MMA News
Megan Olivi aiming to run for mayor of Las Vegas
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020
Megan Olivi, a long-time commentator and reporter for the UFC, says running for mayor in her home of Las Vegas is on her bucket list. Olivi revealed this ambition during an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette.
Ciryl Gane interested in Jairzinho Rozenstruik matchup: "This makes sense"
Adam Martin - December 23, 2020
Fresh off a KO win over Junior dos Santos, UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane says that he is interested in a matchup against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Gane knocked out the former UFC heavyweight champion dos Santos at UFC 256 earlier this month. The KO was somewhat controversial as dos Santos thought the elbow that Gane landed hit him in the back of the head, but the win stands. Gane is now a bonafide top-10 UFC heavyweight after a frustrating 2020 where several fights fell apart for the Frenchman. Against dos Santos, he was finally able to get back into the Octagon and make his presence known as a serious contender by scoring a KO over a former champ.
Tyron Woodley shuts down rumors of UFC release
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has emphatically shut down rumors that he’s been released by the promotion. The rumors began on Wednesday morning, after Woodley allegedly posted on Snapchat about being released from the UFC.
Rafael dos Anjos trashes Conor McGregor for giving "Cowboy" props
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos did not appreciate a recent comment from MMA superstar Conor McGregor. Earlier this week, McGregor took to Twitter to congratulate the UFC on a successful year. In his Tweet, McGregor claimed that his January fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view of the year. He also gave Cerrone props for tapping Rafael dos Anjos at last Sunday’s Submission Underground 19 card.
Scott Coker: "I already know who’s gonna win" Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul fight
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020
Bellator MMA President Scott Coker believes he knows how a rumored boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul will go down. Askren claims that he’s in talks to fight Paul in March. While he previously reigned as the Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder and is a decorated wrestler, he’s never been much of a striker, and is widely expected to be at a disadvantage in a boxing match against the YouTube star turned pro boxer, Paul.
Anthony Johnson is "definitely down" for Bellator light heavyweight Grand Prix
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020
Anthony Johnson is “definitely down” to participate in a light heavyweight Grand Prix tournament in the Bellator MMA cage. Johnson, who previously challenged for the UFC light heavyweight title, recently signed with Bellator, where he will put an anticipated end to his longstanding retirement from competition.
Tyron Woodley is "working on getting his motivation back," says coach
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020
Coach Duke Roufus says former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is currently attempting to rekindle his motivation to compete. Woodley is widely considered one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, but he’s recently fallen on tough times. After defending the welterweight title against Darren Till in late 2018, he then lost the title to Kamaru Usman in 2019, before losing back-to-back decisions to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington this year.
UFC Vegas 17 medical suspensions: Stephen Thompson potentially sidelined for 6 months
Harry Kettle - December 23, 2020
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has received a potential six-month suspension in the wake of his win over Geoff Neal last weekend. Thompson was able to continue building momentum in the welterweight division with what turned out to be an incredibly comprehensive victory over rising star Geoff Neal. Now, the question turns to who he will fight next as his quest for a UFC title goes on.
Paige VanZant describes bare-knuckle boxing as 'sport for only the toughest of the tough'
Drake Riggs - December 22, 2020
Paige VanZant is no longer an MMA fighter… for the time being. And that means it’s off to the ring to prove herself in bare-knuckle boxing. VanZant signed with the Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) after becoming a free agent in Summer 2020. During her time with the UFC, the 26-year old would go 5-4 and take on several notable names such as an eventual champion in Rose Namajunas.
Scott Coker sees an Anthony Pettis vs. Michael 'Venom' Page fight as 'a lot of fun'
Drake Riggs - December 22, 2020
Going into UFC Vegas 17 this past Saturday, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis knew that he was heading into free agency. As of Tuesday, “Showtime” took to social media to declare that he will, in fact, be departing from the promotion that he’s spent the last 10 years of his career in. Prepared to test the waters of free agency, many in the MMA community have already begun speculating where he could be headed and who some new matchups could be.
Anthony Pettis announces he has parted ways with the UFC to explore free agency
Adam Martin - December 22, 2020
Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has announced he has parted ways with the UFC in order to explore free agency. Pettis fought out the final bout of his UFC contract this past weekend when he won a unanimous decision over Alex Morono at UFC Vegas 17. Following the bout, Pettis said that he planned on exploring free agency, but also said that his top choice would be to re-sign with the UFC and get a rematch with Tony Ferguson. Well, it appears that rematch won’t be happening anytime soon as Pettis is now officially on the free-agent market.
Video | Ben Askren explains why he is fighting Jake Paul
Adam Martin - December 22, 2020
Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren posted a video to his social media explaining why he is fighting YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. On Tuesday, BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton reported that Askren was deep in talks for a boxing match with Paul that is set for March 28. A few hours later and Askren took to his social media to post a one-minute video confirming he has accepted the fight with Paul. Check out the video below that Askren posted to his Twitter explaining why he said yes.
Marvin Vettori plans to "smash" Darren Till next year
Cole Shelton - December 22, 2020
Marvin Vettori is looking to fight Darren Till in 2021. Vettori picked up the biggest win of his career earlier this month as he beat Jack Hermansson by decision. The Italian stepped up on short notice to face Hermansson in his first UFC main event and had success. He dropped the Swede early and clearly won four rounds.
Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker verbally agreed to for UFC 257
Adam Martin - December 22, 2020
An exciting lightweight bout between Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker is the latest addition to January’s UFC 257 pay-per-view. Stuff.co.nz confirmed on Tuesday that Chandler vs. Hooker has been verbally agreed to for UFC 257 by both parties and both men have begun their training camps already, according to reporter Jackson Thomas. The UFC is expected to make this fight official in the next couple of days, according to the report. Chandler vs. Hooker will likely be the co-main event behind the UFC 257 between lightweight contender Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Hooker previously called Chandler out, and now he will get his wish of fighting him.
Report | Jake Paul to box Ben Askren in March of 2021
Cole Shelton - December 22, 2020
Jake Paul and Ben Askren are set to box in March of next year. In the lead-up to Paul’s fight against Nate Robinson, the YouTuber had called out Askren among several other UFC fighters. After Paul won, the callouts only increased and now, according to Chael Sonnen, the fight is happening.
Jake Paul declares that Conor McGregor is "still scared" of him
Adam Martin - December 22, 2020
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul declared on his social media that UFC superstar Conor McGregor is “still scared” of boxing him. After scoring a devastating KO over Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr., Paul has stated that he is dedicating his life to fighting and beating McGregor. For the last few weeks, he has trolled McGregor on social media and recently released a video trashing the Irishman and taking a shot at his partner. Paul continues to say that he wants to fight McGregor and for the most part McGregor continues to ignore his callouts.
Michael Chiesa, Neil Magny slated for January 20 fight, could "serve as backup" for Edwards vs. Chimaev
Tom Taylor - December 22, 2020
Ranked welterweight contenders Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny have reportedly agreed to fight on January 20 on Fight Island. While this is a big fight for the welterweight division in its own right, either of the two men could apparently get the call to step in should Leon Edwards or Khamzat Chimaev fail to make it to the cage for the card’s main event.
Angela Hill makes gingerbread house inspired by Conor McGregor's bus attack
Tom Taylor - December 22, 2020
UFC strawweight contender Angela Hill got creative with her gingerbread house this year, drawing inspiration from one of the most infamous moments in recent UFC history. In reality, Hill’s gingerbread house is actually more of a gingerbread bus, accompanied by gingerbread versions of Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dana White and Artem Lobov.