MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2021

Manny Pacquiao and his team feel there’s no longer any demand for a boxing match with former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor. Heading into his UFC 257 fight with Dustin Poirier, McGregor was linked to a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao sometime later in the year. After McGregor lost to Poirier via second-round TKO, however, interest in the matchup has waned.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2021

American Top Team coach Mike Brown believes UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal has earned a marquee fight. Masvidal has not fought since July, when he lost a decision to Kamaru Usman in a short-notice welterweight title fight. Prior to that, he was riding stoppage wins over Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz, which turned him into one of the sport’s biggest stars.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2021

Justin Gaethje would consider walking away from the UFC forever if Conor McGregor is granted an immediate lightweight title shot. McGregor fought in the main event of UFC 257 last weekend, when he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier. With this result, McGregor and Poirier entered into a 1-1 tie, as McGregor beat Poirier by first-round knockout in the featherweight division in 2014.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2021

Bellator star Dillon Danis has some choice words for former UFC middleweight champion turned MMA analyst Michael Bisping. Danis has spent the last few months angling for a boxing match with YouTube star turned pro boxer Jake Paul. While Paul recently signed on for a boxing match with former UFC fighter Ben Askren, Danis hasn’t relented in his callouts of the YouTuber.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2021

Bellator MMA star Dillon Danis believes he could submit UFC lightweight contender Justin Gaethje in less than 30 seconds. Danis, an accomplished Brazilian jiu jitsu blackbelt who never shies away from a little pot-stirring, made this bold proclamation on Twitter on Wednesday night.

Tom Taylor - January 28, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik is interested in a future fight with former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones ruled over the UFC light heavyweight division for many years, but recently vacated his title with plans to make a permanent move up to the heavyweight division.

Drake Riggs - January 27, 2021

In the past, the few fighters that have defeated Conor McGregor have gone on to become superstars in their own right. Perhaps Dustin Poirier is next? Well, social media metrics from the UFC 257 event would indicate that things are trending in the right direction for “The Diamond”.

Adam Martin - January 27, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming middleweight bout between top contenders Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. It was announced this week that Whittaker and Costa will meet in a five-round, non-title main event at a UFC Fight Night event scheduled for April 17. Both men had conveyed interest in an interim or vacant title fight with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya fighting up at 205lbs in his next bout, but the promotion decided to just make it a non-title five-rounder, with the winner likely in line for a title shot.

Cole Shelton - January 27, 2021

Justin Gaethje is hoping to rematch Dustin Poirier in the very near future. In April of 2018, Gaethje and Poirier headlined a Fox card in what many thought could be a Fight of the Year contender. Ultimately, it did not disappoint as both men had moments in the fight but Gaethje seemed to tire out and was TKO’d in the fourth round.

Cole Shelton - January 27, 2021

Michael Chandler knows Jake Paul picked Ben Askren for a reason, but he believes people can’t overlook “Funky” in their fight. On April 17, Paul is set for his third professional boxing match against Askren in what should be a very intriguing bout. This will be the first time Paul fights a legit fighter, as his other two wins are over a YouTuber and an ex-NBA player.

Cole Shelton - January 27, 2021

Justin Gaethje was very happy to see Conor McGregor get knocked out by Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Throughout McGregor’s career, he has been full of trash talk, but in his last two fights that have changed. However, the Irishman and Gaethje have still taken shots at one another, and many thought they would fight last year, but it never came to fruition. After all the talk, “The Highlight” says he loved seeing a loudmouth like McGregor get knocked out.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2021

Controversial mixed martial arts referee Mario Yamasaki has outlined his plans to return to officiating the sport in 2021. Yamasaki has not worked as a referee since February of 2018, when he was on duty for a Fight Night in Belem, Brazil. He was the subject of much controversy that night, after he allowed Priscila Cachoeira to sustain far more punishment that most viewers deemed necessary in a fight with future UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

Adam Martin - January 27, 2021

UFC featherweight Max Holloway was chosen as the top performer for the month of January by several fighters, including Michael Chandler. Holloway had what some say is the single-greatest performance in UFC history earlier this month on Fight Island, when he beat down the durable Calvin Kattar for five rounds, landing a world-record 445 significant strikes along the way. It was an absolutely phenomenal victory by Holloway that will almost assuredly guarantee he fights for the featherweight belt later this year. It’s also the type of big win that had him a near-unanimous winner of the UFC performer of the month crown for January.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2021

UFC legends Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier have been friends for many years, and have been known to swap some light hearted trash talk on occasion. That’s exactly what happened when Cormier presented Nurmagomedov with the UFC’s Submission of the Year award for 2020.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2021

Javier Mendez, the head coach behind Khabib Nurmagomedov, says Conor McGregor would get smashed in a rematch with the lightweight champion. Like pretty much everybody, Mendez was watching last Saturday’s UFC 257 card very closely. After seeing McGregor get stopped by Dustin Poirier in the main event, he has some concerns about the Irishman’s preparation.

Cole Shelton - January 27, 2021

Entering UFC Fight Island 8, Ike Villanueva was calling his fight against Vinicius Moreira his Game 7 and it was do-or-die for his UFC career. Both men were winless in the UFC. But, Villanueva knew if he touched the chin of Moreira he would go down. However, early on in the fight, the Brazilian had a high guard. That forced Villanueva to attack the body which would then set up the KO punch.

Adam Martin - January 27, 2021

The poster for the upcoming UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns pay-per-view has been officially unveiled ahead of next month’s highly-anticipated card. UFC 258 is set to take place on February 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be headlined by UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman against top contender Gilbert Burns. This is actually the third time the promotion has attempted to book this matchup, following two previous botched attempts at UFC 251 and UFC 256. Fingers crossed that both Usman and Burns will remain fully healthy and they are able to meet inside the Octagon in just over two weeks.

Tom Taylor - January 27, 2021

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC 257 card on Fight Island, and as expected there have been some big changes. Most notably, former two-division champion Conor McGregor has fallen in the pound-for-pound and lightweight rankings after being stopped by Dustin Poirier in the card’s main event.