MMA News

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov impressed fight fans everywhere when he defeated Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254, but the reaction of fans in his native Dagestan was something special. Nurmagomedov is a massive superstar in Dagestan and across Russia, and that’s clearer than ever when you watch the footage of fan reactions to his second-round submission win over Gaethje.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

Former two-division champion Conor McGregor has achieved a lot in MMA, but vows that he’s “still committed” to his goals in the sport. In terms of competitive achievements, McGregor is one of the most successful fighters in UFC history. In terms of financial achievements, he’s the most successful by a huge margin. Despite all that he’s done as a pro fighter, the Irishman says he’s “still committed.”

Adam Martin - October 26, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his retirement after UFC 254, but you can still bet on who he’ll fight next. Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje with a second-round triangle choke in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 254. “The Eagle” then shocked the MMA community when he announced his immediate retirement from the sport, hanging up his gloves after achieving a perfect 29-0 record in MMA and 13-0 in the UFC. Nurmagomedov cited family reasons as the reason why he’s retired, but the sportsbooks aren’t necessarily buying it.

Cole Shelton - October 26, 2020

The UFC’s lightweight title will soon be vacant after the champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje to defend his belt and then retired. Immediately after the champion announced his retirement, many were thinking what fight the UFC will book for the vacant belt. Newly signed lightweight, Michael Chandler called for there to be a tournament, but the appears unlikely. So, here is what we think should be next for the lightweight division.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

Long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan has proclaimed the unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov as the Greatest of all Time in mixed martial arts. Nurmagomedov returned to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 254 on Saturday night, when he defended the UFC lightweight title with a second-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje, who was widely touted as his toughest test to date. In the moments after this win, Nurmagomedov shocked the world by announcing his retirement from MMA, riding off into the sunset with a flawless 29-0 MMA record and reputation as one of the best fighters ever.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

A welterweight fight between “Platinum” Mike Perry and “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler is no longer listed as part of the UFC 255 main card. UFC 255 is scheduled to go down on November 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card will be headlined by a men’s flyweight title fight between Deiveson Figueiredo and Alex Perez, and co-headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Jennifer Maia. Until recently, it was also expected to feature a welterweight scrap between Perry and Lawler, who is the division’s former champion.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz lived out a personal dream this week when his star client Khabib Nurmagomedov met Sheik Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the United Arab Emirates. Nurmagomedov returned to the cage in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 254 card in Abu Dhabi, where he defended the UFC lightweight title with a second-round submission defeat of Justin Gaethje—a man many considered his toughest test to date.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2020

Chael Sonnen has some choice words for Jon Jones after the former UFC light heavyweight champ got busy on Twitter over the weekend. Jones was extremely active on the social media platform after Saturday’s UFC 254 card, explaining in a multi-Tweet tirade why he—not UFC 254 main event winner Khabib Nurmagomedov—is MMA’s pound-for-pound king. See some of the highlights of his arguments below:

Harry Kettle - October 26, 2020

Josh Thomson has taken a shot at Nate Diaz after he seemed to poke fun at Khabib Nurmagomedov after UFC 254. The mixed martial arts world was quick to praise Khabib after his phenomenal win over Justin Gaethje on Saturday night in Abu Dhabi. Alas, while many were happy for the Russian, Nate Diaz wasn’t quite as friendly by putting up a tweet that simply said “29 and 1”.

Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2020

Nate Diaz was not among the many fighters who congratulated Khabib Nurmagomedov following his victory and subsequent retirement at UFC 254. In the headliner of Saturday’s pay-per-view event on Yas Island, ‘The Eagle’ put his undefeated record and lightweight world title on the line against reigning interim champion Justin Gaethje.

Chris Taylor - October 25, 2020

Perennial UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker took exception to some of the comments made by Michael Chandler during yesterday’s UFC 254 broadcast. After Phil Hawes scored a sensational knockout win over Jacob Malkoun on yesterday’s pay-per-view main card, the UFC released a promo for recent free agent signing Michael Chandler.

Chris Taylor - October 25, 2020

A key middleweight bout between former division champion Robert Whittaker and surging contender Jared Cannonier co-headlined yesterday’s UFC 254 event. The bout had massive stakes for ‘The Killa Gorilla’, as UFC President Dana White had already confirmed that if Cannonier could defeat Whittaker he would then earn the next title shot against Israel Adesanya.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2020

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz claims that Khabib Nurmagomedov has not vacated the UFC lightweight title despite announcing his retirement. After dominating Justin Gaethje and finishing him with a second-round triangle choke in the main event of UFC 254, Nurmagomedov shocked the world when he announced his retirement from MMA. The long-time UFC lightweight champion cited numerous reasons as to why he is hanging up his gloves but pointed specifically to the loss of his father Abdulmanap due to COVID-19 in July. He said that he didn’t want to continue without his father and promised his mother that the fight with Gaethje would be his last in the UFC.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2020

Two of the three Octagon-side judges had Khabib Nurmagomedov losing the first round of his fight to Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Nurmagomedov ended up submitting Gaethje with a second-round triangle choke anyways, but it’s still interesting nonetheless to see how the judges scored the first round. According to the official scorecards, judges Sal D’Amato and Ben Cartlidge both saw the first round 10-9 in favor of the challenger Gaethje. Only judge Derek Cleary had the first round 10-9 in favor of the champion Nurmagomedov. See the scorecards below.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2020

UFC legend Georges St-Pierre congratulated pound-for-pound great Khabib Nurmagomedov on an amazing career, one that GSP calls “perfect.” Nurmagomedov retired following his second-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, leading to UFC president Dana White hailing him as the greatest fighter of all time. Another fighter in the mix for the title of GOAT is GSP, the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion. At this point, it may very well be between those two and perhaps a few others like Jon Jones and Anderson Silva in the elite GOAT club of MMA.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2020

Newly-signed free agent lightweight Michael Chandler is calling for a four-man tournament to crown the new UFC lightweight champion. Chandler finds himself in a tremendous position in the UFC lightweight division despite having not fought yet for the promotion. The UFC tabbed him as the backup fighter for the UFC 254 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, but he wasn’t needed for the event. With Nurmagomedov retiring from MMA and giving up his title, the lightweight division is now more wide open than it ever has been.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2020

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming welterweight main event between Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards. Chimaev is one of the hottest fighters in the sport right now. Since making his UFC debut on Fight Island in July, Chimaev has defeated John Phillips, Rhys McKee, and Gerald Meerschaert, all by stoppage. He has been asking the UFC for a big fight since the Meerschaert KO in September, and the promotion was finally able to land an opponent.

Adam Martin - October 25, 2020

UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby anointed Khabib Nurmagomedov as the greatest fighter in MMA history, saying he is “obviously (the) GOAT.” Shelby has been the UFC matchmaker for the better part of the last decade and before that, he was the matchmaker of the WEC. He has been in the game for over 20 years working as a matchmaker at the highest levels of the sport so his eye for talent is up there with anyone else on the planet. Shelby doesn’t speak much in the media, preferring to keep a low profile, but he had to speak up after Nurmagomedov retired from MMA.