MMA News

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC featherweight Dan Ige is staying on the UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad card after Gavin Tucker stepped up on short notice. Ige was originally set to fight Ryan Hall in what would have been a really intriguing matchup, but BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton reported that Hall was forced out of the fight due to injury. The UFC looked around for potential opponents to fill in for Hall and eventually settled on Tucker. It is worth noting that Tucker was supposed to fight Cub Swanson on May 1, and it’s unclear what immediate impact that this booking will have on that fight. Ige vs. Tucker will now fight on the UFC Fight Night card that is set to take place on March 13 in Las Vegas. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the word of the fight.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Travis Fulton, a mixed martial arts veteran with north of 300 professional fights, is reportedly facing child pornography charges, according to The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. According to the report, Fulton, a 43-year-old native of Waterloo, Iowa, has been charged with “with sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child porn and receipt of child porn.”

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Footage of a fight fan allegedly video calling and harassing UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has emerged on social media. Blaydes, who has long stood out as one of the top heavyweights on earth, returned to action in the main event of UFC Vegas 19 last Saturday, where he succumbed to a knockout loss at the hands of the underdog Derrick Lewis.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Paige VanZant will reportedly return to the BKFC ring for a fight with a “well-known name” sometime this summer. VanZant who achieved massive fame as a member of the UFC roster, signed with BKFC late last year, and finally made her debut with the bare knuckle promotion in early February. While she came up short in her debut, losing a decision to Britain Hart, she had plenty of success in the matchup and wowed many onlookers with her toughness.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Spencer Jones, a wide receiver for OU football, sustained serious injuries during a bathroom brawl with a young mixed martial arts practitioner. Accounts of this fight between the OU football star and MMA specialist, which left the former with a badly damaged eye, vary depending on the source.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

The UFC is under fire for running a Black History Month special starring lightweight contender Michael Chandler. February is recognized as Black History Month in the United States and several other countries. The UFC has already promoted three events in February, with one more on the calendar before the month concludes.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally closed the door on his long-desired superfight with former two-division UFC champ Georges St-Pierre. Nurmagomedov last fought in October, when he submitted Justin Gaethje to defend the UFC lightweight title for a third time. After that victory, he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis caught the attention of rapper Lil Wayne with his viral knockout of Curtis Blaydes. Lewis took on Blaydes in the main event of UFC Vegas 19 last Saturday. The fight, which was rife with heavyweight title implications, generated quite a bit of interest inside the combat sports bubble—and as it turns out, outside it as well.

Harry Kettle - February 22, 2021

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has called out Colby Covington for avoiding a potential fight against Leon Edwards. Usman and Covington went to war back at UFC 245 in December 2019 with “The Nigerian Nightmare” successfully retaining his Welterweight Championship via TKO. Since then he’s also beaten Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns, whereas “Chaos” returned to action with a win over long-time rival Tyron Woodley.

Harry Kettle - February 22, 2021

Former MMA fighter and Disney star Gina Carano has sounded off on her experience at Disney after being let go by Lucasfilm. Carano, who had been one of the featured stars in The Mandalorian on Disney+, was fired after multiple controversial posts on social media.

Christopher Taylor - February 21, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo continues to taunt Dana White by taking shots at some of the promotions champions. Cejudo (16-2 MMA) retired from mixed martial arts immediately following his second round TKO victory over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. The victory had marked Henry’s sixth in a row and first career defense of his bantamweight title.

Chris Taylor - February 21, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Conor McGregor’s best days are over following his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. McGregor squared off with Poirier for a second time in the headliner of last month’s pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi. Despite promising another first round finish of ‘The Diamond’, things did not pan out as planned for the Irishman.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman revealed this father-in-law recently passed away, and the family is asking fans to help. According to his obituary, Vincent John Pecora passed away on February 17 at the age of 70 years old. His daughter, Marivi, is married to Weidman. In a lengthy statement posted on his Instagram, Weidman revealed that his father-in-law tragically died after he was hit by a truck in an intersection while crossing the street. Weidman said he knew the man since he was in the seventh grade when he met his daughter and future wife at a wrestling camp. Pecora became a huge part of Weidman’s life and one of his biggest supporters.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor looks huge in a new social media photo, with the Irishman calling himself “jacked” as he showed off his arms. McGregor is coming off of a particularly devastating KO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Despite being a big favorite heading into the fight, McGregor was brutally knocked out in the second round. In the weeks since, we have heard from both McGregor and Poirier about a potential rematch, which is certainly a possibility later this year. If the fight is to take place, most think it will happen in the UFC lightweight division. But based on the new Instagram photo he posted, McGregor looks like he’s jumped a couple of weight classes up.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos congratulated his fiancée Yana Kunitskaya on her upset win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 19. Santos was in the corner of Kunitskaya as she defeated Vieira via unanimous decision in a fight that had somewhat controversial scorecards. Though it appeared that Vieira had done enough to control Kunitskaya on the mat from top position with her grappling that she would win the decision, the judges had other ideas. Instead, the three judges unanimously agreed that Kunitskaya had done enough to win the fight. Although Vieira had the takedowns and the control time on top, Kunitskaya was working the entire fight from the bottom, and she appeared to steal the fight in the final minute when she cut Vieira open.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Sijara Eubanks issued a statement following domestic violence allegations against ex-partner Lilly Ruiz. On Saturday, a video was posted to Eubanks’ own Twitter, allegedly showing her committing an act of domestic violence, reportedly in front of the couples’ child. Eubanks’ Twitter was later deleted, but the video remains on social media. According to the Twitter user “DatBoyLouu,” his mother-in-law is Eubanks’ ex-partner Ruiz, and he says he posted the video in order to get the media’s attention, saying Eubanks “needs to be stopped.”

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.