MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker has finally reunited with his family after 56 days on the road. Hooker, a native of New Zealand, last fought at UFC 257 in January in Las Vegas, where he succumbed to a tough knockout loss at the hands of Michael Chandler. Because of current international travel restrictions—particularly those of New Zealand—Hooker was then forced to undergo multiple quarantines before returning home and reuniting with his family.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya had an entertaining miscommunication in moments immediately following their fight. Blachowicz and Adesanya met in the main event of Saturday’s stacked UFC 259 card. Blachowicz sought to defend the light heavyweight title, while Adesanya, the promotion’s middleweight champion, looked to become a two-division champion.

Alfredo Zullino - March 8, 2021

Every person has a story. Some stories, though, are deeper than others and need to be told, like that of mixed martial artist Valeriu Mircea. Mircea has born in 1993 in Satul Topala, a 2000-person rural village in Moldova, situated in the district of Cimișlia. His family was not wealthy, to put it mildly. His mother, though, did everything she could to give her sons what they needed.

Harry Kettle - March 8, 2021

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has decided to shed some more light on Dominick Cruz’s recent callout of Monster Energy’s Hans Molenkamp. After Cruz’s win over Casey Kenney at UFC 259 this past weekend, he decided to call out Monster’s Molenkamp for a charity fight. Cruz listed a string of things he didn’t like about the executive in one of the most bizarre post-fight callouts in recent memory.

Christopher Taylor - March 7, 2021

Dana White was not happy with the judges scoring in last night’s UFC 259 main event between Israel Adesanya and Jan Blachowicz. Adesanya (20-1 MMA) moved up a weight class yesterday evening to challenge Blachowicz for the promotions coveted light heavyweight title. ‘Stylebender’ had entered the contest sporting a perfect professional record, his most previous win coming over Paulo Costa by way of TKO at UFC 253.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

Fortis MMA head coach Sayif Saud shared an inspirational story of Kennedy Nzechukwu following his incredible comeback win at UFC 259. Nzechukwu, a former Dana White’s Contender Series competitor, was a big underdog against Carlos Ulberg on the UFC 259 preliminary card. Ulberg, a teammate of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, entered the UFC with a ton of hype following a KO win on the Contender Series last summer. In the fight, Ulberg absolutely dominated Nzechukwu in the first round, battering his opponent with a variety of strikes. The second round, however, proved to be Ulberg’s downfall, as he would eventually tired out, leading to an upset KO win by Nzechukwu. Statistically speaking, it was an all-time best comeback.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

New UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling and former champ Petr Yan renewed their UFC 259 battle on social media the day after their fight. Sterling and Yan had an incredible fight at UFC 259, one of three title fights on the card. Both men had their moments in the fight, but it appeared as though Yan was pulling away late when he made a huge error and illegally kneed Sterling in the head while he was a downed opponent. Referee Mark Smith deemed the foul intentional and was forced to wave off the fight on the advice of the cage-side doctor, who said Sterling couldn’t continue. Yan then became the first fighter in UFC history to lose his belt via DQ (disqualification).

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz opened up as a rare betting favorite for his upcoming title defense against Glover Teixeira. Blachowicz defended the 205lbs strap for the first time with a unanimous decision victory over Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 259. Blachowicz was the underdog for the Adesanya fight, the 13th time in the UFC that he has been an underdog, and the ninth time he has won a fight as an underdog. It’s been an incredible run for Blachowicz in recent years, having won nine of his last 10 fights overall, and after beating Adesanya, it sets the Pole up with an upcoming title defense against Teixeira sometime later this year.

Christopher Taylor - March 7, 2021

Newly crowned UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is interested in fighting Henry Cejudo in his first attempt at a title defense. Sterling captured the promotions 135lbs title in controversial fashion yesterday evening at UFC 259, emerging victorious over Petr Yan due to a disqualification from an illegal knee in the fourth round.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC president Dana White responded to Dominick Cruz’s UFC 259 unusual post-fight comments about Monster Energy’s Hans Molenkamp. Cruz defeated Casey Kenney via a split decision on the UFC 259 preliminary card, then called out Molenkamp, a Monster Energy drink executive, for a charity MMA fight.  Speaking to reporters following UFC 259, White spoke about the UFC’s relationship with Monster and praised the brand for giving the fighters financially-lucrative sponsorships.

Christopher Taylor - March 7, 2021

Former ‘champ champ’ Henry Cejudo has shared his breakdown of last night’s UFC 259 bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan. Sterling and Yan squared off on last night’s pay-per-view main card and the fight delivered as many expected. After a strong opening round for Sterling, the Russian champion seemingly began to change the tide in round two. By round four it appeared Yan was on route to a possible finish, however an illegal knee spelt an end to the fight and Petr’s title reign.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is interested in having Amanda Nunes fight Julianna Pena next for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Nunes got through Megan Anderson with relative ease at UFC 259, as she tapped her opponent out for her second defense of the UFC women’s featherweight title. At this point, there aren’t any new challenges for Nunes at 145lbs and she is likely going to return down to 135lbs for her next fight. Although “The Lioness” has beaten many of the top contenders at bantamweight already, there are still a couple of fresh fights out there or the champ at 135lbs. One of those potential opponents is Pena, who previously called Nunes out. Both women have expressed interest in a potential fight, and it seems like White likes it, too.

Adam D Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC president Dana White reacted to the controversial ending in the Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling bantamweight title bout at UFC 259. Yan nailed Sterling in the head while he was on the ground with an illegal knee, leaving Sterling unable to continue in the contest. Though Yan was slightly ahead on the scorecards at the time of the foul, referee Mark Smith deemed the illegal knee was done on purpose and he disqualified Yan, which led to Sterling now holding the belt. It was a super controversial moment and call as it was the first time in the UFC we’ve ever seen a title change hands via DQ. Following the event, White spoke to reporters about the fight.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC analyst Dan Hardy was reportedly relieved of his commentating duties by the UFC and BT following an alleged incident on Fight Island. Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of his newsletter that Hardy was allegedly involved in an incident with a female employee on Fight Island. According to Meltzer, the respected longtime wrestling and mixed martial arts journalist, Hardy has been fired by both the UFC and BT Sport (h/t The MMA Opinion).

Adam D Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC president Dana White reacted to UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz defeating Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision at UFC 259. Blachowicz won a unanimous decision by being the more well-rounded mixed martial artist over Adesanya, who moved up to 205lbs for the first time in his UFC career. Although Adesanya had some success early on with his striking, Blachowicz was the bigger, stronger man, and he had the better cardio, too. The Pole used his striking and grappling in totality to take home the decision and prove to everyone that he’s the best 205lber in the world.

Adam Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos released a statement following his unanimous decision loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 259. Santos and Rakic went three rounds in the pay-per-view opener at UFC 259, with Rakic edging out a unanimous decision at the end of 15 minutes. It wasn’t a great fight, as the former training partners at American Top Team didn’t seem to have any urgency to hurt each other. Although the striking totals pointed to Santos edging Rakic out on the feet in terms of volume, the judges felt Rakic landed the harder shots and he took the decision.

Adam D Martin - March 7, 2021

Multiple pro fighters are accusing UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling of acting to take home the belt at UFC 259 against Petr Yan. Sterling and Yan met in one of three title fights at UFC 259. The two bantamweights went back-and-forth in the fight, but it appeared as though Yan was starting to take over in the later rounds. However, Yan made a huge mistake when he kneed Sterling in the head when his opponent was downed. After the doctor said Sterling could not continue, referee Mark Smith waved the contest off, declaring Sterling the winner by DQ. Yan became the first fighter in UFC history to lose his championship title off of a disqualification ruling.

Adam D Martin - March 7, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev shared his dream fight inside the Octagon following his dominant win over Drew Dober at UFC 259. Makhachev dominated Dober with his grappling skills on the UFC 259 pay-per-view card, controlling Dober on the mat until finding a submission in the third round with the arm-triangle choke. It was the seven straight win for Makhachev, who improved to 8-1 overall in the UFC with the victory. By beating a respected veteran such as Dober in the fashion that he did, Makhachev likely earned himself a step up in competition against someone in the top-10 of the stacked UFC lightweight division. He even has a name in mind.