UFC News
Justin Gaethje reacts after losing out on Michael Chandler fight
Christopher Taylor - March 19, 2021
Justin Gaethje has reacted after losing out on a proposed UFC matchup with Michael Chandler on May 15. Earlier this week it was reported that a bout between Gaethje and Chandler was in the works for UFC 262.
Kevin Holland excited to "beat the crap out of somebody you don’t like" in UFC Vegas 22 main event with Derek Brunson
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
Kevin Holland has made it known he doesn’t like Derek Brunson. In the main event of UFC Vegas 22, Holland is set to face Brunson in a very intriguing middleweight bout. The winner of the fight would likely fight a top-five middleweight next, but Holland doesn’t care about any of that. Instead, he is just looking to beat up and knock out Brunson.
Julija Stoliarenko says she "made weight too early" which caused her to collapse on the scale, still ready to fight
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
Julija Stoliarenko has revealed what caused her to collapse on the scale at the UFC Vegas 22 weigh-ins. Stoliarenko was set to open the card against Julia Avila at women’s bantamweight. Unfortunately, the fight was canceled due to Stoliarenko fainting twice at weigh-ins, but the 27-year-old says she still wants to fight.
Robert Whittaker says he has "a couple of things up my sleeve" for Israel Adesanya in potential rematch
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
Robert Whittaker knows he has to fight differently if he rematches Israel Adesanya. At UFC 243, Whittaker suffered a second-round knockout loss to Adesanya to lose his middleweight title. Since the loss, he rebounded nicely with a five-round decision win over Darren Till on Fight Island and followed that up with a decision over Jared Cannonier.
UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler heads to Houston, Texas with full crowd
Adam Martin - March 19, 2021
The upcoming UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler pay-per-view on May 15 will take place in front of a full crowd of fans in Houston, Texas. The UFC made the fight card official on Friday afternoon, officially confirming the Oliveira vs. Chandler main event for the vacant UFC lightweight title, as well as announcing that it will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston with fans in attendance. The tickets will go on sale on April 2. This is the UFC’s second fight card announced in the past week that will feature a full crowd of fans. The other is UFC 261, on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Adrian Yanez eyes first-round KO over Gustavo Lopez to put the bantamweight division on notice
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
Adrian Yanez knows his entrance to UFC fans couldn’t have gone any better. Yanez earned his UFC contract with a 39-second KO over Brady Huang on the Contender Series. He followed that up with a first-round KO over Victor Rodriguez in October. Although he has two excellent finishes, he knows he still has work to do and that begins at UFC Vegas 22 against Gustavo Lopez who is an opponent Yanez has wanted for quite some time.
JP Buys eager to corner and share card with wife Cheyanne, expects to finish Bruno Silva to earn a "statement" win
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
JP Buys will get to make his UFC debut alongside his wife, Cheyanne. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 22, JP Buys will face Bruno Silva while on the main card Cheyanne will face Montserrat Ruiz. They will also be looking to make history as the first married couple to both win UFC fights on the same card. Not only are they competing on the same card, but they will also corner one another.
UFC Vegas 22 weigh-in results: One fight canceled, one fighter misses weight
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
The official weigh-in results for Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 card are in place, and one fighter missed weight and one fight was canceled. Headliners Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland both successfully weighed in at or under the non-title middleweight limit of 186lbs. Brunson came right in at 186, while Holland actually came a bit underweight at 183lbs. In the co-headliner, both Gregor Gillespie and Brad Riddell successfully weighed in at 155.5lbs under the non-title limit of 156lbs. Both the UFC Vegas 22 main event and the co-main event are now official and we are good to go there.
Video | Julija Stoliarenko collapses on scale at UFC Vegas 22 weigh-ins
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
UFC women’s bantamweight fighter Julija Stoliarenko collapsed on the scale, twice, during the UFC Vegas 22 weigh-ins on Friday. Stoliarenko is set to take on Julia Avila in a women’s bantamweight bout set for Saturday’s card. During the weigh-ins on Friday, Stoliarenko stepped onto the scale to weigh in. However, she fainted and needed to be helped by commission officials. A few minutes later, Stoliarenko got back onto the scale. She weighed in successfully at 135.5lbs but a few seconds later Stoliarenko collapsed for a second time. She was immediately given fluids to rehydrate with and a stretcher came to the scale to take her away for a medical check-up.
UFC 261: ‘Usman vs Masvidal 2’ Ticket Information
Harry Kettle - March 19, 2021
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has released ticket details for the upcoming UFC 261: Usman vs Masvidal PPV event next month. The highly anticipated rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal will serve as the main event of a stacked fight card, one that features three title fights in total. Valentina Shevchenko vs Jessica Andrade and Weili Zhang vs Rose Namajunas will also feature on what is surely going to be a very important night for the promotion.
Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira opening betting odds released
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming vacant UFC lightweight title bout between Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira. The UFC officially announced this week that Chandler and Oliveira will meet in the main event of UFC 262 on May 15, with the vacant UFC lightweight belt up for grabs. That became possible once former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmaomedov officially retired. With Chandler vs. Oliveira now official, the sportsbooks have released the opening odds for the fight. Check out the opening odds for the UFC 262 headliner (via BetOnline).
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier trilogy reportedly won't take place until summer 2021
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
The trilogy fight between lightweight rivals Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier reportedly won’t take place until summer 2021 at the earliest. Late Thursday night, the UFC announced that former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmaomedov was officially hanging up his gloves, and now Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira will headline UFC 262 on May 15 for the vacant lightweight belt. Some fans were surprised that the UFC announced that Chandler vs. Oliveira is the title fight and not the trilogy bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Considering Poirier KOed McGregor at UFC 257 in January, most expected him to be fighting for the 155lbs belt next.
Junior dos Santos upset by cold way UFC and Dana White cut him: "I haven't talked to him in years"
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos is upset by the cold way the UFC and Dana White cut him, saying “I haven’t talked to him in years.” White said late last year that the UFC would be making 60 cuts from its roster, and some of them were going to be tough cuts. In recent weeks, both dos Santos and Alistair Overeem, two staples of the UFC heavyweight division for the past decade, were both released. Both men are getting up there in age and both fighters are coming off of TKO losses, to Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov, respectively, but it was still surprising to see two top-15 heavyweights get the boot. White suggested it was due to their age and their recent performances, but others have suggested their paychecks were part of the reason, too.
Max Holloway tells Khabib Nurmagomedov he wants to "visit Dagestan"
Harry Kettle - March 19, 2021
UFC featherweight contender Max Holloway has told Khabib Nurmagomedov he wants to visit Dagestan one day soon after the latter confirmed his retirement. The MMA world has known it to be true for quite some time, but now it seems to be official that Khabib Nurmagomedov is staying retired. That’ll come as quite the blow for both his fans and for fans of the sport in, general, not to mention some fighters on the UFC roster.
Kamaru Usman reveals it was his idea to have the Jorge Masvidal rematch at UFC 261
Adam D Martin - March 19, 2021
UFC welterweight Kamaru Usman revealed that it was his idea to have the rematch with rival Jorge Masvidal take place at UFC 261. Usman and Masvidal met back at UFC 251 on Fight Island last July. Masvidal filled in on one weeks’ notice for Gilbert Burns, who withdrew from the fight due to COVID-19. Though “Gamebred” was able to go the full five rounds with Masvidal, he lost a unanimous decision that night. However, the pay-per-view did big numbers, selling 1.3 million PPVs, and so there was always going to be talks of a rematch. Once Usman knocked out Burns at UFC 258 and was able to turnaround quickly, the UFC decided to give Masvidal the rematch. The pair now headline UFC 261, which is set to take place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Pros react to Khabib Nurmagomedov retirement, Chandler vs. Oliveira at UFC 262
Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021
Social media was full of fighter reactions following news that Khabib Nurmagomedov has officially retired and Chandler vs. Oliveira is set for UFC 262. Earlier this evening UFC President Dana White confirmed that despite his best efforts he could not convince ‘The Eagle’ to return for one last fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov issues statement following official retirement
Christopher Taylor - March 18, 2021
Khabib Nurmagomedov has issued a statement after news broke this evening that he was officially retiring and vacating his UFC lightweight title. Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA) had announced his retirement from fighting immediately following his submission victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
Vacant UFC lightweight title fight set for UFC 262 featuring Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira
Drake Riggs - March 18, 2021
It’s official, Khabib Nurmagomedov has retired and vacated his lightweight crown. Now the UFC moves on to Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveira. Late Thursday night a wave of news broke from the UFC. Perhaps the most notable of the bunch being UFC President Dana White conceding defeat to Nurmagomedov insisting on calling it a career at 29-0 after a meeting in Las Vegas.