UFC News
Joe Rogan campaigns for UFC lightweight title fight between Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira
Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021
UFC color commentator Joe Rogan wants to see a lightweight title fight between top contenders Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira. The lightweight title will seemingly soon be up for grabs with the division’s longtime champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, poised to ride off into the sunset. If that’s indeed the way things shake out, the UFC will need to crown a new champ in Nurmagomedov’s stead.
Tyson Fury believes UFC's Conor McGregor would win trilogy fight Dustin Poirier
Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021
Heavyweight boxing superstar Tyson Fury is backing Conor McGregor to beat Dustin Poirier if the pair meet in the UFC’s Octagon for a third time. McGregor and Poirier first met at featherweight in 2014, with McGregor winning by first-round knockout. They then met in a rematch at UFC 257 last month, this time in the lightweight division. Poirier won that rematch by second-round knockout.
Eryk Anders praises Henry Cejudo: "He's a totally different person in real life"
Adam Martin - February 25, 2021
UFC middleweight Eryk Anders praised Henry Cejudo for their recent training together, saying he’s a completely different person in real life. Anders returns to the Octagon on March 13 when he meets Darren Stewart at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad. As part of his training camp for the fight, he got some work in with Cejudo and his coach Eric Albarracin. Speaking to James Lynch of MMA News, Anders praised Cejudo for his coaching abilities and also said that he’s a completely different person in real life than the ‘king of cringe’ he portrays himself on social media.
Team Edson Barboza confirms the fan-favorite has signed a new deal with the UFC
Adam Martin - February 25, 2021
Team Edson Barboza confirmed the fan-favorite signed a new, multi-year deal with the UFC, keeping him with the world’s leading MMA promotion. Barboza only had one fight left on his current UFC contract following his last outing, a unanimous decision victory over Makwan Amirkhani at UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen. The 35-year-old Brazilian expressed interest in re-signing on a new contract with the promotion following the conclusion of his current contract, but until now a deal had not been reached. Now that Barboza and the UFC have agreed on a new deal, he plans on making a run for the featherweight title. Barboza’s long-time agent Alex Davis first confirmed the news of him re-signing with the UFC to MMAFighting.com.
Joe Rogan shares theory on why Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier
Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021
Longtime UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has shared his thoughts on why Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier last month. McGregor and Poirier met at lightweight in the main event of the blockbuster UFC 257 card in Abu Dhabi—a card Rogan wasn’t on commentary duty for. The bout was a rematch of a 2014 featherweight fight that McGregor won by first-round knockout.
Kevin Holland: Khamzat Chimaev is "very smart" for only taking "fights that make the most sense"
Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021
UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland believes rising star Khamzat Chimaev has only been accepting matchups that “make sense” for him. Holland and Chimaev are two of the hottest young prospects in the UFC at present, both having enjoyed massive success in 2020.
UFC's Karolina Kowalkiewicz opens up on struggles with depression, suicidal ideation
Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021
Former UFC strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz says she has struggled with depression and suicidal ideation in the past. Kowalkiewicz, a native of Poland, is a member of the UFC strawweight roster. Speaking on Instagram on February 23, Poland’s Day of Combatting Depression, Kowalkiewicz opened up on her mental health struggles, and revealed that she’s battled depression and suicidal ideation previously.
Walt Harris and wife create foundation to help families with missing loved ones
Tom Taylor - February 25, 2021
UFC heavyweight Walt Harris and his wife, Angela, have launched a foundation to help families with missing loved ones. Aniah’s Heart Foundation—named after Angela and Walt’s daughter, who was kidnapped and killed in 2019—launched in 2020, and will teach self-defense and awareness training with the goal of preventing future tragedies.
Tony Ferguson is working with renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach for his next UFC fight
Christopher Taylor - February 24, 2021
Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is working with renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach for his next Octagon appearance. Ferguson (25-5 MMA) is currently in the midst of the first two-fight losing skid of his illustrious career. In his most recent effort at December’s UFC 256 event, ‘El Cucuy’ suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss to surging lightweight contender Charles Oliveira.
Henry Cejudo responds after Dominick Cruz suggests the UFC is "just kind of laughing at him" over comeback talk
Christopher Taylor - February 24, 2021
Henry Cejudo was clearly not happy about former opponent Dominick Cruz suggesting the UFC is “just kind of laughing at him” over his comeback talk. Cejudo, the UFC’s former flyweight and bantamweight champion, announced his retirement from mixed martial arts immediately following his TKO victory over Cruz at UFC 249.
Dominick Cruz still believes Keith Peterson "100 percent" stopped Cejudo fight too early, will request to not have him ref his fights
Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021
Dominick Cruz is still unhappy with Keith Peterson. At UFC 249, Cruz made his return to the Octagon to battle Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight title. It was his first fight since December of 2016 when he lost to Cody Garbrandt. Although he was coming off a long layoff, Cruz has done that before but this time around, the fight didn’t go his way as he suffered a second-round TKO loss.
Max Holloway believes Calvin Kattar win was the "best performance" of his career
Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021
Max Holloway believes his Fight Island win over Calvin Kattar was the best of his career. In the main event of the card, Holloway was looking to snap his two-fight losing streak against the rising Kattar. Many pundits thought it would be a close fight but that was far from the case. The Hawaiian was the far superior striker and just picked apart Kattar for five rounds and came close to finishing the fight several times.
Dominick Cruz fine with fighting on UFC 259 prelims: "I’m not really attached to my ego"
Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021
Dominick Cruz has no problem fighting on the UFC 259 prelims. Cruz is set to return to the Octagon on March 6 against Casey Kenney in a crucial fight for his career. Although Cruz is the former bantamweight champion and used to being on pay-per-views or headlining shows that will not be the case in this fight. Instead, he will be the prelim headliner, which is a spot Cruz actually liked.
Alexander Hernandez expects to pick Thiago Moises apart and "dismantle" him
Cole Shelton - February 24, 2021
Alexander Hernandez is extremely confident he will extend his winning streak to two on Saturday night. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 20, Hernandez is set to return to the Octagon against Thiago Moises. It’s an intriguing matchup but it did come as a surprise that “The Great” didn’t get a ranked opponent. However, Hernandez says he didn’t want a ranked foe.
UFC Vegas 20: Rozenstruik vs. Gane full betting odds
Adam Martin - February 24, 2021
Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 20 card featuring Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane in the main event. The headliner sees two of the UFC’s top-10 heavyweights go at it for five rounds or less as Rozenstruik takes on Gane. Rozenstruik is 5-1 overall in the UFC and he is coming off of a big KO win over Junior dos Santos in his last outing. Gane, meanwhile, is also coming off of a TKO win over dos Santos and overall he has a 4-0 record in the UFC. Both men are dangerous with their striking but what really sets Gane apart in this matchup is his grappling. He has the rare ability for a heavyweight to take the fight to the ground and lock up a variety of submissions there. But, of course, he will have to watch the power of Rozenstruik in the meantime.
Joe Rogan reacts to Derrick Lewis knocking out Curtis Blaydes
Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021
UFC commentator Joe Rogan was not on duty for last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 19 card, but he was seemingly tuned in for the event. UFC Vegas 19 was headlined by a heavyweight showdown between two top-5 contenders, as Curtis Blaydes took on Derrick Lewis. While Lewis entered the cage as a significant underdog, he ended up winning the fight via brutal one-punch knockout, cementing himself as one of the division’s top contenders.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade betting odds revealed for UFC 261 title fight
Adam Martin - February 24, 2021
The betting odds have been released for the upcoming UFC 261 women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade. This long-rumored battle between elite women’s flyweight fighters will finally take place on April 24 at UFC 261, though the location and venue are yet-to-be-determined. What we do know is that Shevchenko and Andrade, the champion and the No. 1 contender in the UFC women’s flyweight division, will square off with UFC gold on the line. With the fight booked, the sportsbooks have released the betting odds for this matchup (h/t BetOnline).
James Krause says UFC declined his offer to fight Joaquin Buckley twice: "It's dead in the water"
Adam Martin - February 24, 2021
James Krause says the UFC matchmakers twice declined his offer to fight Joaquin Buckley, and he thinks the matchup’s “dead in the water” now. Krause and Buckley have had tension for quite a while now due to previous issues at gyms in the Kansas City area, and both men have expressed interest in potentially fighting each other for several months. Calls for the fight became especially loud after Buckley knocked out Impa Kasanganay last fall with an insane head kick. However, the UFC did not book the fight between Buckley and Krause, instead choosing to match up Buckley with other opponents such as Jordan Wright and Alessio Di Chirico in an effort to build him into a contender at middleweight. Those efforts shot up into flames when Buckley himself was the victim of a brutal KO by di Chirico.