MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2017

On Friday night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 207, Amanda Nunes made her first successful defense of the bantamweight title she won from Miesha Tate in July. She did so with a 48-second mauling of women’s MMA trailblazer Ronda Rousey. With a firm grip on the UFC women’s bantamweight title, Nunes finds herself in the crosshairs of the division’s many talented competitors, from Valentina Shevchenko and Juliana Pena (who fight on January 28), to Raquel Pennington, to Cat Zingano.

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2017

With lightweight champion Conor McGregor currently taking a break from competition, the lightweight limelight is shining on two men. Those two men are undefeated Dagestan native Khabib Nurmagomedov, and streaking Californian Tony Ferguson. The two talented lightweights have long been rumored to fight while McGregor takes his hiatus – perhaps even for an interim title. Regrettably, negotiations recently hit a snag when Ferguson said that he wouldn’t accept the fight if he was paid less than Nurmagomedov. In response to this claim, Nurmagomedov offered to pay Ferguson $200,000 extra on top of his purse, out of his own pocket.

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2017

On Friday night, MMA nutritionist Mike Dolce watched his star client get thrashed in a mere 48 seconds. We’re talking, of course, about Ronda Rousey, who was dominated by women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in her long-awaited comeback fight. The beatdown occurred in the main event of UFC 207. Given that the once dominant Rousey is now 0-2 in her last two fights, losing both by knockout, there is widespread doubt that she’ll ever compete in the Octagon again. You might suspect that Dolce, a long-time part of Rousey’s team, could shed some light on the possibility of her fighting again. When asked to do so on the latest episode of The MMA Hour, however, he explained that he’s as unsure as anyone. In his opinion, you may as well flip a coin.

Russell Ess - January 2, 2017

Ronda Rousey, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion suffered the second defeat in her professional mixed martial arts career on Friday night against the current champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 207.

Russell Ess - January 2, 2017

It was a night of celebration as Team Alpha Male’s Cody Garbrandt was crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion on Friday night.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

With champion Conor McGregor currently enjoying a break from competition, the biggest story in the lightweight division is the ongoing rivalry between top contenders Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and their long-rumored interim title fight. Unfortunately, negotiations for this highly hyped showdown have recently reached a standstill, as Ferguson has said he won’t accept the fight if he’s paid any less than Nurmagomedov is.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

Last Friday, in the co-main event of UFC 207, Cody Garbrandt put forth a masterful performance, swiping the bantamweight title from the waist of Dominick Cruz with a clear-cut unanimous decision win. With this win, logic would suggest that Garbrandt will now set his sights on top contender TJ Dillashaw, or even on a rematch with Cruz. Apparently, however, the new champ has his sites set on “money fight” with reigning featherweight king Jose Aldo. Garbrandt made this admission on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

With UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor currently taking a hiatus from competition to father his first child, the lightweight limelight is shining on two men: Dagestan’s Khabib Nurmagomedov, and California’s Tony Ferguson. Under normal circumstances, either man could easily be argued to be deserving of the next shot at the lightweight title. Because the champion is currently out of the picture, however, they’ve shifted their focus to one another. For weeks, it has been rumored that the two streaking lightweights will fight for the division’s interim title sometime in the first quarter of 2017, and they’ve spiced these rumors up with plenty of trash talk on social media.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

In two weeks’ time, our very own BJ Penn will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon. He will do so in the main event of the UFC’s January 15 return to Phoenix, Arizona, where he will take on rising featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

With a tough 2-3 record in his last 5 fights, former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos entered his April showdown with Ben Rothwell in dire need of a win. Luckily for the Brazilian and his many fans, he was able to produce that win, bludgeoning his dangerous foe to a sound, unanimous decision. Regrettably, dos Santos sustained a shoulder injury in this bout that would ultimately require surgery. By late August, however, the former champ had been adequately patched up and was ready to return to action. So began the hunt for his next opponent.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

#OnThisDay Last Year: We witnessed a war between @Ruthless_RL and @CarlosCondit 🔥 🔥 📽 https://t.co/xBEj753hec pic.twitter.com/Ofr3qbsLFT

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2017

Nick Diaz’s suspension, which stemmed from a January 2015 bout with Anderson Silva, is now over. As such, the MMA community is now chomping at the bit to see him return to the Octagon. Apparently, however, getting him back into the cage has not been an easy process for the UFC.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2017

Happy New year!!! this is the first Dance of 2017 post your videos and hashtag #dotherousey #thebesthandsdown #HAPPYNEWYEAR pic.twitter.com/GltKXExMR3 — Michael Venom Page (@Michaelpage247) January 1, 2017

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2017

Last Friday, in the co-main event of UFC 207, undefeated 25-year-old Cody Garbrandt picked up one of the biggest upsets of 2016 by capturing a unanimous decision win from dominant bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. In the moments after this win, the new champ sat down for a post-fight press conference with the media. According to Garbrandt, the most surprising thing about the fight was that Cruz wasn’t nearly as fast or elusive as he expected him to be.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2017

Jon Fitch Post Fight Interview #WSOFNYE pic.twitter.com/xyyLWBdp19 — PFL (@PFLMMA) December 31, 2016

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2017

In November of 2015, MMA superstar Ronda Rousey was unplugged by a second-round Holly Holm head-kick. It took over a year to happen, but in the main event of last Friday’s UFC 207, the former champ finally returned to the Octagon to redeem herself, when she took on reigning women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping have agreed to fight each other at a catchweight of 180 pounds in May. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. The two champions crossed paths over the weekend, and for whatever reason, began negotiating the terms of a potential super fight. Their exchange can be seen in the video below, which was posted to the official Instagram account of Michael Bisping.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2017

On December 30, in the main event of UFC 207, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and transcendent MMA icon Ronda Rousey made her long awaited return to the Octagon. She did so against reigning bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes, in her first fight since she was turned off by a Holly Holm head kick in November of 2015. Rousey’s return to action could not have gone worse, as she was mauled to a TKO loss in a mere 48 seconds. Now on the first two-fight losing streak of her legendary career, Rousey’s future is undeniably nebulous. While many fans and fellow fighters would like to see her get back on the horse, her retiring seems like a likely possibility.