MMA News

Cole Shelton - December 7, 2020

David Feldman is hoping to meet with Yoel Romero in the coming days. On Friday, it was revealed Romero was shockingly released from the UFC. Immediately, many thought the middleweight would sign with Bellator or PFL. However, on Monday, it was reported both promotions aren’t interested in bringing in the 43-year-old.

Cole Shelton - December 7, 2020

UFC 256 has taken another hit as two more fights are off the card due to positive COVID-19 tests. Late Sunday night, Angela Hill announced she was out of her fight against Tecia Torres. Yet, that wasn’t all as Karl Roberson also tested positive and was forced to withdraw from his UFC 256 scarp against Dalcha Lungiambula. However, the fight has been rebooked for December 19.

Adam Martin - December 7, 2020

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz told Tony Ferguson that his management team tried obtaining the services of Justin Gaethje following UFC 249. Abdelaziz is the manager of several notable fighters in the UFC including Gaethje, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, UFC bantamweight Frankie Edgar, and many more. Dominance MMA is one of the top management groups in the game today as several of their fighters have become UFC champions, not to mention many of Abdelaziz’s fighters are generally among the most highly-compensated athletes in the promotion.

Adam Martin - December 7, 2020

Following his release from the UFC, middleweight Yoel Romero is reportedly drawing no interest from Bellator or PFL on the free-agent market. Romero was surprisingly released by the world’s leading MMA promotion last week as part of UFC president Dana White’s plan to cut 60 fighters from the roster. At 43 years of age, having lost three straight fights, and having a sizeable purse, the UFC decided it was in everyone’s best interest to release Romero. The former No. 1 contender in the UFC middleweight division was deemed expandable by White, but based on his resume, most expected the other top promotions to be interested.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2020

Former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor has some words of advice for boxing star Claressa Shields, who will transition to MMA under the PFL banner in 2021. Shields, a three-division boxing champ at just 25 years old, will make her MMA debut in the PFL cage in 2021. Ahead of that debut, Shields has been training at JacksonWink MMA alongside former UFC champs Jon Jones and Holly Holm. She’s also received some advice from another former UFC champ in McGregor.

Cole Shelton - December 7, 2020

In the main event of UFC Vegas 16, Marvin Vettori stepped up on short notice to take on top-five contender, Jack Hermansson. Vettori was looking for the biggest win of his career while Hermansson was trying to prove he should get a number one contender bout next time out. However, it was the Italian who won the fight by decision and nearly finished Hermansson in the first.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2020

Three-division boxing champion Claressa Shields has enlisted the help of two former UFC champs as she prepares to transition into mixed martial arts. Shields, widely considered one of the greatest female boxers of all time, recently signed with the Professional Fighters League, where she will begin her MMA journey in 2021.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2020

UFC President Dana White recently divulged that he plans on culling 60 fighters from the promotion’s ever-expanding roster. White dropped this information not long after it was revealed the former UFC middleweight title challenger Yoel Romero had been released from his contract with the promotion.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2020

UFC President Dana White has commented on the recent spike of fight cancellations due to athletes and their cornermen testing positive for COVID-19. While the pandemic has gripped the world for close to a year now, there’s recently been an increased number of cancelled fights due to the virus. White commented on the issue at the post-fight press conference for last weekend’s UFC Vegas 16 card, which was particularly hard-hit by the COVID-related fight cancellations.

Harry Kettle - December 7, 2020

Former UFC cornerman Rafael Freitas has been jailed following accusations of drugging and raping a client. Freitas, 37, was charged with criminal sexual penetration relating to an incident on November 7. The female client was able to capture the assault on a security camera placed in her living room, Albuquerque Journal reports.

Harry Kettle - December 7, 2020

Angela Hill has announced that she will not be fighting Tecia Torres at UFC 256 after testing positive for COVID-19. Hill is often viewed as a big fan favorite in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and rightly so, whether it be due to her fighting style or her overall personality. She was hoping to get another crack at Torres five years on from their battle at UFC 188, but now, she’ll have to wait and see whether or not the fight gets rebooked.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

UFC flyweight prospect Cody Durden says that he was pulled from Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 16 card due to a case of pink eye. Durden was set for his second fight in the UFC against fellow prospect Jimmy Flick in what was shaping up to be a really fun fight between two exciting flyweights. Unfortunately, Durden vs. Flick was one of three bouts scheduled for UFC Vegas 16 scratched from the card on fight day, along with a women’s flyweight bout between Montana de la Rosa and Taila Santos, and a featherweight bout between Movsar Evloev and Nate Landwehr. Those were canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori revealed the facial injuries from the Jack Hermansson fight feel “like he had a knife in his glove.” Vettori and Hermansson set a UFC record for the most combined significant strikes landed in a middleweight fight ever. Both men went to the well, taking the fight into deep waters and trying to get the knockout with every last swing. Ultimately at the end of 25 minutes, Vettori was given the nod by the judges on the scorecards. It was a close and competitive fight and both men landed some good shots, but Vettori landed the more significant strikes, including a big knockdown in the first round.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

UFC president Dana White revealed what he thinks are the most competitive weight classes in the world’s leading MMA promotion. The UFC has never had the sheer amount of talent as it does right now. The promotion currently boasts eight men’s weight classes and four women’s weight classes, and there are incredible fighters in all of those divisions. Fans and media often discuss what they think the top weight classes in the sport are, and it’s a fun discussion that could lead to a variety of good answers. That’s why it was so interesting to hear what White had to say, considering he’s the UFC president.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill released a statement following his breakthrough TKO win over Ovince Saint Preux. Hill is one of the top 205lbs prospects in MMA. The 29-year-old American improved to 8-0, 1 NC in his professional MMA career with the TKO win over OSP, one that UFC president Dana White says will earn him a bonus. Hill previously picked up UFC wins over Darko Stostic and Kildson Abreu, who he finished by TKO back in May. However, Hill was fined and suspended and the result of that bout was changed to a No Contest after Hill tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight drug test.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

UFC president Dana White said that he would “love” to watch a potential middleweight bout between Marvin Vettori and Paulo Costa. Vettori picked up the biggest win of his UFC career to date on Saturday night when he won a unanimous decision over Jack Hermansson in a “Fight of the Night” war between two of the best middleweights in the world. With the win, Vettori figures to take Hermansson’s spot at No. 4 in the UFC rankings. As for Costa, despite a TKO loss to Israel Adesanya in their title fight at UFC 254, he is ranked No. 2 right now.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

UFC bantamweight Louis Smolka issued a statement following his second-round TKO win over Jose Quinonez at UFC Vegas 16 on Saturday night. Smolka and Quinonez were actually supposed to fight two weeks ago, but Smolka had to withdraw on fight day due to weight-cutting complications. The UFC was able to get the fight re-booked two weeks later and thankfully there were no issues this time around. The first round was closely fought between the two bantamweights, but in the second round, Smolka showed he was the better fighter as he finished the fight via TKO.

Adam Martin - December 6, 2020

Middleweights Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori were named bonus winners following UFC Vegas 16, winning $50,000 for “Fight of the Night.” Hermansson and Vettori went to war for 25 minutes. Both men threw the kitchen sink at each other, setting a record for most combined significant strikes landed in a UFC middleweight bout. At the end of the five rounds, the judges sided with Vettori, scoring the bout 49-46, 49-46, and 49-45 in favor of the Italian middleweight contender. Vettori now figures to earn himself a top-five spot in the UFC middleweight ranks with the win.