MMA news

• Unbeaten Nigerian Prospect Israel Adesanya to Make Octagon Debut at UFC 221

  28-12-2017 23:37 via sherdog.com
  Unbeaten Nigerian prospect Israel Adesanya has signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and will make his Octagon debut early next year.
  
  Read more

• Tim Elliott Admits He’s Stuck Following Death of Robert Follis

  28-12-2017 23:13
  Tim Elliott is finding it difficult to come to grips with the death of Robert Follis. Follis was Elliott’s coach. This Saturday night (Dec. 30), Elliott will clash with Mark Delarosa at UFC 219. Elliott has considered pulling out of the fight, but he will march on to battle. Elliott talked about how Follis’ death […]
  
  Read more

• Dana White Wants to ‘Hopefully’ Get Conor McGregor Back in the UFC This Summer

  28-12-2017 23:09 via sherdog.com
  Dana White still has some optimism that Conor McGregor will eventually return to the Octagon, “hopefully” by the summer of 2018.
  
  Read more

• Khabib Nurmagomedov hints at future move to featherweight

  28-12-2017 23:00
  Khabib Nurmagomedov has a history of weight mishaps at 155 pounds. But he’s thinking of someday competing at 145.
  The undefeated Russian looked trim and healthy in Las Vegas on Thursday, one day before he’s scheduled to step on the scales and weigh-in for his UFC 219 co-main event bout against Edson Barboza.
  And while he still has plenty of unfinished business ahead of him in the division, Nurmagomedov found himself thinking of a move to featherweight somewhere down the road.“I
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Former UFC Title Challenger, Strikeforce Champ Nate Marquardt Announces Retirement

  28-12-2017 22:23 via sherdog.com
  After 56 professional mixed martial arts bouts, Nate Marquardt is calling it a career.
  
  Read more

• Former UFC Title Contender Nate Marquardt Announces MMA Retirement

  28-12-2017 22:18
  Nate Marquardt, who fought 25 times for the UFC, has announced his retirement from active competition. The 38-year-old is a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger. Marquardt (35-19-2) made the announcement via his own personal website. “I have had many accomplishments and victories as well as many trials and upsets in my career,” Marquardt […]
  
  Read more

• Nate Marquardt announces retirement

  28-12-2017 22:00
  Former Strikeforce champion Nate Marquardt is done with professional fighting.
  The 56-fight veteran announced on his website Thursday that he is hanging up the gloves after 18 years of MMA competition. Marquardt, 38, made a name for himself as a top-ranked fighter during his time with the UFC, Strikeforce, and Japan’s Pancrase promotion.
  In 25 Octagon appearances, Marquardt went 13-12 with notable wins over Jeremy Horn, Demian Maia, and Rousimar Palhares, among others. He failed to unseat
  
  Read more

• Cody Garbrandt Sees Khabib Nurmagomedov Dominating Edson Barboza

  28-12-2017 22:00
  Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt believes Nurmagomedov’s relentless pressure will stifle Barboza come Saturday night at UFC 219 The bout is a purist’s dream. The outstanding grappling skills of Nurmagomedov will clash with Barboza’s elite striking, which promises to make sparks fly in the UFC’s final card of the year (transcription via MMAWeekly): “I […]
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• UFC 219 media day staredowns

  28-12-2017 21:46
  At UFC 219 media day, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Edson Barboza and the rest of the stars of UFC 219 square off Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas.
  
  Read more

• Bellator MMA Parts Ways with Longtime Announcer Jimmy Smith

  28-12-2017 21:44 via sherdog.com
  The Bellator MMA announce team will have a distinctly different look in 2018.
  
  Read more

• ‘UFC Tonight’s’ Michael Bisping, Kenny Florian Offer ‘2017 UFC Awards’

  28-12-2017 21:00
  During Wednesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight, co-hosts Michael Bisping and Kenny Florian handed out their 2017 UFC awards, including fight and finish of the year. Both Bisping and Florian differed on their favorites. With this being a UFC-based show that airs on FOX Sports 1, all the awards were handed out to – you […]
  
  Read more

• Bellator MMA, Jimmy Smith Part Ways Following Lengthy Run

  28-12-2017 20:08
  Jimmy Smith, who has provided commentary for Bellator for several years along with helping put out countless video promos, is no longer with the MMA promotion. Bellator, which is owned by Viacom and airs on the newly-rebranded Paramount Network in 2018, made the announcement in a press release. “I am very grateful to the entire […]
  
  Read more

• Dana White hopes to get Conor McGregor fighting next summer, ‘He needs to defend that title’ vs. Tony Ferguson

  28-12-2017 20:00
  Even though Conor McGregor has given no indication of when he plans to fight again, UFC president Dana White is optimistic that the company’s biggest star will be back in 2018.
  McGregor was last seen making his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in August. The fight did not go the Irishman’s way, but McGregor was paid a handsome sum of $30 million for the crossover bout and his earnings were expected to approach the nine-figure mark once a number of other factors were
  
  Read more

• UFC 219: Carlos Condit’s Return Centered Around Desire to Showcase Skills

  28-12-2017 19:59
  Former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit owns 30 career wins, including victories inside the Octagon over the likes of Nick Diaz, Rory MacDonald and Dan Hardy. But after a loss to Demian Maia last year, Condit (30-10) felt the time was right to step away. Condit did that, taking on other adventures outside the […]
  
  Read more

• Dana White having meeting with Floyd Mayweather’s team: ‘Don’t count anything out’

  28-12-2017 19:30
  The last time Dana White said something with Floyd Mayweather wasn’t going to happen, it eventually led to one of the most lucrative bouts in combat sports history.
  White isn’t taking any chances now when it comes to the recent discussion of Mayweather possibly working with the UFC in some capacity. The two raised eyebrows last week when White said his promotion was “interested in doing something with Floyd” after Mayweather himself teased the possibility of competing ins
  
  Read more

• Bellator parts ways with announcer Jimmy Smith

  28-12-2017 19:06
  Longtime color commentator Jimmy Smith will no longer announce fights for Bellator MMA.
  A press released issued by the company on Thursday announced that the company and the popular announcer “have mutually agreed to part ways.” The release did not give a reason for the decision.
  Additionally, sources tell MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that Chael Sonnen will be a frequent presence in Bellator’s announce booth, and Frank Mir, who earned plaudits several years ago for his wo
  
  Read more

• Mark and Montana De La Rosa are set to make UFC history

  28-12-2017 18:30
  The woman then known as Montana Stewart had an inkling Mark De La Rosa was going to be The One when she noticed how he interacted with her young daughter, Zaylyn Marie.
  The duo had progressed from gym-mates at Genesis BJJ in Fort Worth, Texas, to friendship to dating in fairly short order, and much of that development had to do with Zaylyn and Mark hitting it off.
  “I had my daughter when I was 15, and I was basically raising her by myself,” she recalls. “Mark took an active int
  
  Read more

• Stefan Struve vs. Andrei Arlovski added to UFC 222

  28-12-2017 18:00
  Two of MMA’s longest-tenured international heavyweight stars will collide in March.
  On Thursday, officials announced that Stefan Struve (28-9) and Andrei Arlovski (26-15, 1 NC) will fight at UFC 222 on March 3 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The bout features two veterans with a combined 43 fights inside the Octagon.
  Struve is coming off of a defeat in the main event of UFC Rotterdam this past September, a third-round TKO-loss to Alexander Volkov that snapped a two-fight winning s
  
  Read more

• “Mystic Mayweather”? Conor McGregor Won’t Like What Was Found at Mayweather’s Gym

  28-12-2017 18:00
  UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor proudly displayed a mural of himself connecting a punch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. prior to their money-spinning bout in the summer “The Notorious” insisted that the painting which adorned the back wall of his Dublin training base ahead of the fight was for visualization purposes. McGregor has long championed the […]
  
  Read more

• UFC 222: Andrei Arlovski vs. Stefan Struve Added to Event

  28-12-2017 17:51
  A heavyweight clash between former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski and Stefan Struve will go down at UFC 222 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas UFC officials confirmed the news on Thursday. Arlovski will be heading into the clash having picked up his first win in six fights with a unanimous decision victory over […]
  
  Read more

• UFC 222 Update: Stefan Struve to Face Andrei Arlovski in Las Vegas on March 3

  28-12-2017 17:28 via sherdog.com
  A heavyweight clash pitting Stefan Struve against Andrei Arlovski has been added to the UFC 222 lineup.
  
  Read more

• Ratings: UFC 218 Special on FS1 Draws 357,000 Viewers

  28-12-2017 17:00
  With no FOX or lead-in from an NFL game, the UFC 218 special that aired Christmas Eve on FOX Sports 1 failed to live up to the 2016 version. According to a report by MMA Fighting, the 90-minute special was watched by 357,000 viewers, drastically down from the 4,720,000 that watched the UFC 206 special […]
  
  Read more

• Gabi Garcia badly misses weight for Rizin fight with 53-year-old Shinobu Kandori

  28-12-2017 17:00
  The controversial fight between Gabi Garcia and Shinobu Kandori took an odd twist on Thursday.
  The six-time jiu-jitsu world champion stepped on the scale to take on 53-year-old Kandori, who hasn’t competed in mixed martial arts in 17 years. News broke that Garcia had missed weight by 12kg (26.4 pounds) for their 95kg-fight (209.4 pounds) and the bout was off of the Dec. 29 card.
  Speaking with MMA Fighting hours after, Garcia said that she only got to Japan a day before the official weigh-i
  
  Read more

• Khabib Nurmagomedov Says he May Drop to Featherweight After UFC 219

  28-12-2017 16:30
  Dagestani lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has surprised pretty much everyone but himself by claiming that he is considering cutting down to 145 pounds following the conclusion of his bout against Edson Barboza on Saturday Yes, really. “The Eagle” told Megan Olivi that the option to fight featherweight champ Max Holloway is one which he is seriously […]
  
  Read more

• Top MMA storylines of 2017: 2. Jon Jones fails drug test (again)

  28-12-2017 16:00
  Maybe Jon Jones was trying to tell us all something.It was deep into a California summer night, in the bowels of Anaheim’s Honda Center. Jones had just made a triumphant comeback after two years of outside-the-cage setbacks to regain the UFC light heavyweight title, which he never lost in the Octagon.And then, a little more than an hour after he knocked out Daniel Cormier in the third round of the UFC 214 main event, he laid out some foreshadowing. “Bones” said he’d be a
  
  Read more

• Joe Rogan Links Jon Jones’ Behavioral Issues with a Possible Brain Injury

  28-12-2017 15:30
  UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes that there may be a connection between head trauma and irrational impulsivity with the promotion’s former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ positive test for the banned substance Turinabol following his comeback, title-fight victory over Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 left many questioning why the all-time great has a propensity for […]
  
  Read more

• Morning Report: Dana White says Georges St-Pierre ‘ain’t fighting’ Conor McGregor if he returns to MMA

  28-12-2017 14:00
  When Georges St-Pierre first announced his intention to return to MMA, UFC President Dana White was skeptical about his desire to fight. That didn’t stop White from eventually giving St-Pierre an immediate title shot for his return bout. St-Pierre won the bout, submitting Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to claim the middleweight title, but then vacated the belt shortly afterwards citing an injury and an unwillingness to hold up the 185-pound division. Now everyone is left to wonder what will ha
  
  Read more

• BAMMA to Honor Rob Sinclair with Chris Watts Award

  28-12-2017 13:00
  Chris Watts became a well-known member in the United Kingdom MMA world, helping with the growth of BAMMA before his untimely death following a bout with cancer. To honor Watts, BAMMA has decided to honor a fighter with The Chris Watts Award based on his outstanding contribution to the MMA community. Rob Sinclair is the […]
  
  Read more

• Ian McCall, Manel Kape get in physical altercation at Rizin weigh-ins

  28-12-2017 08:55
  Ian McCall and Manel Kape didn’t wait to get into the Rizin ring to exchange blows.
  The two Rizin bantamweight grand prix participants got into a physical altercation at weigh-ins Friday. Kape slapped McCall in the back of the head following their staredown and McCall retaliated with what looked like a stiff jab to the face. Kape threw a punch back, but McCall dodged it. Officials then had to separate the two men.
  McCall wrote on Twitter afterward that it was a slap, not a punch.
  It was a
  
  Read more

• Ian McCall, Manel Kape exchange blows at Rizin weigh-ins

  28-12-2017 08:55
  Ian McCall and Manel Kape didn’t wait to get into the Rizin ring to exchange blows.
  The two Rizin bantamweight grand prix participants got into a physical altercation at weigh-ins Friday. Kape slapped McCall in the back of the head following their staredown and McCall retaliated with what looked like a stiff jab to the face. Kape threw a punch back, but McCall dodged it. Officials then had to separate the two men.
  McCall wrote on Twitter afterward that it was a slap, not a punch.
  It was a
  
  Read more

• Unfiltered Episode 158: Holly Holm, Carlos Condit, and Kamp Kennedy

  28-12-2017 07:00 via ufc.com
  Former UFC Women's Bantamweight champion Holly Holm calls in to discuss her UFC 219 title fight against Cris Cyborg, being ready to shock the world again, Carlos Condit's return to the Octagon, Germaine de Randamie, and more. Before that, "The Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit joins the show and talks about returning to the UFC for the first time in over a year, Neil Magny as an opponent, evolving his training camps, and more. Plus, director Kamp Kennedy joins Matt in-studio to discuss the shor
  
  Read more

• UFC 219 – Fight by Fight Preview

  28-12-2017 07:00 via ufc.com
  CRIS CYBORG VS HOLLY HOLMHow will the UFC 219 main event between Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm play out on Saturday night? Wish I knew, but I do know that I can’t wait to see two of the best to ever compete in combat sports battle it out for five rounds. There are so many different directions this could go in. If Cyborg goes into “Berserker Cris” mode, that could be Holm’s best chance to win, given her excellent counterstriking game. But Cyborg can take a shot and keep movin
  
  Read more

• Struve vs. Arlovski set for UFC 222

  28-12-2017 07:00 via ufc.com
  Veteran heavyweight contenders Stefan Struve and Andrei Arlovski will meet for the first time on Mar. 3, as the two big men collide in a UFC 222 bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.Tickets go on sale on Jan. 19.Fresh off a November win over hot prospect Junior Albini, former world heavyweight champion Arlovski got the career jolt he needed with that victory, and he hopes to keep the momentum going in his first bout of 2018 as he takes on the Netherlands' Struve, who has won two of his last three
  
  Read more

• Reasons To Watch UFC 219: Cyborg vs Holm

  28-12-2017 07:00 via ufc.com
  On Sunday night the world-famous Las Vegas Strip will be packed with people celebrating 2017 and ringing in the New Year in style. But on Saturday night, all attention will be focused on T-Mobile Arena packed comfortably between New York, New York and Monte Carlo for the UFC’s final Pay Per View event of the year.With a super fight in the main event between legends Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm, and a number of huge matchups littered throughout the fight card, Vegas is guaranteed a weekend fu
  
  Read more

• No matter the opponent, Khabib's style remains the same

  28-12-2017 07:00 via ufc.com
  Khabib Nurmagomedov returns to the Octagon on Saturday at UFC 219 for a co-main event bout against Edson Barboza" align="center" />When you think of the biggest names in mixed martial arts – the fighters that most fans get excited about watching compete inside the cage – your mind automatically ventures towards a collection of competitors who have delivered highlight reel knockouts and frequently put forth action-packed performances.You wouldn’t necessarily think of the man
  
  Read more

• Cyborg hopeful to show the world the obstacles she has overcome

  28-12-2017 07:00 via ufc.com
  Cris Cyborg attempts to defend her belt in the main event at UFC 219 on Saturday live on Pay-Per-View" align="center" />For nearly a decade, Cris Cyborg has been one of the most feared fighters on the planet. Wherever she has competed, whenever she has stepped into the cage, the words used to describe the 32-year-old Brazilian have always been the same.Aggressive.Powerful.Violent.Unstoppable.They are apt descriptors of a woman who enters this weekend’s final UFC main event of 2017 on a
  
  Read more

• Jessica Andrade vs. Tecia Torres Slated for UFC on Fox 28 in Orlando

  28-12-2017 06:53 via sherdog.com
  A pivotal strawweight bout is on tap for UFC on Fox 28, as Jessica Andrade will meet Tecia Torres in Orlando on Feb. 24.
  
  Read more

• Daniel Hooker vs. Marc Diakiese promoted to UFC 219 main card with Rivera vs. Lineker cancellation

  28-12-2017 06:15
  Daniel Hooker and Marc Diakiese will be getting a bigger spotlight at UFC 219.The two lightweight fighters have been promoted to fight in the pay-per-view main card of Saturday’s UFC event, after a tooth infection sustained by John Lineker forced the Brazilian to withdraw from his pivotal bantamweight contest with Jimmie Rivera, thus canceling the bout.
  The decision to move Hooker vs. Diakiese from the FOX Sports 1 prelims to the main card was announced on Wednesday night by the promotion.
  
  Read more

• Tecia Torres vs. Jessica Andrade booked for UFC on FOX 28

  28-12-2017 05:33
  The next UFC women’s strawweight contender might be decided in the shadow of DisneyWorld.
  Tecia Torres will meet Jessica Andrade at UFC on FOX 28 on Feb. 24 in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday night, citing UFC officials. Andrade had been tied to a fight with Karolina Kowalkiewicz on the same card, but Torres will now be her opponent.
  Torres (10-1) is coming off an impressive, unanimous decision win over Michelle Waterson at UFC 218 earlier this month. “Tiny Tornado&r
  
  Read more

• Jimmie Rivera Removed from UFC 219 After Declining John Dodson Fight, Manager Says

  28-12-2017 05:30 via sherdog.com
  Jimmie Rivera apparently had other options besides Marlon Moraes that would have allowed him to remain on the UFC 219 card.
  
  Read more

• Dana White: Conor McGregor Not an Option for GSP if He Decides to Return to UFC

  28-12-2017 05:28 via sherdog.com
  Tristar Gym trainer Firas Zahabi recently said that it would take a ”big, exciting fight” to lure Georges St. Pierre back into the Octagon while hinting that one such potential bout could include UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
  
  Read more

• Gabriel Oliveira: Kyoji Horiguchi won’t trade with me after hearing me KO Tatsuya Kawajiri

  28-12-2017 03:00
  NITEROI, Brazil — Gabriel Oliveira scored one of the best knockouts of 2017, and expects that to affect the mind of his next opponent at the Rizin bantamweight grand prix.
  The undefeated prospect made his Rizin debut in October, taking on 49-fight veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri at the Saitama Super Arena. A member of the Parana Vale Tudo team in Niteroi, Brazil, Oliveira stopped Kawajiri with a brutal knee to the head when the Japanese fighter shot for a takedown.
  "It’s a dream come true,&
  
  Read more

• ‘Cyborg Nation’ UFC 219 Video Blog Spotlights Cris Cyborg

  28-12-2017 02:30
  Ahead of her first title defense as reigning UFC female featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg is providing fans with an all-access look into her prep. Cyborg faces former UFC female bantamweight champion Holly Holm this Saturday night in the main event of UFC 219 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A former Strikeforce and Invicta […]
  
  Read more

• Dana White: Georges St-Pierre’s Next Fight ‘Won’t Be’ vs. Conor McGregor

  28-12-2017 02:24
  UFC president Dana White squashed rumors of a potential 2018 meeting between Georges St-Pierre and Conor McGregor during an interview with ESPN. As for the status of GSP, White also cleared that up in his own subtle fashion. “There is no status,” White said. “I knew what he was doing. That’s why I put (a […]
  
  Read more

• Oluwale Bamgbose Rips Into UFC, Dana White Following Release

  28-12-2017 01:30
  Oluwale Bamgbose is no longer with the UFC. And that means the veteran fighter can say whatever he wants about his former employers on social media. And you better believe the 30-year-old Bamgbose did that. “So its official I am no longer apart of the UFC organization,” Bamgbose wrote. “Not gonna lie, I feel out […]
  
  Read more

• UFC 218 special on FOX Sports 1 does 357,000 viewers

  28-12-2017 01:00
  The value of network vs. cable, and of an NFL lead-in, proved to be enormous as UFC's second annual Christmas Eve special did nothing compared to the first one.
  The Sunday night show at 10 p.m. on FOX Sports 1, which aired three fights from UFC 218, which took place three weeks earlier, did 357,000 viewers. The previous year, a similar special airing UFC 206 did 4,720,000 viewers and was the third most-watched UFC television show in history.
  The difference in shows wasn't so big. Both shows were
  
  Read more

• Rivera Officially Off UFC 219 Card; Marc Diakiese vs. Dan Hooker Elevated to Pay-Per-View

  28-12-2017 00:54 via sherdog.com
  As expected, Jimmie Rivera will not be competing at UFC 219.
  
  Read more

• Bantamweights Sean O’Malley, Andre Soukhamthath to Clash at UFC 222 in Las Vegas

  28-12-2017 00:40 via sherdog.com
  Sean O’Malley and Andre Soukhamthath will lock horns in a bantmweight duel at UFC 222.
  
  Read more

• ‘UFC 219 Embedded’ Second Episode Features Cris Cyborg Doing CrossFot

  28-12-2017 00:34
  UFC female featherweight champion Cris Cyborg shows off her athletic ability by taking part in a CrossFit program ahead of her meeting Saturday with Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 219. Along with Cyborg’s training, Holm works through her final tough day in the second episode of the “Embedded” series from the UFC. […]
  
  Read more

Follow @NewsMMAUSA on Twitter!