniel Cormier to win their trilogy 2-1, while Ngannou is riding into this fight off the strength of four straight victories by first-round knockout. Both Miocic and Ngannou successfully made weight for the fight, with Miocic coming in at 234lbs, and with Ngannou coming in at 263lbs.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

UFC 261 will be the first event since the pandemic began with a sold-out crowd. Dana White recently revealed the promotion is heading back to Jacksonville for the stacked UFC 261 card and will have full capacity. To no surprise, the event sold out in minutes and White revealed it was one of the fastest sellouts in UFC history. The event will also set the gate record for the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.

bjpenndotcom - March 26, 2021

Without question, Itsuki Hirata is coming in as one of the favorites to come out victorious in the upcoming ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix. The Japanese grappler is set to take on American bet Alyse “Lil’ Savage” Anderson as they clash in the quarterfinals at ONE: Empower on May 28 in Singapore.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Belal Muhammad is still campaigning to rematch Leon Edwards. At UFC Vegas 21, Muhammad stepped up on short notice to fight Edwards in a very intriguing welterweight bout. The fight served as a big step up in competition for Muhammad while it was Edwards’ highly-anticipated return to the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

UFC president Dana White shared his concerns for Miesha Tate’s nose ahead of her comeback fight in the UFC this summer against Marion Reneau. Tate announced this week that she is coming out of a five-year retirement to face Reneau this summer, in what will ironically be Reneau’s retirement fight. The last time we saw Tate in the cage was at UFC 205 in November 2016 when she lost a decision to Raquel Pennington, just a few months after losing the UFC women’s bantamweight title to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. After losing to Pennington, Tate retired from MMA. She has since started a family, but the itch to compete has come back and she’s now back with the UFC.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

BMW has cut ties with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after he recently made a rape joke about Kevin Holland on social media. “Bro, I will f*ckin rape you,” Adesanya said about Holland in the now-deleted Instagram story that has resulted in the UFC superstar coming under heavy criticism. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson condemned Adesanya for his comments, and Adesanya later took to his social media to release an apology. While it was good for him to get on top of things and issue a public statement, it appears it wasn’t enough to save his new role as an ambassador with BMW. Instead, he has lost his job for his comments.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has really been putting in the work as he posted new photos of himself as a heavyweight. Jones vacated the 205lbs belt that he held on-and-off for the past decade last summer when “Bones” announced he would finally be making the move up to the UFC heavyweight division. For years, fans and media wanted to see Jones fight up in weight and see if he could dominate a second weight class. We will finally get the chance to see that as Jones will be making the move up to the UFC heaviest’s weight division by the end of the year.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley explained why his loss to Colby Covington hurt more than his other setbacks inside the Octagon. Woodley and Covington were once training partners, but the men turned into bitter rivals over the last few years. Their rivalry culminated in their fight last September, where Colby Covington beat Woodley down until finishing him via TKO (injury) late in the fifth round. It was the third loss in a row for Woodley, and it hurt even more because he lost to Covington, someone who he used to train with and who he saw coming up the ladder.

Drake Riggs - March 25, 2021

Triller isn’t messing around when it comes to the commentary team for Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren. Adding to the list of stars is Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson. Already set to have a plethora of entertainment acts taking place throughout the April 17 event, it was announced on Thursday (h/t MMA Junkie) that the commentary team was finalized. Joining the likes of Snoop Dogg, Al Bernstein, Mike Coppinger, and Ray Flores will be Pete Davidson, Taylor Hill, Mario Lopez, Dixie D’Amelio, and Charli D’Amelio.

Adam Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that he is thinking about booking UFC women’s bantamweight championship Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena. Nunes is coming off of a quick submission win over Megan Anderson at UFC 259 in a 145lbs title defense, and the promotion is looking to turn her back around quickly in a 135lbs title fight. The one fighter in the women’s bantamweight division who has been the most vocal about getting the fight with Nunes is Pena, the former “The Ultimate Fighter” winner. Pena is coming off of a submission win over Sara McMann and she believes that win should be enough to get her the title shot in what is a shallow division in terms of fresh contenders.

Adam Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang fired back at boxing legend Mike Tyson after he suggested Rose Namajunas “destroys” her. Zhang returns to the Octagon at UFC 261 on April 24 when she takes on Namajunas in a fight that’s been in the works for months now. Zhang hasn’t fought since last March at UFC 248 when she won a split decision in a classic war against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Namajunas, meanwhile, is coming off of a split decision win over Jessica Andrade. They are the two top-ranked women’s strawweights in the world right now and this fight should be fantastic.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021

Stipe Miocic is confident he will defend his heavyweight title again on Saturday night. In the main event of UFC 260, Miocic and Ngannou are set to rematch three years after Miocic dominated the first fight. In January of 2018, Ngannou was young and inexperienced and after the first round, he gassed himself out and Miocic used his wrestling to win the fight. Now, ahead of the rematch, Miocic expects to extinguish Ngannou again.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021

Dana White is not surprised Dustin Poirier is taking the trilogy fight with Conor McGregor over the vacant lightweight title fight. After the UFC officially confirmed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, the promotion booked Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler for the vacant title. Many fans were confused as to why Poirier wasn’t involved in it, but White revealed “The Diamond” was offered a title fight but turned it down to get the McGregor trilogy which White likes.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021

Dan Hardy doesn’t understand why Herb Dean is considered the gold standard of MMA referees. Dean is often the man in charge of UFC main events, however, Hardy believes he is constantly making mistakes. The two haven’t gotten along since their Fight Island incident last summer where Hardy was seen yelling to stop the fight when Francisco Trinaldo was landing heavy punches against Jai Herbert.

Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Marion Reneau issued a statement following the announcement of her retirement fight with Miesha Tate. Reneau lost last weekend against Macy Chiasson when she dropped a unanimous decision. At age 43, Reneau is the oldest active fighter in the UFC and she has lost her last four fights, which left her as a potential cut casualty as the UFC continues to trim the roster. Instead of releasing Reneau, however, the UFC decided to give her one last fight, and they booked her against Tate, who is returning from a five-year retirement layoff of her own.