MMA News

Adam Martin - December 11, 2019

UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje criticized UFC president Dana White for suggesting Conor McGregor could get a title shot rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov if he gets by Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, calling the news a “crock of s***.” White told BT Sport on Wednesday that if McGregor beats Cerrone at UFC 246 and Nurmagomedov defends his belt against Tony Ferguson at UFC 248 that the promotion could potentially book a rematch between “Notorious” and “The Eagle.”

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s card in Washington, D.C., and as expected, Jairzinho Rozenstruik has rocketed up the heavyweight list after smashing Alistair Overeem in the card’s main event. Outside this huge climb from Rozenstruik, the biggest change to the new UFC rankings occurred in the flyweight division as a result of recent title challenger Liz Carmouche’s release from the promotion.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2019

Streaking UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards was hoping to fight Tyron Woodley, the former welterweight champ, when the UFC returns to London this March. Unfortunately for Edwards, Woodley is not interested in fighting overseas. 

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2019

Frankie Edgar was expected to make his bantamweight debut opposite Cory Sandhagen at UFC Raleigh in late January. When he was asked to replace the injured Brian Ortega against the injured “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, however, he accepted. He’s now scheduled to meet the undead Korean in the main event of UFC Busan on December 21, while a frustrated Sandhagen has been left without the high-profile dance partner he was expecting.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2019

Ilima-Lei MacFarlane is not happy about how the way the UFC released her friend and teammate Liz Carmouche. The two-time UFC title challenger Carmouche was released while she was in Washington D.C. doing promotional work for the company.

Mike Pendleton - December 11, 2019

Having been on the sidelines due to knee surgery since his title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 239 this past summer, Thiago Santos has finally given a timeline for when he expects to return, and he’s still got some waiting ahead. Speaking to MMA Junkie while in Washington, D.C. for the UFC’s latest fight card, Santos gave an update about where he’s at in recovery, when he expects to return, and what he plans for his return to the light heavyweight division.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2019

Irene Aldana believes she is part of a No. 1 contender fight with Ketlen Vieira at UFC 245. Vieira, who is ranked No. 2 in the division, has not fought since March of 2018, so Aldana was surprised she was offered this fight.

Harry Kettle - December 11, 2019

The scheduled light heavyweight bout between Ovince Saint Preux and Ryan Spann has been canceled by the UFC. The showdown was set to take place at UFC 247 on February 8, on a card that will also feature Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship being on the line. As you can imagine, it would’ve served as a wonderful opportunity for either “OSP” or Spann to really make an impact and put themselves into the conversation for a title shot.

Natasha Hooper - December 11, 2019

Amanda Nunes recently theorized on why a rematch with Cris Cyborg never came to fruition in the UFC. “The Lioness” defeated Cyborg via a shocking first-round KO in their December, 2018 fight. UFC President Dana White claimed that Cyborg didn’t want a rematch. However, Cyborg has always maintained her stance that she always wanted a rematch.

Adam Martin - December 11, 2019

Bellator welterweight contender Jon Fitch says that even though he’s an “old fart” he can still beat anyone in the top-15 UFC welterweight rankings. Fitch fought for the UFC between 2005 and 2013 before being unceremoniously dumped by the promotion following a loss to Demian Maia at UFC 156. Fitch ended up signing with WSOF and was the welterweight champion in WSOF and later PFL before the promotion released him and he signed with Bellator.

Alfredo Zullino - December 11, 2019

A dangerous new force is about to make his mixed martial arts debut. Undefeated Senegalese wrestler Oumar Kane, also known as “Reug Reug,” is going to fight on December 14 in the first ever ARES Fighting Championship show in Dakar, Senegal. The card will air on UFC Fight Pass.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, two of the most heated rivals in UFC history, both have fights booked. Nurmagomedov will defend the lightweight title against Tony Ferguson in April of the new year, while McGregor is slated to return to the cage against Donald Cerrone on January 18 in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to UFC President Dana White, McGregor and Nurmagomedov will likely fight each other again thereafter if they win these upcoming challenges.

Harry Kettle - December 11, 2019

Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger has praised UFC commentator Joe Rogan for changing his stance on “The Game Changers” documentary. The doc focused on the benefits of plant-based eating for athletes, but alongside Chris Kresser, M.S., L.Ac., Rogan changed his tune after discussing the matter with James Wilks on a recent podcast. The honesty of Rogan in letting the world know that he had jumped to conclusions was met with a lot of praise, including from Schwarzenegger.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

Bryce Mitchell is the latest MMA fighter to call out Floyd Mayweather. Yet, the Arkansas native says his issue with the boxer happened 10 years ago and he wants to fight him for it. Bryce Mitchell also says he’ll hit Mayweather so hard he’ll finally be able to read. Of course, Conor McGregor joked that the boxer couldn’t read in the lead up to their fight.

Natasha Hooper - December 10, 2019

Paul Felder will be back in the Octagon to face rising contender, Dan Hooker in his opponent’s home turf of Auckland. The lightweight fighters will collide in the main event of the February 2020 showdown. Their intense staring contest last week was enough to get fans hyped for the upcoming event, and Paul Felder confirmed that the tension was completely real: Felder said (via MMA Junkie): “As far as intensity, that was real. I went down to New Zealand expecting a little bit of that from Dan because of how we interacted on social media. We kind of went back-to-forth a little bit. But that’s what it’s all about.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

When Urijah Faber makes the walk to the Octagon in Las Vegas at UFC 245, the Hall of Famer says it could be the last time. Faber already retired once from the sport and made a massive return earlier this year with a knockout win over Ricky Simon. Now, at UFC 245, “The California Kid” will battle Petr Yan where Faber believes he will probably win by stoppage.

Harry Kettle - December 10, 2019

Urijah Faber has revealed that he doesn’t believe Jose Aldo’s move down to bantamweight is a good idea. Aldo is set to face off against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245 this weekend, although there have been more than a few concerns from fans and media members alike regarding whether or not the Brazilian would physically be able to get down to the necessary weight.

Mike Heck - December 10, 2019

Saturday night’s UFC 245 fight card is absolutely stacked. With three title fights and two very intriguing bantamweight matchups making up the main card, along with a slew of fascinating preliminary fights, the organization’s year end pay-per-view is shaping up to be one of 2019’s best. In addition, a welterweight matchup between Ben Saunders and Matt Brown — veterans of over 40 combined Octagon appearances — has a chance to steal the show away from the fights on the marquee. Saunders and Brown will compete during the ESPN2 preliminary card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Killa B” is looking to snap a three fight skid against a performance bonus magnet in Brown, who hasn’t competed since knocking out Diego Sanchez over two years ago and briefly retired from the sport.