UFC News

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

Earlier this year, news broke that UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw had tested positive for the injectable-only banned substance EPO. Dillashaw was stripped of his title, and suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for this crime. Though he quickly admitted to his mistakes on social media, Dillashaw has been quite quiet since this unfortunate news surfaced. Speaking on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome podcast, however, the former bantamweight champion opened up on the ordeal in a way that he has not done yet.

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

Last weekend, Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone collided in a thrilling war, reminding the world why they’re regarded as two of the lightweight division’s top fighters. Reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, however, wasn’t all that impressed with what he saw. Speaking to  ESPN recently, Nurmagomedov broke down the skills of the two fighters, starting with “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

After he defeated Marlon Moraes to become a two-division UFC champion at UFC 238, UFC flyweight and bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo announced that he hopes to move up to the featherweight division in the future and challenge for that division’s belt too. Alex Volkanovski, arguably the top contender in the UFC featherweight division, is advising Henry Cejudo to think again.

Thomas Taylor - June 13, 2019

UFC San Antonio finally has a main event, according to a report from Kevin Iole. The July 20 card will now be topped by a five-round welterweight fight between former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and streaking Brit Leon Edwards. Main event for UFC on ESPN 4 in San Antonio finalized: It will be Rafael dos Anjos vs Leon Edwards, five rounds. UFC wanted Blachowicz-Rockhold to move there, but Rockhold is filming a Ralph Lauren Polo commercial that day which couldn’t be moved.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

With two title fights and a host of other marquee matchups, UFC 239 is absolutely stacked. From the sounds of things, however, the July 6 card soon become a little less stacked. According to a report from Kevin Iole, the UFC is considering moving a light heavyweight bout between Luke Rockhold and Jan Blachowicz from UFC 239 to UFC San Antonio on July 20, two weeks later. The UFC is trying to move Jan Blachowicz versus Luke Rockhhold off of UFC 239 on July 6 and put it on UFC on ESPN 4 on July 20 in San Antonio. Not done, but in the works. UFC not looking at a Shevchenko-Carmouche bout for that date at this time.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Under the leadership of Scott Coker, Bellator MMA has co-promoted with a number of other promotions, most notably Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation, but also with England’s BAMMA and Italy’s Oktagon. In fact, RIZIN bantamweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi will take to the Bellator cage to battle Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 222 on Friday Night in New York City — the latest evidence of Coker’s willingness to work with other organizations.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

UFC President Dana White has talking about getting into the boxing business for years. Yet so far, he’s made no headway on that mission. At least not publicly. That could soon change. According to The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, UFC parent company Endeavor and its CEO Ari Emanuel could soon be buying Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), a boxing organization owned by Al Haymon.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Late last week, pop star Justin Bieber took to Twitter to call for a fight with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. Normally, this kind of stuff would not make it onto MMA news sites. But when Bieber asked Dana White and the UFC to promote the fight, and UFC star Conor McGregor promptly chimed in and offered to promote the celebrity showdown himself, this weird storyline seeped into the collective consciousness of the MMA community. I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you dont take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite ?

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Not long ago, Darren Till stood out as the top contender in the UFC welterweight division. After a submission loss to former champion Tyron Woodley and a knockout loss at the hands of Jorge Masvidal, however, the British striker has fallen on hard times. Speaking to BT Sport while in London for Thursday’s UFC 242 press conference, UFC President Dana White update on Till, explaining that the Brit’s next fight is on the agenda for an imminent matchmaking meeting.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Speaking to BT Sport while in the United Kingdom for Thursday’s UFC 242 press conference, UFC President Dana White provided an update on the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor. White says McGregor is simply waiting on the sidelines until the lightweight contendership picture becomes a little bit clearer.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

There are always plenty of of exciting matchups to be made in the stacked UFC lightweight division. Of all the matchups available in this weight class, however, its arguable that none can rival a potential showdown between streaking contender Tony Ferguson and former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje in terms of pure excitement. Neither man is ever in a boring fight, and it’s hard to imagine their potential pairing resulting in anything other than Fight of the Year.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg recently stated that she plans to test her value as a free agent once her current UFC contract expires. That contract will conclude after her featherweight showdown with Felicia Spencer a UFC 240 in Edmonton in July. If Cyborg does indeed become a free agent, it sounds like she can expect a meeting with Bellator boss Scott Coker. “Listen, if you are a free agent, give us a call. This is a Viacom-backed company and we will take care of the fighters that move the needle for us,” Coker explained during a recent media scrum (transcript via MMA Mania). “So, if she is free one day, please give us a call.”

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will reportedly have a school built in his honor in his native Dagestan. This school will be built using 600 million rubles (9.3M USD) allocated by Russian President Vladimir Putin (h/t Bloody Elbow). This news was announced by Khabib’s father Abdulmanap during an interview with the Teacher’s Newspaper. Abdulmanap claims this project came about after the UFC champion asked Putin to invest in education inside Dagestan during a recent phone call.

Adam Martin - June 12, 2019

Just a few days ago, former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said he was interested in potentially owning an NFL team down the road once an opportunity arises. Now, it appears his former business partner Dana White wants to join him in that venture. The UFC President recently spoke to TMZ Sports and said that if Lorenzo and his brother Frank purchase an NFL team that he would be interested in partnering with them.

Adam Martin - June 12, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov has been a dominant force at lightweight and many want him to move up to welterweight at some point, but the UFC lightweight champion has shot down any idea of him moving up a weight class anytime soon. Speaking at the UFC 242 press conference on Wednesday in London, Nurmagomedov told the media that he has no interest in moving up to 170lbs to fight that division’s champion Kamaru Usman.

Mike Pendleton - June 12, 2019

After suffering the first knockout loss of his career, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will miss out on an opportunity to fight at UFC Greenville, a location he’s always wanted the UFC to visit, but now he’s got new goals set for his comeback. Speaking to media in Chicago during last weekend’s UFC 238 festivities, Thompson spoke about how he’d like to return in the fall of this year at Madison Square Garden and why he’d love to fight a “legend” in Nate Diaz.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is already one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. To cement himself as the pound-for-pound best fighter alive, however, he believes he needs to defeat three specific opponents. Those opponents are Dustin Poirier, who he’ll meet at UFC 242 on September 7 in Abu Dhabi, his long-time rival Tony Ferguson, and former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

Disaster has struck in the life of UFC bantamweight contender Macy Chiasson. On Sunday, during a severe windstorm in the Dallas area, a construction crane collapsed and fell on her apartment building, destroying her home and all of her possessions. She was lucky to escape with her life and her dog.