MMA News
Belal Muhammad puts "evil" Colby Covington on notice: "You’re gonna get slapped"
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
Belal Muhammad is making no secret of his disdain for fellow UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington. Muhammad is slated to take on No. 3-ranked welterweight contender Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC Vegas 21 this Saturday in Las Vegas—an opportunity he accepted on short-notice.
Matt Serra felt "disrespected" and "hurt" Aljamain Sterling didn't want him in his corner at UFC 259, announces retirement from cornering
Adam Martin - March 11, 2021
UFC Hall of Famer Matt Serra said he felt “disrespected” that Aljamain Sterling didn’t want to have him in his corner at UFC 259. Sterling fought Petr Yan for the UFC bantamweight title this past weekend and won it via fourth-round DQ when Yan made the bonehead mistake of illegally kneeing a downed opponent. In Sterling’s corner for that fight was his longtime coach Ray Longo and Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick. Sterling grew up training with Team Serra – Longo on Long Island, but he recently started doing more training in Las Vegas. So when it came time to picking his cornerman for his title fight with Yan, Sterling had to make a choice, and he chose to leave Serra out of his corner instead of taking his longtime coach on the title journey.
UFC Vegas 21: Edwards vs. Muhammad full betting odds
Adam Martin - March 11, 2021
Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 21 card featuring Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad in the main event. The main event sees the No. 3 ranked welterweight Edwards take on the No. 13 ranked Muhammad. Edwards was originally set to fight Khamzat Chimaev, but his opponent was forced off the card due to COVID-19 health issues and replaced on short notice by Muhammad. Theis fight is a fascinating matchup between two of the most well-rounded fighters at 170lbs. Edwards is currently riding an eight-fight win streak, while Muhammad has won eight of his last nine fights overall. It’s worth noting that Edwards has had a long layoff, having not fought since a July 2019 unanimous decision win over Rafael dos Anjos.
Julianna Pena to Amanda Nunes: Vacate bantamweight title if you want "to stay fat at 145"
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
Julianna Pena has a message for Amanda Nunes: Vacate the bantamweight title if you’re not going to defend it. Nunes currently holds the UFC bantamweight featherweight titles, and has defended both multiple times. Her last two fights, however, have both been featherweight title defenses, which has evidently drawn the frustration of Pena.
Conor McGregor was "overlooking" Dustin Poirier, says Dana White
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
UFC President Dana White believes former two-division champ Conor McGregor was looking past Dustin Poirier in the pair’s recent fight. McGregor and Poirier, two top lightweight contenders, met in the main event of UFC 257 in January. The bout was a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight that McGregor won by knockout.
Petr Yan accuses Aljamain Sterling of exaggerating injury to win title via DQ
Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021
Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has hit his latest opponent, Aljamain Sterling, with some serious accusations. Yan and Sterling met on the UFC 259 main card, with the bantamweight title on the line. Yan, who entered the cage as the champion, seemed to be in control through most of the fight, but ultimately blasted Sterling with an illegal knee to the head. When Sterling couldn’t continue, he was named the winner by disqualification—which meant he left the cage as the new UFC bantamweight champ.
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.
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.
Tim Elliott "not happy" with his UFC 259 performance, wants Kai Kara-France next
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Tim Elliott dominated Jordan Espinosa for 15 minutes, but he still wasn’t happy with his performance. On the prelims of the card, Elliott and Espinosa were finally set to meet after the fight was rumored to take place for months. Throughout the fight, Elliott used his wrestling to take Espinosa down and control him. However, although he clearly won all three rounds, Elliott wasn’t happy with his performance.
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.
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.
Jon Jones shuts down Israel Adesanya fight, takes shot at Eugene Bareman: "Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back"
Adam Martin - March 10, 2021
UFC heavyweight Jon Jones took a shot at Israel Adesanya’s coach, saying “Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back.” Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Jan Blachowicz in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 259 event. Aside from being statistically outstruck on the feet, Adesanya was also dominated on the floor. Blachowicz was able to take his opponent down in the later rounds of the fight, lay on him, and beat him up from the top position. Adesanya, who was tired at that point of the fight from a bigger man laying on top of him, was not able to muster any offense from his back and went on to drop the decision on the judges’ cards.
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.
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.
Conor McGregor reportedly doubled his net worth with Proper No. Twelve sale
Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor reportedly doubled his net worth by selling his popular Irish whiskey company, Proper No. Twelve. McGregor and his business partners launched Proper No. Twelve in September, 2018. The whiskey was an immediate financial success, and a little over three years later, the Irish MMA star has reportedly sold his stake in the company for a gargantuan fortune.