MMA News

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

Derek Brunson is continuing to troll Kevin Holland. In the lead-up to UFC Vegas 22, Holland was vocal about the fact he didn’t like Brunson and wanted to knock him out. He was trash-talking throughout fight week and during the fight, he was still talking to Brunson. However, the Strikeforce veteran Brunson got the last laugh as he scored a dominant decision win to extend his winning streak to four straight.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2021

Former UFC champion Henry Cejudo commented on a potential fight with Deiveson Figueiredo, saying it would be “like breaking a cookie.” Cejudo retired from MMA last year after knocking out Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. He defended the UFC bantamweight title that night, a title that he won from Marlon Moraes at UFC 238. Before moving up to 135lbs, Cejudo was also the UFC flyweight champion, having defeated Demetrious Johnson to take the belt at UFC 227 and then defending it successfully once against TJ Dillashaw. After moving up to bantamweight, winning the belt, and then defending it one time, Cejudo made the surprising decision to walk away in the prime of his career. But given that he’s only 34, a comeback someday seems very likely.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2021

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic says he’s not thinking about a Jon Jones superfight until he beats Francis Ngannou at UFC 260. Miocic puts the heavyweight title on the line this Saturday night when he fights Ngannou in a rematch in the UFC 260 main event. These two rivals met three years ago at UFC 220 and Miocic dominated Ngannou with his wrestling to take home the decision. Since that first encounter, Miocic went 2-1 in his trilogy against Daniel Cormier, while Ngannou is 4-1 since the first Miocic fight, with his last four wins coming by way of first-round knockout.

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 22, a key middleweight bout headlined the card as Derek Brunson took on the streaking Kevin Holland. Holland entered the fight riding a ton of momentum after going 5-0 in 2020 but in the fight, Brunson proved why he should still be considered among the best at middleweight. The veteran used his wrestling to control the fight and win a clear-cut decision.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold says he has that “fire” back ahead of his comeback to the Octagon later this year. Rockhold hasn’t fought since UFC 239 in July 2019, when he suffered a brutal KO loss to Jan Blachowicz. The former Strikeforce and UFC champ has taken the last two years off to heal his mind and body after years of fighting at the elite level, and he plans on making his comeback to the Octagon sometime later this year. At age 36, Rockhold is hoping that after taking two years off, his injuries have been healed up and he’ll be ready to do damage again inside the Octagon. He’s been training at RVCA Gym in preparation for his return.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2021

Heavyweight sumo wrestler Tsuyoshi Sudario earned the fastest knockout in RIZIN history during past weekend’s RIZIN 27 event. Sudario is a 23-year-old native of Japan who comes from a sumo wrestling background who trains MMA under the legendary Enson Inoue. In September 2020, he made his pro debut in mixed martial arts and finished Dylan James via first-round TKO (doctor stoppage) at RIZIN 24. He then returned to the cage at RIZIN 26 in December 2020 and finished Minowaman with strikes in the first round. Considering his young age, his grappling credentials, and his apparent knockout power on the feet, Sudario looks like a really good prospect. And if you thought he was already looking good, imagine what you might think now after the youngster just pulled off scoring the fastest in company history at RIZN 27.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2021

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson disagreed with Dana White’s suggestion that Kevin Holland had a “mental breakdown” at UFC Vegas 22. Brunson dominated Holland with his grappling in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 event. The 37-year-old Strikeforce veteran was able to take Holland down at will and control him on the mat en route to a unanimous decision victory. But while Brunson had a solid performance, Holland is the fighter everyone is talking about, and not for good reasons. The 28-year-old Texan is known for talking during his fights, but he took it to a whole new level against Brunson, as he wouldn’t stop talking for the full 25 minutes.

Adam Martin - March 21, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley looks to be in fantastic shape ahead of his fight against Vicente Luque at UFC 260. Woodley is looking to snap a three-fight losing skid when he meets Luque next Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 260. The 38-year-old St. Louis native is the No. 7 ranked welterweight in the UFC, but with three straight losses to Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, and Kamaru Usman, the former champion is being used as a gatekeeper to the top-10 now. The UFC is giving Luque the chance to go in there and take on a former champion and see what he’s made of, and the oddsmakers like his chances. Luque is currently a -275 betting favorite, while the former champion Woodley is a +200 underdog at the moment.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC featherweight Shane Young has been pulled from his fight with Omar Morales at next weekend’s UFC 260 card due to COVID-19 protocols. Young vs. Morales would have been a great fight between two men who likely would have stood and traded for the fans’ delight, but the fight has been scratched from UFC 260. On Saturday night, it was revealed that UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was pulled from his upcoming title fight against Brian Ortega at UFC 260 after testing positive for COVID-19. In addition, lightweight Brad Riddell saw his fight with Gregor Gillespie canceled for UFC Vegas 22 because of his closeness to Volkanovski. It appears now that Young, another City Kickboxing fighter, was affected by COVID-19 protocols.

Adam Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC lightweight Leonardo Santos has released a statement following his brutal ground-and-pound KO loss to Grant Dawson at UFC Vegas 22. Santos and Dawson were engaged in a razor-close fight that was seconds away from heading to the judges’ scorecards. Though the judges would have scored the fight for Dawson, no one could have known that at the time, as some believed Santos had done enough to win the first two rounds and Dawson needed a big comeback. He did just that and more when he landed a brutal hammer fist KO with ground and pound with just one second left in the third round, eliminating the need to bring the judges into the equation.

Adam Martin - March 21, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov confirmed that he retired from MMA because of his love and respect for his mother. Nurmagomedov officially announced this week that he was retiring from MMA at the height of his career. At 29-0 and at age 32, Nurmagomedov is very much in his prime and was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world before he made the announcement official and he hung up his gloves. For many fans, the decision to walk away is a surprising one considering he’s still one of the best fighters in the sport and there is plenty of money to be made. But for Nurmagomedov, family trumps all, and that’s why he retired from MMA.

Adam Martin - March 21, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to be the MMA coach of the year, says his longtime teammate Luke Rockhold. Nurmagomedov announced his official retirement from the UFC this week, finishing his MMA career with a perfect 29-0 record. While a return down the road can’t be ruled out, at least for the time being we have seen the last of “The Eagle” inside the Octagon. But just because he doesn’t plan on competing anymore doesn’t mean he won’t stick around the game. Instead of fighting, Nurmagomedov plans on putting his focus on coaching instead.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren revealed the first memory he had after Jorge Masvidal knocked him out with a flying knee at UFC 239. Masvidal’s five-second KO over Askren is one of the iconic moments in UFC history. The two rivals talked a lot of smack in the lead-up to the fight, but as soon as the bell rang, Masvidal ran across the Octagon and completely flattened Askren with a brutal knee as he ducked for a takedown. It was a brutal knockout that left Askren completely KOed stiff.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya responded after Jon Jones recently accused him of “acting like a girl” and “playing the victim.” There is no love lost between Adesanya and Jones, two of MMA’s biggest stars. After Adesanya failed in his bid to capture the UFC light heavyweight championship against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, Jones has been extremely critical towards the middleweight champion, criticizing him for his inability to stuff the takedown and do damage off his back. Adesanya, in turn, has continued to take shots at Jones. Although a fight between these two seems to be a longshot now that Adesanya has lost to Blachowicz, that isn’t stopping both fighters from taking to their social media and continuing to chirp at each other.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC middleweight Kevin Holland says he is considering a move down to 170lbs following his loss to Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 22. Holland was taken down at will for nearly the entire 25 minutes by Brunson on his way to a unanimous decision loss. Though it seemed that Holland didn’t take the fight seriously, you also have to give a ton of credit to Brunson for sticking to his gameplan. He was able to expose Holland’s poor takedown defense as he continually took him down at will and beat him with his grinding wrestling style. It was the kind of lopsided win for Brunson that now has Holland contemplating a chance of weight classes considering how he was held down.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor continued to take jabs at recently-retired rival Khabib Nurmagomedov with some more trash-talk on social media. McGregor and Nurmagomedov were bitter rivals for years, and the hope was the two would one day have their big-money rematch inside the Octagon. However, after McGregor got knocked out by Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, it essentially eliminated any thoughts of the rematch. Nurmagomedov officially retired from MMA this week, and of course, McGregor was there to take a shot at him, telling the Russian he’s the one who made him in MMA. On Sunday, McGregor continued to take shots at Nurmagoedov, this time for his lack of power.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC middleweight Kevin Holland responded to the critics who said that he should “stop talking” during his fights following UFC Vegas 22. Holland lost a unanimous decision when Derek Brunson was able to take him down at will and control him on the mat en route to a unanimous decision victory. While it was a solid performance by Brunson, who did exactly what he needed to do to win the fight, it was disappointing to see Holland not take the fight more seriously. Instead of having an urgency to finish the fight, Holland instead let the clock continue to tick. Once he finally started to take the fight seriously late in the fifth round, it was already far too late.

Adam D Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov discussed what’s next for him after officially confirming his retirement from fighting this week. After submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, Nurmagomedov said that he planned on hanging up his gloves and step away from MMA. For the past six months, UFC president Dana White has tried to convince “The Eagle” to fly again, but Nurmagomedov ultimately decided that he doesn’t want to continue fighting, and he decided to walk away. The Russian officially retired and vacated the UFC lightweight belt this week, which resulted in Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler being booked for the vacant belt at UFC 262.