MMA News

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Jan Blachowicz says he and Jon Jones still have unfinished business. After Blachowicz knocked out Corey Anderson last year in New Mexico, Jones promised Blachowicz a fight. However, “Bones” couldn’t come to terms with the UFC and he vacated the light heavyweight title with eyes on a move to heavyweight. Since then, Blachowicz became the new 205lbs champ with a TKO win over Dominick Reyes and he defended his belt against Israel Adesanya.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa revealed the timeframe for his return to the Octagon, and he suggested two potential opponents for it. Costa was set to fight Robert Whittaker in a potential No. 1 contender match at a UFC Fight Night card on April 17, but the fight fell apart because Costa is currently sick. The UFC didn’t want to take a chance that he wouldn’t be ready for the fight, so the promotion pulled Costa and replaced him with Kelvin Gastelum. While Gastelum benefits from Costa’s bad luck, the Brazilian continues to try and get better after battling the flu and COVID-19.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 card featuring Derek Brunson vs. Kevin Holland in the main event. The main event sees the seventh-ranked middleweight Derek Brunson take on the 10th-ranked Kevin Holland. Brunson will headline his second fight in a row, while this will be the first time Holland headlines a UFC card. It’s a fascinating matchup as Brunson has only lost to former or current champions, minus a few exceptions. If Holland is going to become a legit contender, he will need to beat Brunson on Saturday.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya says that UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz beat him fair and square at UFC 259. Adesanya lost a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards in a failed bid to become the new champ at 205lbs. The judges scored the fight 49-46, 49-45, and 49-45 in favor of Blachowicz, who successfully defended his light heavyweight belt for the first time. However, there was a lot of discussion about the scorecards afterward. Some thought that Adesanya deserved to get the nod, and UFC analyst Daniel Cormier was criticized for pushing the narrative that he was winning the first few rounds of the fight. Adesanya, however, doesn’t see it that way. Even though he’d love to be the 205lbs champ, he admits he lost the fight.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

An ex-Monster Energy photographer echoed the comments made by UFC’s Dominick Cruz with allegations of being “blackballed” by Hans Molenkamp. Cruz made news headlines when he recently called out Molenkamp for a charity MMA fight following his split decision win over Casey Kenney at UFC 259. That has led to plenty of chatter about the Monster executive, with other UFC fighters such as Angela Hill coming to the defense of Cruz. Now, we have another person speaking up about Molenkamp.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC analyst Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on a redesign of the current UFC gloves, saying that “there’s always gonna be issues.” Cormier was in the booth during the recent UFC Vegas 21 card, which saw the main event end in controversy when Leon Edwards poked Belal Muhammad in the eye, leaving him unable to compete. The fight was called off by referee Herb Dean on the advice of the cage-side doctor, who declared the bout a “No Contest” due to an accidental eye poke.

Harry Kettle - March 17, 2021

Paulo Costa‘s coach & brother has provided some more details on the current health of the UFC middleweight contender. It was recently reported that Costa has been forced out of his highly anticipated April 17 fight against Robert Whittaker, a fight many saw as a potential No. 1 contender bout at 185lbs. At the time, it was said Costa had been suffering from a severe case of the flu.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had a meeting with Lorenzo Fertitta, later telling Dana White to “send me location.” Nurmagomedov is currently in a state of quasi-retirement. Following his submission over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, “The Eagle” said that he was going to hang up his gloves after promising his family that he wouldn’t fight anymore. However, UFC president Dana White has been trying for the last six months to get Nurmagomedov to fight again, but to no avail. However, Nurmagomedov hasn’t given up his lightweight belt yet and he continues to make hints that he could fight again, such as meeting up with White in Las Vegas, though most signs are still pointing to him soon hanging up his gloves for good.

Drake Riggs - March 16, 2021

As Jake Paul’s boxing match against Ben Askren draws near, he continues to get help from MMA fighters in preparation – add Mike Perry to the list. After catching wind of the million-dollar bet UFC President Dana White laid down in favor of Askren, Perry shared his thoughts on Tuesday.

Andrew Whitelaw - March 16, 2021

Rizin favourite, Jake Heun has reportedly got himself into some serious trouble Down Under. According to a report from Jack Wannan in Knockdown News, the 33 year old Heun is facing a slew of drug charges in Melbourne, Australia.

Andrew Whitelaw - March 16, 2021

Rafael Fiziev is arguably one of the best strikers in the UFC and the in-form lightweight just raised his hand for a fight with The Korean Zombie. Currently riding an impressive three-fight winning streak, Fiziev is on the cusp of breaking into the top 15 at 155lb. The former policeman was last in action at UFC 256, where he knocked out Renato Moicano with a savage left hook back in December.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Colby Covington wasn’t impressed with Leon Edwards. In the main event of UFC Vegas 21, Edwards made his long-awaited return to the Octagon against Belal Muhammad who took the fight on short notice. Early on, Edwards was having success and landed a head kick that appeared to rock Muhammad. The Englishman clearly won the first round, but in the second round, Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye and the fight was over.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Antonio Carlos Junior didn’t think he was fighting for his job at UFC 257. Carlos Junior was making his return to the Octagon after over a year away against Brad Tavares. In the fight, the Brazilian was looking to get the fight to the ground but Tavares managed to keep the contest on the feet and outstrike him to win a decision. After the fight, it was revealed Carlos Junior was released which caught him by surprise.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Robert Whittaker will still headline the April 17 card after all. Late Monday night, it was revealed Paulo Costa was out of his fight against Whittaker due to ongoing complications from COVID-19. The hope for the Brazilian was to push the fight back a couple of weeks. However, that will not be the case. According to Contreas Legaspi and later confirmed by ESPN, Gastelum has agreed to step up on short notice to fight Whittaker.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

The UFC rankings have been updated following UFC Vegas 21, with featherweight Dan Ige and light heavyweight Ryan Spann moving up the ladder. Ige knocked out Gavin Tucker in 22 seconds, while Spann finished Misha Cirkunov in the first round for his biggest UFC victory to date. Both Ige and Spann not only earned $50,000 bonuses for their incredible knockouts, but they have also moved up the UFC rankings in the latest update. Check out the latest changes to the UFC rankings (via Jed I. Goodman).

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo said that he wants to fight Max Holloway, saying he loves the “challenge.” Cejudo retired from the UFC following a TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. However, despite being retired he has maintained an active social media profile and has called out a number of fighters over the past year or so, most notably Alexander Volkanovski. Considering Cejudo is just 34 years old, most fans and media believe he will fight again. If he does, then you can now add another potential opponent to the mix.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC executive Marc Ratner said that referee Herb Dean felt that middleweight Darren Stewart baited Eryk Anders into throwing an illegal knee. Anders was hurting Stewart up against the fence with punches and looked to be on his way to a win, but when Stewart went to the mat and took a knee, Anders nailed him in the head with an illegal knee and the fight was stopped. Dean declared the foul unintentional and thus the fight was ruled a No Contest. The fact Dean called it a No Contest instead of a DQ, which Petr Yan was hit with by referee Mark Smith when he nailed Aljamain Sterling in the head, left some fans who were watching take to social media to share their confusion on why one of these fights was a No Contest and why the other was a disqualification.