UFC News

Financial states of UFC and Bellator: Looking back at 2018, forward to 2019
Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019
Every year, there seemingly will always be points in the year where those in the community who are baselessly making their claims for whatever reason that MMA, or more specifically the UFC, is not flourishing in the business department. However, that continues to prove untrue when really looking deeper at the numbers. Even though without looking deeper we can still see the big deals that are being made…

Derrick Lewis vs Junior Dos Santos set to main event UFC Wichita
Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019
The UFC’s heavyweight division is looking more and more interesting with each and every month that passes. Now, another great matchup is set to go down in early 2019. On March 9, the UFC’s fourth ESPN+ event will take place in Wichita, Kansas. In the event’s main event, we will be treated to a sure-fire slugfest between the likes of recent title challenger Derrick Lewis (21-6) and former heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos (20-5), confirms MMAJunkie.

Khabib Nurmagomedov responds to fan backlash after manager dismisses Tony Ferguson fight
Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019
Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Ali Abdelaziz claimed that streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson would “100%” not be the next opponent for his star client, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. “The biggest money fight he can make [is what we’re looking for],” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, Khabib doesn’t need to fight anybody else for his legacy. He’s done what he’s done. He’s 27-0, he’s 12-0 in the UFC, he’s never been dropped, he’s never been caught, he’s never been knocked down. Let’s talk about a GOAT. No PEDs. We talk about the greatest of all-time, I think that he should be on top of the list, because he never lost to anybody. He’s never lost, he’s never been dropped, he’s never been stitched, nothing.

Alexander Gustafsson calls out Corey Anderson for UFC London showdown
Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019
Just over a week removed from his UFC 232 loss to Jon Jones, three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson is already ready to get back into the cage. Speaking on Instagram on Monday afternoon, the Swedish star called for a fight with streaking contender Corey Anderson. Anderson, to remind, also fought at UFC 232, defeating Gustafsson’s teammate and friend Ilir Latifi by unanimous decision.

EXCLUSIVE | Mike Winkeljohn promises lots more finishes from Jon Jones after UFC 232 comeback
Cole Shelton - January 7, 2019
Jon Jones returned to glory at UFC 232 when he defeated his rival Alexander Gustafsson by TKO in the third round to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title. It was not an easy road back for Jones. The light heavyweight great was coming off of a 15-month USADA suspension and was looking to win back his belt. The pressure was high and some fans believed Jones would suffer from ring rust. Yet for Jones’ coach Mike Winkeljohn and the rest of the team at JacksonWink MMA, that was never a worry.

Tenshin Nasukawa responds to Conor McGregor callout, provides counter-offer
Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019
Last night, in a somewhat surprising twist, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor called for an exhibition mixed martial arts bout with 20-year-old Japanese kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa, who was recently trounced in an exhibition boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. I wish to go to Tokyo to face Tenshin Nasukawa in a Mixed Martial Arts exhibition bout.Before this summer. Please arrange this, this instant. Yours sincerely The champ champ. @ufc @ParadigmSM

Rob Font and Nathaniel Wood agree to fight at UFC London
James Lynch - January 7, 2019
UFC bantamweights Rob Font and Nathaniel Wood are making the UFC matchmakers’ job pretty easy. The pair exchanged a verbal agreement on Twitter over the weekend that they’d be willing to fight each other when the UFC makes it’s return to London on Mar. 16.

Top featherweight contender Megan Anderson reacts to Amanda Nunes beating Cris Cyborg
Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019
Late last month, in the co-main event of UFC 232, Amanda Nunes ended the seemingly bulletproof reign of UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg with a volley of first-round punches. In the opinion of Megan Anderson — the top contender in the featherweight division — this was probably a good thing for the overall health of the weight class. In fact, she believes Cyborg’s previous dominance might have been part of the reason so few women stick around in the division.

Alexander Gustafsson issues statement after losing third title fight at UFC 232
Christopher Taylor - January 6, 2019
For the third time in his storied career Alexander Gustafsson fell short in his bid to capture the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 235. “The Mauler” suffered a third-round knockout loss to division kingpin Jon Jones last weekend in Los Angeles, marking the second time in his career that the Swede had fallen victim to “Bones”.

Daniel Cormier answers the question of where he thinks Jon Jones would be without PED's
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2019
UFC champions Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones have arguably the biggest rivalry in the history of mixed martial arts. Despite a clear dislike for “Bones” as a person, current UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has nothing but respect for his talents as a fighter.

UFC strawweight Polyana Viana fends off robber in Rio De Janeiro
Drake Riggs - January 6, 2019
As MMA continues to grow as a sport, that means that more people will learn and know how to defend themselves in certain situations. And being the 10-2 UFC strawweight that she is, Polyana Viana is more than capable of doing just that. On Saturday around 8:00 PM local time, Viana had a stranger attempt to rob her of her phone. Of course, that did not at all go the way that he surely had planned.

Opening Odds Released for Jon Jones vs. Anthony Smith at UFC 235
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2019
UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will be making a quick turnaround in order to defend his title at March’s UFC 235 event in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White recently told TMZ Sports that a title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith was in the works for March’s pay-per-view event.

Conor McGregor challenges Tenshin Nasukawa to MMA exhibition 'before this summer'
Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019
On New Years Eve in Tokyo, Floyd Mayweather stepped through the ropes of the RIZIN Fighting Federation ring for a boxing exhibition bout with 20-year-old kickboxing ace Tenshin Nasukawa. In an absolutely dominant performance, Mayweather put the young kickboxer down inside the first three-minute round. Now Conor McGregor wants a turn at the Japanese fighter — albeit under a different ruleset. Speaking on Twitter on Sunday night, the Irish superstar called for a mixed martial arts exhibition bout with Tenshin Nasukawa — also in Tokyo.

VIDEO | Nick Diaz trashes CrossFit, Georges St-Pierre's 'water workouts' in profanity-laced rant
Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019
Nick Diaz is apparently not a fan of CrossFit. From the sounds of it, he doesn’t like Georges St-Pierre‘s ‘water workouts’ either. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion went off on these two forms of exercise in a virulent tirade posted to his Instagram story. Unsurprisingly, this rant was quickly saved and immortalized by several members of the MMA community.

UFC 235: Jon Jones vs. Anthony Smith fight card
Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019
UFC 235, which goes down on March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is already shaping up to be a 2019 Card of the Year contender. If all goes according to plan, the card will be topped by a light heavyweight showdown between resurgent champion Jon Jones and surging contender Anthony Smith. In order for this bout to occur at UFC 235 as planned, Jones will first have to receive licensure from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

EXCLUSIVE | TUF 28 featherweight winner Macy Chiasson explains why she's moving to bantamweight
Cole Shelton - January 6, 2019
Macy Chiasson is a natural featherweight. She competed at featherweight on The Ultimate Fighter 28, and ended up winning the season at that weight. However, she is moving down to bantamweight for her next fight, which will pit her against Gina Mazany at UFC 235 on March 2. This is a rather interesting move for Chiasson given the fact she has fought her entire career at 145 and won TUF at featherweight. Yet after talking to her coaches and working with the UFC Performance Institute, she decided the timing was right to move down a division.

VIDEO | Did Max Holloway give Brian Ortega technical advice in the middle of their UFC 231 fight?
Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019
On December 8, in the main event of UFC 231 in Toronto, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway defended his title with a dominant defeat of formerly undefeated challenger Brian Ortega. As if Holloway’s victory over Ortega wasn’t already impressive enough, a fan on Twitter has pointed out that the featherweight champ seemed to be giving his foe advice in the middle of the fight. Mid-way through the fourth round, Holloway can be seen hoisting Ortega’s arm upward, seemingly reminding him to keep his hands up.

TJ Dillashaw responds to Ali Abdelaziz saying he won't make weight
Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019
On January 19, in the main event of the UFC’s first card on ESPN+, UFC bantamweight king TJ Dillashaw will drop down to the flyweight division to battle divisional champ Henry Cejudo for his belt. First, however, TJ Dillashaw will have to successfully cut down to the flyweight limit of 125 pounds. Henry Cejudo’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has doubts that that will happen.