MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

From the sounds of it, Henry Cejudo plans on ending his retirement from mixed martial arts competition. Cejudo, a former Olympic gold medalist and two-division UFC champion, announced his retirement from MMA in May of 2020, after defending the UFC bantamweight title with a TKO victory over Dominick Cruz. Contrary to that retirement announcement, he’s been teasing a comeback ever since, and that comeback suddenly seems to be closer than ever to reality.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

Petr Yan seemingly received conflicting instructions from his coaches in the moments leading up to his disqualification loss to Aljamain Sterling. Yan took on Sterling in one of three title fights on the UFC 259 bill last Saturday in Las Vegas. The Russian entered the Octagon as the UFC bantamweight champion, but after blasting Sterling with an illegal knee, lost the fight via disqualification, and surrendered the title to his dazed opponent as a result.

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

Former UFC star Paige VanZant says she knows the date and opponent for her next fight, but is unable to reveal the details just yet. VanZant parted ways with the UFC in summer of 2020, and promptly signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

Tom Taylor - March 8, 2021

The pay-per-view price and location for the upcoming Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match have finally been revealed. Paul and Askren will meet in an eight-round boxing match on April 17. While the date of this controversial contest has been known for some time, its location and price tag were a mystery until Monday, when the fight’s promoter, Triller, revealed those details in a press release.

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).