MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2021

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is hoping to create an iconic and historic moment alongside Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou. Adesanya, who now calls New Zealand home, was born in Nigeria. Usman, the UFC welterweight champion, was also born in Nigeria, while Ngannou, the UFC’s top heavyweight contender, is a native of Cameroon.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Alexander Hernandez feels he was robbed of a victory in his UFC Vegas 20 scrap with Thiago Moises. Hernandez and Moises met on the UFC Vegas 20 undercard. After three rounds, Moises was named the victor via unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2021

It sounds like we can pump the brakes on talk of a welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal, the UFC’s No. 4 welterweight contender, was on Spanish-language commentary duty for last weekend’s Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim boxing match. After Canelo’s lopsided win, Masvial partook in an interview with Boxing Express, during which he claimed he’ll be challenging Usman for the UFC welterweight title in September.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2021

Punches are expected in combat sports like MMA, boxing, and even in hockey, but you don’t, as a general rule, expect to see anyone throwing hands in the refined sport of horse racing. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened after a Friday race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. See this surprising racetrack brawl below:

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2021

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star Paige VanZant says she has fight news coming soon. VanZant entered the combat sports limelight as a member of the UFC roster, quickly becoming one of the promotion’s biggest stars. In mid-2020, however, she parted ways with the mixed martial arts promotion and signed with BKFC.

Cole Shelton - March 1, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 20, Ciryl Gane was looking to prove himself as an elite heavyweight as he battled Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Gane was looking to remain undefeated and pick up the biggest win of his career as it was his first UFC main event. Rozenstruik, meanwhile, was looking to be in a number one contender bout next time out. Ultimately, it was Gane who won all five rounds in a very lackluster fight.

Harry Kettle - March 1, 2021

UFC veteran Cub Swanson isn’t happy with Paulo Costa claiming he was hungover when he fought Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. The bout between Costa and Adesanya on Fight Island, which was contested for the UFC Middleweight Championship, wasn’t particularly close — and you won’t find many fighters or fans who disagree with that.

Harry Kettle - March 1, 2021

Nate Diaz has ripped into Jorge Masvidal for suggesting that he won’t be returning to the Octagon until at least August or September. Diaz and Masvidal squared off at UFC 244 in November 2019 which, to this day, is the last time Diaz fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Masvidal, on the other hand, has only fought once since then when he failed to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship from Kamaru Usman.

Adam Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa claimed that he drank too much wine the night before his title fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 253. The then-undefeated Costa was considered a live dog to defeat the champion Adesanya, but he proved to be an easy night at the office for the champion, who picked him apart with strikes from the outside before knocking Costa out. It was a fantastic performance by Adesanya, for sure, but it was still hard to believe Costa couldn’t offer more resistance. And now, the Brazilian is speaking out and explaining just why he performed so poorly, blaming it on a night of drinking, a decision that Costa surely wishes he hadn’t made.

Adam Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz released a statement after his “Fight of the Night” war with Jimmie Rivera at UFC Vegas 20. Munhoz and Rivera went a hard 15 minutes against each other, with Munhoz emerging as the winner via unanimous decision due to all the damage he did with his calf kicks. There were numerous points during the fight that Rivera looked to be on his last legs, but somehow he kept on chugging on. Munhoz, meanwhile, continued to smash Rivera’s legs and his face with some heavy hooks as the two exchanged leather for three rounds. Both men were later rewarded by the UFC with the “Fight of the Night” bonus for $50,000 each.

Adam Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal says a title matchup with champion Kamaru Usman is being targeted for September. There have been plenty of rumors about Masvidal fighting Usman again in a rematch after he stepped up last year at UFC 251 and lost a unanimous decision on short notice. Despite the loss, Usman handpicked Masvidal as his next opponent, and the two are likely hoping they sell another million-plus PPVs for their rematch. Speaking to Boxing Express, Masvidal confirmed that his rematch with Usman is being targeted to take place in September.

Adam Martin - February 28, 2021

The opening betting odds have been revealed for the upcoming UFC 261 women’s strawweight title fight between Weili Zhang and Rose Namajunas. Zhang vs. Namajunas has been long rumored to take place but the fight was only recently confirmed by the UFC, which plans on the bout taking place on April 24. With Zhang vs. Namajunas now official, the sportsbooks have opened up the betting odds for the fight. Take a look at the opening odds for Zhang vs. Namajunas (via BetOnline/BestFightOdds).

Adam D Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal revealed he will be back in action either August or September and “Somebody is getting baptized in my realm.” Masvidal has not stepped into the Octagon since last summer at UFC 251 on Fight Island when he lost a unanimous decision to Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title. To Masvidal’s credit, he took that fight on very short notice and managed to go the full 25 minutes against Usman, who knocked out Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns. The fact Masvidal was able to go the distance on short notice and sell a huge amount of pay-per-views is part of the reason why Usman wants to fight Masvidal again so badly. There have been rumors pointing to these two potentially fighting but so far there is nothing concrete.

Adam D Martin - February 28, 2021

On Saturday night, former UFC title challenger John Moraga suffered a TKO loss to Marc Castro on the Canelo Alvarez boxing undercard. Moraga, a former UFC fighter, took on Castro in a short-notice boxing match on the undercard of the Alvarez card. Moraga fared poorly in the fight right from the opening bell, as he was dropped by a jab just seven seconds into the fight. Although Moraga managed to get back to his feet, he was dropped two more times in the second round, and eventually, the referee was forced to stop the fight. The loss to Castro dropped Moraga’s professional boxing record to just 1-3. Check out highlights from the bout (via DAZN).

Adam D Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC welterweight veteran Matt Brown taunted Dan Hardy by sharing his direct messages with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby regarding the two. Hardy recently revealed that he wants to return to the Octagon in 2021, and he mentioned Brown as a potential opponent. The two veterans were originally supposed to fight back in 2013 but Hardy was not cleared to fight due to medical issues. In fact, he has not fought since 2012 due to his issue with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW). However, Hardy has continued to train the whole time and has promised fans that he will step into the Octagon one more time before it’s all said and done. And if he does fight again, Hardy wants to fight someone who will stand and trade with him just like Brown would want to.

Adam D Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov helped 50 drug addicts in Dagestan, including covering costs for their treatment and motivational speaking. MMA fighter Magomedzaid Zaidov, who is a friend of Nurmagomedov, recently spoke to Sport Express and revealed in the interview that Nurmagomedov is helping drug addicts in Dagestan. In the interview, Zaidov revealed that he runs the Reshenie rehabilitation center in Dagestan, and he explained how much of a big help Nurmagomedov has been.

Adam D Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou scoffed at the comments made by Jon Jones during last night’s UFC Vegas 20 main event broadcast. Jones, who will be moving up to heavyweight later this year, was critical of the performance by Ciryl Gane and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the main event of UFC Vegas 20. Though Gane won a 50-45 decision on the scorecards, it was not an exciting fight for the fans. That led to Jones tweeting something about the fight, which ended up making the broadcast during the main event. Ngannou, in turn, saw Jones’ tweet on the broadcast and decided to chime in himself and get in on the fun. Check out the back and forth below between Jones and Ngannou on social media from Saturday night (via ESPN).

Adam D Martin - February 28, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik issued an apology to his fans after a poor performance against Ciryl Gane at UFC Vegas 20. With two of the UFC’s top-10 heavyweights locked inside the Octagon, many fans were hoping to see a slugfest from Rozenstruik and Gane. However, the fight did not play out anything like that. Gane chose to stay on the outside and use his jab to win on points, while Rozenstruik was content to just stand there and get picked apart. It was a smart gameplan by Gane, though one that UFC president Dana White later criticized. As for Rozenstruik, it was very difficult to watch him stand there like a statue and rarely throw his hands. Overall, it was a frustrating matchup and now Rozenstruik is apologizing for it.