UFC News
Colby Covington claims Ali Abdelaziz threatened to track him down and murder him
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
Shortly after UFC 235, Colby Covington had a heated run-in with new UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and his manager Ali Abdelaziz. This run-in actually ended up getting violent, as Abdelaziz could be seen throwing a punch at Covington in video of the event (see it here). Apparently, however, that’s not where the craziness ended.
Dana White explains why 'Marreta' — not Brock Lesnar — should be next for Jon Jones
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
Jon Jones was simply too much for Anthony Smith. The light heavyweight champion soundly outfought his lionhearted challenger over five lopsided rounds at UFC 235 on Saturday night, and can now look forward to his next challenge in the Octagon. That being said, it’s not abundantly clear who is next opponent will be. While Thiago Santos — nicknamed “Marreta” — seems to be the frontrunner, the allure of heavyweight fights with Daniel Cormier and Brock Lesnar are difficult to ignore.
Jon Jones praises Anthony Smith for not taking DQ victory
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
Toward the end of his UFC 235 title fight with Anthony Smith, UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones clobbered his grounded foe with an illegal knee. The referee paused the action, the cage-side physician entered the cage to examine Smith, and Jon Jones had a “nerve-wracking” flashback to his infamous disqualification loss to Matt Hamill. ”It was nerve wracking. It was nerve wracking, really,” Jones said at the UFC 235 post-fight press conference (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I just started to pray. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t go down like that. I had flashbacks of the Matt Hamill fight and I was just thinking, oh my goodness, please, tell me this isn’t going down like this. I was just looking at Anthony and I felt like we locked eyes at one moment and I kind of gave him one of these, like, ‘you’re alright, get your a** up’ [laughs]. Sure enough, he showed the heart of a lion.
After altercation with Covington, Abdelaziz says Kamaru Usman will fight Ben Askren next
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
Shortly after Kamaru Usman defeated Tyron Woodley to capture the UFC welterweight belt at UFC 235, he and his manager Ali Abdelaziz got into a heated altercation with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington (see the video here). While UFC President Dana White has been adamant that the first shot at the new UFC welterweight champ Usman will go to Covington, Abdelaziz is now calling for a fight between Usman and Ben Askren, who defeated Robbie Lawler on the UFC 235 main card.
Mickey Gall offers explanation for lopsided UFC 235 loss to Diego Sanchez
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
On Saturday night, on the undercard of UFC 235, Mickey Gall returned to the Octagon to battle one of the most experienced fighters in UFC history, The Ultimate Fighter Season One winner Diego Sanchez. Despite being labelled as the betting favorite heading into this fight, Mickey Gall was soundly walloped by his exponentially more experienced foe, and ultimately wilted under a storm of second-round ground strikes. It was Sanchez’s first stoppage victory since 2008.
Greg Hardy to return at UFC on ESPN 3
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
Controversial former NFL player Greg Hardy will get another shot in the UFC, according to a report from ESPN. The former football player is targeted to return opposite Dmitrii Smoliakov at UFC on ESPN 3 in Sunrise, Florida.
UFC 235 commentator Jon Anik criticizes referee Marc Goddard, Goddard responds
Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019
On Saturday night, in the co-main event of UFC 235, Kamaru Usman authored a dominant decision victory over long-time UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley. During the fight referee Marc Goddard continually stood Usman and Woodley up, oftentimes when some onlookers felt it wasn’t necessary. UFC commentator Jon Anik, who was on duty for the card, shares that opinion. Yes! Wildly inconsistent. And Usman was working his ass off.
VIDEO | Diego Sanchez shows off bite mark from UFC 235 fight with Mickey Gall
Christopher Taylor - March 3, 2019
A welterweight bout between former UFC title challenger Diego Sanchez and Mickey Gall took place on the prelims of last night’s UFC 235 event. Gall and Sanchez were engaged in some heated exchanges in the lead up to their scrap, making the fight one of the most highly anticipated contests on the card.
Kamaru Usman and Tyron Woodley share classy exchange after UFC 235 fight
Thomas Taylor - March 3, 2019
Kamaru Usman and Tyron Woodley’s UFC 235 welterweight title fight has now come and gone, with Usman unseating the long-time champion Woodley with a beautifully executed unanimous decision victory. While the two welterweight talents exchanged quite a bit of trash talk before their fight, particularly at the first UFC 235 pre-fight press conference, it’s clear that there’s now plenty of respect between them.
Ben Askren and Darren Till trade trash talk, plot London meeting
Thomas Taylor - March 3, 2019
Fresh off a defeat of Robbie Lawler in UFC debut, Ben Askren is already looking ahead to his next fight. The former ONE and Bellator champ has got his crosshairs locked on the winner of the UFC London main event, which will pit Jorge Masvidal against Darren Till. In fact, he even plans to be in attendance for the fight to set up a showdown with the victor. From the looks of it, Ben Askren is expecting that victor to be Darren Till.
Tyron Woodley makes case for immediate rematch with Kamaru Usman
Tom Taylor - March 3, 2019
Tyron Woodley is no longer the UFC welterweight champion. The Roufusport representative’s reign came to a shocking end in the co-main event of UFC 235 on Saturday night, when he was walloped to a lopsided decision loss by streaking challenger Kamaru Usman. While this Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman fight was not particularly competitive, Woodley hopes that his previous accomplishments might earn him the opportunity. Many other former champions — Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Cody Garbrandt being recent examples — have been granted this kind of opportunity, and Woodley feels he deserves the same chance.
EXCLUSIVE | Javier Mendez wants Daniel Cormier to fight Brock Lesnar then retire
Cole Shelton - March 3, 2019
Daniel Cormier was supposed to partake in the final fight of his career before his 40th birthday this March. Well, that is no longer going to happen. Both Cormier and his head coach Javier Mendez have said his retirement will be delayed. Now, the question is, how many fights does Cormier have left, and who will his next opponent be? He definitely has options, whether it’s a fight with Brock Lesnar, a rematch against Stipe Miocic, or a trilogy fight with Jon Jones. But if Mendez has any say in the matter, it probably won’t be a Miocic rematch.
Dillon Danis trolls UFC 235 winners Ben Askren, Kamaru Usman
Tom Taylor - March 3, 2019
UFC 235, which went down on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, was a huge night for the welterweight division. First, we saw former ONE and Bellator champ Ben Askren make a successful — if controversial — UFC debut by submitting former UFC champ Robbie Lawler. Then, we saw Kamaru Usman shock the world by dominating long-time UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to a lopsided unanimous decision triumph. While Ben Askren and Kamaru Usman impressed many onlookers with their UFC 235 performances, notoriously outspoken Bellator star Dillon Danis didn’t seem to like what he saw. In fact, he believes he’d defeat both fighters based on their performances in Vegas.
Tyron Woodley issues statement following UFC 235 title loss to Kamaru Usman
Chris Taylor - March 3, 2019
Tyron Woodley put his welterweight title on the line against Kamaru Usman in the co-headliner of last night’s UFC 235 event in Las Vegas. Woodley entered last night’s matchup with Usman on a seven-fight undefeated streak, his latest being a submission win over Darren Till at UFC 228.
What's next for the stars of UFC 235?
Cole Shelton - March 3, 2019
UFC 235 went down last night in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card featured two title fights, as Jon Jones sought to defend his light heavyweight title against Anthony Smith and Tyron Woodley put his welterweight title on the line against Kamaru Usman. Additionally, Ben Askren finally made his long-awaited UFC debut, taking on former UFC champ Robbie Lawler. In the end, Jones beat Smith by unanimous decision, while Usman dominated Woodley to hear ‘And New.’ Askren also locked up a controversial submission over Lawler to get his first UFC win.
UFC 235 | John McCarthy gives his take on Ben Askren vs. Robbie Lawler controversy
Tom Taylor - March 3, 2019
On Saturday night, on the main card of UFC 235, former ONE Championship and Bellator titleholder Ben Askren finally made his UFC debut, taking on the extremely dangerous Robbie Lawler. Although Askren very nearly found himself on the receiving end of a first-round TKO, he ultimately weathered this early storm from Lawler and submitted the former UFC champion with a bulldog choke later in the round.
Tyron Woodley updates on planned moved to middleweight after UFC 235 loss to Kamaru Usman
Tom Taylor - March 3, 2019
Tyron Woodley is no longer the UFC welterweight champion. After a truly impressive reign, the long-time champion was unseated in the co-main event of UFC 235 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, surrendering the title to ferocious challenger Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision loss. Ahead of this fight, Tyron Woodley repeatedly floated the idea of a future move to middleweight. His plan, he said, was defeat Usman and Colby Covington, and then head north in search of a second title.
UFC 235 | Robbie Lawler, Ben Askren shrug off rematch talk
Tom Taylor - March 3, 2019
Ben Askren was victorious in his UFC debut. Unfortunately, his win was shadowed in controversy. After being slammed on his head and pulverized by an early salvo of Lawler ground-and-pound, Askren was able to turn the tide, and drag his foe to the mat. Once on the canvas, he locked up a bulldog choke that seemed to turn the lights out on the former UFC welterweight champion.