UFC News

Adam Martin - April 16, 2020

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman says he’s ready to fight Jorge Masvidal on the May 9 UFC card if the promotion needs him to fight on it. The UFC revealed its plans this week for the new UFC 249/UFC 250 card that will take place on May 9 at a location TBD. The card already has three title fights set for it, with Tony Ferguson taking on Justin Gaethje in the main event for the UFC interim lightweight title, Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz for the UFC bantamweight title in the co-main event, and Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer for the UFC women’s featherweight title, to boot.

Adam Martin - April 16, 2020

UFC president Dana White says that Fight Island should be ready by the middle of May to hold UFC events featuring international fighters. White made headlines recently when he revealed he had acquired a private island in order to host future UFC events. Fans and media were taken aback by the news of White trying to hold events on a private island as the coronavirus pandemic eliminated the ability for the UFC to hold fights in the mainland United States. At first, it seemed like a bit of an inside joke, but it soon became clear that White was very serious about Fight Island.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is very impressed with the division’s current champ Israel Adesanya — both in and out of the cage. Bisping heaped praise on Adesanya on a recent episode of Submission Radio. Not even Adesanya’s recent win over Yoel Romero — an undeniable stinker — could sour the former champ’s opinion.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2020

UFC President Dana White is working on orchestrating a triumphant return for the promotion on May 9. He’s already stacked this revamped UFC 249 card with three title fights, and from the sounds of it, it could get even bigger “It could get better,” White told Yahoo! Sports of the May 9 event. “It really could. You look at that card and it’s stacked, but I have some fights I’m working on, if I get them done, this card is going to be absolutely crazy.”

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2020

UFC bantamweight star Sean O’Malley has said he’d love to compete on the proposed Fight Island, but that a July return is more likely. O’Malley made his return to the Octagon back at UFC 248, scoring an impressive TKO win over José Alberto Quiñónez in a little over two minutes. The win took him to 4-0 in the UFC, including his appearance on Dana White’s Contender Series, and marked his first fight with the promotion since UFC 222 in March 2018.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2020

At one point, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold were two of the most bitter rivals in MMA. From the sounds of it, the animosity between them has diminished. The pair went 1-1 across two bouts, with Rockhold winning the first by submission and Bisping winning the second — a short-notice title opportunity — by knockout. In the lead-up to and fallout of these bouts, the pair exchanged tons of trash talk and clearly got under each other’s skin.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2020

Darren Till and Mike Perry continue to prove why they need their own Netflix documentary after their latest Instagram back and forth. Perry and Till started off as rivals, and at one point were viewed as potential opponents for one another. Since then, however, they’ve developed something of a friendship that often has hilarious results. 

Natasha Hooper - April 16, 2020

Irish superstars Connor McGregor and Sinead O’Connor have engaged in a Twitter debate over the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Singer O’Connor accused McGregor of racism and xenophobia after he tweeted a message, encouraging Irish citizens to take up 1500 farming jobs. The former champion’s announcement was a response to an article published in the Irish Independent, that claimed the farming industry would be flying in thousands of foreign workers to complete the harvest. The original post by the newspaper has since been deleted, but “The Notorious” encouraged Irish natives to step up.

Cole Shelton - April 15, 2020

Ben Askren is retired from competing in mixed martial artists and wrestling but he still isn’t done trash-talking. Askren became massively popular in his UFC run for his ability to trash-talk his first two opponents in Robbie Lawler and Jorge Masvidal. Although “Funky” is retired, one of his wrestling rivals in Jordan Burroughs is still taking shots at the former Bellator and ONE champion.

Adam Martin - April 15, 2020

Alex Pereira, the man who knocked out UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in a kickboxing match, could soon be UFC bound. Pereira finished Adesanya in devastating fashion in April 2016 under the Glory of Heroes banner. Adesanya, of course, has gone on to accomplish great things in the UFC Octagon while Pereira has continued to ply his trade as a kickboxer in the years since. He does have three MMA fights under his belt and has racked up a 2-1 record, but he hasn’t fought in MMA since 2016. That could soon change.

Cole Shelton - April 15, 2020

Dana White says the scheduled May 9 event will be very expensive for the UFC. The promotion was forced to postpone UFC 249 and the subsequent events following due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, White recently revealed a stacked card for May 9, but he won’t reveal where the location is.

Mike Pendleton - April 15, 2020

After claiming the lightweight title at UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov did not immediately look to get a fight against top contenders in the division for his title defense, he had his sights set on former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. St-Pierre has been away from MMA since UFC 217 when he defeated Michael Bisping to become the middleweight champion, the second title he claimed in his legendary career. The former welterweight champion relinquished his middleweight title after defeating Bisping and has not competed since.