MMA News
Ben Rothwell books his Octagon return against former PFL Heavyweight champion Philipe Lins
Chris Taylor - January 30, 2021
Veteran heavyweight Ben Rothwell will make his return to the Octagon on March 13, in a location still to be determined by UFC officials. According to a report from Combate, ‘Big Ben’ is set to return to action against former PFL heavyweight champion Philipe Lins (14-5 MMA).
Joanna Jedrzejczyk reacts after reports surface that she will return at UFC Singapore
Chris Taylor - January 30, 2021
Joanna Jedrzejczyk has reacted to reports suggesting that she will be returning to the Octagon this April at UFC Singapore. On Friday multiple reports surfaced that Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA) would be returning to action this Spring for a strawweight bout with perennial division contender Yan Xiaonan.
Henry Cejudo reflects on his accomplishments, tells Conor McGregor to "take notes"
Chris Taylor - January 30, 2021
Former UFC ‘champ champ’ Henry Cejudo took time to reflect on his accomplishments today, this while telling Conor McGregor to take notes. Cejudo (16-2 MMA) retired from mixed martial arts following his TKO victory over former bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. The win had marked Henry’s sixth in a row, as he had previously scored victories over Wilson Reis, Sergio Pettis, Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw and Marlon Moraes.
Video | Dustin Poirier's wife pays a visit to Conor McGregor's locker room following UFC 257
Christopher Taylor - January 29, 2021
Dustin Poirier’s wife Jolie paid a visit to Conor McGregor’s locker room immediately following the Irishman’s loss to her husband. Poirier and McGregor squared off for a second time in the main event of UFC 257, this after ‘Notorious’ had emerged victorious by way of first round TKO in their first encounter in 2014.
The Korean Zombie says he hit "rock bottom" and gained 20kgs following loss to Brian Ortega
Adam Martin - January 29, 2021
UFC featherweight fan-favorite The Korean Zombie admitted he hit “rock bottom” following his loss to Brian Ortega, gaining 20kgs as a result. The Korean Zombie took on Ortega in a No. 1 contender fight back in October. Despite entering the bout as the clear favorite following back-to-back knockout wins over Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano, the Zombie was completely outclassed in the matchup. Ortega styled on Korean Zombie for 25 minutes, pitching a shutout en route to a unanimous decision win. Although Zombie has lost before, it was never in this fashion. Before Ortega, no one had truly ever dominated him in that manner.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik announces his fight against Ciryl Gane has been rescheduled for five-rounds at UFC Vegas 20
Cole Shelton - January 29, 2021
Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane will now be fighting five rounds. Rozenstruik and Gane were originally supposed to fight in the co-main event of a Fight Night card on March 13. However, on Friday evening, Rozenstruik took to Twitter to reveal his bout against Gane has been pushed back two weeks and will now be five-rounds.
Anthony Rocco Martin becomes latest fighter to exit UFC roster
Adam Martin - January 29, 2021
Anthony Rocco Martin has become the latest fighter to exit the UFC roster as he announced on Friday he has parted ways with the organization. Martin has been in the UFC since 2014, racking up a winning record of 9-6 in the world’s leading MMA promotion. He told MMAjunkie.com’s Nolan King that he and the UFC decided to mutually part ways after wrapping up the final fight of his contract with a decision loss to Neil Magny at UFC 250. That fight happened back in June, but the UFC recently revealed it was purging 60 fighters from the roster. It sounds like Martin didn’t make the cut, but the veteran said he’s looking forward to free agency.
Eddie Alvarez believes Conor McGregor needs to become "hungry and motivated" like he was in 2015 and 2016
Cole Shelton - January 29, 2021
Eddie Alvarez believes his former foe, Conor McGregor, needs to become hungry like he was before he became a UFC champion. Before McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo, beat Alvarez to become a champ-champ, and boxed Floyd Mayweather, the Irishman fought often. His only source of income was fighting which made him hungry and motivated.
Kamaru Usman wants Jorge Masvidal rematch so he can "finish him" after fighting with a broken nose at UFC 251
Cole Shelton - January 29, 2021
Kamaru Usman wants to rematch Jorge Masvidal on a full camp so he can earn a stoppage win. At UFC 251 in July, Masvidal stepped up on a weeks’ notice to battle Usman in a highly-anticipated bout. In the first round, “Gamebred” had success but the champ then rallied and won the final four rounds using his wrestling and clinch.
Petr Yan says Conor McGregor looked "fat and old" against Dustin Poirier
Adam Martin - January 29, 2021
UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan was critical of Conor McGregor’s performance against Dustin Poirier, saying he looked “fat and old.” McGregor took on Poirier in the main event of last weekend’s UFC 257 and lost as a big favorite when he got knocked out in the second round. After a year away from the Octagon due to various issues, McGregor did not perform well against Poirier. Though he had a strong first round, his conditioning failed him in the second, and after Poirier’s deadly low kicks started to limit the mobility of McGregor, Poirier took advantage of it when he was able to back McGregor against the fence and TKO him.
Chris Weidman vs. Uriah Hall bounced from UFC 258, could be rescheduled
Tom Taylor - January 29, 2021
A middleweight fight between Chris Weidman and Uriah Hall has been removed from the UFC 258 bill after the former tested positive for COVID-19. News of the fight’s cancelation was first reported by Ariel Helwani of ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC. Helwani added that the fight could be rescheduled for UFC 261 on April 24, which could potentially occur in Singapore, as recently reported by SCMP MMA’s John Hyon Ko.
Curtis Blaydes open to Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight if Jon Jones gets next UFC heavyweight title shot
Adam Martin - January 29, 2021
Curtis Blaydes says he is open to fighting Jairzinho Rozenstruik after Derrick Lewis if Jon Jones gets the next UFC heavyweight title shot. Blaydes is set to take on Lewis in the main event of a UFC Fight Night event on February 20 in Las Vegas. Blaydes is currently the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the UFC, while Lewis is No. 4, so the winner of this fight is most likely going to want a title shot against the winner of UFC 260’s Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2. However, with Jones set to make his heavyweight debut this summer, UFC president Dana White has already hinted that “Bones” is likely going to get the next title shot.
Michael Chandler gets shoutout from Ric Flair after UFC 257 promo
Tom Taylor - January 29, 2021
Michael Chandler got a personal Zoom call from pro wrestling legend Ric Flair after making his Octagon debut at UFC 257. Chandler couldn’t have looked better in his first UFC bout, knocking out Dan Hooker in the first-round to usurp the No. 4 spot in the promotion’s lightweight rankings.
Alistair Overeem makes retirement plans clear: win UFC title, "retire immediately"
Tom Taylor - January 29, 2021
Heavyweight MMA legend Alistair Overeem is hoping to win a UFC belt, then immediately retire from competition. Overeem is currently riding back-to-back stoppage wins over Augusto Sakai and Walt Harris. He’s hoping to keep that momentum going and, hopefully, win one of the few major titles that’s eluded him thus far: the UFC heavyweight championship.
Ben Askren reacts to Jake Paul training with Jorge Masvidal
Tom Taylor - January 29, 2021
Ben Askren has reacted to his next opponent, Jake Paul, training with his former opponent Jorge Masvidal—and he’s clearly not worried. Askren fought Jorge Masvidal in 2019, in his second bout in the UFC’s Octagon. He lost that fight when he chowed down on a flying knee just five seconds into the bout.
Michael Bisping buries Dillon Danis: "Stop embarrassing yourself"
Tom Taylor - January 29, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping fired the latest volley in a war of words with Dillon Danis, and he certainly didn’t hold back. Bisping and Danis have been swapping trash talk on Twitter all week.
Eddie Alvarez believes he is the one man who can defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov: “I’m his only matchup that would make any sense”
Harry Kettle - January 29, 2021
ONE Championship star Eddie Alvarez believes that he is the man who could dethrone Khabib Nurmagomedov in the UFC lightweight division. Alvarez, who fought against many of the top stars at 155 pounds such as Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, is currently 1-1 in his spell with ONE as he prepares to return to action in early April when he faces off against former title challenger Iuri Lapicus.
Ben Askren reveals he had to ask permission from UFC president Dana White to fight Jake Paul
Harry Kettle - January 29, 2021
Retired UFC star Ben Askren has revealed that he had to ask permission from Dana White in order to get the green light for his Jake Paul fight. Askren and Paul are set to lock horns in an eight-round boxing fight on April 17 as the YouTuber attempts to continue his rise to prominence in combat sports.