UFC News

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2018

Conor McGregor is far and away the biggest star in mixed martial arts history. He’s earned bigger paydays than any of his peers, and headlined many of the biggest pay-per-views the UFC has promoted. Not everybody, however, is a fan of the Irishman. While his skill and showmanship are undeniable, his bravado and trash talk rub many members of the MMA community the wrong way.

Mike Straus - November 15, 2018

This Saturday night, the Octagon touches down in Buenos Aires, Argentina for UFC Fight Night 140. The fans in attendance for this UFC Argentina card are in for a solid night of fights. UFC Argentina is a Fight Pass card, meaning you’ll have to subscribe to the service in order to watch it. Hopefully, that doesn’t discourage anyone from tuning in this Saturday night.

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2018

Red hot UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley was expected to make his anticipated return to the cage opposite José Alberto Quiñónez at UFC 229 on October 6. Regrettably, the popular bantamweight was forced off this card when he failed a pre-fight drug test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Although new USADA policy dictates that potential violations are to no longer be announced, O’Malley chose to be forthright with his fans and explained that it was a failed drug test that forced him off the card. He also maintained that he did not mean to ingest a banned substance, and that his failed test was likely due to a tainted supplement.

James Lynch - November 15, 2018

After a title shot was taken away from her, and her picking up a win at UFC 230, Sijara Eubanks has her sights set on another opponent. The Ultimate Fighter Season 26 finalist called out jiu-jitsu sensation Mackenzie Dern for a matchup. Found this old gem…Hey @MackenzieDern how bout we run it back with the 4oz gloves! Let’s see who the realest bjj black belt in mma is! @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite @Mickmaynard2 pic.twitter.com/jVVyBMp8PB

Tom Taylor - November 15, 2018

Last month, in the main event of the UFC’s blockbuster UFC 229 pay-per-view, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor with what looked like a neck crank or face choke. Because this choke wasn’t under the chin — which would have made it a rear-naked choke — many fans have accused McGregor of giving up prematurely. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan wants to put an end to that talk. “He did not tap prematurely,” Joe Rogan said on his podcast recently (transcript via Pundit Arena). “He did not defend it though. He was done, he was beaten down. Khabib f**ked him up.

Drake Riggs - November 14, 2018

UFC 233 takes place on January 26 and it is already looking like it will end up being a fantastic card to start off the new year. With one title fight already lined up, we could be getting a second at 170-pounds. It’s no secret that UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and interim champion Colby Covington do not like each other and are on a crash course to meet one another inside the Octagon at some point. It’s just a matter of when.

Drake Riggs - November 14, 2018

At UFC Denver this past Saturday, we got a clash between season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter contestants. One of which was the lightweight winner, Mike Trizano. Standing across from him was one of the season’s fighters with the most obvious potential, “Violent Bob Ross” Luis Pena.

Drake Riggs - November 14, 2018

2019 looks to be the biggest year yet for the UFC, and historically, for good reason. It will be the start of a new era as the ESPN deal begins. Looking back on things, it’s easy to forget how big and different the transition from Spike TV to Fox felt, but it was, in fact, a hell of difference comparatively. It will interesting to see how different things are with this upcoming transition as the UFC goes from their $120 million per year deal with Fox, to their five year $1.5 billion deal with ESPN.

Drake Riggs - November 14, 2018

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKUWXFHHIK/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=13x9w8k1c6l85 “Alright, the next award winner…is one of the best pound-4-pound fighters in the world. But, there was talk earlier about what it means to be a gentleman. And he is the absolute definition of the word.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has handed UFC veteran Cody McKenzie a hefty, four-year suspension for refusing to take a drug test, and then submitting fraudulent urine in said test. McKenzie did not appear at the commission’s hearing, which likely didn’t help his case.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018

Just over a month removed from his massive submission defeat of former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor, undefeated UFC lightweight kingpin Khabib Nurmagomedov headed to Nigeria. The purpose of his visit, per a post on the UFC’s official Instagram post, is to “help build medical facilities and fix water wells around the area.” Speaking on his own Instagram page, the lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gave a bit more information on this visit to Nigeria. He says the trip is the realization of a ‘childhood dream,’ and that there are more projects in the country underway.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018

Conor McGregor has shared glasses of his new Proper No. Twelve with a number of celebrities over the last few weeks, but he won’t be offering any to his recent opponents Floyd Mayweather or Khabib Nurmagomedov. During a recent interview with Entrepreneur.com, the Irish star was asked which of these two former opponents he’d prefer to share a glass of whiskey with, and his answer was a decisive ‘neither.’

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018

Israel Adesanya looks more and more like a future UFC middleweight title challenger with every passing fight. In fact, after his UFC 230 execution of long-time contender Derek Brunson, his fighting for the title in the near future looks less like a likelihood and more like a downright certainty. The UFC middleweight title is currently held by Australia’s Robert Whittaker. Provided Whittaker defeats his next challenger Kelvin Gastelum, who he’ll meet at UFC 234 in late January, he could easily find himself locked in the cage with the Nigerian Kiwi Israel Adesanya soon thereafter.

James Lynch - November 14, 2018

Less than a year after he was released from the UFC, Louis Smolka is back with the Las Vegas based promotion on a short-notice opportunity. The Hawaiian returns to action on Nov. 24 against newcomer Sumudaerji Sumudaerji at UFC Fight Night 141 in Beijing, China. MMAJunkie confirmed the matchup on Tuesday.

Cole Shelton - November 14, 2018

Justin Frazier is ready to prove all the doubters wrong. On The Ultimate Fighter 28 (TUF), Justin Frazier left tryouts not knowing if he would be on the show. Ultimately, the UFC saw enough potential in him and decided to put him on the show. However, before competing on TUF, Frazier didn’t take his fighting career seriously. The heavyweight was overweight, and his cardio was not very good. Then, to top it off, Frazier was the last heavyweight taken when coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum picked their teams.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018

If you ask UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is probably the best heavyweight in MMA history. Rogan got talking about Velasquez, and what makes him so special, after a discussion about the ideal weight for a heavyweight mixed martial artist on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. “There’s a thought with the 265-pound weight class and the consensus thought seems to be that somewhere around 240 pounds is the magic number,” Joe Rogan said of Cain Velasquez (transcript via MMA Fighting). “That’s what they think. They think that 240 pounds is the amount of weight that you have where you’re strong enough that you can knock out any man but you have more endurance than a man that maybe weighs 265 or heavier and cuts down to 265. Now this has not been substantiated. The problem is, there hasn’t been a super powerful world championship athlete that weighed 265 pounds…

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Conor McGregor? Maybe…it seems like the American is definitely interested in sharing the Octagon with the former UFC two-division champion. Following Cerrone’s win over Mike Perry at UFC Denver this past Saturday, Cerrone reiterated that he would be going back down to his old home of 155-pounds. Along with that, he told reporters that he and the UFC already have an opponent in mind. Cowboy described that opponent as a ‘very exciting’ fighter and McGregor is exactly that.

Drake Riggs - November 13, 2018

Since UFC 227, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on atop the UFC’s stacked bantamweight division. But that looks to be changing very soon. With the recent announcements of Dominick Cruz’ return at UFC 233 vs John Lineker along with champion TJ Dillashaw going down to challenge for Henry Cejudo’s flyweight title, the division remains feeling held up.