MMA News

Drake Riggs - January 5, 2021

An unbelievable amount of ridiculousness ensued throughout 2020 the further along we all got in the year. To perfectly summarize 2020 with a capper, the MMA world provided us with an intergender openweight exhibition bout in November pitting Russia’s Darina Mazdyuk vs. the 500-plus pound YouTuber, Grigory Chistyakov (also known as Grisha Polnoe). Mazdyuk, 28, is a solid prospect who has competed in the 135-pound bantamweight and 145-pound featherweight divisions. However, up until her viral first-round TKO victory, the 4-1 pro was a virtual unknown outside of Russia’s regional scene.

Adam Martin - January 5, 2021

UFC women’s legend Ronda Rousey went beast mode in the gym in a new commercial where she shows off her featured clothing line with Mizuno. Rousey, one of the greatest women’s MMA fighters of all time, was last seen with the WWE. But she was back in the gym doing some mixed martial arts training once again in a commercial for the new “Mizuno X Ronda Rousey Training Collection.” Along with showing off her MMA skills, Rousey went all out and showed off her incredible athleticism by doing gymnastics and strength and conditioning. Watch the commercial below (via @RondaRousey).

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

Leon Edwards claims he wanted to fight Michael Chiesa or Neil Magny on January 20, and then Khamzat Chimaev immediately after, but the UFC wasn’t on board. Edwards was originally scheduled to fight Chimaev in the main event of the January 20 card, which will go down on Fight Island. Regrettably, Chimaev was forced out of the matchup due to lingering health issues stemming from a COVID-19 infection.

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns believes Jon Jones’s move up to the heavyweight division will probably end in disaster. Jones, the long-time UFC light heavyweight champion, recently vacated his title with plans to climb up to heavyweight. While his debut in the division is not yet set, he’s expected to fight the winner of an unscheduled title fight between champion Stipe Miocic and challenger Francis Ngannou.

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson admits he’s always had a bit of difficulty with fighters like his next opponent, Adriano Moraes. Johnson, widely regarded as the best fighter ever, is slated to challenge Moraes for the ONE Championship flyweight title on February 24.

bjpenndotcom - January 5, 2021

There’s a lot to look forward to when the Professional Fighters League (PFL) returns for its third season in April of 2021. While the PFL takes pride in its unique, seasonal format, its top attraction will always be the fights. To have great fights, you need great fighters, and that’s something that the PFL has in spades.

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

Dillon Danis says a grappling match with undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov would be “easy work.” Nurmagomedov, who recently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, is widely considered one of the best grapplers in the history of the sport. Yet Danis, a decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu blackbelt, believes he could make quick work of the unbeaten Russian in a straight grappling match.

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor has “very good” Brazilian jiu jitsu, despite perceptions to the contrary. McGregor has long stood out as one of the most lethal strikers in MMA, with a long list of knockout wins to his credit. Yet many of the Irishman’s detractors—both fans and fighters—have suggested he’s lacking in the grappling department.

Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021

A long-awaited welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns has a new date. It’s now scheduled for UFC 258 on February 12. News of this bout was first reported by Combate and has now been confirmed by MMA Fighting.

Drake Riggs - January 4, 2021

The tail-end of 2020 saw the UFC make some surprising releases from their roster. In turn, that led to Bellator President Scott Coker picking them up. To the surprise of many, several names within the larger weight classes parted ways with the UFC this past year. All of which have since joined their counterpart in Bellator MMA. Most notably these names include perennial top light heavyweight contender Corey Anderson, and former UFC title challengers, Yoel Romero, and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

Adam Martin - January 4, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson reflected on what was a tough year for him in 2020, promising to be “biggest and meanest” in 2021. Ferguson had a very tough year in 2020 for various reasons. The calendar started off with Ferguson being booked to fight UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in Brooklyn back in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that fight fell apart for the fifth time. Instead of getting his dream matchup against Nurmagomedov, Ferguson instead fought Justin Gaethje for the interim belt at UFC 249 and he suffered a vicious fifth-round TKO defeat.

Drake Riggs - January 4, 2021

The first UFC pay-per-view event of 2021 will see the returning Conor McGregor rematch Dustin Poirier — and it may end up being for a title after all. On Monday, those within the MMA community began revealing Twitter messages that they received from the official UFC Twitter account about UFC 257 event info. This, of course, is the event where Poirier and McGregor will be headlining on Jan. 23.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Dana White has sent a warning to any fight fans that plan on illegally streaming UFC 257. In the main event of UFC 257, Conor McGregor is set to face Dustin Poirier in a highly-anticipated fight. The event will do massive pay-per-view numbers but illegal streams have been a problem for combat sports so White plans on putting an end to that.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Michael Chandler wanted to have his UFC debut against Tony Ferguson, but that did not come to fruition. After Chandler signed with the UFC, it was reported he would be on the UFC 254 card against Ferguson. However, negotiations stalled, and the former Bellator lightweight champion ended up being the backup fighter for the Gaethje vs. Khabib title fight. Now, as Chandler is set to face Dan Hooker at UFC 257, Chandler explained why the Ferguson fight didn’t happen.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Michael Chandler is confident in his skill set as he believes he is a nightmare matchup for Conor McGregor. In the co-main event of UFC 257, Michael Chandler will finally make his Octagon debut against Dan Hooker in an intriguing matchup. If the former Bellator lightweight champion wins, he will likely be in line for a big fight against someone like Justin Gaethje, or the winner of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. If it happens to be the latter, and McGregor wins, Chandler believes he would get his hand raised.

Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021

Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes will still fight one another. Originally, Derrick Lewis and Blaydes were supposed to headline the November 28 card, but Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19. The hope was to have the fight rescheduled for January, but according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the fight will headline the February 20 card.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

Controversial UFC welterweight star Mike Perry has gotten stitched up after a bizarre and bloody incident on Sunday night. The incident in question seemingly occured after Perry attempted to smash a sheet of glass with his foot. That decision left him laying in a pool of his own blood in a hallway—a concerning situation he shared with his fans via his Instagram story.

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2021

Rose Namajunas is ready to challenge Weili Zhang for the UFC strawweight title, according to the pair’s manager Brian Butler. UFC President Dana White recently claimed that Namajunas, the division’s former champion, isn’t interested in challenging Zhang in a bid to reclaim the title, and that Carla Esparza could get the opportunity in her stead.