MMA News

Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021

Grant Dawson is finally making the move to lightweight. After Dawson missed the featherweight mark by 3.5 pounds against Darrick Minner and barely made weight for a 150-pound catchweight against Nad Narimani in July, he knew he needed to move up to 155lbs. The goal for Dawson was to make a quick turnaround but that was not the case. Finally, at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 event, Dawson will make his official UFC lightweight debut against Leonardo Santos.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

UFC featherweight title contender Brian Ortega says that he won’t feel like a UFC champion until he beats Max Holloway in a rematch. Ortega and Holloway previously met at UFC 231 in December 2018. At the time, Ortega was an undefeated fighter who many thought would give then-featherweight champion Holloway problems. However, that didn’t prove to be the case at all as Holloway absolutely pieced apart Ortega with his striking attack before finally forcing a doctor stoppage at the end of the fourth round. It was an incredible win by Holloway, while for Ortega it was one of those eye-opening types of fights that led him to realize he needed to make changes.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has officially filed an appeal regarding his TKO loss to Ciryl Gane back at UFC 256. Dos Santos was recently cut by the UFC after losing four straight fights, the last which came against Gane at UFC 256. In that fight, Gane hit JDS with an elbow that appeared to potentially land on the back of his head. However, referee Jerin Valel did not call a foul and the fight was declared a TKO win for Gane. JDS was not happy about the loss and vented about his frustrations with the result of the fight immediately following the contest, but it wasn’t enough to save his job. After 13 years of being with the world’s leading MMA promotion, JDS was released, and he’s not thrilled the cut came after the loss to Gane.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Two-division Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull trashed Tapology for ranking him as the 21st-best featherweight in the sport. Tapology is one of the top resources in the world of mixed martial arts. The website has an incredible record-keeping system in MMA and is generally regarded as the top MMA database going right now. However, Pitbull has a bone to pick with them about the site’s ranking systems. Tapology has its own rankings system where it ranks the best fighters in the world by division regardless of promotion. It’s worth noting that registered users submit their rankings, so it’s not Tapology itself that is doing the rankings, but MMA fans.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

UFC president Dana White was welcomed back to Jacksonville by Mayor Lenny Curry for UFC 261, who said “we are proud to welcome you back.” White announced this week that the world’s leading MMA promotion is set to return with a full crowd of fans when UFC 261 takes place on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida. The card features Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2 in the main event, along with two other title fights. The announcement was met with excitement by some fans, who are looking forward to attending a UFC event live again, but also with some concern by some fans and media who believe the event could be risky given the realities of COVID-19, especially in Florida.

Harry Kettle - March 18, 2021

Justin Bieber and Ice Cube are amongst the names scheduled to perform at the Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul event on Triller next month. The boxing showdown between the YouTuber and MMA star has been gaining a lot of traction in recent months and now, it appears as if the four-hour spectacle is being turned into quite the concert.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez shared advice with MMA superstar Conor McGregor, saying “he needs to harden himself as a man.” Alvarez was actually McGregor’s last and only win in the UFC as a lightweight. The two met in the main event of UFC 205 in November 2016, with McGregor knocking Alvarez out to become the new UFC lightweight champion. Since that time, Alvarez has taken his talents to ONE Championship, while McGregor continues to be one of the UFC’s biggest stars. However, McGregor is coming off of a second-round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, and it was the kind of loss that has led to a number of his peers giving advice to him.

Adam D Martin - March 18, 2021

Michael Chandler has a sneaky suspicion that UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will retire with a record of “29-and-Chandler.” Chandler is one of the top lightweights in the world who is currently vying for a chance to win the UFC’s 155lbs belt, one that is currently held by Nurmagomedov. However, the Russian has said for the last six months now that he is planning on hanging up his gloves. That hasn’t stopped UFC president Dana White from trying his best to convince Nurmagomedov to fight again, but so far we haven’t heard one way or another his plans.

Harry Kettle - March 18, 2021

UFC lightweight Gregor Gillespie says that his knockout defeat to Kevin Lee was easier to accept than if he’d have lost via decision. Gillespie is set to get back into the Octagon this weekend at UFC Vegas 22 when he takes on fellow rising contender Brad Riddell. When he does, it’ll be the first time since UFC 244 that he’s fought, a card that took place in November 2019.

Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021

Heavyweight kingpin Stipe Miocic is looking lean and mean ahead of his highly anticipated rematch with Francis Ngannou at UFC 260. Miocic and Ngannou are set to square off for the UFC heavyweight title for a second time on March 27 in Las Vegas.

Christopher Taylor - March 17, 2021

Israel Adesanya has confirmed he will be fighting Darren Till next if the Liverpool native can defeat Marvin Vettori at next month’s UFC on ABC 2 event. The UFC’s reigning middleweight champion, Adesanya (20-1 MMA), suffered that first loss of his mixed martial arts career earlier this month to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. ‘Stylebender’ had jumped up a weight class in order to challenge the Polish champion, but ultimately fell victim to a unanimous decision loss.

Drake Riggs - March 17, 2021

Since Dominick Cruz alleged that Hans Molenkamp has been enforcing some questionable antics regarding his dealings with Monster Energy sponsorships, he’s gained support from many in the community. However, light heavyweight legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson doesn’t feel it’s warranted. A longtime Monster-sponsored athlete, Rampage shared his thoughts on the recent claims surrounding the company executive.

Christopher Taylor - March 17, 2021

Israel Adesanya has responded to the criticism he received from rival Jon Jones following his unanimous decision loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. Earlier this month the UFC’s reigning middleweight champion in Adesanya moved up a weight class to challenge Blachowicz for the promotions light heavyweight title. While ‘Stylebender’ had predicted that he would avoid being touched by Jan’s legendary “Polish power” that did not prove to be the case. Instead, Jan Blachowicz went on to handle Israel Adesanya in the grappling department on route to a unanimous decision victory.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Alexander Volkanovski believes the UFC spoils Max Holloway like no one else on the roster. After Holloway earned a dominant decision win over Calvin Kattar, Dana White said the Hawaiian would get the next title shot against the winner of Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. However, Volkanovski believes Holloway is getting spoiled by getting a third crack at him.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Stephen Thompson believes Jorge Masvidal will become the new welterweight champion at UFC 261. In the main event of the card, Masvidal is getting his rematch against Kamaru Usman, not even a year after losing to him at UFC 251. However, Jorge took the previous fight on just days’ notice and had to fly to Abu Dhabi and cut a bunch of weight. For Thompson, he believes a full camp will allow Masvidal to put up a better fight.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Kevin Holland says Israel Adesanya is a true loser now that he has been beaten in MMA, kickboxing, and boxing. In the main event of UFC 259, Adesanya moved up to light heavyweight against Jan Blachowicz to try and become a champ-champ. Unfortunately for Adesanya, he lost a decision, and for Holland, he says that just cements his claim that “The Last Stylebender” is a true loser.

Adam Martin - March 17, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming middleweight bout between longtime rivals Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. Whittaker was set to face Paulo Costa in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on April 17, but Costa was forced out of the fight due to illness and replaced by Gastelum, who is taking the fight on short notice. Gastelum is coming off of a decision win over Ian Heinisch at UFC 258 just last month so he should be in shape and ready to go for this bout against Whittaker, who is coming off of back-to-back wins over Jared Cannonier and Darren Till.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling called Petr Yan a “dirty dickhead” as the two rivals got into a war of words on social media. Sterling and Yan’s 135lbs title fight at UFC 259 ended in controversy when the former champion nailed “Funk Master” in the head with an illegal knee in the fourth round, which left the challenger unable to continue. For the first time in UFC history, a title changed hands via DQ after referee Mark Smith deemed the foul international and Yan was disqualified. Sterling was, therefore, declared the winner and he’s now the champion.