UFC News
Sean O'Malley details plan to finish this year as biggest star in sports: "I will be as big as Conor"
Josh Evanoff - January 4, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes that he will end this year as the biggest name in sports. ‘Sugar’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since his first career title shot in August, at UFC 292. Facing longtime bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, he scored a second-round knockout victory. After years of hype, it seems that Sean O’Malley has finally arrived.
Current UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall wants his next fight to be for the undisputed title: “Come on”
Cole Shelton - January 4, 2024
UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall appears to be frustrated with how the division is playing out. Jon Jones won the vacant undisputed heavyweight title in March with a first-round submission win over Ciryl Gane. He was then booked to defend his belt against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November in Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately, Jones suffered an injury, and the UFC salvaged the card by making Tom Aspinall vs Sergei Pavlovich for the interim heavyweight title.
Ilia Topuria lays out plan to fight Conor McGregor after beating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298
Cole Shelton - January 4, 2024
Ilia Topuria is expecting to have a massive 2024. Topuria is set to headline UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California against Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title. With still over a month to go to the fight, Topuria is a small +130 underdog, which implies a 43.5% chance of winning the fight.
Henry Cejudo believes Belal Muhammad is at risk of losing the UFC 300 welterweight title fight to Jorge Masvidal
Susan Cox - January 4, 2024
Henry Cejudo believes Belal Muhammad is at risk of losing the UFC 300 welterweight title fight to Jorge Masvidal. It was recently reported that Belal Muhammad (23-3 MMA) will battle reigning welterweight champion Leon Edwards (22-3 MMA) in a rematch on the upcoming UFC 300 card. However, there has been no confirmation by the UFC as of this writing.
Gilbert Burns comes to the defense of former training partner Paddy Pimblett: “He’s a legit fighter”
Susan Cox - January 4, 2024
Gilbert Burns is coming to the defense of former training partner Paddy Pimblett. Paddy Pimblett (21-3 MMA) is hot off a unanimous decision victory over Tony Ferguson (25-10 MMA) this past December at UFC 296.
Josh Emmett calls out former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway: “He’s fought everyone but me”
Susan Cox - January 4, 2024
Josh Emmett has called out former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. Emmett (18-4 MMA) last fought Bryce Mitchell (16-1 MMA) this past December at UFC 296 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 38-year-old managed to KO Mitchell at 1:57 of Round 1 to get back in the win column (see that here).
Ariel Helwani claims Dana White and company “have a rabbit in their hat” for UFC 300
Susan Cox - January 4, 2024
Ariel Helwani is claiming that Dana White and company ‘have a rabbit in their hat’ for UFC 300. The historic UFC 300 will take place on Saturday, April 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Henry Cejudo shares some advice for UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland
Harry Kettle - January 4, 2024
UFC star Henry Cejudo has given UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland some advice. While he may be the king of the middleweight division, Sean Strickland hasn’t had everything go his way as of late. In fact, he’s had to face some real difficulties outside of the cage. The reason for that is because of some remarks made by Dricus du Plessis that appeared to get under his skin, prompting a brawl between the two men at UFC 296.
Michael Bisping explains why Conor McGregor is playing risky business by fighting at middleweight in UFC return: “It's going to make him tired”
Harry Kettle - January 4, 2024
UFC commentator Michael Bisping has questioned whether or not it’s a good idea for Conor McGregor to move up to middleweight. To kickstart the new year, Conor McGregor announced that he will return to the Octagon for International Fight Week this summer. His aim is to lock horns with Michael Chandler, and he wants to do so at 185 pounds. McGregor has never fought at middleweight before, leading some to believe that he’s simply putting on a show and that he doesn’t actually want to fight at a weight that high.
John McCarthy thinks Colby Covington won’t ever “reach that pinnacle” following loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 296: “Did you see who he called out?”
Harry Kettle - January 4, 2024
MMA analyst John McCarthy isn’t convinced that Colby Covington will ever reach the championship level after his loss at UFC 296. Last month at UFC 296, Colby Covington fell short in his attempt to claim the UFC welterweight championship. He lost via unanimous decision to Leon Edwards in a bout that was largely dominated by the reigning champion from Birmingham, England. In the aftermath of the contest, fans and pundits alike were quick to criticize ‘Chaos’ for the way he fought.
Predicting UFC champions at the end of 2024
Cole Shelton - January 3, 2024
The calendar has officially flipped to 2024 and in 2023, we saw six UFC belts change, but how many will change hands in 2024? Ahead of the UFC 2024 year starting on Jan. 13 at the UFC Apex, I decided to predict who will hold each belt on Dec. 31, 2024.
Josh Emmett details his first-ever KO, says the opponent was "out longer" than Bryce Mitchell
Cole Shelton - January 3, 2024
Josh Emmett says his first-ever KO when he was an amateur is still his most ferocious. Emmett has been known for his KO power in the UFC featherweight division as he has earned four of his ten wins by KO, and when he does knock an opponent out, he usually shuts their lights off. He’s also recorded an incredible 12 knockdowns in 14 UFC fights, including recording four against Felipe Arantes in 2017.
Ben Askren would "absolutely" face Jorge Masvidal in UFC 300 rematch: "I'll fight him!"
Josh Evanoff - January 3, 2024
Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren is willing to run it back against Jorge Masvidal. ‘Gamebred’ made headlines earlier this week, officially announcing that he was out of retirement. Now, the announcement from Jorge Masvidal wasn’t exactly shocking. In recent months, the former UFC title challenger has teased that he will be returning in 2024.
Bryce Mitchell voices frustration with how medical staff handled him in the Octagon after KO loss to Josh Emmett
Cole Shelton - January 3, 2024
Bryce Mitchell isn’t happy with how he was handled after he was knocked out by Josh Emmett at UFC 296. Mitchell stepped up on less than 10 days’ notice to face Emmett in a pivotal fight for the featherweight division. Although Mitchell was stepping up on short notice, he was the betting favorite to defeat the heavy-handed KO artist.
Ben Askren claims Robert Whittaker had a serious ankle injury going into Dricus Du Plessis fight
Cole Shelton - January 3, 2024
Ben Askren has an idea why Robert Whittaker struggled against Dricus Du Plessis in July. Whittaker and Du Plessis were fighting at UFC 290 in July in a potential number-one contender fight at middleweight. The Aussie entered the fight as the betting favorite, but it was Du Plessis who pulled off the upset as he scored a second-round TKO for the biggest win of his career.
Anthony Smith says he was in a “dark place” following his knockout loss to Khalil Rountree Jr.
Susan Cox - January 3, 2024
Anthony Smith is sharing that he was in a ‘dark place’ following knockout loss to Khalil Rountree Jr. It was just last month at UFC Vegas 83 that Khalil Rountree (14-5 MMA) defeated Anthony Smith (37-19 MMA) via knockout at 0:45 of Round 3 (see that here). The 35-year-old now sits at 1 win and 3 losses in his last 4 fights in the Octagon.
Marvin Vettori set to take on streaking UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen this April
Susan Cox - January 3, 2024
Marvin Vettori is set to take on streaking UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen this coming April. ‘The Italian Dream’ (19-7 MMA) last fought and lost to Jared Cannonier (17-6 MMA) by unanimous decision in June of 2023. With that loss Vettori is 3-3 in his last 6 fights in the Octagon. Vettori, 30, most recent unanimous decision victories have come against Roman Dolidze (12-2 MMA), Paulo Costa (14-2 MMA) and Kevin Holland (25-10 MMA).
UFC star Khamzat Chimaev shares photos of recent health scare: “I was very sick”
Susan Cox - January 3, 2024
UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has shared photos of his most recent health scare. Chimaev (13-0 MMA) recently fought and defeated Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA) by majority decision in October of last year at UFC 284.