MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 3, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos claims that he briefly put Khabib Nurmagomedov to sleep in their 2014 fight. Nurmagomedov, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, retired after a submission defeat of Justin Gaethje in the UFC 254 main event last month. Despite that retirement announcement, UFC President Dana White is optimistic the champion will fight again.

Tom Taylor - December 3, 2020

TJ Dillashaw says he would have been able to “justify” his use of the banned substance Erythropoietin (EPO) if he’d become a two-division UFC champ. In early 2018, Dillashaw, then the UFC bantamweight champion, dropped down to flyweight to challenge divisional champ Henry Cejudo in a bid to become a two-division titleholder. After losing the fight via first-round TKO, Dillashaw tested positive for the injectable-only banned substance EPO, and was stripped of his title and suspended two years as a result.

Harry Kettle - December 3, 2020

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to pay-per-view next weekend with UFC 256 as Deiveson Figueiredo prepares to defend the Flyweight Championship once again – this time against rising contender Brandon Moreno. Event: UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno Date: Saturday, 12th December 2020 Location: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada Broadcast: ESPN+ (6pm/8pm/10pm EST)

Christopher Taylor - December 2, 2020

MMA veteran Phil Baroni issued a hilarious response when confronted with a rumor that Nick Diaz had forced him to tapout in a bathroom at Cheetah’s. Earlier today on Twitter, ‘The New York Bad Ass’ commented on a photo of Diaz that was captioned “All you motherf*ckers, all of you are on steroids”.

Cole Shelton - December 2, 2020

Diego Ferreira has had a hard time getting fights. At UFC 246 in January, Ferreira picked up the biggest win of his career as he submitted former champion, Anthony Pettis, in the second round. It was his sixth straight victory and following the win, many figured he would get a top-10 opponent. However, for the Brazilian, he has yet to fight again and won’t fight until February when he battles Beneil Dariush.

Cole Shelton - December 2, 2020

Montana De La Rosa had a unique fight camp for her short-notice fight against Talia Santos. De La Rosa is stepping up on about a month’s notice to battle Santos at UFC Vegas 16. It is a very intriguing matchup, and for the 25-year-old in De La Rosa, she just wanted to get another fight in this year.

Cole Shelton - December 2, 2020

Nick Diaz could very well be fighting again next year. Ever since videos of him training came out earlier this year, many wondered if he was coming back. Well, according to his manager, Kevin Mubenga, Nick Diaz has been training consistently and is looking to get back in there soon.

Adam Martin - December 2, 2020

UFC flyweight contender Cody Garbrandt called Brandon Moreno “a lamb being led to the slaughterhouse” against Deiveson Figueiredo. Garbrandt was actually supposed to be the one who fought Figueiredo at UFC 255 for the UFC flyweight title, but he injured his arm and then got sick with COVID-19. Instead, Figueiredo fought Alex Perez and he finished the challenger in the first round of their main event title fight in November. On the undercard of the same event, Brandon Moreno finished Brandon Royval and earned the next title shot against Figueiredo. The two will now clash in the main event of UFC 256 next weekend in Las Vegas.

Adam Martin - December 2, 2020

Veteran UFC welterweight Neil Magny says he’s open to fighting top prospect Khamzat Chimaev on short notice later this month at UFC Vegas 17. Chimaev was set to face off against No. 3 ranked Leon Edwards in the biggest fight of his career on December 19 in Las Vegas. The fight was scheduled for five rounds and was set to be the main event. Unfortunately, disaster struck. After reports emerged that Chimaev had contracted COVID-19 and the fight was up in the air, it turned out that Edwards is actually the one who has COVID-19, and of course, the fight has been postponed until sometime in 2021 when Edwards recovers from the illness.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov insists that he will not be returning to the cage to fight Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier again. Nurmagomedov retired from competition after a submission win over Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 last month. Despite his retirement announcement, he has not yet relinquished the lightweight title, likely due to UFC President Dana White’s optimism that he’ll end up fighting again.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

No. 3-ranked UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has issued a public statement after he was forced out of his upcoming fight. Edwards was scheduled to take on red-hot prospect Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of stacked UFC Fight Night card on December 19. Regrettably, the Birmingham, UK native was forced to withdraw from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

Niko Price has been suspended and fined by the Nevada Athletic Commission after testing positive for marijuana. His September draw with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has also been converted to a draw. This unfortunate news was first reported by Marc Raimondi of ESPN.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

ONE Championship flyweight star Demetrious Johnson has responded to some recent praise from UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Adesanya was recently asked who he considers the greatest fighter in MMA history, and promptly identified Johnson as his pick.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight king Ben Askren has responded to a recent callout from YouTuber turned boxer, Jake Paul. Paul is the talk of the combat sports world this weekend, after improving to 2-0 as a pro boxer with a violent one-punch knockout of former NBA player Nate Robinson last weekend.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

MMA superstar Conor McGregor was busy on Twitter on Wednesday morning, but the intention of his latest posts is not immediately evident. The Irishman published a trio of Tweets that seemed to be targeting somebody specifically, but it’s not clear who.

Harry Kettle - December 2, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira believes that he will make it eight finishes in a row when he fights Tony Ferguson at UFC 256. After much speculation over who both men would fight next, the two have been paired together in what many consider to be the most anticipated bout left in 2020 for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Tom Taylor - December 2, 2020

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has made 2020 a very tough year for MMA, but 2021 looks like it could much better—particularly for the women’s side of the sport. As the 2021 calendar starts to fill up, a number of female fighters look poised for huge things, from the UFC’s Octagon, to the ONE Championship Circle, to the PFL and Bellator MMA cages.

Adam Martin - December 1, 2020

UFC featherweight The Korean Zombie called out Zabit Magomedsharipov, saying “This is a fight that would bring the fans to their feet.” TKZ is coming off of a surprising one-sided decision defeat to Brian Ortega on Fight Island in October. It was a disappointing loss for TKZ, who was coming off of back-to-back knockout wins over Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano. However, he is still ranked No. 5 overall in the UFC featherweight rankings, so despite the loss to Ortega, TKZ would likely only need another win or two to jump back into title contention at 145lbs.