UFC News

Adam Martin - December 24, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones would be “dangerous” as a heavyweight boxer, says Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields. Jones is set to move up to the UFC heavyweight division in 2021, and Shields believes he could eventually make the transition to heavyweight boxing. Speaking to Heavy.com, Shields said that, from what she’s seen with training with Jones at Team Jackson – Wink, Jones has what it takes to succeed in boxing, noting she doesn’t see WWE in his future.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier recently reflected on one of the wildest moments of his career as a commentator for the promotion. Cormier has been working as a commentator for the UFC for several years. During his time at the commentary desk, he’s witnessed dozens of amazing moments. One of the craziest, according to the man himself, occured at UFC 248 in March, when Beneil Dariush turned the lights off on Drakkar Klose with blistering second-round punch.

Adam Martin - December 24, 2020

UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes opened up as a 10-to-1 betting favorite for her upcoming UFC 259 bout against Megan Anderson. Nunes and Anderson were previously scheduled to compete at UFC 256 earlier this month, but the fight was called off after Nunes withdrew due to an injury. The UFC matchmakers were, fortunately, able to re-book the fight in short order. Nunes vs. Anderson will now take place just three months later at UFC 259, which is set for March 9. The main event for that event has not been confirmed yet but all signs are pointing to the headliner being the rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy was not impressed by UFC President Dana White’s recent anti-media video. 2020 has been a very successful year for White and the UFC, contrary to the strains and challenges presented by the pandemic. That being said, White’s decision to continue operating throughout this global health crisis has generated plenty of controversy, much of which was covered by the media.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has issued a statement after a heated confrontation with a resident of Huntington Beach. Ortiz was recently elected to Huntington Beach city council, and his now serving as Mayor Pro-Tem in the city.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2020

Top UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington seems to be open to coaching a season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite his friend turned nemesis, Jorge Masvidal. Covington and Masvidal used to be good friends and training partners at American Top Team in Florida, but over the years, their friendship has curdled. Today, they’re arguably the most heated rivals in all of MMA.

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

Chase Hooper pulled off his second career UFC victory at UFC 256. However, it wasn’t the easiest victory he’s picked up in his young career. Kicking off the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2020, the 21-year old featherweight prospect took on Peter Barrett. After dropping the first two rounds on the judges’ scorecards, Hooper headed into the third needing a finish and that’s what he got.

Drake Riggs - December 23, 2020

Since moving to ESPN from Fox, UFC events have primarily been watchable via the ESPN+ streaming service. That won’t be the case to start in 2021. According to MMA Junkie, the UFC’s January 16 Fight Night event will air on the ABC network instead of any ESPN channels or the ESPN+ streaming service. No reason for why this is happening was given. But speculation has already begun surrounding exactly what the reasons could be.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington says that former teammate Dustin Poirier is “gonna be crying” after he loses to Conor McGregor. Covington and Poirier were former teammates at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and there is no love lost between these two and they truly do not like each other. Both Covington and Poirier have had negative comments to say about one another over the last year, and with Covington no longer a member of ATT, the trolling hasn’t stopped. With Poirier set for one of the biggest fights of his career next month when he takes on McGregor in the main event of UFC 257, Covington continued to take shots at Poirier.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Christos Giagos thought he wouldn’t get a fight in 2020. Giagos lost a close decision to Drakkar Klose at UFC 241 and since then, he was looking to fight. He was expected to fight in April but due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Since then, he was bugging his manager for a fight, and out of blue, last Wednesday, he got a fight offer to fight on three days’ notice against Carlton Minus and took it.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz, now a city councilman in Huntington Beach, California, was recently involved in a heated confrontation with one of his constituents. It’s not entirely clear what led to this incident, but tempers flared quite quickly. While the Huntington Beach citizen in question was undoubtedly pushing Ortiz’s buttons, the former UFC champ also didn’t respond in the way you’d expect from an elected official.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

The UFC continued to purge fighters from its roster as veteran welterweight Erik Koch has become the latest fighter to exit the Octagon. According to MMAFighting.com’s Damon Martin, Koch is no longer a member of the UFC roster. It’s unclear at this time if this was a straight release or if Koch fought out his contract. Either way, Koch is no longer a member of the world’s leading MMA promotion, where he has competed since 2011. Dating back to his days fighting for the WEC in 2009, this marks the end of Koch’s 12-year run with Zuffa. He is now a free agent.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan sent a message to top-ranked contender Aljamain Sterling, telling his rival that he will see him soon. Yan and Sterling were supposed to fight at UFC 256 earlier this month but the bout fight apart and was rescheduled for early 2021. There is no confirmed date for the re-booking as of yet, but it could happen somewhere in between February and April based on the UFC’s upcoming schedule. With the fight still in the works, both Yan and Sterling continue to trade jabs with each other on social media. After seeing that Sterling had a successful wrestling match, Yan took to his Twitter to congratulate him and also send a message.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Megan Olivi, a long-time commentator and reporter for the UFC, says running for mayor in her home of Las Vegas is on her bucket list. Olivi revealed this ambition during an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. 

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Fresh off a KO win over Junior dos Santos, UFC heavyweight Ciryl Gane says that he is interested in a matchup against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Gane knocked out the former UFC heavyweight champion dos Santos at UFC 256 earlier this month. The KO was somewhat controversial as dos Santos thought the elbow that Gane landed hit him in the back of the head, but the win stands. Gane is now a bonafide top-10 UFC heavyweight after a frustrating 2020 where several fights fell apart for the Frenchman. Against dos Santos, he was finally able to get back into the Octagon and make his presence known as a serious contender by scoring a KO over a former champ.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has emphatically shut down rumors that he’s been released by the promotion. The rumors began on Wednesday morning, after Woodley allegedly posted on Snapchat about being released from the UFC.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren says to “bet the house” after opening up as the betting underdog to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Askren confirmed on Tuesday to BJPenn.com that he has accepted a boxing match with Paul that is scheduled to take place on March 28 in Los Angeles. Askren later took to his social media to release a video explaining why he accepted Paul’s callout, admitting he took the fight because he views it as easy money. Even though he’s a wrestler by trade and not a striker, Askren believes that he has the upper hand because he is a professional athlete who has competed at the highest levels of combat sports for nearly 20 years.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Coach Duke Roufus says former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is currently attempting to rekindle his motivation to compete. Woodley is widely considered one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, but he’s recently fallen on tough times. After defending the welterweight title against Darren Till in late 2018, he then lost the title to Kamaru Usman in 2019, before losing back-to-back decisions to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington this year.