UFC News

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020

Coach Javier Mendez believes that if his star pupil, UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, retires, Dustin Poirier should fight for the vacant belt. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement after a submission victory over Justin Gaethje in October. That being said, he still hasn’t vacated the lightweight title, due primarily to the fact that UFC President Dana White hopes he’ll fight again.

Adam Martin - December 30, 2020

UFC women’s flyweight contender Joanne Calderwood says she is excited to punch rival Jessica Eye in the face and make her bleed at UFC 257. Calderwood meets Eye at UFC 257, which is set for January 23 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Calderwood is the No. 7 ranked women’s flyweight while Eye is ranked No. 6, so this is an important matchup between top-10 ranked 125lbers. But for Scotland’s Calderwood, it’s more than just a fight. For her, this matchup with Eye is personal.

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020

Daniel Cormier believes former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones deserves an immediate crack at the UFC light heavyweight title. Jones ruled over the UFC light heavyweight division for many years—battling Cormier twice in that span—but recently vacated his throne with plans to move up to heavyweight.

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson recently took a little trip down memory lane, reflecting on a meeting with his long-time rival Conor McGregor. Ferguson and McGregor have stood out as two of the UFC’s top lightweights for many years. Somewhat miraculously, however, the pair have never shared the cage.

Drake Riggs - December 29, 2020

Early into 2020, Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on an instant classic in what many are touting as the fight of the year. The co-main event of March’s UFC 248 pay-per-view saw the new strawweight champion from China defending opposite Poland’s former queen. For a full 25 minutes, they went to war.

Cole Shelton - December 29, 2020

Dillon Danis expects Conor McGregor to beat Dustin Poirier pretty quickly at UFC 257. On January 23, McGregor and Poirier will have their rematch six-and-a-half years in the making. The two first fought in September of 2014 with the Irishman winning by first-round knockout. For Danis, he believes the result at UFC 257 will be very similar as he expects his teammate to KO “The Diamond” inside two rounds.

Cole Shelton - December 29, 2020

Tyson Chartier believes Calvin Kattar will be fighting for a UFC title sometime in the middle of 2021. Entering 2020, Chartier and Kattar set out a goal of going 3-0 after a disappointing loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov in November. The hope was the New England Cartel member would get the hype behind his name back and everyone would forget about the loss. So far, that is exactly what has happened.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

The bookmakers at BetOnline.ag are expecting fighters like Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya, and Petr Yan to conclude 2021 as UFC champions. This week, the sportsbook released betting lines for the champions of a number of UFC weight classes by the end of 2021.

Adam Martin - December 29, 2020

UFC middleweight contenders Kevin Holland and Derek Brunson will meet in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night card that is set for March 2021. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report that Holland vs. Brunson will headline a UFC Fight Night event that takes place on March 20 at a location that has yet to be determined. The report says that both Holland and Brunson have verbally agreed to the bout with the only thing left being for both men to put fresh ink on the contract.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has made his intentions very clear: he wants to compete on UFC Fight Island on January 20. Edwards was previously expected to fight rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of a Fight Night card scheduled for January 20 on the island. Regrettably, Chimaev has been forced out of the fight for undisclosed reasons, leaving Edwards without a dance partner for the card.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

Kevin Holland and Vicente Luque have both offered to step in against Leon Edwards on January 20. Edwards, the UFC’s No. 3-ranked welterweight, was originally expected to battle Khamzat Chimaev in the January 20 card’s main event. Unfortunately, Chimaev has been forced out of that fight for undisclosed reasons, casting Edwards’ immediate future in uncertainty.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

Gilbert Burns says it’s a “blessing” he didn’t end up fighting Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight championship in July. Burns was originally slated to challenge Usman, the UFC welterweight champion, for the division’s strap in the main event of UFC 251 in July. Regrettably, he ended up coming down with COVID-19, and was forced out of the fight as a result.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

Former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has reacted to receiving Fight of the Year honors at the 2020 World MMA Awards. Jedrzejczyk received this honor for her part in a fight with UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang. The pair met in the co-main event of UFC 248 in March, with Zhang’s title on the line. While Jedrzejczyk ultimately came up short in the matchup, there were no real losers in the fight, as the two women left everything they had in the Octagon.

Harry Kettle - December 29, 2020

Rising UFC star Jordan Leavitt has explained why he was embarrassed to be a professional fighter prior to his UFC Vegas 16 victory. Leavitt, who pulled off an impressive submission win over Luke Flores on Dana White’s Contender Series earlier this year, sent a real message to the rest of his division after knocking Matt Wiman out with a devastating slam just 20 seconds into their clash at the start of December.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2020

An anticipated welterweight matchup between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev is off again, according to reports out of Sweden and Russia. Edward and Chimaev were originally expected to meet in the main event of a Fight Night card in Las Vegas on December 19. Unfortunately, that plan was derailed when Edwards came down with COVID-19.

Harry Kettle - December 29, 2020

Earlier this year, Disney’s Bob Iger claimed that Conor McGregor helped drive ESPN+ subscriptions rise from 6.6 million to 7.6 million. While there is so confirmation as to whether or not these numbers came directly from his win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at the start of the year, there’s no way of denying the overwhelming impact that can be felt throughout the sport of mixed martial arts whenever McGregor is in town.

Adam Martin - December 28, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang reacted after her classic with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 was named 2020 Fight of the Year. It’s amazing that Zhang and Jedrzejczyk actually took place during this year considering how 2020 ended up turning out. Remember, UFC 248 in March was the last event to feature fans before the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. But it’s true that this fight took place this year, and it was an absolute war between two of the best women’s MMA fighters of all time. It absolutely deserved to win Fight of the Year not only at the World MMA Awards but from essentially every MMA media outlet.

Cole Shelton - December 28, 2020

Rob Font is now a top-five bantamweight. Entering UFC Vegas 17, Font had heard all the talk that he couldn’t win the big one. When the New England Cartel member got steps up in competition he faltered as evidence to the Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz losses. However, as he was getting ready to fight Marlon Moraes, his confidence and mental state were much different which was the key to getting his hand raised.