UFC News

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2019

After Kamaru Usman beat Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 to become the new welterweight champion, the expectation was that he would soon defend the title against Colby Covington. But there has been little to no talk of the fight since Usman’s big win. Covington expressed interest in fighting during International Fight Week in July, or on the UFC’s August pay-per-view, but those cards are now booked. So, if this fight is going to happen it will be later this year. If the fight finally does happen, UFC welterweight contender and long-time Colby Covington training partner Jorge Masvidal believes “Chaos” will get his hand raised as he is a little better at everything than Usman.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

Tomorrow night, the UFC will return to our screens with the interesting looking UFC Greenville card. The card will be topped by a featherweight contender bout between undead star “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, and Brazilian finisher Renato Moicano. Both men will be looking to rebound from recent stoppage losses, as The Korean Zombie was snuffed by Yair Rodriguez in his last outing, and Moicano was taken out by the former champ Jose Aldo.

Natasha Hooper - June 21, 2019

The UFC has officially unveiled a new state-of-the-art training facility in Shanghai, China. On Thursday, the Las Vegas based promotion revealed their 93,000 square foot Performance Institute. The facility is expected to be a prime training destination for fighters in China as the UFC grows its presence in Asia. The building is furnished floor-to-ceiling with new training equipment and an abundance of cages to choose from. There are designated training areas to fulfil all fitness needs including weight training, cardio and swimming. The building features innovative recovery solutions such as Cryotherapy and designated sports science rooms. There are also physiotherapy rooms with trained staff on hand to assist. The vast facility is a point of pride for the promotion that has grown exponentially since its 1993 inception.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

Alex Volkanovski will be watching Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar’s upcoming featherweight title fight very closely, as he’s more than likely to fight the winner sometime later this year. Speaking on a recent episode of BJPenn.com Radio, Volkanovski divulged that he envisions Edgar giving the champion Holloway some problems in this fight. That being said, Volkanovski believes he’s an even more dangerous test for Holloway than Edgar is.

Christopher Taylor - June 20, 2019

Unfortunate news has struck UFC Greenville, as it is being reported that John Lineker has been forced out of his scheduled fight with Rob Font. Nolan King of MMAJunkie recently reported that Lineker has been forced off this Saturday’s fight card for an undisclosed reason.

Christopher Taylor - June 20, 2019

Former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen retired from the sport of mixed martial arts this past weekend following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222. The setback served as Sonnen’s second in a row, as he was previously defeated by MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in the semifinals of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix.

Christopher Taylor - June 20, 2019

Current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will return to the octagon at next month’s UFC 239 event against dangerous knockout artist Thiago Santos. ‘Bones’ was most recently seen in action in the headliner of UFC 235, where he defeated Anthony Smith via unanimous decision to retain his 205-pound strap.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2019

At UFC 238, the vacant bantamweight title was on the line as top contender Marlon Moraes was taking on flyweight champion Henry Cejudo. After a solid first round, the Brazilian started to fade and Cejudo TKO’d him in the third. After the fight, the Olympic gold medalist mentioned how he wanted to defend both titles. However, that won’t happen this year as Henry Cejudo is out until early 2020 due to shoulder surgery. With that, Petr Yan wants an interim title fight against Aljamain Sterling, who both won their respective bouts at UFC 238.

Adam Martin - June 20, 2019

When ONE Championship signed Sage Northcutt to a big free-agent contract, the thought was he could become one of the promotion’s stars. But after suffering a devastating knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre in his ONE debut, many have written off Northcutt as an overrated bust, fairly or unfairly. Even UFC president Dana White said Sage Northcutt would be better off leaving the sport of MMA and pursuing other interests. But if you ask ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong, the promotion is still very much behind the 23-year-old talent, and Northcutt’s boss believes “Super Sage” can still be a world champion.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

UFC flyweight star Paige VanZant will explore free agency after her next fight, which will mark the final obligation on her current UFC contract. “I am, yeah,” VanZant said when asked about free agency on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (via Bloody Elbow). “You know, it’s more for me, I want to prove my worth. And obviously, with my arm injuries I’ve had three surgeries in a row now. Even though I’m so popular, I guess… I’ve been doing amazing things outside the UFC—Sports Illustrated, Dancing with the Stars, all these amazing things. I want to show, ‘Hey, I’m a huge player in this division. I’m a huge player in the UFC.’ And I think it’s going to take one more fight to do that.”

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2019

Ahead of UFC 235, it was reported Nick Diaz would return to the Octagon to take on Jorge Masvidal. But, the Stockton native said he never signed a contract and the fight never happened.”Gamebred” then fought Darren Till, who he knocked out back in March. Now, at UFC 239, Masvidal is taking on Ben Askren in a fight that could earn the winner a title shot. Although the stakes are high for this one, “Gamebred” is already eyeing a future opponent in Nate Diaz, Nick’s little brother.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

Robert Whittaker captured the UFC interim middleweight title with a July, 2017 defeat of Yoel Romero. He was then promoted to undisputed champion when Georges St-Pierre vacated the undisputed title in late 2017. Current interim champ Israel Adesanya, who fights Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in October, believes Whittaker’s unconventional road to middleweight gold casts doubt on his status as a legitimate champion.