MMA News

Adam D Martin - March 23, 2021

Islam Makhachev says that divisional rival Michael Chandler doesn’t deserve to fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title. Last week, Makhachev’s good friend, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, announced his retirement from MMA. That means the 155lbs belt is now vacated, and the promotion quickly moved to book Chandler vs. Oliveira in the main event of UFC 262 in Houston for the vacant title. It’s a great fight on paper between two of the top-five ranked lightweights in the UFC, but some believe it wasn’t the right fight to make.

Adam D Martin - March 23, 2021

UFC superstar Jon Jones shared a harsh message for individuals who pull out cell phones instead of helping out during emergency situations. Jones played the “tweet and delete” game on Tuesday morning when the former UFC light heavyweight champion put out a tweet criticizing those who pull out their cell phones instead of helping others. It’s unclear exactly what prompted Jones to make the tweet but he sent it out and then decided that he wanted to remove it and deleted it. See it below.

Adam D Martin - March 23, 2021

Former UFC middleweight and current BKFC fighter Hector Lombard shared a video of gunshots during an amateur MMA fight night in Florida. Lombard was in attendance at a RIZE Fighting Championship this past Saturday at the Bamboo Room in Lake Worth Beach. According to TMZ Sports, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, one that was shocking and caught on camera. According to the report, a fight broke out in the stands between fans, and at some point, one of the men pulled a gun out and fired shots into the air, turning the room into a frenzy. Lombard was cage side and can be seen capturing the gunshots on his cell phone video.

Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021

The 33rd episode of Just Scrap Radio with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 260. We’re first joined by the 10th-ranked UFC welterweight contender, Vicente Luque (2:28). Next, UFC lightweight, Khama Worthy (20:56) comes on. 15th-ranked UFC flyweight, Gillian Robertson (35:02) joins the show. Closing out the program is UFC light heavyweight, Modestas Bukauskas (43:57).

Adam D Martin - March 23, 2021

UFC welterweight James Krause gave his pupil, lightweight prospect Grant Dawson, an incredible pep talk before he KOed Leonardo Santos. Krause, the head trainer at Glory MMA & Fitness, has been getting lots of attention in the past year or so, not for his fighting skills, but for his coaching skills. The head trainer for numerous UFC fighters including Tim Elliott, Darrick Minner, and Kevin Croom, Krause has shown an incredible ability to be a teacher and a motivator. We saw that on display first hand once again this weekend when he was in the corner of the top prospect Dawson.

Christopher Taylor - March 22, 2021

Polyana Viana has responded after being mentioned in ‘revolting’ sexual comments by former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington. Covington made headlines last week when he suggested that he declined an offer from the UFC to fight Leon Edwards on short-notice because he was “balls deep” in Viana.

Drake Riggs - March 22, 2021

As Bellator gets set to kick off 2021 on Showtime, Cat Zingano and Liz Carmouche are ready to make their sophomore appearances in the promotion. Monday, it was revealed via ESPN that former UFC bantamweight title challenger turned Bellator featherweight, Cat Zingano, will be welcoming Olivia Parker to the promotion at Bellator 256 on April 9. Also taking place in the Mohegan Sun Arena that night will be the long-awaited debut of former Invicta FC flyweight champion, Vanessa Porto, who is welcomed by Liz Carmouche, reported FanSided.

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

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.

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

Curtis Blaydes has opened up on his loss to Derrick Lewis. Back on February 20, Blaydes and Lewis were finally set to fight after years of trash-talking one another. In the lead-up to the fight, many expected Blaydes to use his wrestling to control the fight. However, that was far from the case as the first-round was a kickboxing fight which Blaydes won. Yet, in the second round, as Blaydes went for a takedown, Lewis landed a perfectly timed uppercut that KO’d Blaydes.

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.

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.