UFC News
Vicente Luque explains why he will never fight Gilbert Burns
Cole Shelton - April 9, 2021
Vicente Luque and Gilbert Burns are both top-six welterweights, yet the two will never fight one another. Burns and Luque have been teammates and friends for years. Burns is coming off a TKO loss to his former teammate in Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title and will face Stephen Thomson at UFC 264. It’s a very intriguing matchup and Luque says he’s eager to see Burns face “Wonderboy” and he plans to help Burns out as much as possible.
Women's martial arts pioneer Kathy Long praises pupil Daniel Rodriguez ahead of Mike Perry fight
Adam D Martin - April 9, 2021
Legendary women’s martial artist Kathy Long praised her pupil Daniel Rodriguez ahead of his fight against Mike Perry at UFC Vegas 23. Long is a pioneer in the world of mixed martial arts. She was part of the commentary team at UFC 1, which shows you how long she truly has been in the game for. She was doing mixed martial arts before it was cool, getting black belts in Aikido and in Kung Fu San Soo in the 1980s before making the move to kickboxing in the 1990s, where she became one of the best women’s kickboxers of all time. In 1991, she was inducted into the Black Belt magazine “Hall of Fame.” She also boxed, learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and made her MMA debut at age 45. She won that fight and then in 2015 in Mexico she won another MMA fight at age 51. In addition, she was in a number of movies including “Batman Returns” as the stunt double for Michelle Pfeiffer and she was also in Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers.”
Petr Yan sends a message to Aljamain Sterling: “Your ass is getting stripped p*ssy”
Adam D Martin - April 9, 2021
UFC bantamweight contender Petr Yan sent a message to his rival Aljamain Sterling, telling him that “your ass is getting stripped p*ssy.” Yan and Sterling met last month at UFC 259 and their fight ended in controversy, after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that caused the fight to be ruled a DQ win for Sterling. For the past month, these two rivals have been going back-and-forth with each other on social media. They did so again on Thursday when Yan took a shot at Sterling for potentially needing nine more months to recover. Sterling apparently told the UFC that he is not ready to defend his belt anytime soon and Yan isn’t having any of it.
Georges St-Pierre explains why the gym is "one of the happiest places and the saddest places" he can go
Adam D Martin - April 9, 2021
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre explained why being in the gym is “one of the happiest places and the saddest places” he can go. St-Pierre has often spoken about his love-hate relationship with MMA. The legend has admitted that the feeling of winning and the riches that come with it were always a draw for him, but he also has spoken very openly about how much stress there is involved with it. Another thing that bothers GSP is the way dreams are made and broken in the gym. Every time he goes to the gym it’s good that he gets to train but it’s hard for GSP at times.
Jon Jones says he wants to be the same size "if not bigger" than Francis Ngannou when they fight
Cole Shelton - April 8, 2021
Jon Jones is bulking up quite a bit for his potential heavyweight debut against Francis Ngannou. Ever since Jones vacated the light heavyweight title, the plan was to move to heavyweight and he immediately began to bulk up. He has been posting training photos and videos of him transforming his body and according to “Bones” he says he wants to be bigger than Ngannou when they fight.
Jake Paul sends a violent warning to Ben Askren, tells his family not to watch: "Your dad will be bloodied, unconscious on the f*****g canvas"
Cole Shelton - April 8, 2021
Jake Paul has violent plans for Ben Askren. On April 17, Paul, the brash YouTube star, is set for his third professional boxing match as he battles Ben Askren. It’s a very intriguing fight that has caught the combat sports world by storm. For Paul, he is confident he will KO “Funky” and says he doesn’t want Askren’s family to watch.
Jorge Masvidal promises he will "break" Nate Diaz's face, ribs, and spirit again
Cole Shelton - April 8, 2021
Jorge Masvidal knows he and Nate Diaz will eventually rematch. At UFC 244 in November of 2019, Masvidal and Diaz fought for the BMF title in a highly-anticipated bout. Early on, “Gamebred” was landing heavy shots and even dropped Diaz with a kick. As the fight wore on, Masvidal kept on the pressure and after the third round, the doctor stopped the fight due to a cut above Diaz’s eye.
Jon Jones expects Francis Ngannou fight will happen: "This is one of the greatest fights of our generation"
Cole Shelton - April 8, 2021
Jon Jones believes he will eventually share the Octagon with Francis Ngannou. After Jones vacated his light heavyweight title, he planned to move up to heavyweight and face the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2. After Ngannou scored the KO win, many fans were eager to see the fight, but Jones and the UFC haven’t been able to come to terms on his pay, yet, “Bones” believes the UFC will do the right thing and make the fight.
Joe Solecki eager to share the Octagon with a "very dangerous" Jim Miller: "I've been watching him since I was 12"
Cole Shelton - April 8, 2021
Joe Solecki didn’t think he would be fighting Jim Miller in just his third UFC fight. After Solecki submitted Austin Hubbard last August, he wanted time off with a newborn on the way. However, the hope was to return in December or January, but the first contract offer he got was to face Miller.
Jorge Masvidal says the way he will beat up Colby Covington will make the Ben Askren finish look "very merciful"
Cole Shelton - April 8, 2021
Jorge Masvidal knows he and Colby Covington will end up fighting, and when they do, “Gamebred” is looking to hurt him. For years, Masvidal and Covington were best friends and roommates. They were regular training partners at American Top Team. Yet, after Covington became the interim champ, their relationship soured and the two now hate each other.
Georges St-Pierre calls Khabib Nurmagomedov the "scariest" pound-for-pound fighter in the world
Adam D Martin - April 8, 2021
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre called former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov the “scariest” pound-for-pound fighter in the world. St-Pierre and Nurmagomedov were widely connected for a potential fight between two of the best to ever do it. When you talk about the greatest fighters in the sport’s history, both GSP and Nurmagomedov are at the top of the list. There was hope that the two fighters would step into the Octagon together, but both men are happily retired and the fight seems like a pipe dream at this point, one of the “what if?” fights that we will never see in MMA.
Jon Jones seems optimistic that he will reach a deal with Dana White
Adam D Martin - April 8, 2021
UFC superstar Jon Jones seems optimistic that he will get a deal done with UFC president Dana White to fight Francis Ngannou. Jones and the UFC have been involved in very public contract negotiations for a potential heavyweight title fight with the new UFC champion Ngannou. The original plan was for Jones to fight the winner of Ngannou vs. Stipe Miocic 2 at UFC 260, but since that fight happened, White has suggested that Derrick Lewis could be Ngannou’s next opponent. That’s because Jones wants more money than the UFC initially offered. According to “Bones” he balked at the promotion’s initial suggestion of $8 to $10 million dollars.
Pros react after Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus is ruled a DQ at ONE on TNT 1
Christopher Taylor - April 7, 2021
Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez returned to action at tonight’s ONE on TNT 1 event for a bout with Iuri Lapicus. Alvarez (30-7 MMA) was returning to action for this first time since scoring a first-round submission victory over Eduard Folayang in August of 2019. That victory had marked Eddie’s first under the ONE banner, as he had suffered a TKO loss to Timofey Nastyukhin in his promotional debut.
ONE on TNT 1 Results: Eddie Alvarez disqualified in fight with Iuri Lapicus (Video)
Christopher Taylor - April 7, 2021
Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez returns to action at tonight’s ONE on TNT 1 event for a bout with Iuri Lapicus. Alvarez (30-7 MMA) will be returning to action for this first time since scoring a first-round submission victory over Eduard Folayang in August of 2019. That victory marked Eddie’s first under the ONE banner, as he had suffered a TKO loss to Timofey Nastyukhin in his promotional debut.
Mike Perry 'was looking forward to maybe slapping' Darren Till at UFC Vegas 23, wants to fight him next
Drake Riggs - April 7, 2021
Originally, Darren Till and Mike Perry were both booked to compete at UFC Vegas 23 this Saturday night. Unfortunately, a broken collarbone forced Till out of his main event with Marvin Vettori. Having had a very colorful history with one another, Perry remains interested in getting his hands on Till at some point. He was actually hoping to do so during their shared fight week.
Zhang Weili hopes to befriend Rose Namajunas after UFC 261 clash
Drake Riggs - April 7, 2021
At UFC 261 on April 24, Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas will be anything but friendly with one another – the current champ hopes that won’t be the case in the aftermath. Coming into the co-main event of the first event to have full crowds back in the UFC, Zhang expects a great battle with her challenger. From there, they can go on to be cordial.
Jorge Masvidal says he would've ended up in jail if he did TUF with Colby Covington: "I was for sure going to end up in handcuffs"
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Jorge Masvidal has an interesting reason why he didn’t end up coaching The Ultimate Fighter against Colby Covington. When the UFC announced the return of the show, all the signs pointed to Masvidal and Covington serving as the coaches. Dana White said the coaches would be welterweights. Yet, as the UFC wanted to have a full capacity crowd in Jacksonville, those plans changed. The promotion decided to book Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2 and Covington was left on the outside looking in.
Darren Till says Marvin Vettori would've been the "easiest fight" of his career: "You are a walking punch bag"
Cole Shelton - April 7, 2021
Darren Till has blasted Marvin Vettori after the Italian said he was suspicious of Till’s injury and wondered if it even happened. Till and Vettori were set to headline this Saturday’s card. But, just over a week out, it was revealed the Englishman was out of the fight with a broken collarbone. It was disappointing news for Till who was confident he would’ve gotten back in the win column in a big way against Vettori.