MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy was not impressed by UFC President Dana White’s recent anti-media video. 2020 has been a very successful year for White and the UFC, contrary to the strains and challenges presented by the pandemic. That being said, White’s decision to continue operating throughout this global health crisis has generated plenty of controversy, much of which was covered by the media.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has explained his decision to sign with the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Pettis last fought at UFC Vegas 17 last weekend, where he picked up a unanimous decision win over Alex Morono at welterweight. That victory marked the final obligation on the former champion’s latest UFC contract.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Bec Rawlings doesn’t believe Paige VanZant will get the results she’s hoping for in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) ring. Rawlings and VanZant met in the UFC’s Octagon in 2016, with VanZant winning by head-kick knockout. Not long thereafter, Rawlings signed with BKFC, where she captured a title and picked up the monicker “The Queen of Bare Knuckle.”

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

The official poster for UFC 257 has been released, and headliners Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are front and center. See the poster for the card below:

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Top UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington seems to be open to coaching a season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite his friend turned nemesis, Jorge Masvidal. Covington and Masvidal used to be good friends and training partners at American Top Team in Florida, but over the years, their friendship has curdled. Today, they’re arguably the most heated rivals in all of MMA.

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

Chase Hooper pulled off his second career UFC victory at UFC 256. However, it wasn’t the easiest victory he’s picked up in his young career. Kicking off the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2020, the 21-year old featherweight prospect took on Peter Barrett. After dropping the first two rounds on the judges’ scorecards, Hooper headed into the third needing a finish and that’s what he got.

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

In response to the talk of a Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match where he too called out Paul, Phil Baroni came out to claim an old employer fixed Askren’s fights as well as one of his own. Baroni, 16-19, has enjoyed a fruitful 19-year MMA career that has seen him compete around the world. Most notably fans will remember him for his runs with the UFC from 2001 to 2005 followed by his time in PRIDE FC.

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

Since moving to ESPN from Fox, UFC events have primarily been watchable via the ESPN+ streaming service. That won’t be the case to start in 2021. According to MMA Junkie, the UFC’s January 16 Fight Night event will air on the ABC network instead of any ESPN channels or the ESPN+ streaming service. No reason for why this is happening was given. But speculation has already begun surrounding exactly what the reasons could be.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington says that former teammate Dustin Poirier is “gonna be crying” after he loses to Conor McGregor. Covington and Poirier were former teammates at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and there is no love lost between these two and they truly do not like each other. Both Covington and Poirier have had negative comments to say about one another over the last year, and with Covington no longer a member of ATT, the trolling hasn’t stopped. With Poirier set for one of the biggest fights of his career next month when he takes on McGregor in the main event of UFC 257, Covington continued to take shots at Poirier.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker says he is considering legal action after Ben Askren suggested on social media that Bellator is up for sale. On Tuesday, Askren confirmed BJPenn.com that he will be taking on Jake Paul in a boxing match in early 2021. Coker was later being asked about his thoughts on that fight, and he predicted that Paul will knock Askren out, a comment that led Askren to fire back and take to his social media to suggest that Bellator is up for sale. Check out the comments that Askren made on his Twitter on Wednesday about Bellator potentially being up for sale.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Jake Paul hasn’t been shy on calling fighters out, and fighters haven’t been shy calling him out. On Tuesday, it was revealed Paul would be boxing Ben Askren in March in a very intriguing bout. It is the first time the 23-year-old YouTuber will be facing a real fighter but he got some backlash for fighting Askren who is considered a wrestler.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Christos Giagos thought he wouldn’t get a fight in 2020. Giagos lost a close decision to Drakkar Klose at UFC 241 and since then, he was looking to fight. He was expected to fight in April but due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Since then, he was bugging his manager for a fight, and out of blue, last Wednesday, he got a fight offer to fight on three days’ notice against Carlton Minus and took it.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz, now a city councilman in Huntington Beach, California, was recently involved in a heated confrontation with one of his constituents. It’s not entirely clear what led to this incident, but tempers flared quite quickly. While the Huntington Beach citizen in question was undoubtedly pushing Ortiz’s buttons, the former UFC champ also didn’t respond in the way you’d expect from an elected official.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

The UFC continued to purge fighters from its roster as veteran welterweight Erik Koch has become the latest fighter to exit the Octagon. According to MMAFighting.com’s Damon Martin, Koch is no longer a member of the UFC roster. It’s unclear at this time if this was a straight release or if Koch fought out his contract. Either way, Koch is no longer a member of the world’s leading MMA promotion, where he has competed since 2011. Dating back to his days fighting for the WEC in 2009, this marks the end of Koch’s 12-year run with Zuffa. He is now a free agent.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after Saturday’s UFC Vegas 17 card, and there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, Rob Font has taken a huge climb of the bantamweight list after dominating former title challenger Marlon Moraes on the main card. In defeat, Moraes has tumbled down the list.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan sent a message to top-ranked contender Aljamain Sterling, telling his rival that he will see him soon. Yan and Sterling were supposed to fight at UFC 256 earlier this month but the bout fight apart and was rescheduled for early 2021. There is no confirmed date for the re-booking as of yet, but it could happen somewhere in between February and April based on the UFC’s upcoming schedule. With the fight still in the works, both Yan and Sterling continue to trade jabs with each other on social media. After seeing that Sterling had a successful wrestling match, Yan took to his Twitter to congratulate him and also send a message.

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. 

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.