UFC News

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2020

Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige were making a quick turnaround in hopes of becoming a top-five featherweight in the main event of UFC Fight Island. Kattar (21-4) was riding high after a very impressive knockout win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 249. He is currently 5-2 inside the Octagon with notable wins over Shane Burgos, Andre Fili, and Ricardo Lamas. His lone UFC losses came to Renato Moicano and Zabit Magomedsharipov, where many thought if the fight was five rounds, Kattar would’ve won.

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2020

A pivotal featherweight bout between Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige headlined a rare Wednesday night UFC event on Fight Island. Kattar (21-4) is looking to extend his winning streak to two following his very impressive knockout win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 249. He is currently 5-2 inside the Octagon with notable wins over Shane Burgos, Andre Fili, and Ricardo Lamas.

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2020

The Octagon is back on Yas Island for a rare Wednesday night show for UFC Fight Island 1, an 11-bout card headlined by Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige. Kattar (21-4) is looking to go 2-0 to start the year as he is coming off a very impressive knockout win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 249. He is 5-2 inside the Octagon with notable wins over Shane Burgos, Andre Fili, and Ricardo Lamas.

Jordy McElroy - July 15, 2020

Not even Fight Island can compare to the sort of isolated distance UFC champion Kamaru Usman is putting between himself and the rest of the welterweight division. He didn’t leave UFC 251 as the people’s champ, but through his lopsided win over Jorge Masvidal, the reigning welterweight king did manage to prove, unequivocally, that he’s the best the division has seen since Georges St-Pierre. There’s no denying the boo birds would have been in full force if the UFC allowed fans to attend its sundered tropical island event, which looked like a crossbreed of “Mortal Kombat” and David Fincher’s “Fight Club.” The Twitter birds have already been chirping unrelentingly with complaints.

Tom Taylor - July 15, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is retired, but he’s still interested in fighting Alexander Volkanovski for featherweight gold. Cejudo shocked the MMA community by announcing his retirement after he defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May. Since then, he’s made it clear that he would end his retirement for the right opportunity, such as a boxing match with Ryan Garcia, or a featherweight title fight with Volkanovski.

Adam Martin - July 15, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker wants to fight Tony Ferguson next even though he knows he’ll be taking a trip to the hospital afterward — win or lose. Hooker is coming off of a “Fight of the Year” candidate against Dustin Poirier at UFC on ESPN 12 in a an epic fight that proved he’s among the elite of the lightweight division. Although Hooker lost the decision, he proved he can hang five rounds with one of the best lightweights of all time in Poirier, and Hooker’s stock arguably went up despite the loss.

Tom Taylor - July 15, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes wants the division’s champion, Jon Jones, to be stripped of his title. Jones, who has not fought since he defeated Reyes via controversial decision in February, is currently embroiled in a contract dispute with the UFC, and has stated he’s willing to sit out for multiple years if it means improving fighter pay.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 15, 2020

Brendan Schaub is convinced that only Jorge Masvidal stands a chance against Kamaru Usman. On July 11, Masvidal challenged Usman for the UFC welterweight championship. The two competed on the UFC’s first event in its “Fight Island” trip. The title bout closed out UFC 251. Masvidal fought hard and showcased solid takedown defense but Usman stuck to him like glue and had relentless pressure, which helped him earn the unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - July 15, 2020

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has responded to a recent callout from “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. Volkanovski is riding the momentum of a successful defense against the former champion Max Holloway, which he earned with a closely contested decision at UFC 251.

Natasha Hooper - July 15, 2020

Heavyweight MMA legend Alistair Overeem is set to return to the Octagon on September 5 against Augusto Sakai. News of the bout, which is expected to serve as the card’s main event, was first reported by ESPN.

Natasha Hooper - July 15, 2020

New UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has been getting into it with resurgent contender Cody Garbrandt on social media. “No Love” was less than impressed with Yan’s UFC 251 performance against Jose Aldo which he won by TKO in the fifth round. Garbrandt was quick to call out the star but “No Mercy” was just as quick to fire back.

Harry Kettle - July 15, 2020

UFC lightweight Devonte Smith‘s sister has been shot and killed in Columbus, Ohio during an incident in the early hours of Saturday morning. Dariene Smith was leaving a nightclub with her friends when an unrelated dispute broke out, and when gunshots were fired, Smith was caught in the crossfire. She was taken to Ohio Health Rehabilitation Hospital, but as reported by 10WBNS, she was later pronounced dead.

Cole Shelton - July 14, 2020

Jorge Masvidal is focused on getting a rematch against Kamaru Usman. In the main event of UFC 251, Masvidal stepped up on six days’ notice to fight Usman for the welterweight title. It was the first time “Gamebred” would be fighting for UFC gold, but he ultimately came up short losing by decision.

Cole Shelton - July 14, 2020

Calvin Kattar expects to extend his winning streak and add another stoppage win to his record tomorrow night. In the main event of Wednesday’s July 15 Fight Island card, Kattar is set to battle rising contender, Dan Ige. It is a very interesting fight, but for many, they believe Kattar should’ve fought a higher-ranked opponent. For him, he says he will have to fight them at some point, so he might as well make it now.

Cole Shelton - July 14, 2020

Dan Ige is no stranger to being the betting underdog. Ige has been the underdog in his past three fights against Edson Barboza, Mirsad Bektic, and Kevin Aguilar and yet won all three contests. But, entering his July 15 main event against Calvin Kattar, it will be the toughest opponent he has faced and he’s excited Kattar took the fight given he is lower in the rankings.

Tom Taylor - July 14, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been update in the wake of Saturday’s UFC 251 card in Abu Dhabi, an as expected after such a huge card, there have been some key changes. Most notably, Jorge Masvidal, who came up short to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the UFC 251 main event, took a one-spot tumble down the welterweight rankings. He’s found a new home behind England’s Leon Edwards.

Adam Martin - July 14, 2020

UFC heavyweight Fabricio Werdum says he gave stitches to Alexander Gustafsson during a past sparring session between the two rivals. Werdum meets Gustafsson in an intriguing heavyweight bout at a UFC Fight Island event on July 25. Gustafsson will be moving up to heavyweight for the first time in his UFC career and will be looking to bounce back from a submission loss to Anthony Smith last June. As for Werdum, he recently returned to the Octagon with a split decision loss to Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 249 in what was a disappointing showing by the former UFC heavyweight champion.

Adam Martin - July 14, 2020

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade is staying on Fight Island in hopes of taking a short-notice fight in case someone falls off a card. Andrade lost a split decision to Rose Namajunas on the main card of UFC 251 in an entertaining bout that won her a share of “Fight of the Night” and a $50,000 bonus to boot. Although Andrade lost the decision on the judges’ scorecards, it was a very entertaining bout and it showed that she is still one of the top fighters in the division despite losing back-to-back fights to Namajunas and UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang.