UFC News

Francis Ngannou
UFC

Francis Ngannou opens up on contract negotiations with the UFC: "There’s a lot going on behind the scenes"

Adam D Martin - August 19, 2021

Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou opened up on contract negotiations with the UFC, saying “there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.” Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic back in March to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. Initially, the fight to make was Ngannou against Jon Jones, but Jones and the UFC couldn’t come to financial terms and that fight was called off. Instead, the UFC wanted to book Ngannou against Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. However, Ngannou couldn’t fight on that date and the UFC instead brought in Ciryl Gane, who knocked out Lewis to become the new interim UFC heavyweight champion — just three months after Ngannou won the belt.

Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley
Dustin Poirier

Colby Covington says he would verbally submit Dustin Poirier: "It wouldn't be competitive"

Adam D Martin - August 19, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington says he would verbally submit Dustin Poirier in a fight, suggesting “it wouldn’t be competitive.” Covington and Poirier are former teammates at American Top Team who are now heated rivals. Poirier is one of the best lightweights in the world, while Covington has established himself as a welterweight contender, so a fight on paper doesn’t seem like one that would happen anytime soon. But “The Diamond” has mentioned in the past that he would be interested in moving up to 170lbs, and if that’s the case, then Covington would welcome it.

Shogun Rua, UFC rankings
UFC

Mauricio Rua names the three toughest opponents he ever fought in the UFC

Adam D Martin - August 19, 2021

Mixed martial arts legend Mauricio Rua aka “Shogun” named the three toughest opponents he ever fought in the UFC in a recent interview. Rua is one of the most legendary MMA fighters of all time, having been a former PRIDE and UFC champion. Now 39 years old, Shoun has spoken openly about retiring in the next year or two. He is coming off of a brutal TKO loss to Paul Craig in his last outing and considering he turns 40 years of age later this year, the future UFC Hall of Famer knows that his time in the sport is nearing its end. Although he still has another fight or two in him, it’s starting to become the time where Shogun is looking back at his MMA career and reminiscing on it.

UFC Octagon,
UFC

Tresean Gore forced to withdraw from TUF 29 finale fight with Bryan Battle

Harry Kettle - August 19, 2021

UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Tresean Gore has been ruled out of his Ultimate Fighter 29 finale fight against Bryan Battle due to an unfortunate knee injury. Gore was tipped to be the big star coming out of the 29th edition of the show and had managed to make it all the way through to the final of the middleweight bracket. Alas, such is the unpredictable nature of mixed martial arts, we will now not see him go up against the last pick Bryan Battle for the right to win the contract.

Francis-Ngannou-Fernand-Lopez
Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou says old coach 'wants to be famous,' feels disrespected by UFC

Drake Riggs - August 18, 2021

Francis Ngannou has already had a unique title reign despite its youth. The undisputed UFC heavyweight champion captured the crown in his rematch with Stipe Miocic in March at UFC 260. Knocking the Ohio native out cold in the second round, Ngannou seemed destined for a mega-fight with former light heavyweight titleholder and all-time great, Jon Jones.

Anthony Smith, UFC 235, Jon Jones
Jiri Prochazka

Anthony Smith "would love" to fight Jiri Prochazka: "It just looks like it’s so much fun"

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

Anthony Smith thinks fighting Jiri Prochazka would be a ton of fun. Prochazka is the former RIZIN light heavyweight champion and has made good so far in his UFC career. In his debut, he knocked out Volkan Oezdemir and followed that up with a highlight-reel KO over Dominick Reyes. He will now serve as the backup for the title fight, but Smith says that is a fight he would like to have.

Kevin Lee, UFC Rochester
Mike Perry

Kevin Lee blasts Mike Perry for turning him down: "I lost a lot of respect for the man"

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

Kevin Lee doesn’t understand why Mike Perry turned him down. After Sean Brady was forced out of his August 28 fight against Kevin Lee, “The Motown Phenom” said to BJPENN.com he wanted to remain on the card and that is the case. Lee will now face a short-notice replacement, Daniel Rodriguez.

Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Joe Rogan
Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier won't wait for Conor McGregor but not ruling out a fourth fight: "If it makes sense, we’ll do it again"

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

Dustin Poirier wouldn’t be surprised if he faces Conor McGregor again. At UFC 264 in July, Poirier and McGregor had their highly-anticipated trilogy and Poirier won the fight after the Irishman broke his leg at the end of the first round. It was a disappointing ending and for Poirier, he says the second fight back at UFC 257 was much better for him as it was a definitive ending.

Nate Diaz
UFC

Nate Diaz says he is "defending in December"

Adam D Martin - August 18, 2021

UFC welterweight superstar Nate Diaz took to his social media on Wednesday to tell his fans that he is “defending in December.” Diaz and Dustin Poirier have been going back-and-forth on social media as of late, leading to speculation of a possible fight between the two stars. Poirier has a title shot locked up at 155lbs against UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, but there have been suggestions that he could pass up the title shot in order to take a money fight against Diaz. After all, Poirier just passed up fighting Oliveira for the vacant belt at UFC 262 in order to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 264 in what was one of the biggest UFC PPV fights of all time.

Vinc Pichel, UFC
UFC

Vinc Pichel plans to "whoop" Austin Hubbard after changing camps to Factory X: "I'm looking to end it pretty quick"

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

Vinc Pichel is excited to show off how much better he has gotten since changing camps to Factory X. Pichel has been training in California for years now, but he recently decided to move to Colorado and train at Factory X. For Pichel, he says he immediately clicked with head coach, Marc Montoya and the team.

Brian Kelleher
Exclusive MMA Interviews

Brian Kelleher expects to finish Domingo Pilarte and call for a spot on the MSG card, eyes Sean O'Malley as future opponent

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

BBrian Kelleher wasn’t too surprised he is fighting Domingo Pilarte at UFC Vegas 34. After Kelleher lost a decision to Ricky Simon at UFC 258, he knew he would have to fight someone below him in the rankings. That is exactly what is happening as he is facing Pilarte, which is a rebooking as the two were supposed to fight one another at UFC 230 back in 2018.

Anderson-Silva-Vitor-Belfort
Boxing News

Vitor Belfort wants rematch with Anderson Silva in boxing a decade after infamous front kick KO

Adam D Martin - August 18, 2021

Vitor Belfort wants a rematch with former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in boxing a decade after the infamous front kick KO. In the main event of UFC 126 in February 2011, Silva landed one of the most incredible knockouts in MMA history when he landed a front kick to the jaw of Belfort and put him out cold with punches. It was an amazing finish by “The Spider” and for years, Belfort has talked about wanting to have a rematch with his Brazilian rival, but it hasn’t happened yet.

TJ-Dillashaw
TJ Dillashaw

TJ Dillashaw "would like to fight Jose Aldo" but wants UFC bantamweight title shot first

Adam D Martin - August 18, 2021

TJ Dillashaw “would like to fight Jose Aldo” but wants the former champion wants a crack at the UFC bantamweight title shot first. Dillashaw recently made his return to the Octagon after over two years away, and he defeated Cory Sandhagen via split decision to once again emerge as a top contender for the 135lbs title. The next bantamweight title fight takes place at UFC 267 in October when Aljamain Sterling defends his belts against Petr Yan in a rematch, and Dillashaw is hoping that he gets to fight the winner of that title match. However, the former featherweight champ Aldo called out Dillashaw after his latest win over Pedro Munhoz, and now fans are excited about the prospect of two former UFC champions going at it down at 135lbs.

Conor-McGregor
UFC

Conor McGregor believes his sons will follow his footsteps and become fighters one day

Adam D Martin - August 18, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor believes that his sons, Conor Jr. and Rian, will follow in his footsteps and become fighters one day. McGregor is the biggest name in mixed martial arts and he and his partner Dee Devlin have three children together, young boys Conor Jr. and Rian, and daughter, Croia. Asked in a recent Q&A session by a fan if he sees his two boys following their father’s footsteps into the world of combat sports, “Notorious” replied affirmatively, saying that he does see them testing their skills in martial arts one day. However, McGregor also pointed out that he will not force his sons to become MMA fighters. If they want to, though, he will support them.

Colby-Covington-4
Dustin Poirier

Colby Covington explains how Dustin Poirier helped forced his exit from American Top Team

Adam D Martin - August 18, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington explained how former teammate Dustin Poirier helped forced his exit from American Top Team. Covington and Poirier do not like each other, that much we know for sure. The two have had numerous back-and-forths over the last few years, and it ultimately reached a boiling point where the two could no longer be teammates at American Top Team. That led to Covington eventually leaving ATT and joining MMA Masters, while Poirier continues to be one of the big names at Covington’s old gym. In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Covington explained how Poirier’s dislike for him led to him being forced out of ATT.

Charles-Oliveira
UFC

Charles Oliveira says he understands why Dustin Poirier is chasing money fights over the UFC lightweight title

Adam D Martin - August 18, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira says he understands why No. 1 contender Dustin Poirier is chasing money fights over the belt. Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler via second-round TKO at UFC 262 in May to become the new UFC lightweight champion. After Poirier defeated Conor McGregor in their trilogy fight at UFC 264 in July, the initial plan was that “The Diamond” would be taking on “Do Bronx” near the end of the year for the 155lbs strap. However, Poirier has been far more busy taking to social media as of late and calling out the likes of Nate Diaz for money fights.

Yancy Medeiros
Yancy Medeiros

Fan favorite Yancy Medeiros reacts following UFC release

Harry Kettle - August 18, 2021

Yancy Medeiros has taken some time to reflect after his release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship was confirmed. Medeiros has competed against some big names across multiple weight classes in the UFC and Strikeforce including Dustin Poirier, Donald Cerrone, Gregor Gillespie and Jim Miller. In that time he’s rarely failed to entertain the crowd, but unfortunately, his time at the top has come to an abrupt end following a four-fight losing streak.

Conor McGregor
Michael Bisping

Conor McGregor claims Michael Bisping went sprinting from his hometown after "they" came knocking on his moms door

Christopher Taylor - August 17, 2021

Conor McGregor has accused Michael Bisping of sprinting from his hometown after “they” came knocking on his mothers door. The pair of former UFC champions, McGregor (22-6 MMA) and Bisping (30-9 MMA), have been sparring online over the past few days. The beef all started after ‘The Count’ shared his take regarding Conor’s online feud with Daniel Cormier. During his assessment, Michael Bisping suggested that ‘DC’ would rip Conor McGregor “limb from limb” in a real fight.