MMA News

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 heavyweight Ciryl Gane issued a statement following his “great performance overall” against Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Vegas 20. Gane won a clear-cut unanimous decision over Rozenstruik in the main event of Saturday’s UFC card, with all three judges scoring the bout 50-45 in favor of the Frenchman. Gane was content to stay at distance and outstrike Rozenstruik with his jab and low kicks from the outside, while also mixing in a few takedowns and submission attempts to rack up points. Though it was overall a masterful performance by Gane, the lack of a finish and aggressiveness to hurt Rozenstruik frustrated some of the fans who were watching and led to Gane being criticized by UFC president Dana White, as well.

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 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 Tanner Boser defended Ciryl Gane from fan backlash following an uneventful fight with Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC Vegas 20. Gane won a unanimous decision over Rozenstruik in Saturday night’s min event, but the fight was not very exciting, which led to UFC president Dana White criticizing Gane for his performance. That being said, the Frenchman still did enough to get the win in the fight, and that’s why Boser doesn’t understand the fan criticism towards him for his showing.

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.

Christopher Taylor - February 27, 2021

Jairzinho Rozenstruik has released a quick statement following tonight’s disappointing unanimous decision loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC Vegas 20. Rozenstruik (11-2 MMA) was returning to action for the first time in over six month’s at tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event. ‘Bigi Boy’ had most previously competed this past August, where he had picked up a TKO win over the divisions former champion in Junior dos Santos. Prior to that victory, Jairzinho was coming off the first loss of his career at the hands of Francis Ngannou.

Christopher Taylor - February 27, 2021

The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event, a nine-bout fight card headlined by heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The highly anticipated heavyweight fight proved to be a lopsided contest, but not one that was very fan friendly. Ciryl Gane seeminly had his way with Jairzinho Rozenstruik for five straight rounds but never really put “Bigi Boy” in any danger of being finished. With that said, it takes two to tango and Rozenstruik did not provide much for his part.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event was headlined by a key heavyweight bout featuring Jairzinho Rozenstruik taking on surging contender Ciryl Gane. Gane (8-0 MMA) was returning to the Octagon for the first time since earning a second round TKO victory over former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos this past December at UFC 256. The Frenchman had gone a perfect 4-0 in the UFC prior to tonight’s event headliner.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event is headlined by a key heavyweight bout featuring Jairzinho Rozenstruik taking on undefeated contender Ciryl Gane. Gane (7-0 MMA) will be stepping foot in the Octagon for the first time since earning a second round TKO victory over former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos this past December at UFC 256. The Frenchman has gone a perfect 4-0 since making his UFC debut in August of 2019.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event is co-headlined by a key light heavyweight bout featuring Magomed Ankalaev taking on Nikita Krylov. Ankalaev (14-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since earning a first round knockout over Ion Cutelaba at UFC 254 in October. The victory marked the Russian’s fifth in a row and third straight stoppage win.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Michael Bisping showed off his ability to multitask during tonight’s UFC Vegas 20: ‘Rozenstruik vs. Gane’ event broadcast on ESPN. The former UFC middleweight champion, Bisping (30-9 MMA), is on commentary duties for the promotion this evening in Nevada. Despite that, ‘The Count’ was still able to find time to unload on a fight fan who suggested he was knocked out by Anderson Silva 5 years ago today.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov is back in the United States of America and has issued a statement on the past twelve months he’s spent abroad. Over the past year ‘The Eagle’ has experienced both highs and lows. Khabib tragically lost his father Abdulmanap in July of 2020 due to complications spawning from the global pandemic.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Women’s strawweight standout Angela Hill was expected to make her first Octagon appearance in five months at tonight’s UFC Vegas 20 event. Hill (12-9 MMA) was set collide with Ashley Yoder on today’s preliminary card but the bout was unfortunately called off just hours before the event (more on that here).

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

UFC President Dana White had a brain fart during a recent interview with Laura Sanko dubbing Israel Adesanya “The Greatest Female Fighter of All-Time”. The UFC’s reigning and undefeated middleweight champion, Adesanya (20-0 MMA), will be making the jump to light heavyweight for his next Octagon appearance. ‘Stylebender’ is set to challenge the promotions newly crowned 205lbs champion Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259 on March 6.

Chris Taylor - February 27, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev is on the road back to good health and already has an opponent in mind for his planned UFC comeback this June. Chimaev (9-0 MMA) has not competed since scoring a sensational 17-second knockout over middleweight Gerald Meerschaert this past September. ‘Borz’ has since been scheduled to fight top ranked welterweight Leon Edwards on a three different occasions. However, none of those proposed contests have come to fruition due to Chimaev’s lingering health issues from the coronavirus.