UFC News
UFC Sphere ticket prices reach near-unaffordable levels
Zain Bando - July 30, 2024
UFC Sphere tickets will be a hot commodity come September, and it didn’t help when the pre-sale ticket release commenced on Monday when it was next to impossible to purchase a seat for the Sept. 14 card in Las Vegas. The price ranges for the UFC event from the Sphere, also known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC, range from USD $ $2,157 to upwards of USD $17,757. For context, UFC 264, headlined by the trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in July 2021, was under $1,000 for nosebleed-level seats for just one ticket.
UFC CEO Dana White calls himself ‘not political’ in CNN interview
Zain Bando - July 30, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White continues to make the rounds, including several interviews about his friendship with former President Donald Trump. White, 55, has made his stance clear that he doesn’t care about politics despite endorsing Trump at the 2024 RNC just days after Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pa.
Tony Ferguson reveals he's sparring again ahead of his return at UFC Abu Dhabi
Cole Shelton - July 30, 2024
Tony Ferguson is back sparring as he’s set to return to the Octagon on Saturday against Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi. Ferguson enters the bout on a seven-fight losing streak and is moving back up to welterweight to take on Chiesa in what could be his final UFC fight. Although Ferguson is on a losing skid, he still has confidence in himself, and ahead of his return, he says he started to spar again and feels like he’s in a good spot in his career.
Brian Ortega recalls hectic 48 hours that led to UFC 303 withdrawal: "I didn’t come back to life"
Cole Shelton - July 30, 2024
Brian Ortega has opened up on the 48 hours leading to his withdrawal from his UFC 303 fight against Diego Lopes. Ortega was booked on short notice to face Lopes at featherweight to help save the UFC 303 card following Conor McGregor’s withdrawal. However, before weigh-ins, the fight was moved to lightweight as ‘T-City’ was having a hard time making the weight.
Paddy Pimblett reveals former UFC lightweight champion could be next: "I'll punch his head in"
Josh Evanoff - July 30, 2024
Paddy Pimblett believes a fight with former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos could be next. ‘The Baddy’ returned to the octagon on the UFC 304 main card Saturday night in Manchester. Back for the first time since a decision victory over Tony Ferguson in December, Paddy Pimblett faced King Green. The longtime veteran was coming off a victory over Jim Miller in April and was considered the Brit’s biggest test to date.
Kamaru Usman believes Leon Edwards should move to middleweight after UFC 304 loss: "Not a lot of them are grappling"
Josh Evanoff - July 30, 2024
Kamaru Usman believes that Leon Edwards should consider a move up in weight following his UFC 304 loss. ‘Rocky’ returned to the octagon in Manchester over the weekend. Back for the first time since a dominant decision victory over Colby Covington in December, Leon Edwards faced Belal Muhammad. The UFC welterweight champion entered the contest a heavy favorite, having dominated their first encounter in March 2021 until an eye poke caused a no-contest.
VIDEO | Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili get into heated back-and-forth during promo shoot: "You wanna die?"
Curtis Calhoun - July 30, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and top contender Merab Dvalishvili are ramping up the trash talk ahead of their title bout. O’Malley and Dvalishvili will headline UFC 306 on September 14th at the Las Vegas Sphere. The event will serve as a one-off as the first major sporting event to take place at the venue.
Colby Covington reveals recent run-in with Dustin Poirier: "If he wanted to do something, he could have done something"
Cole Shelton - July 30, 2024
Colby Covington had a recent run-in with rival and former teammate Dustin Poirier. Covington and Poirier used to train at American Top Team, but ‘Chaos’ left the gym due to him no longer getting along with a couple of fighters. One fighter he didn’t get along with was Poirier who told Covington it was on-sight if he saw him. Many fans hoped that meant the two would fight in the Octagon, but Poirier has made it clear he doesn’t want to fight Covington and give him that attention.
Colby Covington reacts after Belal Muhammad dethrones Leon Edwards at UFC 304: “He just doesn’t have that hunger anymore”
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
Former interim welterweight title holder Colby Covington is reacting after Belal Muhammad dethroned Leon Edwards at UFC 304. The main event at UFC 304 last Saturday night saw Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA) defeat Leon Edwards (22-4 MMA) by unanimous decision to become the new UFC welterweight champion.
The updated UFC pound-for-pound rankings see Belal Muhammad debut at #6, with Tom Aspinall moving up to #9
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
The updated UFC pound-for-pound rankings have been released with Belal Muhammad debuting at #6 and Tom Aspinall moving up to #9. Following UFC 304 this past weekend, Saturday July 27th, the P4P rankings have been adjusted.
Robelis Despaigne booked for October UFC return against former NFL player Austen Lane
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
Robelis Despaigne is booked to return to the UFC this October against form NFL player Austen Lane. According to MMAJunkie, the former taekwondo Olympian, Despaigne (5-1 MMA) will return to the Octagon on Saturday, October 19th to face former NFL player Austen Lane (12-5 MMA) in a three-round heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe it is a “foregone conclusion” that Tom Aspinall beats Jon Jones: “He can never been counted out from a fight”
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe it is a ‘foregone conclusion’ that Tom Aspinall would beat Jon Jones in a potential title unification bout. It was just this past Saturday at UFC 304 that saw Tom Aspinall (15-3 MMA) defend his interim heavyweight title by defeating Curtis Blaydes (18-5 MMA) by KO in just 60 seconds.
Khabib Nurmagomedov says he only had a minor role in Belal Muhammad’s title win at UFC 304: “I just helped him in small things”
Harry Kettle - July 30, 2024
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov has insisted that he only had a minor role in Belal Muhammad’s triumph at UFC 304. Last Saturday, Belal Muhammad became the new UFC welterweight champion. He did so by dominating Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304. While some felt as if Belal’s grappling would give him an advantage, few could’ve imagined that the contest would be quite as one-sided as it turned out to be.
Report | Muhammad Mokaev attempted to negotiate with PFL well before final fight of UFC contract: “UFC got wind of this and considered it the last straw”
Harry Kettle - July 30, 2024
UFC’s final straw with Muhammad Mokaev was reportedly his attempt to negotiate with PFL prior to the final fight on his contract. Last weekend, Muhammad Mokaev kept his unbeaten mixed martial arts record intact. He did so by grinding out a win over Manel Kape, but it wasn’t all that easy. There was a bitter feud between the two heading into the encounter and while they did make up after the fight, you could certainly feel the tension during it.
Watch | Paddy Pimblett’s live reaction to Belal Muhammad dethroning Leon Edwards at UFC 304: “Most boring champion ever”
Harry Kettle - July 30, 2024
UFC star Paddy Pimblett’s live reaction to Belal Muhammad’s UFC 304 title triumph wasn’t overly flattering. Last weekend, Belal Muhammad shocked the world. He dominated Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 main event, capturing the UFC welterweight championship in the process. As you can imagine, the reactions were mixed – especially from those who have never really respected Belal’s game in mixed martial arts.
What's next for the stars of UFC 304?
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2024
The UFC was in Manchester, England on Saturday for a solid UFC 304 card, that saw an undisputed and an interim title on the line. In the main event, Leon Edwards was looking to defend his welterweight title for the third time as he took on Belal Muhammad in a rematch of their 2021 fight which ended in a No Contest. The co-main event saw Tom Aspinall defending his interim heavyweight title in a rematch against Curtis Blaydes.
Cory Sandhagen explains why Sean O'Malley fight will be a "tough one" for Merab Dvalishvili
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2024
Cory Sandhagen believes Merab Dvalishvili will have his hands full against Sean O’Malley. Dvalishvili is set to take on O’Malley in the main event of Noche UFC at The Sphere in September for the bantamweight title. It’s an intriguing matchup, and the opening odds have Dvalishvili as the betting favorite. However, Sandhagen thinks the matchup is not a good one for Dvalishvili as he believes O’Malley’s striking will pose a lot of problems for the Georgian.
Belal Muhammad declares himself the "Best boxer in MMA" after UFC 304 title win
Curtis Calhoun - July 29, 2024
Newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad feels he earned more than a world championship against Leon Edwards. Muhammad defeated Edwards by unanimous decision to win the UFC welterweight title last Saturday at UFC 304. He utilized his wrestling, combined with timely striking, to stifle and frustrate Edwards over five rounds.