MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland believes rising star Khamzat Chimaev has only been accepting matchups that “make sense” for him. Holland and Chimaev are two of the hottest young prospects in the UFC at present, both having enjoyed massive success in 2020.

Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021

Former UFC strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz says she has struggled with depression and suicidal ideation in the past. Kowalkiewicz, a native of Poland, is a member of the UFC strawweight roster. Speaking on Instagram on February 23, Poland’s Day of Combatting Depression, Kowalkiewicz opened up on her mental health struggles, and revealed that she’s battled depression and suicidal ideation previously.

Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021

UFC heavyweight Walt Harris and his wife, Angela, have launched a foundation to help families with missing loved ones. Aniah’s Heart Foundation—named after Angela and Walt’s daughter, who was kidnapped and killed in 2019—launched in 2020, and will teach self-defense and awareness training with the goal of preventing future tragedies.

Harry Kettle - February 25, 2021

UFC lightweight Kevin Croom has ripped into Nevada after his debut win in the UFC was overturned due to marijuana use. Croom stepped in on short notice to fight Roosevelt Roberts last September and managed to secure the submission victory with a standing guillotine choke.

Christopher Taylor - February 24, 2021

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is working with renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach for his next Octagon appearance. Ferguson (25-5 MMA) is currently in the midst of the first two-fight losing skid of his illustrious career. In his most recent effort at December’s UFC 256 event, ‘El Cucuy’ suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss to surging lightweight contender Charles Oliveira.

Christopher Taylor - February 24, 2021

Henry Cejudo was clearly not happy about former opponent Dominick Cruz suggesting the UFC is “just kind of laughing at him” over his comeback talk. Cejudo, the UFC’s former flyweight and bantamweight champion, announced his retirement from mixed martial arts immediately following his TKO victory over Cruz at UFC 249.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021

Dominick Cruz is still unhappy with Keith Peterson. At UFC 249, Cruz made his return to the Octagon to battle Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight title. It was his first fight since December of 2016 when he lost to Cody Garbrandt. Although he was coming off a long layoff, Cruz has done that before but this time around, the fight didn’t go his way as he suffered a second-round TKO loss.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021

Max Holloway believes his Fight Island win over Calvin Kattar was the best of his career. In the main event of the card, Holloway was looking to snap his two-fight losing streak against the rising Kattar. Many pundits thought it would be a close fight but that was far from the case. The Hawaiian was the far superior striker and just picked apart Kattar for five rounds and came close to finishing the fight several times.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021

Dominick Cruz has no problem fighting on the UFC 259 prelims. Cruz is set to return to the Octagon on March 6 against Casey Kenney in a crucial fight for his career. Although Cruz is the former bantamweight champion and used to being on pay-per-views or headlining shows that will not be the case in this fight. Instead, he will be the prelim headliner, which is a spot Cruz actually liked.

Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021

Alexander Hernandez is extremely confident he will extend his winning streak to two on Saturday night. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 20, Hernandez is set to return to the Octagon against Thiago Moises. It’s an intriguing matchup but it did come as a surprise that “The Great” didn’t get a ranked opponent. However, Hernandez says he didn’t want a ranked foe.

Adam Martin - February 24, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 20 card featuring Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane in the main event. The headliner sees two of the UFC’s top-10 heavyweights go at it for five rounds or less as Rozenstruik takes on Gane. Rozenstruik is 5-1 overall in the UFC and he is coming off of a big KO win over Junior dos Santos in his last outing. Gane, meanwhile, is also coming off of a TKO win over dos Santos and overall he has a 4-0 record in the UFC. Both men are dangerous with their striking but what really sets Gane apart in this matchup is his grappling. He has the rare ability for a heavyweight to take the fight to the ground and lock up a variety of submissions there. But, of course, he will have to watch the power of Rozenstruik in the meantime.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021

UFC commentator Joe Rogan was not on duty for last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 19 card, but he was seemingly tuned in for the event. UFC Vegas 19 was headlined by a heavyweight showdown between two top-5 contenders, as Curtis Blaydes took on Derrick Lewis. While Lewis entered the cage as a significant underdog, he ended up winning the fight via brutal one-punch knockout, cementing himself as one of the division’s top contenders.

Adam Martin - February 24, 2021

The betting odds have been released for the upcoming UFC 261 women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade. This long-rumored battle between elite women’s flyweight fighters will finally take place on April 24 at UFC 261, though the location and venue are yet-to-be-determined. What we do know is that Shevchenko and Andrade, the champion and the No. 1 contender in the UFC women’s flyweight division, will square off with UFC gold on the line. With the fight booked, the sportsbooks have released the betting odds for this matchup (h/t BetOnline).

Adam Martin - February 24, 2021

James Krause says the UFC matchmakers twice declined his offer to fight Joaquin Buckley, and he thinks the matchup’s “dead in the water” now. Krause and Buckley have had tension for quite a while now due to previous issues at gyms in the Kansas City area, and both men have expressed interest in potentially fighting each other for several months. Calls for the fight became especially loud after Buckley knocked out Impa Kasanganay last fall with an insane head kick. However, the UFC did not book the fight between Buckley and Krause, instead choosing to match up Buckley with other opponents such as Jordan Wright and Alessio Di Chirico in an effort to build him into a contender at middleweight. Those efforts shot up into flames when Buckley himself was the victim of a brutal KO by di Chirico.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021

UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is set to defend her title against No. 1 contender Jessica Andrade at UFC 261 on April 24. UFC President Dana White announced this matchup through ESPN, the promotion’s official broadcast partner.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021

ONE Championship has announced the eight-woman lineup for its anticipated Atomweight World Grand Prix. ONE has been teasing its Atomweight World Grand Prix for quite some time, and on Wednesday, finally revealed the eight woman that will compose the tournament lineup.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021

Dominick Cruz doesn’t believe UFC President Dana White cares about Henry Cejudo’s comeback talk. Cejudo, the former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion, announced his retirement after defending the bantamweight belt with a TKO win over Cruz in 2020. Despite his retirement announcement, he continues to tease a comeback, most commonly campaigning for a fight with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.

Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021

Anthony Johnson has a message for anybody who believes Bellator is inferior to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Johnson, who fought for the UFC from 2007 to 2017 and competed for the light heavyweight title two times in the stretch, migrated to Bellator to much fanfare earlier this year.