UFC News

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

Former UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy has confirmed that he has been officially released from the UFC after requesting his dismissal. Hardy earlier this week posted a Tweet that suggested he had been ‘freed’ from his UFC contract. On Thursday, “The Outlaw” confirmed with MMAFighting.com that he has indeed been officially let go by the UFC at his own request. Hardy said that he received his release letter on Tuesday, which means that he is now a free agent and free to sign with any promotion. He has already hinted that he could be in talks with RIZIN in Japan and has suggested that he could fight Nick Diaz there, though Diaz is still under UFC contract.

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell will be the special guest referee for the upcoming Lamar Odom vs. Aaron Carter celebrity boxing match. Odom, the former NBA star, and Carter, the former pop singer, will fight each other on June 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. FITE TV made the announcement on Thursday that Liddell, the longtime UFC light heavyweight champion and one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, will be the special guest referee for the fight. Check out the announcement.

Cole Shelton - May 13, 2021

Jack Hermansson is eager to return to the Octagon at UFC Vegas 27 on May 22. Hermansson is coming off a decision loss to Marvin Vettori, in a fight Hermansson was scheduled to face Darren Till and then Kevin Holland. Early on in the fight, the Swede broke his orbital which he says impacted him greatly in the fight.

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

UFC welterweight Alan Jouban says he turned down a short-notice fight against Carlos Condit before announcing his retirement from MMA. Jouban announced earlier this week that he is retiring from competing in mixed martial arts and will instead be all-in on his career as a UFC broadcaster. Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Jouban opened up about his decision to retire from the sport. He said it was a difficult call, but ultimately one he had to make. However, he admits that recently turning down a fight against Carlos Condit — a dream matchup for him — wasn’t easy to do.

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

An exciting UFC lightweight bout between veteran knockout artist Jeremy Stephens and rising contender Mateusz Gamrot takes place this summer. MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the Stephens vs. Gazmrot bout, which will take place at the UFC Fight Night card scheduled to take place on July 17. That card currently does not have the main event set for it, and there is no venue or location set, either. However, the promotion has been quickly announcing a number of fights for this event, including another lightweight bout between Islam Makhachev and Thiago Moises.

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz has angrily refuted the claims that he filed for “fraudulent” welfare aid during the coronavirus pandemic. According to Daily Mail, Ortiz has collected $179-per-week checks from the United States government after applying for COVID-19 relief. Ortiz has reportedly been collecting the relief checks since July 2020 despite the fact that he has been the Huntington Beach pro tem mayor since November 2020, a position that pays him $1400 a month.

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

Heavyweight Yorgan de Castro is among the latest UFC roster cuts as nine more fighters have been released by the world’s top MMA promotion. MMAFighting.com reported the latest roster cuts. Some of these cuts were previously reported, but three of the cuts are new as the UFC keeps on making changes to the roster. We already knew that Luke Sanders, Anthony Birchak, Aalon Cruz, KB Bhullar, Jordan Griffin, and Bartosz Fabinski were released, but we can now add three more names to the list as de Castro, Oskar Piechota, and Justine Kish were all also cut by the UFC.

Harry Kettle - May 13, 2021

UFC fighter Mike Perry has lashed out at J’Leon Love for suggesting that he could be about to lose his place on the UFC roster. Perry is in the midst of a notable skid in his UFC run, going 3-7 in his last 10 fights including two back-to-back defeats. In addition to that, Perry has also been embroiled in the Jake Paul-MMA saga after his recent sparring session with the YouTuber turned pro boxer.

Adam D Martin - May 13, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev is set to return to the Octagon at a summer Fight Night card when he takes on Thiago Moises. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the news of the Makhachev vs. Moises fight. It will take place on the July 17 UFC Fight Night card and will be a three-round fight. The card currently does not have the main event lined up for it, but other fights on this card include Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson, Miranda Maverick vs. Maycee Barber, and Raphael Assuncao vs. Kyler Phillips. Expect the UFC to announce the main event for the card soon.

Drake Riggs - May 12, 2021

Marvin Vettori is finally set to get his long-awaited rematch with Israel Adesanya. The current middleweight champion in Adesanya last fought at UFC 259 in March when challenging for the 205-pound title. Poland’s Jan Blachowicz would end up getting the better of his fellow champion by way of a unanimous decision on the night – doing so primarily by utilizing his grappling in the final rounds. Vettori wasn’t surprised to see this play out and is all the more confident going into his first career UFC title fight.

Drake Riggs - May 12, 2021

August is looking to be the month of middleweights in the UFC. Derek Brunson and Darren Till are targeted to lock horns. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto revealed on Wednesday that the UFC is aiming to make the matchup between top 10 middleweights as the main event of the August 14 fight night, according to Dana White. The event had yet to be officially announced as part of the UFC schedule but it would take place just a week ahead of another pivotal 185-pound bout between Paulo Costa and Jared Cannonier.

Drake Riggs - May 12, 2021

Two of the middleweight division’s top contenders are set to rebound off of recent losses against one another. It’s Paulo Costa vs. Jared Cannonier. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed the fight through UFC President Dana White on Wednesday. The tandem of top 5 ranked UFC middleweights will do battle in a five-round main event taking place on August 21. The fight night event’s location has yet to be determined.

Alfredo Zullino - May 12, 2021

A lightweight clash between Uros Medic (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Jalin Turner (10-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is in the works, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation informed BJPENN.com. The sources asked for anonymity since the news hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. The contracts have not been signed, but both fighters have verbally agreed to lock horns in September. No word yet on either the date and or the official location.

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2021

A battle of Brazilians has been added to an upcoming Fight Night card as Thiago Santos will battle Johnny Walker. According to a report from Combate, Santos and Walker have agreed to fight one another on September 25 at a location TBD.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

PFL women’s lightweight star Kayla Harrison reacted to the comments from UFC president Dana White that she’s not ready to fight in the UFC. Harrison is one of the most dominant female fighters in MMA right now as she’s been absolutely smoking the competition in PFL over the last three years, not to mention picking up a win in Invicta FC as well. There are many fans who want to see Harrison bring her talents to the UFC as there are many who believe she could be one of the only fighters out there to give a challenge to UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes. However, at this point, Harrison is still under contract with PFL and not a part of the UFC.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

Conor McGregor has been named as the highest-paid athlete in 2021, and he made $22 million for the Dustin Poirier rematch at UFC 257. Forbes reported that in the last 12 months, McGregor has made $180 million total, which makes him the highest-paid athlete in the world. According to the report, McGregor made $150 million when he sold Proper No. Twelve to Proximo Spirits. In addition to that $150 million, McGregor also made $22 million for his rematch against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 earlier this year, a fight that he lost by knockout. The remaining $8 million that McGregor made came from a combination of his endorsements including Draft Kings, Roots of Fight, and Dystopia: Contest of Heroes. It’s fair to say it’s been a good 12 months for McGregor.

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC 262 card featuring the vacant lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler. The UFC 262 main event sees longtime contender, Charles Oliveira get his first UFC title shot against former Bellator champ, Michael Chandler. Oliveira is riding an eight-fight winning streak and coming off a decision win over Tony Ferguson and before that submitted Kevin Lee. Chandler, meanwhile, made good of his UFC debut as he scored a first-round TKO over Dan Hooker in January.

Adam D Martin - May 12, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he is not convinced that PFL star Kayla Harrison is ready to fight in the world’s leading promotion just yet. Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, made her MMA debut in 2018 for PFL and has since racked up a perfect 9-0 record in MMA while fighting for both PFL and in Invicta FC. She has been absolutely destroying everyone in her path and no one has been even somewhat competitive with her. In her most recent outing, Harrison defeated Mariana Morais via first-round TKO at PFL 3 in a lightweight regular season bout. It was yet another easy win for Harrison and another fight where she was a massive betting favorite. It’s led to fans hoping that she can finally join the UFC and fight some tougher competition.