MMA News
Jacare Souza issues statement after KO loss to Kevin Holland: "I will be back stronger"
Tom Taylor - December 15, 2020
Brazilian MMA legend Jacare Souza has released a statement after finding himself on the receiving end of a highlight-reel knockout last weekend. Jacare, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, returned to the cage on the main card of UFC 256 last Saturday in Las Vegas. While he was originally expected to fight Marvin Vettori on the card, a series of COVID-19-related shakeups resulted in his being matched up with Kevin Holland at the last minute.
UFC Vegas 17 loses fight as positive test for COVID-19 forces Belal Muhammad off card
Adam Martin - December 15, 2020
This Saturday’s UFC Vegas 17 card has lost a fight as welterweight Belal Muhammad announced he has tested positive for COVID-19. Muhammad was set to take on Dhiego Lima at UFC Vegas 17, the final UFC event of the year, in a battle between two welterweights currently riding three-fight win streaks. Muhammad was lined as a big betting favorite by the sportsbooks for this matchup but he will have to wait a bit to fight Lima as the fight has been postponed due to Muhammad’s positive COVID-19 test. The welterweight himself announced the news Tuesday on Twitter.
Jake Paul ducked Yoel Romero fight, claims manager
Tom Taylor - December 15, 2020
MMA manager Malki Kawa claims YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul turned down a fight with one of his star clients, Yoel Romero. Paul has been the talk of the combat sports world after he picked up a brutal knockout victory over former NBA star Nate Robinson on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. undercard last month.
Tony Ferguson, Ali Abdelaziz go for the throat in post-UFC 256 war of words
Tom Taylor - December 15, 2020
UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson and MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz did not hold back in their latest verbal skirmish on social media. Ferguson returned to the cage in the co-main event of UFC 256 last weekend, where he was out-grappled to a decision loss against Charles Oliveira. After the fight concluded, Abdelaziz, who manages lightweight stars like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, decided to kick Ferguson while he was down.
Kevin Holland has no plans to slow down: “I guess we will have to do 6 fights in 2021”
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2020
UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland is planning for a big year in 2021 after a sensational five wins in 2020. While some aren’t including him in the discussion for Fighter of the Year, there’s no way of denying that Holland has been able to transform himself into a legitimate divisional contender between May and December with wins over highly regarded foes like Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Darren Stewart and Joaquin Buckley.
Photo | Jorge Masvidal shares photo of Colby Covington giving props to LeBron James on social media
Harry Kettle - December 15, 2020
UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal has taken a shot at rival Colby Covington’s feud with LeBron James in a recent social media post. Masvidal and Covington, who used to be close friends and training partners, are now expected to square off in early 2021 with the expectation being that the winner will get another crack at divisional champion Kamaru Usman later in the year.
PFL champ Kayla Harrison to fight once more in 2020
Tom Taylor - December 15, 2020
Reigning PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison will compete one more time before she closes the door on the year 2020. Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, steps into the Titan FC cage this Thursday to face Jozette Cotton. The bout takes place from the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami and streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
Jake Paul's response to Nate Diaz resulted in the 'Stockton Slugger' sending a warning to Logan
Christopher Taylor - December 14, 2020
Former UFC lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz was clearly not impressed with the response he received from Jake Paul earlier this evening. On Monday afternoon the ‘Stockton Slugger’ took to Twitter where he slammed the Youtuber for his 50 million dollar callout of Conor McGregor.
Former UFC champ Cody Garbrandt has some choice words for Jake Paul
Adam Martin - December 14, 2020
Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt joined Nate Diaz in directing some choice words toward YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Diaz took a shot at Paul on Monday, just hours after Paul had taken a shot at UFC superstar Conor McGregor, calling him out in a video posted to his social media. Paul has no MMA fights, but after his viral KO of Nate Robinson in boxing was heard around the world, plenty of athletes in MMA and other sports, not to mention celebrities, have called him out for a money fight. Paul has said that his goal is to get a fight with McGregor and that he is dedicating his life to beating him. But so far McGregor has ignored him.
Nate Diaz destroys Jake Paul over his recent callouts of UFC fighters
Drake Riggs - December 14, 2020
Jake Paul is starting to make some noise in the combat sports world. But not everyone is taking kindly to his words. We can now, unsurprisingly, add Nate Diaz to that mix. The 23-year-old YouTube sensation and younger brother of Logan made a callout of Conor McGregor on Monday. Stating that the Irishman was “scared” and needed to “sign the contract”.
Tony Ferguson issues statement following UFC 256 loss to Charles Oliveira
Adam D Martin - December 14, 2020
Former interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson has issued a statement following his unanimous decision defeat at UFC 256 to Charles Oliveira. Despite entering the contest as the betting favorite to get his hand raised, Ferguson suffered a one-sided defeat as Oliveira pretty much dominated the former interim champ for the full 15 minutes of the bout. Oliveira had the upper hand in the striking department and proved to be the superior wrestler as well, as he dominated Ferguson for 15 minutes en route to a unanimous decision victory. It’s eight straight wins in a row now for Oliveira, while for Ferguson the loss was his second straight defeat.
WATCH | Mark Hunt throws punches at his opponent during weigh-ins ahead of pro boxing bout
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2020
Mark Hunt is set to return to boxing on December 16 in Australia against Paul Gallen. Hunt is currently 0-1-1 as a pro boxer as he lost to Josh Wyborn in 1999. He then had his second fight in 2000 and fought Joe Askew to a draw. Following that, he then turned his attention to MMA.
Scott Coker reacts to the news Yoel Romero has signed with Bellator
Adam Martin - December 14, 2020
Bellator president Scott Coker reacted to the news that former UFC middleweight title contender Yoel Romero has signed with Bellator. On Monday, it was announced that Bellator had signed Romero to its roster, and the Cuban will compete in the promotion’s light heavyweight division. Romero joins Anthony Johnson and Corey Anderson as recent additions to the organization’s 205lbs weight class, which Coker has called the best light heavyweight division on the planet. Bellator has quite a bit of momentum behind the organization right now so it’s no wonder how excited Coker is for the future of his promotion in 2021 and onward.
Kamaru Usman "will go down as one of the all-time greats" when he retires, says Dana White
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2020
UFC president, Dana White has high expectations for the current welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. When Usman was making his run up the welterweight division, White criticized him a ton. He called him boring and ripped him apart when Usman said he only fought at 30 percent when he defeated Emil Meek. However, since then, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has dominated opponents like Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal. The champ also had a fantastic fight with Colby Covington in what was one of the best fights of 2019.
Jake Paul claims Conor McGregor is "scared to fight," tells the Irishman to "sign the contract"
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2020
Jake Paul claims he has sent Conor McGregor a $50 million contract for them to box. Before Paul fought Nate Robinson, he mentioned Conor McGregor and Ben Askren as future opponents. However, he only intensified the callouts of McGregor following his KO win over Robinson.
Alex Morono expects to finish Anthony Pettis, eyes future fights with Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone
Cole Shelton - December 14, 2020
Alex Morono didn’t expect to be fighting Anthony Pettis. Morono started the year with a disappointing KO loss to Khaos Williams at UFC 247. The Fortis MMA product then returned at UFC Vegas 14 with a decision win over Rhys McKee. After the win, Morono was hoping he could make a quick turnaround but never expected it to be against Pettis.
Yoel Romero vs. Anthony Johnson opening betting odds revealed
Adam Martin - December 14, 2020
The opening betting odds have been revealed for a potential light heavyweight bout in Bellator between Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson. On Monday, Bellator announced that Romero is the latest member of the promotion’s roster. Unlike in the UFC, where Romero competed at 185lbs, he will move back up to 205lbs for his move to Bellator, the same weight class he competed at back in the Strikeforce days. It was in Strikeforce where he worked with current Bellator president Scott Coker, who last week announced he had signed Anthony Johnson to Bellator.
Conor McGregor vs. Jake Paul type fights are "not what I do," says UFC's Dana White
Tom Taylor - December 14, 2020
UFC President Dana White says there’s “zero” chance that YouTube star turned boxer Jake Paul will get his desired fight with Conor McGregor. At least not right now. Paul has been the talk of the combat sports world of late, after he knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. undercard last month. In the buildup to and fallout of that fight, Paul called for a showdown with McGregor, who is the biggest star in MMA history and one of the UFC’s top lightweights. He even claimed his team has reached out to the Irishman about this potential showdown.