UFC News
Jake Paul claims he's a "better striker than 99.9%" of MMA fighters
Cole Shelton - April 27, 2021
Jake Paul believes he’s a better striker than 99.9 percent of MMA fighters, and that is why he has been calling them out. Paul, the brash YouTuber who turned professional boxer, has taken the combat sports world by storm after his KO win over Nate Robinson. His popularity only grew with his recent KO win over Ben Askren on April 17. Since then, he has been continuing to call out MMA fighters and he says he is doing so because it is a massive draw and the fact he believes he is just better.
Rachael Ostovich signs with BKFC
Cole Shelton - April 27, 2021
Rachael Ostovich has signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Ostovich was released from the UFC in December after losing three in a row. After the release, many were curious where she would sign as many pointed to Bellator given she is a Hawaiian, where Bellator holds events every year and is marketable. Yet, on Tuesday, it was announced BKFC signed the 30-year-old.
Kamaru Usman praises Rose Namajunas following upset win at UFC 261: "Words can't describe how proud I am of this woman"
Adam D Martin - April 27, 2021
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman praised newly-crowned women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas after her upset win at UFC 261. Usman put on a stunning performance in the main event when he electrified the crowd with a KO win over Jorge Masvidal, but Namajunas was one of the stars of the show, as well. “Thug” knocked out Weili Zhang in the first round with a nasty head kick to become the new UFC women’s strawweight champion. It was an incredible performance by her once again as she regained the belt she lost to Jessica Andrade nearly two years ago in Brazil.
Giga Chikadze says he will "knock Cub Swanson out cold," confident he will be featherweight champ by early 2022
Cole Shelton - April 27, 2021
Giga Chikadze has a ton of confidence entering his UFC Vegas 25 co-main event fight against Cub Swanson. Chikadze had an incredible 2020 going 4-0 and improved to 5-0 in the UFC. He made a name for himself and began calling out ranked featherweights and gets his chance to face a well-known name in Swanson.
Chris Weidman says he did not celebrate when Anderson Silva broke his leg at UFC 168
Adam D Martin - April 27, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman says he did not celebrate when Anderson Silva broke his leg in their fight at UFC 168. Weidman suffered a horrible injury at UFC 261 this past Saturday night when his leg shattered in half on the first kick he threw against Uriah Hall. It was one of the worst injuries we have ever seen in the Octagon, and ironically it was very reminiscent of Weidman’s fight against Silva in December 2013, which Weidman won via TKO when Silva broke his leg. Immediately after seeing Silva go down, Weidman ran around the cage, apparently celebrating his victory. However, the former champion says there is more to the story.
Khamzat Chimaev explains why he wants to fight Nick Diaz
Adam D Martin - April 27, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev explained why he wants to be the man who welcomes the legend Nick Diaz back into the Octagon. At UFC 261 this past Saturday in Jacksonville, Diaz was a guest at the event and apparently spoke to UFC president Dana White about making a comeback. On Monday night, BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor reported that the UFC has offered Chimaev the Diaz fight.
Cory Sandhagen not impressed by Aljamain Sterling’s actions following title win, predicts Petr Yan beats him in rematch
Harry Kettle - April 27, 2021
Cory Sandhagen has revealed that he wasn’t impressed by Aljamain Sterling after his win over Petr Yan and that he believes Yan will win the rematch. Sandhagen, who was beaten by Sterling via submission back at UFC 250, has since bounced back with devastating wins over Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar. Now, he’ll turn his attention towards an enticing fight against the returning TJ Dillashaw on May 8.
Photos | Chris Weidman shares X-rays of broken leg
Adam D Martin - April 27, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman shared a series of photos of his broken leg suffered in his fight with Uriah Hall at UFC 261. Weidman suffered one of the most horrific injuries in UFC history when he broke his leg on the very first kick he threw against Hall at this past Saturday’s UFC 261. Immediately after throwing the kick, Weidman went down in pain and the replays show that his leg broke in half. “The All American” was rushed to the hospital afterwards for emergency surgery on his leg, surgery that he says was successful. Taking to his social media in the days following the accident, Weidman posted a series of X-ray photos of his leg.
Jorge Masvidal open to fighting Nick Diaz next time out: "I'm more than willing to throw down"
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2021
Jorge Masvidal says he will fight again and would be open to facing Nick Diaz next time out. At UFC 261, Masvidal suffered a KO loss to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title. It served as their rematch from last July where Usman won a decision. Although the result was disappointing for “Gamebred” he says he still has the fire to compete in him.
Jon Jones no longer working with First Round Management, Malki Kawa issues statement
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2021
Jon Jones will no longer be repped by First Round Management. On Monday evening, the management company took to social media to announce their relationship is over. It caught the MMA world by surprise, given the fact the Kawa’s have been working with the former light heavyweight champ for years.
Conor McGregor makes $500k donation to Louisiana Youth following recent charity dispute with Dustin Poirier
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2021
Conor McGregor has donated $500k to a Louisana Youth charity following his recent dispute with Dustin Poirier. In the lead-up to McGregor and Poirier’s rematch at UFC 257, the Irishman said he would be donating $500k to Poirier’s charity. However, just recently, “The Diamond” revealed the Irishman never donated. After some back-and-forth, Poirier apologized for his public spat with McGregor.
Daniel Cormier says he'll cut down to 205 to fight Jake Paul in MMA: "I’m going to smash him and I’m going to hurt him"
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2021
Daniel Cormier is open to fighting Jake Paul but says it must happen in MMA. After Paul knocked out Be Askren he called out Cormier and said he’d beat him up just like Stipe Miocic did. Cormier did not take kindly to those words and at UFC 261, “DC” approached Paul in the crowd to talk to him.
Alex Oliveira issues statement following submission loss to Randy Brown at UFC 261
Adam D Martin - April 26, 2021
UFC welterweight Alex Oliveira issued a statement following his submission loss to Randy Brown on the preliminary card of UFC 261. Oliveira was knocked down and then tapped out by Brown in the preliminary headliner on ESPN before the UFC 261 pay-per-view card. Unfortunately for Oliveira, the fight did not go as planned as he suffered his second straight loss by submission, and his fourth loss in his last six fights. Following the loss, “Cowboy” released a statement on his Instagram.
Dana White not interested in Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko 3
Adam D Martin - April 26, 2021
UFC president Dana White says he is not interested in booking a trilogy fight between UFC champions Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko and Nunes have fought twice previously, with the Brazilian winning both times, the first time via unanimous decision and the second time via split decision. Though Nunes is 2-0 over Shevchenko, many fans feel as though Nunes got her toughest tests in those fights. With Shevchenko running through the field at 125lbs with another finish over Jessica Andrade at UFC 261, there have been suggestions that she could fight Nunes for a third time. However, White doesn’t have much interest in doing that fight anytime soon.
Jessica Andrade issues statement following TKO loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 261
Adam D Martin - April 26, 2021
Jessica Andrade released a statement following her second-round TKO loss to UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 261. Andrade, the former UFC women’s strawweight champion, earned herself a title shot at 125lbs following a knockout win over former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian last fall on Fight Island. Unfortunately for Andrade, she went up against an absolute terror in the form of Shevchenko, who absolutely dominated Andrade for as long as the fight lasted. Shevchenko was able to land seven takedowns during the fight and controlled Andrade on the ground with the crucifix position, before finishing the Brazilian with strikes for the TKO win.
What's next for the stars of UFC 261?
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2021
The UFC returned to a full capacity crowd on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Florida for UFC 261. The card saw three title fights as Kamaru Usman rematched Jorge Masvidal, Weili Zhang took on Rose Namajunas, and Valentina Shevchenko battled Jessica Andrade. The event was one of the better ones in recent memory and one title ended up changing hands. In the main event, Usman defended his belt with a second-round KO over Masvidal. Namajunas became the strawweight champ with a first-round KO over Zhang, and to no surprise, Shevchenko defended her strap with a TKO win over Andrade.
Watch Joe Rogan and company react to the violent finishes from Saturday’s UFC 261 event
Adam D Martin - April 26, 2021
UFC commentator Joe Rogan had some amazing reactions to some of the crazy things we saw take place this past Saturday night at UFC 261. Rogan, along with former UFC champion Daniel Cormier and veteran play-by-play man Jon Anik, were in the same booth with each other for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the hilarities that ensued were fun to watch. The three veteran commentators enjoyed the heck out of UFC 261, and who can blame them? It was an absolutely exceptional card that featured a number of insane endings to fights, and Rogan clearly had a lot of fun watching it. Check out some of Rogan’s best reactions below.
Rose Namajunas credits former UFC rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk for supplying blueprint on how to beat Zhang Weili
Harry Kettle - April 26, 2021
Rose Namajunas has credited Joanna Jędrzejczyk for giving her the blueprint on the right way to approach a fight against Zhang Weili. “Thug Rose” went into her title fight at the weekend knowing that many viewed her as the underdog – but coming out of it, she was the one who had her hand raised as she recaptured the UFC strawweight title.