UFC News
Former Houston Rockets prospect Royce White eyes MMA debut
Adam Martin - April 14, 2020
Former Houston Rockets prospect and Sacramento Kings power forward Royce White is preparing to make his debut in mixed martial arts. White was drafted 16th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2012 NBA draft. He never ended up playing for the Rockets and was later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he was waived. He ended up signing with the Sacramento Kings and played three times for them in the 2013-14 NBA season, but that was the last time we saw him in the NBA.
Cody Garbrandt bashes Cejudo vs. Cruz fight, champ issues savage response
Tom Taylor - April 14, 2020
Cody Garbrandt is not a fan of the bantamweight title fight between champ Henry Cejudo and challenger Dominick Cruz that was briefly on the table for the postponed UFC 250 card. Garbrandt, who is a former UFC bantamweight champ, shared his gripes with the matchup on Twitter on Monday.
Tony Ferguson to Justin Gaethje: "You gonna make weight Friday?"
Tom Taylor - April 14, 2020
Despite the cancelation of UFC 249, Tony Ferguson intends to make weight for his would-be interim lightweight title fight with Justin Gaethje this Friday. Now, he wants to know if Gaethje plans on doing the same.
Rich Franklin admits that moving on from fighting is a “difficult adjustment”
Harry Kettle - April 14, 2020
Former UFC star Rich Franklin has admitted that the process of moving on from being a professional fighter is a “difficult adjustment”. Franklin was once considered to be one of the best middleweights in the world, and heading into his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 77, many believed he was the favorite to once again win the Middleweight Championship.
Kelvin Gastelum reflects on loss to Israel Adesanya: “It burns in my heart to know I was that close”
Harry Kettle - April 14, 2020
UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum has spoken about his historic defeat at the hands of Israel Adesanya back at UFC 236. It’s not an exaggeration to claim that Gastelum’s war with Adesanya for the Interim UFC Middleweight Championship was easily the Fight of the Year for 2019, which is saying something given the volume of world class fights we saw throughout those twelve months.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach has a message for critics following UFC 249 backlash
Natasha Hooper - April 14, 2020
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s coach Javier Mendez has come to the defence of his fighter amidst criticism regarding his UFC 249 withdrawal. The undefeated lightweight champion was expected to face Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18. The UFC stars were scheduled to fight four times in the past, but the matchup was foiled for medical reasons each time. Their fifth matchup was no different as “The Eagle” pulled out a few weeks before their scheduled fight.
The Rock sends message of support to UFC fighters during pandemic
Tom Taylor - April 14, 2020
Pro wrestling legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is a big UFC fan, recently sent a message of support to UFC fighters who have been deprived of the opportunity to fight due to the coronavirus pandemic. Until as recently as last Thursday, it looked as though the UFC might continue operating during the pandemic, but company president Dana White ultimately had to pull the plug on the all upcoming events.
Florida’s new essential services guidelines allow for the UFC to hold events
Natasha Hooper - April 14, 2020
Florida has outlined new guidelines that could allow the UFC to hold events during the coronavirus pandemic. In an April 9 memo published by the office of Governor Ron DeSantis, the definition of “essential services” has been expanded to include professional sports. The definition now includes “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience — including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production — only if the location is closed to the general public.”
Henry Cejudo wants Frankie Edgar next because "brittle" Dominick Cruz won't make it to the fight
Cole Shelton - April 13, 2020
Henry Cejudo is looking for his first bantamweight title defense to be against a legend. Cejudo hasn’t fought since he beat Marlon Moraes by TKO to win the vacant bantamweight title. He was scheduled to face Jose Aldo at UFC 250, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the fight was scrapped. He was then slated to fight Dominick Cruz on the fight card, but the status of UFC 250 is unknown at this time.
Dominick Reyes declares himself the "uncrowned king" of the light heavyweight division
Cole Shelton - April 13, 2020
Dominick Reyes believes he’s the uncrowned king of the light heavyweight division. Reyes is coming off a controversial decision loss to Jon Jones at UFC 247 where he’s confident he won that fight. Although the judges never game him the nod, fans and fighters praised the challenger for his performance.
Coach: Carlos Condit will fight in 2020, wants "money fights"
Cole Shelton - April 13, 2020
Carlos Condit has not fought since UFC 232 in December of 2018, but expect that to change this year. Condit, who is currently on a five-fight losing skid, where he has lost to the likes of Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia, and Neil Magny, was expected to return against Mickey Gall in December. Yet, a detached retina forced him to pull out of the contest, which has yet to be re-booked.
Al Iaquinta praises Jorge Masvidal as "One of the toughest fights I've had"
Natasha Hooper - April 13, 2020
Top-ranked lightweight contender, Al Iaquinta has praised the “BMF” winner Jorge Masvidal as “one of the toughest fights” he’s ever had. Before “Raging Al” made a name for himself against the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kevin Lee, the New York native was delivering show-stopper performances against the likes of Diego Sanchez and Jorge Masvidal.
Daniel Cormier jokes that Ben Askren nearly became UFC champ "without learning how to fight"
Tom Taylor - April 13, 2020
Daniel Cormier recently had a bit of fun at Ben Askren’s expense, praising the former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ for nearly making it to the UFC welterweight throne “without learning how to fight.” While Askren is easily one of the best wrestlers that we’ve seen in MMA, his striking never caught up with his skills on the mat.
Who has the best chance to end Henry Cejudo's reign?
Cole Shelton - April 13, 2020
Henry Cejudo has considered himself the greatest combat sports athlete of all-time. He’s the current bantamweight champion but has yet to defend the belt, although he was expected to battle Jose Aldo at UFC 250. When the UFC returns to normal Cejudo will have a tough road ahead to defend his strap. The bantamweight division has the likes of Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan, and Cory Sandhagen among others. So, who has the best chance to end “Triple C’s” reign as champ?
John McCarthy shares thoughts on UFC 249 cancelation: "It wasn’t Dana that shut it down"
Tom Taylor - April 13, 2020
Veteran MMA referee John McCarthy believes the top dogs at Disney and ESPN asked UFC President Dana White to cancel UFC 249 because they were concerned about the optics of going ahead with the event during a public health crisis. McCarthy weighed in on the cancelation of the card, which was most recently expected to go down at the Tachi Palace Casino on tribal land in California on April 18, on his Weighing In podcast.
Al Iaquinta predicts Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson outcome
Natasha Hooper - April 13, 2020
Al Iaquinta believes Khabib Nurmagomedov will probably beat Tony Ferguson — if they ever end up fighting. In the main event of UFC 249, the undisputed lightweight champ Nurmagomedov was set to defend his title for the third time against Ferguson. Unfortunately, the event was ultimately canceled, marking the fifth time a bout between the pair had fallen through.
Jon Jones reacts to being inducted into UFC Hall of Fame for Gustafsson fight
Tom Taylor - April 13, 2020
Earlier this year, the UFC announced that a 2013 war between UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and challenger Alexander Gustafsson will be inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame. “Going into the first Jones vs. Gustafsson fight, fans and media didn’t care about the fight, because they didn’t believe Gustafsson deserved a title shot, and this thing ended up being the greatest light heavyweight title fight in UFC history,” UFC President Dana White said in the promotion’s official announcement. “To be there and watch it live was amazing. It was an incredible fight and both athletes gave everything they had for all five rounds. This fight was such a classic it was named the 2013 Fight of the Year and will always be considered one of the greatest fights in combat sports history. This fight showed what a true champion Jon Jones was, as this was the first time he was taken into deep waters and truly tested. This fight also put Gustafsson on the map and showed his true potential. Congratulations to Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson on being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame ‘Fight Wing’ for such an epic fight.”
Henry Cejudo reacts to UFC 250 postponement
Tom Taylor - April 13, 2020
Last week, UFC President Dana White announced that UFC 249 — along with all other upcoming UFC cards — are indefinitely postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That includes the UFC 250 card, which was expected to be headlined by the latest appearance from UFC bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo. UFC 250 was originally expected to go down in Brazil on May 9 and be headlined by a title fight between Cejudo and former featherweight champ Jose Aldo. Amid growing travel restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, the card was briefly relocated to US soil, at which point Cejudo was instead matched up with former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz.