UFC News

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

There are always plenty of of exciting matchups to be made in the stacked UFC lightweight division. Of all the matchups available in this weight class, however, its arguable that none can rival a potential showdown between streaking contender Tony Ferguson and former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje in terms of pure excitement. Neither man is ever in a boring fight, and it’s hard to imagine their potential pairing resulting in anything other than Fight of the Year.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg recently stated that she plans to test her value as a free agent once her current UFC contract expires. That contract will conclude after her featherweight showdown with Felicia Spencer a UFC 240 in Edmonton in July. If Cyborg does indeed become a free agent, it sounds like she can expect a meeting with Bellator boss Scott Coker. “Listen, if you are a free agent, give us a call. This is a Viacom-backed company and we will take care of the fighters that move the needle for us,” Coker explained during a recent media scrum (transcript via MMA Mania). “So, if she is free one day, please give us a call.”

Cole Shelton - June 12, 2019

27 have tried, and 27 have failed, but Dustin Poirier believes he is different. In the main event of UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov will look to defend his lightweight title against current interim title holder Dustin Poirier. Although no one has beaten “The Eagle”, Poirier knows exactly what he has to do to win the fight. And, it is simply being himself.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will reportedly have a school built in his honor in his native Dagestan. This school will be built using 600 million rubles (9.3M USD) allocated by Russian President Vladimir Putin (h/t Bloody Elbow). This news was announced by Khabib’s father Abdulmanap during an interview with the Teacher’s Newspaper. Abdulmanap claims this project came about after the UFC champion asked Putin to invest in education inside Dagestan during a recent phone call.

Adam Martin - June 12, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov has been a dominant force at lightweight and many want him to move up to welterweight at some point, but the UFC lightweight champion has shot down any idea of him moving up a weight class anytime soon. Speaking at the UFC 242 press conference on Wednesday in London, Nurmagomedov told the media that he has no interest in moving up to 170lbs to fight that division’s champion Kamaru Usman.

Mike Pendleton - June 12, 2019

After suffering the first knockout loss of his career, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will miss out on an opportunity to fight at UFC Greenville, a location he’s always wanted the UFC to visit, but now he’s got new goals set for his comeback. Speaking to media in Chicago during last weekend’s UFC 238 festivities, Thompson spoke about how he’d like to return in the fall of this year at Madison Square Garden and why he’d love to fight a “legend” in Nate Diaz.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

From the moment Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event in October, there has been talk of an immediate rematch between the two lightweight stars. The fight wasn’t particularly competitive, but it was a massive financial success, and a rematch would surely be the same. And of course, McGregor’s fight-altering power — and the ever present possibility of a knockout that it creates — will always make his fights interesting.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is already one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. To cement himself as the pound-for-pound best fighter alive, however, he believes he needs to defeat three specific opponents. Those opponents are Dustin Poirier, who he’ll meet at UFC 242 on September 7 in Abu Dhabi, his long-time rival Tony Ferguson, and former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

Mike Pendleton - June 11, 2019

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas hopes to get a rematch with current champion Jessica Andrade, but she’s first looking to take some time off to recover from a neck injury. Following the news that Andrade will face Weili Zhang at UFC China in late August, Namajunas’ manager Brian Butler released a statement to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. Reached out to Rose Namajunas’ (@rosenamajunas) manager Brian Butler (@BrianButler_Au) for their reaction to the Andrade/Zhang title fight. Here’s what Brian told me. pic.twitter.com/cNFjNInAgd

Thomas Taylor - June 11, 2019

Over the weekend, in the middle bout of the UFC 238 main card, Donald Cerrone stepped into the Octagon with streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson. This bout was widely expected to capture the card’s Fight of the Night honors, and in the end it did just that. Unfortunately, it did end with a degree of controversy, as Cerrone was deemed unfit to continue fighting between the second and third rounds.

Jordy McElroy - June 11, 2019

Flyweight champion Henry Cejudo stood tall at UFC 238, relentlessly raining down punches and elbows on top of bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes—every concussive blow serving as a mortal wound to the 125 pound division. Help came for Moraes in the form of referee Marc Goddard at 4:51 of the third round, but none is coming for the flyweight division, which is now bereft of life and lying stone cold on the blood-spattered canvas. Demetrious Johnson has already moved on. The UFC already moved on. After winning his third major sports title, Cejudo finally moved on.

Mike Pendleton - June 11, 2019

After winning the UFC women’s strawweight title in her home country of Brazil, new champion Jessica Andrade is reportedly heading into enemy territory for her first title defense. According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, while contracts haven’t been signed, a strawweight title fight between Andrade and Weili Zhang is close to being finalized for UFC China which will take place on August 31, in Shenzhen, China and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.