MMA News

Harry Kettle - March 12, 2021

The UFC has continued to make cuts to their roster with Jordan Espinosa and Shana Dobson both being released from the promotion, MMA Fighting reports. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has never been shy when it comes to releasing fighters from the roster and as we continue on through what has been a successful 2021 for the company thus far, it seems as if they aren’t slowing down.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

Jonathan Martinez is confident he will extend his winning streak to three on Saturday night. At UFC Vegas 21, Martinez is set to fight Davey Grant, in a fight that was a surprise to many. Martinez is coming off a decision win over Thomas Almeida on short notice. After the win, Martinez and many fans thought he would’ve gotten a ranked opponent next.

Christopher Taylor - March 11, 2021

Former UFC ‘champ champ’ Henry Cejudo and boxing great Canelo Alvarez got into exchange of words over Ryan Garcia. Canelo (55-1-2) put his WBA and WBC super middleweight world titles on the line last month when he squared off with Avni Yildiri. The result was a one sided beatdown for Alvarez, who emerged victorious by way of third round TKO.

Drake Riggs - March 11, 2021

Cub Swanson started one hell of a talking point this past month. Sharing his thoughts that MMA media should have “3 amateur fights,” the featherweight icon recently explained what he was getting at with his tweet.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao has decided to take his talents to German-based MMA promotion Elite MMA Championship (EMC). The 34-year-old Brazilian, who has a 34-9, 1 NC overall record in MMA, is now the latest member of EMC, a German-based promotion who made the announcement official on Thursday. Barao is now a member of the Elite MMA Championship bantamweight roster.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

Marvin Vettori is looking to cement his case as the top middleweight contender when he faces Darren Till on April 10. In the main event of the card on ABC, Vettori and Till will fight in a crucial middleweight bout. The winner could very well earn a title shot and in the lead-up to the scrap, the two have traded words with one another. Although Till appears to be jokingly trash-talking the Italian, Vettori is taking it much more seriously which the Englishman doesn’t understand.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

UFC lightweight Ottman Azaitar issued a statement regarding the bag incident on UFC Fight Island that temporarily saw him cut from the UFC. Speaking to Mark Bergmann of Fighting.de, Azaitar spoke about the infamous bag incident on UFC Fight Island. Azaitar was scheduled to fight Matt Frevola but at the last minute, he was removed from the card. UFC president Dana White later said that Azaitar was cut because he broke COVID-19 protocols by allegedly handing his wristband to someone from outside the bubble, and that person reportedly dropped a bag in Azaitar’s room, a bag that has become MMA’s own version of the ‘briefcase from Pulp Fiction.’ White later changed his mind and reinstated Azaitar to the UFC, but the whole incident has left fans wondering what really happened. Here’s what Azaitar himself said about the infamous bag.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

Petr Yan believes Aljamain Sterling is the real paper champion. In the lead-up to UFC 259 and Yan’s first title defense, Sterling was calling the Russian a paper champion. He didn’t think Yan had earned his way to the title as he did, and he planned on proving that inside the Octagon.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight Dominick Cruz slammed TJ Dillashaw for his cheater comments towards Petr Yan, telling him “you’re about eight years old.” In the wake of Yan’s DQ loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259, Dillashaw took to his social media to call the former champion a “cheater.” Dillashaw, of course, hasn’t fought in over two years due to a suspension by USADA, and he has admitted that he cheated the system in order to gain an unfair advantage. Seeing the comments that Dillashaw made about Yan and bunching him into the same group of cheats that Dillashaw belongs to was something that Cruz, a former opponent who fought at UFC 259, wasn’t thrilled about seeing.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

UFC middleweights Darren Till and Marvin Vettori have officially been announced as headliners for the “UFC on ABC: Battle of Europe” event. “The Battle of Europe” event will the UFC’s second event on the ABC Network following January’s UFC Fight Island: Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar card. Just like that fight which featured a great main event, the UFC is bringing the goods to its ABC audience once again for this second card. This time around, two of the best middleweights in MMA headline when Till takes on Vettori. Both men are vying for the opportunity to take on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, so a win here is very important for both men.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021

Former two-division champion turned color commentator Daniel Cormier has responded to complaints about biased commentary during the UFC 259 broadcast. Cormier joined Jon Anik and Joe Rogan at the commentary desk for UFC 259, which was headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jan Blachowicz and challenger Israel Adesanya, who holds the UFC middleweight title.

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.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021

Israel Adesanya will eventually seek out a rematch with Jan Blachowicz, according to his long-time coach Eugene Bareman. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, challenged Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 259 last weekend. While Adesanya performed well in the matchup, Blachowicz ultimately left the cage with a unanimous decision win, and the light heavyweight belt still slung over his shoulder.

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.

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.

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.