MMA News

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira explained why he turned down the chance to fight at UFC 259 for the backup role instead. The 41-year-old Teixeira is currently the No. 1 contender in the UFC light heavywight division following a submission win over Thiago Santos in his last fight. The Brazilian has won his last five straight fights and many analysts thought he should have been next in line to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. Instead, the UFC decided to give the next title shot at 205lbs to Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz and Adesanya will now headline UFC 259 on March 6, with Teixeira flying to Las Vegas to serve as a backup for the fight.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis explained why he wants to fight Alistair Overeem, accusing “The Reem” of turning him down four times. Lewis brutally knocked out Curtis Blaydes in the main event of UFC Vegas 19, picking up the victory as a massive +350 betting underdog. It’s a huge win over Lewis over the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the UFC and it should push him closer to getting a title shot. However, the title is not what Lewis is striving for next. Instead, he called out Overeem for his next fight. Overeem is, of course, a teammate of the Elevation Fight Team and also one of the top-10 ranked heavyweights in the world. Following the win, Lewis explained why he wants to fight Overeem despite him getting knocked out by Alexander Volkov.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi says he received a new UFC contract after his opponent Drako Rodriguez missed weight before UFC Vegas 19. Zahabi was one of a number of underdogs who won in dominant fashion at UFC Vegas 19, as he was able to knock Rodriguez out in the first round with a vicious 1-2. What made the win even more impressive was the fact Rodriguez badly missed weight at the official weigh-ins on Friday, coming in at 140.5lbs for a 135lbs fight (plus the one-pound allowance). Because Rodriguez missed so badly, there were some whispers that Zahabi would decline the fight. However, Zahabi said that the UFC made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC featherweight Chas Skelly revealed the emotions that went through him when opponent Jamall Emmers did not enter the cage at UFC Vegas 19. Skelly was set to make his return to the Octagon for the first time since a decision win over Jordan Griffin in September 2019. Skelly missed all of 2020 due to injuries and was looking forward to returning to the cage against Emmers. Skelly had already made the walk to the Octagon and was awaiting Emmers to join him, but the fight was canceled at the last minute when Emmers suffered back spasms during his warmups. The fight was scratched, leaving Skelly with two straight canceled fights after a bout with Grant Dawson fell through at the last second in January 2020. Safe to say Skelly is frustrated by all of the bad luck.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Featherweight prospect Steven Nguyen defended his brutal knockout at LFA 100 after online outrage due to a late punch he landed after the KO. Nguyen, a former Contender Series fighter, brutally finished Jorge Juarez just 30 seconds into the fight with strikes. After landing a gigantic right hand that knocked Juarez to the floor, it appeared as though Juarez was knocked out cold. Nguyen followed it up with a brutal ground strike that led to fans online saying he took a cheap shot at his opponent. Despite the fact that the referee hadn’t officially stepped in and waved off the fight at that point, some fans believe that Nguyen should have shown better sportsmanship towards Juarez. Despite the backlash, however, Nguyen says that everyone has it all wrong.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard took to social media to roast the United States Senator Ted Cruz with a comical tweet. Maynard took a shot at Cruz, who controversially left Texas during a winter storm to travel to Cancun, Mexico last week. The move to take a family vacation during the middle of the pandemic, especially with the state being in serious trouble due to these brutal snowstorms, has led to Cruz being smeared all over social media. Not to mention, UFC Vegas 19 winner Derrick Lewis had a hilarious quip earlier this week about taking a selfie with him at the airport. And now you can add Maynard to those who trolled Cruz.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski issued a statement following his submission loss to prospect Tom Aspinall at UFC Vegas 19. Arlovski was riding a two-fight win steak into this bout against Aspinall, a 27-year-old British heavyweight prospect who many believe is the future of the division. Though Aspinall was a considerable favorite entering the bout, there were many out there who thought Arlovski had a good chance to pull off the upset after he defeated Tanner Boser and Philipe Lins as an underdog in his last two fights. However, Aspinall is a much different beast from those two. The young heavyweight outstruck Arlovski in the first round and in the second round finished the fight with a surprising rear-naked choke submission victory.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz said in a recent interview that he wants to catch COVID-19, so that way he can fight it. Ortiz has been very vocal about his distrust in the COVID-19 pandemic and everything related to it on social media and as part of his role on the Huntington Beach city council. He has even been criticized by fellow politicians for not wearing masks inside buildings, as he doesn’t believe in them. In Ortiz’s mind, the virus is not all that serious, and in a recent interview, he actually said that he wants to get COVID-19 so that his body can fight it.

Christopher Taylor - February 20, 2021

Derrick Lewis referenced The Undertaker in an attempt to explain his extra punches after dropping Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19. Lewis (25-7 MMA) extended his current win streak to four in a row this evening by scoring a spectacular second round knockout victory over Blaydes.

Christopher Taylor - February 20, 2021

Heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis already has his next opponent picked out following his spectacular KO victory over Curtis Blaydes. Lewis (25-7 MMA) squared off with Blaydes in the headliner of tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 event. After a rough opening round which saw ‘Razor’ land a plethora of different strikes, ‘The Black Beast’ unleashed his freakish power in round two. Derrick Lewis was able to catch Curtis Blaydes with an uppercut while he was coming in which resulted in an immediate stoppage.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

The Octagon remained in Nevada for tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 event, a twelve-bout fight card headlined by Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes. The highly anticipated heavyweight fight proved to be a tale of two rounds. Curtis Blaydes seemingly dominated the opening round landing a barrage of punches and kicks on Derrick Lewis. However, in round two ‘The Black Beast’ was able to once again showcase his power by flooring Blaydes with an uppercut, spelling an end to the fight.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 event was headlined by a key heavyweight bout between perennial division contenders Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis. Blaydes (14-3 MMA) was stepping foot in the Octagon for the first time since defeating Alexander Volkov by unanimous decision this past June. ‘Razor’ had entered tonight’s headliner on a four-fight win streak, as he had previously scored victories over Justin Willis, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Junior dos Santos.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 is co-headlined by a women’s bantamweight bout featuring Ketlen Vieira taking on Yana Kunitskaya. Vieira (11-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since September’s UFC 253 event, where she scored a unanimous decision win over Sijara Eubanks. That victory got ‘Fenomeno’ back in the win column, as she had previously suffered a knockout loss to Irena Aldana.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

A heavyweight bout featuring Chris Daukaus squaring off with Aleksei Oleinik took place on tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 main card. Oleinik (59-15-1 MMA) was looking to get back into the win column this evening, this after suffering a TKO loss to Derrick Lewis in his most previous effort. Prior to that setback, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ had rattled off back-to-back wins over Fabricio Werdum and Maurice Greene.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

A heavyweight bout featuring Chris Daukaus squaring off with Aleksei Oleinik takes place on tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 main card. Oleinik (59-14-1 MMA) will be looking to get back into the win column this evening, this after suffering a TKO loss to Derrick Lewis in his most previous effort. Prior to that setback, ‘The Boa Constrictor’ was coming off back-to-back wins over Fabricio Werdum and Maurice Greene.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

A heavyweight bout featuring former division champion Andrei Arlovski taking on Tom Aspinall kicked off tonight’s UFC Vegas 19 main card. Arlovski (30-20 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since defeating Tanner Boser by way of unanimous decision this past November. That win hard marked Arlovski’s second in a row, as ‘The Pitbull’ had previously defeated Philipe Lins back in May.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Justin Gaethje “gave up” in their lightweight title unification bout this past October in Abu Dhabi. Gaethje and Nurmagomedov squared off in the main event of UFC 254, in what many believed would be the toughest fight of Khabib’s career.

Chris Taylor - February 20, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 19: ‘Blaydes vs. Lewis’ event has taken a late hit as a lightweight bout between Drakkar Klose and Luis Pena has been scrapped. Klose and Pena were set to collide on today’s preliminary card but the bout was unfortunately called off after one of Drakkar’s cornermen tested positive for Covid.