MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2019

Brian Ortega is out of the UFC Busan main event, and Frankie Edgar has been named as the man who could replace him against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. That’s bad news for Cory Sandhagen, who was expected to welcome Edgar to bantamweight division at UFC Raleigh in January. While ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC is hoping Edgar can fight The Korean Zombie on December 21, and then fight Sandhagen at bantamweight as planned on January 25, that seems extremely unlikely.

Alfredo Zullino - December 5, 2019

It seems that the legalization of MMA in France won’t happen as soon as we thought. As reported by Le Parisien, the legalization of MMA has been postponed to February or even later, not on January 1 as originally planned. The Minister of Youth and Sports of France, Roxana Maracineanu, decided to hear more from French National Olympic and Sports Committee in order to make a call about MMA’s legalization.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2019

Joe Rogan has an interesting theory as to why Conor McGregor agreed to fight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at welterweight, rather than lightweight. Rogan suspects McGregor is a little tired of cutting weight, and that the Irishman views Cerrone as a lightweight who can compete at welterweight, rather than a true welterweight. In other words, he gets to enjoy an easy weight cut without having to fight a giant.

Adam Martin - December 5, 2019

UFC heavyweight title contender Alistair Overeem says he is open to a rematch with Francis Ngannou should he get by Jairzinho Rozenstruik this weekend in the main event of UFC Washington, D.C. Overeem and Ngannou first met back at UFC 218 in December 2017. At the time, both men were on the path to a title shot and this was an important fight for both. But Ngannou proved to be the better man that night as he brutally knocked Overeem out with a video game-like uppercut in arguably the KO of the Year for 2017. Ngannou went on to fight Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight championship the next month and lost a decision.

Harry Kettle - December 5, 2019

Molly McCann is set to return to the Octagon once again at UFC London in 2020, as she prepares to square off against Ashlee Evans-Smith at the O2 Arena on March 21. The news was broken by Jim Edwards last night. This will mark the continuation of a busy period for “Meatball” who will be taking part in her fourth fight in a little over twelve months, having gone 3-0 in 2019.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2019

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar could be looking at a busy few weeks. Last night, we were hit with the unfortunate news that recent featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega has been forced out of his fan-friendly showdown with “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, which was tapped to headline the UFC’s debut in Busan, South Korea on December 21.

Harry Kettle - December 5, 2019

Bellator lightweight contender Benson Henderson has issued a statement after he was pulled from the upcoming card Bellator Japan card due to injury.  Henderson was set to go head to head with Michael Chandler for a second time at Bellator Japan in a rematch from their Bellator 165 encounter in November 2016. Chandler won that fight via split decision, retaining his Bellator Lightweight Championship in the process.

Natasha Hooper - December 5, 2019

The anticipated rematch between Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson will have to be put on hold as Henderson is out of their scheduled Bellator Japan bout. Henderson has suffered an injury, forcing him to withdraw from the Bellator Japan card.

Adam Martin - December 4, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo says he plans to fight for seven more years and suggested that he still plans on competing in boxing. Aldo will make his bantamweight debut next weekend at UFC 245 when he takes on Marlon Moraes. Should Aldo win that fight, he’s expected to be in the running to get a title shot against UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. Perhaps the move down to bantamweight has revitalized Aldo, because he appears to have more drive now than he’s had in years.

Cole Shelton - December 4, 2019

Brian Ortega’s long-awaited return to the Octagon will have to wait. Ortega, who has not fought since losing to Max Holloway at UFC 231 last December, was scheduled to fight Chan Sung Jung aka The Korean Zombie at UFC Busan on Dec. 21. But, according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Ortega has been forced to pull out of the scrap due to an undisclosed injury.

Natasha Hooper - December 4, 2019

The last few months have seen a multitude of media personalities take up MMA. Now “Salt Bae” is joining the likes of Logan Paul and Wiz Khalifa by trying his hand at combat sport. The 36-year old known as Nusret Gökçe, shot to fame after a video went viral of him sprinkling salt (with swag) over some meat. The clip amassed millions of views and propelled the Turkish chef to a new level of salt sprinkling stardom.

Cole Shelton - December 4, 2019

Israel Adesanya says a potential bout with Paulo Costa would be similar to Conor McGregor’s fight against Jose Aldo. Of course, in that fight, the Irishman knocked out Aldo in just 13 seconds with the first punch he threw. He also trash-talked the Brazilian leading up to the fight and many believe McGregor was in Aldo’s head.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has fought current UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway and top featherweight contender Alexander Volkanovski. As such, he has unique insight into the pair’s upcoming featherweight title fight, which is scheduled for the co-main event of UFC 245 on December 14. Aldo believes that, when the cage door closes on Holloway and Volkanovski on December 14, the champion will probably retain his title due to his size, skill and durability. That said, he acknowledges Volkanovski could win the fight.

Adam Martin - December 4, 2019

The UFC has targeted an intriguing middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier as well as an exciting light heavyweight matchup between Johnny Walker and Nikita Krylov. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani revealed the news on his Twitter.

Cole Shelton - December 4, 2019

Yana Kunitskaya is looking to put Aspen Ladd on losing streak for the first time in her career. On the main card of the UFC’s imminent return to Washington D.C., Ladd is returning after the quick 16-second knockout loss to Germaine de Randamie in July. Kunitskaya believes that fight proved Ladd is beatable and she is confident she will make it two losses in a row.

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has only experienced a handful of losses over the course of his legendary career. Not all of those losses stung the same. Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of his UFC 245 battle with Marlon Moraes, which will mark his bantamweight debut, Aldo divulged that his early 2019 decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski, which occurred in his native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “hurt a lot more” than his infamous, 13-second knockout loss to Conor McGregor in 2015.

Harry Kettle - December 4, 2019

Chael Sonnen has taken a look on the brighter side of Tony Ferguson’s entertaining interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.  Ferguson came out swinging during the interview with Helwani in one of his first public chats since it was confirmed that he’d be facing Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 18 for the UFC Lightweight Championship. This is the fifth time that this fight has been booked, but for multiple reasons, it has never quite come to fruition.

Adam Martin - December 4, 2019

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard has been released by the UFC after spending over 12 years with the promotion. MMAjunkie.com first reported that Maynard and the UFC had parted ways.