MMA News

Christopher Taylor - March 26, 2021

Ben Askren was not impressed that his former opponent Jorge Masvidal decided to team up with Jake Paul at today’s Triller Fight Club press conference. Paul, a YouTube star turned boxer, and Askren, a former MMA champion, are slated to meet in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17. 

Drake Riggs - March 26, 2021

Oscar De La Hoya is making his comeback and he wants a notable UFC name to square off with. Anthony Pettis wasn’t good enough, according to his manager. Prior to Friday’s Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren pre-fight press conference, De La Hoya told Snoop Dogg that he’s getting back in the ring in July. To follow things up, ESPN’s Marc Raimondi reported that De La Hoya’s return bout on July 3 will likely happen in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium where he wants “a big UFC name.” Thus prompting a response from the manager of Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, Malki Kawa.

Drake Riggs - March 26, 2021

Despite the circus-like nature of his fight career to this point, Jake Paul will tell you that he’s taking things very seriously. In November, the YouTube star knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson in the second round. Now, he’s set to do battle with former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Sean O’Malley believes UFC 260 will be the last time Thomas Almeida competes in the UFC. On the main card of the pay-per-view event on Saturday, O’Malley is set to return to the Octagon against Almeida who is on a three-fight losing streak and is just 1-4 in his last five. Given he is on a losing skid, O’Malley says he is sorry he will be sending him to Bellator after Saturday night.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Aljamain Sterling doesn’t understand why Petr Yan is getting a rematch. At UFC 259, Sterling fought Yan for the bantamweight title and it was a high-action fight. However, entering the championship rounds, Yan was starting to take over but in the fourth round, Yan landed an illegal knee and the fight was over and Sterling became the new champ by DQ.

Thomas Taylor - March 26, 2021

Jorge Masvidal made a surprise virtual appearance at Friday night’s Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren pre-fight press conference. Paul, a YouTube star turned boxer, and Askren, an MMA veteran, are slated to meet in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17. 

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

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.

Adam D Martin - March 26, 2021

UFC president Dana White said that UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is the greatest MMA fighter to ever compete in his weight division. Miocic defends the heavyweight crown once again this weekend when he faces off against rival Francis Ngannou in a rematch that headlines UFC 260. Ahead of his fight, 3News’ Jim Donovan spoke to White about the Cleveland native, and the UFC president couldn’t hold back his praise, telling Donovan that he believes Miocic is the best MMA heavyweight ever.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021

Robert Whittaker is well aware Kelvin Gastelum is a very tough fight for him. In the main event of UFC Vegas 24 on April 17, Whittaker is finally set to fight Gastelum. The No. 8 ranked middleweight is taking the fight on short notice after Paulo Costa was forced out of the scrap due to illness. It’s a very intriguing matchup given Gastelum was supposed to challenge Whittaker for the middleweight title a couple years ago. However, on the day of the fight, the champ was forced out of the matchup.

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.

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.

Drake Riggs - March 25, 2021

Randy Couture knows a thing or two about fighting at light heavyweight and heavyweight at the highest level. Jon Jones looks to do the same. After relinquishing his 205-pound title in 2020, Jones declared that he’s finally going to make the jump up to heavyweight – something fans have been anticipating for nearly a decade.