MMA News

Christopher Taylor - March 22, 2021

Sean O’Malley doesn’t wants fans to bet on him in his upcoming fight with Thomas Almeida at UFC 260. O’Malley (12-1 MMA) will return to the Octagon on the main card of Saturday’s pay-per-view event for a bantamweight showdown with Almeida ( MMA).

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

Jim Miller was disappointed he ended up not getting to fight at UFC 258 after making weight. But, what was worse is the fact he went home without his full paycheck. Miller was set to face Bobby Green in the prelim headliner of UFC 258 in February. However, at weigh-ins, Green fainted and the fight was called off. For Miller, he says it sucked for him to not fight given he took the fight on a week’s notice and cut a ton of weight.

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

XFC MMA is set for its first Young Guns event on March 27 and president, Myron Molotky couldn’t be more excited. When XFC re-launched last year, the first event was a success with the promotion airing on NBC as well. However, as the company was in the stages of re-launching, Molotky made it known he wanted to find the next superstar. To do that, he launched Young Guns, where he will have several fighters making their debuts or only a handful of fights into their career compete on the card as they look to get an official XFC contract.

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

Stipe Miocic expects to defeat Francis Ngannou again. In the main event of UFC 260, Miocic and Ngannou are having their rematch three years in the making. The two first met at UFC 220 where Miocic used his wrestling to control the fight and win a clear-cut decision.

Adam Martin - March 22, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer and Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Tito Ortiz pleaded with parents to take off their kids’ masks during a recent interview. Ortiz has been very outspoken about COVID-19 in general ever since he took over the role of Mayor Pro Tem in his native Huntington Beach near the end of 2020. Ortiz said in December that he was anti-mask and he allegedly didn’t wear a mask at city hall, which led to complaints from employees there. A few months later and Ortiz is still nothing but critical about the masks, going so far as to tell parents not to let their kids wear them.

Adam D Martin - March 22, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor says that beating Eddie Alvarez by knockout at UFC 205 was the “best performance” of his MMA career. McGregor — then the UFC featherweight champion — moved to 155lbs for the Alvarez fight, and he finished him in breathtaking fashion in the second round with punches to capture the UFC lightweight championship. That was in November 2016, when McGregor truly was in the prime of his career. Nearly five years later, McGregor agrees the Alvarez fight was the best he’s ever looked in the Octagon, calling it the “best performance” of his career.

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.

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

Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Gordon Ryan has signed a contract with ONE Championship to compete in both submission grappling and MMA. ONE Championship founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the news on Monday that Ryan has signed with Asia’s leading MMA promotion. According to Sityodtong, Ryan’s contract with ONE will allow him to compete in both submission grappling and in mixed martial arts. Check out the official announcement from ONE’s leading executive below.

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 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 Martin - March 21, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight Montserrat Conejo denied spitting on Cheyanne Buys following their main card fight at Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 22. Conejo was one of the biggest underdogs on the card, coming in on short notice for the injured Kay Hansen, but she pulled off a big upset by using her grappling to score a unanimous decision. Buys was not able to stop the fight from entering the clinch and every time it did, Conejo was able to get her to the ground with a head-and-arm throw and she kept Buys in a headlock position for essentially 15 minutes. It was a great win for Conejo in her UFC debut, but the victory was partly marred in controversy by what happened after.

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 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

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson explained why he called out Paulo Costa following his win over Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 22. Brunson won a unanimous decision over Holland in Saturday’s headliner. The 37-year-old veteran was able to take Holland down at will and control him on the mat for a dominant victory. Following the win, which was Brunson’s fourth straight victory at 185lbs, he called out the top contender Costa for a future fight. Costa was recently removed from a matchup against Robert Whittaker on April 17 and replaced by Kelvin Gastelum after the Brazilian pulled out due to illness. Once he feels better, Brunson is hoping the UFC books the fight.