MMA News

Chris Taylor - August 23, 2017

Yesterday evening it was announced that current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones had been flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping violation stemming from his UFC 214 fight with Daniel Cormier on July 29. That news sent shockwaves throughout the mixed martial arts community which resulted in many of Jones’ peers taking to social media with their respective reactions.

Justin Golightly - August 23, 2017

One of the reasons that no one ever thought Conor McGregor would actually fight Floyd Maweather, is because of the gaping chasm of skill level between the two. Mayweather has been nearly untouchable for his entire boxing career. in 49 fights, the best boxers around weren’t able to put him away, so how could McGregor? For his entire career, people have said that same thing for McGregor. Long-time striking coach Owen Roddy shrugs it off and says things would be different if you could see him in the gym. “People were on the fence about this, even in the MMA community, but when you see what he’s doing, the work rate and the effort that he puts in – it’s hard not to believe that he can do this. Even just speaking to him you can tell that this isn’t a payday. This about proving people wrong and proving that he can do what many people feel is impossible. The thing is, with Conor, he proves people wrong all the time. He always sets himself these targets of doing the impossible. Nobody gives him a chance and then they hear him speak and they see what he’s doing, then they become believers. It happens every camp.”

Russell Ess - August 23, 2017

Tuesday was filled with madness in Las Vegas as Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor were at the T-Mobile Arena to speak with the media ahead of their highly anticipated boxing match scheduled for Saturday.

Russell Ess - August 23, 2017

Just when you thought there could not be a bigger story in combat sports during the fight week of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor, Jon Jones was flagged by USADA. The news broke on Tuesday as Jones was flagged for a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation after beating Daniel Cormier to win the UFC light heavyweight championship title at UFC 214. Jones’ potential violation is stemmed from an in-competition sample collected following his weigh-in on July 28. USADA has also been testing Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor for their multi-million dollar boxing match and have been testing them both extensively to try and catch any fighter trying to take an illegal advantage.

Russell Ess - August 23, 2017

There is no doubt that Daniel Cormier is riding a seemingly endless roller coaster of emotions. With news breaking on Tuesday that Jon Jones was flagged for a second potential USADA violation, the future is still uncertain of what will come of the UFC light heavyweight championship title. With Jones being deemed a full and fair legal process before any sanctions are imposed, Cormier is laying off any judgment before that is done.

Justin Golightly - August 23, 2017

One thing has been on Cris Cyborg’s mind since finally winning the UFC women’s featherweight title: Holly Holm. Although, she doesn’t have too much choice. There aren’t any other girls in the division now that Germaine de Randamie has been stripped and left back to bantamweight. She’s done everything short of directly demanding a fight with Holm at the end of this year, even promising she will ‘find her’ no matter what. Finally, Holm has gone on record that she is willing to fight Cyborg. …Sort of. “This is me publicly saying, ‘Yes, I am open to the fight at 145 [pounds],'” Holm said. “[But] I’m not going to take a fight at 135 pounds one month, and then the next month it’s, ‘Oh hey, do you want to fight Cyborg at 145?’ This is me going outside of my weight class and that’s OK. I’m willing to take the fight. I just want to have a full training camp. My contract is at 135 pounds. So, if they came with a fight like that [at 145lbs], I would say, ‘Let’s negotiate.’ I truly feel that is one of, if not the biggest, female fights they can promote. I’m not in it for the priority of money, but I value myself. […] This is a huge fight and I’m sure everybody around it, the promotion, is going to make money. So, I would expect more money.”

Justin Golightly - August 23, 2017

The lights, the money, the celebrities, the fame, cars, and all the clothes. Conor McGregor is scooting around Vegas in a fire-spitting Lambo and a fleet of Rolls-Royces. He’s going to box the undisputed best boxer of our generation in just a couple of days. It’s hard to believe that his first UFC fight was only 4 years ago. Two titles in different weight classes and a fight with “Money” Mayweather later, and it’s even harder to imagine him coming from a modest life working as a plumber. A new commercial from Beats By Dre does a great job at putting things in perspective. Dedicated. @TheNotoriousMMA #AboveTheNoise. pic.twitter.com/8nTDRuyUCS

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

Shortly after his UFC 205, lightweight-title-winning knockout of Eddie Alvarez, which sent his stock rocketing to new heights, UFC superstar Conor McGregor made an unprecedented demand: he, a fighter, wanted a piece of the UFC. “Where’s my share? Where’s my equity?” McGregor queried at the UFC 205 post-fight presser. “If I’m the one that’s bringing this, they’ve got to come talk to me now,” McGregor said. “I’ve got both belts, family on the way. If you want me to stick around, if you want me to keep doing (this), let’s talk. But I want the ownership now. I want the equal share. I want what I deserve, what I’ve earned.”

Justin Golightly - August 23, 2017

Conor McGregor has strutted his way into the fight of the century with Floyd Mayweather. It has grown bigger and bigger until reaching a fever pitch this week. The Killers shot a music video, Demi Lovato will sing the National Anthem, and tons of celebrities will be in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday. The fight is so big, fans can’t help but feel left out. With a steep $100 price tag on the pay-per-view, it’s just too rich for some people’s blood. If you’ve got some money to spare though and you really want to treat yourself, you can still attend May/Mac in person. If you're in Vegas this Saturday & have an extra $121K you get front row. $1,946 gets you last row. Check out @SeatGeek #MayweatherMcGregor pic.twitter.com/IxKuA2TaR6

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

It seems that almost every fighter on the UFC roster has something to say about Jon Jones’ potential USADA violation, which stems from a failed test that occurred on the night of the UFC 214 weigh-ins. Some fighters think it’s time for the UFC and the governing athletic commissions to drop the hammer on the light heavyweight great. Others, meanwhile, are eager to remind fans to not to judge until all the facts have been collected. Alexander Gustafsson, one of Jones’ fiercest rivals, falls into this latter category.

Justin Golightly - August 23, 2017

This Jon Jones news hit like a meteor late last night in the midst of all the build-up for Conor McGregor boxing Floyd Mayweather. Everyone dropped everything to react. Fans logged onto Twitter to shed their tears, kick Jones while he was down, or debate what happens next. Right alongside the fans, were the UFC fighters themselves and their reactions were just as diverse. One guy who has been quiet until now, was recently retired Anthony Johnson. He went from contemplating a return to finally get his shot at Jon Jones, to writing a statement on his official Facebook in support (kind of) of the UFC light heavyweight champion. I've been getting asked left and right about Jon Jones situation. Well I'll say this…I learned from my… https://t.co/ETcOIFx6ln

Justin Golightly - August 23, 2017

Drink your orange juice, fix some toast, plan something nice for yourself today. Chances are, you’re waking up and either just hearing the news, or realizing you didn’t have a nightmare that Jon Jones was potentially flagged for an anabolic steroid last night. He still has his day in court, but right now it’s as good as true and far too real. After just getting him back, the new undisputed UFC light heavyweight champ and “Greatest of all Time” candidate will probably be taken away from us again. Unfortunately, emotional pains aren’t the only consequences that result from this anti-doping violation. It gets a lot worse. List of potential consequences Jon Jones could face if 2nd USADA doping violation is held up pic.twitter.com/oTDL1wfoEm

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

Last night, news broke that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had failed a drug test in the lead-up to his UFC 214 title fight with then-champion Daniel Cormier. In the wake of this unfortunate development, UFC President Dana White partook in a brief media scrum at the Ultimate Fighter Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. During this scrum, White shared his initial thoughts on Jones latest failed test:

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

Though there was no UFC event last weekend, the UFC has updated it’s official rankings. The changes to the rankings, however, are limited to the heavyweight division. The reason for these changes can be attributed to the recent potential anti-doping violation of former champion Junior Dos Santos. Dos Santos was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the organization charged with drug-testing in the UFC, and pulled from his planned UFC 215 showdown with red hot contender Francis Ngannou as a result. The former champion has now been removed from the UFC heavyweight rankings as a result.

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

Last night, we learned that Jon Jones had failed a drug test in the buildup to his UFC 214 fight with Daniel Cormier – a fight he won by third-round knockout, which earned him the UFC light heavyweight title. Unsurprisingly, this disappointing news generated grave reactions from many of the game’s top fighters, and from UFC President Dana White. One of the most interesting reactions to this news came from heavyweight legend Mark Hunt, who is one of the most outspoken advocates against steroid use in MMA. Shortly after this unfortunate news broke, Hunt took to Instagram to trash Jones, referencing Jones’ Philippians 4:13 tattoo.

Tom Taylor - August 23, 2017

If you’ve had your finger on the pulse of the fight game over the last few days, you’ve heard that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is worried that his Saturday night opponent, Conor McGregor, is going to miss the 154-pound limit for their bout. “Conor McGregor is extremely heavy right now,” Mayweather recently told FightHype. “I think he is 164, so he still has 10 pounds to go. Y’all get that extra money if he can’t make the weight, get those extra millions ready, Dana. Or the UFC, get them extra millions ready. Somebody gotta’ pay a fine, but he gotta’ get that weight down. A true champion is, like I said before, I true champion is disciplined and very responsible, but you know, we’ll see. I don’t think he’s gonna’ make the weight. Even if he do make the weight, that’s even better, but if he don’t make the weight, we still gonna fight. But it’s gonna’ be a be a heavy fine. Give me that money.”

Chris Taylor - August 22, 2017

Terrible news struck the mixed martial arts world this evening when TMZ Sports reported that current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones had been flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping violation. The Anti-Doping Policy violation in question stemmed from an in-competition sample collected following Jones’ weigh-in for UFC 214 on July 28, 2017.

Chris Taylor - August 22, 2017

This weekend’s Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather super fight took a backseat today when news broke that current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones had been flagged by USADA for a potential anti-doping violation. The Anti-Doping Policy violation stemmed from an in-competition sample collected following Jones’ weigh-in on July 28, 2017.