MMA News
Jake Paul reacts to Dana White's planned $1M bet on Ben Askren
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
UFC President Dana White plans to bet $1 million on Ben Askren beating Jake Paul this April—and now, Paul has responded. Askren and Paul will collide in an eight-round boxing match in Atlanta, Georgia on April 17. Heading into the matchup, there’s widespread debate as to who will come out on top.
Angela Hill on the Hans Molenkamp-Dominick Cruz situation: 'No one likes to be belittled'
Drake Riggs - March 10, 2021
Dominick Cruz opened up an unexpected can of worms after his win at UFC 259. One of which that his Alliance MMA teammate Angela Hill has some thoughts on. Defeating Casey Kenney by way of a hard-fought split decision in the final prelim of the night, Cruz would follow-up his first win since 2016 in an interesting fashion – a callout of Monster Energy representative, Hans Molenkamp.
Report | UFC 259 sold 800,000 pay-per-views worldwide
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
According to a new report from the Sports Business Journal, this past Saturday’s UFC 259 pay-per-view event sold 800,000 PPVs worldwide. UFC 259 featured a super fight in the main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya, one of the sport’s biggest stars. Along with that big fight, the event also featured two other title fights: Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson for the UFC women’s featherweight title, and Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling for the UFC bantamweight title. Overall, it was a great card and paper and mostly lived up to the hype. But the question that UFC president Dana White and the other organizational executives wanted to know was how many PPV buys the card would sell.
Eryk Anders expects to "swing leather" with Darren Stewart until one of them falls
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Eryk Anders is expecting a highly entertaining fight for the fans on Saturday night To open up the UFC Vegas 21 main card, Anders is set to face Darren Stewart. In the lead-up to the fight, Anders, the former D-1 football star at Alabama, left home to go to Arizona and train at Fight Ready. For Anders, he says he needed a change in order to improve.
Mike Tyson says Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes was the "Fight of the Year"
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
Boxing legend Mike Tyson says Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes was the “Fight of the Year” and praised Lewis for his massive knockout power. Lewis picked up one of the biggest upset wins of 2021 when he KOed Blaydes with a nasty uppercut in the main event of UFC Vegas 19. Lewis was a +350 betting underdog heading into the fight and he shocked the world when he caught Blaydes right on the chin after a sloppy takedown shot. Lewis is one of the best heavyweights in the sport, not to mention one of MMA’s best personalities, so it’s not surprising he has caught the attention of Tyson. From one KO artist to another, there seems to be a lot of mutual appreciation here.
Darren Till is the "biggest challenge" for Israel Adesanya at middleweight according to coach
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Israel Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman, believes there are only two fights for him at middleweight. After Adesanya lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 for the light heavyweight many wondered who would be next. There are three big fights in Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori, Robert Whittaker vs Paulo Costa, and Kevin Holland vs Derek Brunson. However, according to Bareman, the only fights that make sense are the rematch with Whittaker or fighting Till.
Dan Hardy releases a statement after being let go from the UFC
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Dan Hardy has cleared the air regarding his departure from the UFC. Earlier this week, a report came out that the former UFC fighter was let go due to an incident on Fight Island. Immediately, Hardy took to social media to comment on the matter, but he has now taken to his website, Full Reptile to release a lengthy statement.
Dana White plans to make a massive wager on Ben Askren to beat Jake Paul
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Dana White likes Ben Askren’s chances to beat Jake Paul. On April 17, Askren will make his professional boxing debut against YouTuber turned boxer, Jake Paul. It is a fight that has captured the attention of the world as this will be Paul’s toughest test to date, and if he can get past Askren, he proves to everyone he is a legit combat sports athlete.
Veteran MMA referee Neil Hall passes away due to COVID-19 complications, fellow officials react
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
Veteran MMA official Neil Hall passed away on Wednesday after battling COVID-19 complications, his family announced in a public statement. His wife Kath Hall shared on Facebook that her husband passed away after battling COVID-19. According to the statement, Hall had back surgery last summer but had an infection in the surgery area which wasn’t noticed until January. While getting treatment for his infection, Hall picked up COVID-19 and after three weeks of fighting, he passed away. Hall’s age was not immediately available. The family’s statement is as follows:
Leon Edwards in line for UFC welterweight title shot with big win this weekend, says Dana White
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
UFC president Dana White said that welterweight contender Leon Edwards will be in line for a 170lbs title shot with a big win this weekend. Edwards returns to the Octagon for the first time since July 2019 this Saturday night when he meets Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC Vegas 21. The Brit has a 10-2 overall record and is currently riding an eight-fight win streak as he closes in on the top of the UFC welterweight division. According to White, if Edwards goes out there and defeats Muhammad in an impressive fashion, he will be next in line for a welterweight title shot.
Jon Jones vows to become heavyweight champion, but not until the UFC "sees more value" in him
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is confident that he’ll eventually become the promotion’s heavyweight champion. That being said, the man widely regarded as the greatest fighter of all time is in no rush— particularly when he feels undervalued by the UFC. Jones got to talking about his legacy and future in the sport on Twitter on Wednesday.
Rafael dos Anjos open to fighting Islam Makhachev, with one condition
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
UFC lightweight Rafael dos Anjos says he is open to fighting Islam Makhachev but there is a special condition that needs to be met first. Dos Anjos and Makhachev were supposed to meet back at UFC 254 in October and then at a UFC Fight Night card in November, but the fight was postponed and eventually scratched. Dos Anjos instead fought Paul Felder and beat him by split decision, while Makhachev returned to the Octagon this past Saturday at UFC 259, defeating Drew Dober via third-round submission.
Aljamain Sterling receives advice from Daniel Cormier: "Get off the Internet, bro"
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has some advice for the promotion’s new bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling: Step away from the Internet. Sterling returned to the cage at UFC 259 last weekend, when he challenged Petr Yan for the bantamweight title. Regrettably, this fight ended in disaster when Yan blasted Sterling with an illegal knee. When Sterling was unable to continue, he was named the victor by disqualification, which meant that he became the new champion—but under pretty unfortunate circumstances.
Israel Adesanya vs. Jon Jones fight "still exists," says coach Eugene Bareman
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Eugene Bareman, the chief handler of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, believes there’s still room for a potential super fight with Jon Jones. Adesanya and Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, have been jawing back and forth on social media and in interviews for several years, and have made no secret of their desire to fight each other.
Ben Askren teams up with Freddie Roach: Beating Jake Paul "ain’t gonna be that hard"
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Ben Askren has enlisted the help of legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach ahead of his anticipated showdown with YouTube celebrity Jake Paul. Askren, the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight titleholder, will meet Paul in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17. The bout will air on pay-per-view at a price of $49.99.
UFC Vegas 22 loses co-main event fight between Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
The upcoming UFC Vegas 22 card has lost a light heavyweight fight between Scotland’s Paul Craig and American Jamahal Hill, which would have served as the evening’s co-main event. Craig announced this news on Instagram on Wednesday, claiming that Hill withdrew from the fight, and noting that the bout has already been rescheduled by the promotion.
Gina Carano not fired on political grounds, says Disney CEO
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Disney CEO Bob Chapek denies that former MMA star Gina Carano was fired from her role on The Mandalorian on political grounds. Carano, a pioneer of women’s MMA, played the character Cara Dune on the popular Star Wars spinoff, but was bounced from the show after a number of controversial social media posts. The latest of those posts—and the straw that broke the camel’s back—compared the treatment of American conservatives to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.
Video | Jon Jones shows off his “man strength” in the weight room
Harry Kettle - March 10, 2021
UFC legend Jon Jones has shown off his “man strength” ahead of his imminent shift up to heavyweight from light heavyweight. Jones is preparing to move up to the UFC’s heaviest division at some stage this year, with the plan being for him to challenge the winner of Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou 2 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.