MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has reacted to receiving Fight of the Year honors at the 2020 World MMA Awards. Jedrzejczyk received this honor for her part in a fight with UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang. The pair met in the co-main event of UFC 248 in March, with Zhang’s title on the line. While Jedrzejczyk ultimately came up short in the matchup, there were no real losers in the fight, as the two women left everything they had in the Octagon.

Harry Kettle - December 29, 2020

Rising UFC star Jordan Leavitt has explained why he was embarrassed to be a professional fighter prior to his UFC Vegas 16 victory. Leavitt, who pulled off an impressive submission win over Luke Flores on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this year, sent a real message to the rest of his division after knocking Matt Wiman out with a devastating slam just 20 seconds into their clash at the start of December.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

An anticipated welterweight matchup between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev is off again, according to reports out of Sweden and Russia. Edward and Chimaev were originally expected to meet in the main event of a Fight Night card in Las Vegas on December 19. Unfortunately, that plan was derailed when Edwards came down with COVID-19.

Harry Kettle - December 29, 2020

Earlier this year, Disney’s Bob Iger claimed that Conor McGregor helped drive ESPN+ subscriptions rise from 6.6 million to 7.6 million. While there is so confirmation as to whether or not these numbers came directly from his win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at the start of the year, there’s no way of denying the overwhelming impact that can be felt throughout the sport of mixed martial arts whenever McGregor is in town.

Drake Riggs - December 28, 2020

Jon Jones and Corey Anderson never got to square off during their time together in the UFC light heavyweight division. However, The Ultimate Fighter season 19 winner believes there are certain reasons that success has started being found against one of the all-time greats. In Jones’ last two title defenses, he went the distance with the likes of Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes. With the first resulting in a split decision and the second a unanimous, both for Jones, many in the MMA community disagreed with the results.

Adam Martin - December 28, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang reacted after her classic with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 was named 2020 Fight of the Year. It’s amazing that Zhang and Jedrzejczyk actually took place during this year considering how 2020 ended up turning out. Remember, UFC 248 in March was the last event to feature fans before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. But it’s true that this fight took place this year, and it was an absolute war between two of the best women’s MMA fighters of all time. It absolutely deserved to win Fight of the Year not only at the World MMA Awards but from essentially every MMA media outlet.

Cole Shelton - December 28, 2020

Rob Font is now a top-five bantamweight. Entering UFC Vegas 17, Font had heard all the talk that he couldn’t win the big one. When the New England Cartel member got steps up in competition he faltered as evidence to the Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz losses. However, as he was getting ready to fight Marlon Moraes, his confidence and mental state were much different which was the key to getting his hand raised.

Cole Shelton - December 28, 2020

Ali Abdelaziz has responded after John Kavanagh suggested Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2 should be for the vacant belt. After Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje and retired, many wondered why the belt never became vacant. With McGregor returning on January 23, many believed by the time the fight rolled around, the fight would be for the belt. Kavanagh, however, doesn’t understand why it isn’t.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

Coach John Kavanagh believes Dustin Poirier is a tougher opponent for Conor McGregor than Justin Gaethje or Michael Chandler. Kavanagh has long served as McGregor’s head coach. During a recent interview with TheMacLife, he rated McGregor’s next opponent, Poirier, against two other top lightweights in Gaethje and Chandler.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

Brandon Moreno was involved in one of the best fights of 2020, but he doesn’t believe he’s the most deserving candidate of Fight of the Year honors. Moreno dropped jaws earlier this month, when he battled UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo to a thrilling draw in the main event of UFC 256. While the two flyweight stars deserve plenty of credit for that incredible contest, Moreno himself feels Fight of the Year honors should go to another UFC championship war: Zhang Weili’s March defeat of Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

John Kavanagh believes “it would be phenomenal” to see a rematch between his star pupil Conor McGregor and reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor, the former lightweight and featherweight champion, challenged Nurmagomedov for his title in 2018. While the Irishman performed as well as anybody against the unbeaten Russian, he was ultimately submitted in the fourth round of the fight.

Adam Martin - December 28, 2020

UFC women’s superstar Amanda Nunes reacted after being named Female Fighter of the Year at the 12th Fighters Only World MMA Awards. Nunes was the recipient of the honor from the World MMA awards from Fighters Only on Sunday night. She was up against several other tough competitors in a star-studded field of elite women’s MMA fighters, including Bellator’s Cris Cyborg, PFL’s Kayla Harrison, and fellow UFC champions Valentina Shevchenko and Weili Zhang.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

Three-division boxing champion Claressa Shields has explained why she decided to sign with the Professional Fighters League instead of the UFC. Shields, one of the best female boxers ever, has been plotting a move to MMA for some time. She’ll finally make that transition in the PFL cage in 2021–contrary to some interest from the UFC.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

Colby Covington is questioning Jorge Masvidal’s status as the UFC’s “BMF” champion amid the stalled negotiations for their potential matchup. Covington and Masvidal, former friends turned mortal enemies, have been linked to a fight for months. As of yet, however, the matchup has failed to come to fruition.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2020

Training with Khamzat Chimaev is a physically taxing experience, according to British UFC middleweight contender Darren Stewart. Chimaev was the breakout UFC star of summer, 2020. The Chechen-Swede first picked up two wins in the span of 10 days on Fight Island in July, defeating John Phillips by first-round submission and Rhys McKee by first-round TKO, then picked up his third win of the season when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, also in the first round.

Harry Kettle - December 28, 2020

UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya has reacted to being named Fighter of the Year in the Fighters Only World MMA Awards. Adesanya managed to register two big wins in 2020, and while his victory over Yoel Romero may have been controversial, the success against Paulo Costa was as emphatic as it gets.

Adam Martin - December 27, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was named winner of the Charles “Mask” Lewis Fighter of the Year award at the World MMA Awards. Adesanya took home the top prize of the night in being voted as the best fighter of the year, and he was among a number of deserving award winners at the 12th World MMA Awards. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 12th edition of the Fighters Only World MMA Awards took place remotely on December 27, 2020. It should be noted the awards timeline for inclusion stretched from January 2019 to July 2020. Check out the full list of this edition’s winning fighters below (via MMAjunkie.com).

Adam Martin - December 27, 2020

UFC bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley recently explained the only way he would accept a rematch against his bitter rival Marlon Vera. O’Malley and Vera met back at UFC 252 in August, and the Ecuadorian fighter pulled off the upset when he finished O’Malley in the first round with strikes. O’Malley injured his ankle in that fight and Vera took advantage of his ailment by putting him away via TKO. But in the months since that fight took place, O’Malley has refused to accept that it was a legitimate loss. After Vera lost a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo at UFC Vegas 17, O’Malley used it as an opportunity to scoff at his rival Vera.