UFC News

Israel Adesanya explains how he will beat Robert Whittaker
Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018
Israel Adesanya looks more and more like a future UFC middleweight title challenger with every passing fight. In fact, after his UFC 230 execution of long-time contender Derek Brunson, his fighting for the title in the near future looks less like a likelihood and more like a downright certainty. The UFC middleweight title is currently held by Australia’s Robert Whittaker. Provided Whittaker defeats his next challenger Kelvin Gastelum, who he’ll meet at UFC 234 in late January, he could easily find himself locked in the cage with the Nigerian Kiwi Israel Adesanya soon thereafter.

Louis Smolka returns to the UFC, faces Sumudaerji Sumudaerji at UFC Beijing
James Lynch - November 14, 2018
Less than a year after he was released from the UFC, Louis Smolka is back with the Las Vegas based promotion on a short-notice opportunity. The Hawaiian returns to action on Nov. 24 against newcomer Sumudaerji Sumudaerji at UFC Fight Night 141 in Beijing, China. MMAJunkie confirmed the matchup on Tuesday.

EXCLUSIVE | From last pick to fighting in the finale, Justin Frazier ready to prove everyone wrong
Cole Shelton - November 14, 2018
Justin Frazier is ready to prove all the doubters wrong. On The Ultimate Fighter 28 (TUF), Justin Frazier left tryouts not knowing if he would be on the show. Ultimately, the UFC saw enough potential in him and decided to put him on the show. However, before competing on TUF, Frazier didn’t take his fighting career seriously. The heavyweight was overweight, and his cardio was not very good. Then, to top it off, Frazier was the last heavyweight taken when coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum picked their teams.

Joe Rogan on Cain Velasquez: He 'stands out as the best'
Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018
If you ask UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is probably the best heavyweight in MMA history. Rogan got talking about Velasquez, and what makes him so special, after a discussion about the ideal weight for a heavyweight mixed martial artist on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. “There’s a thought with the 265-pound weight class and the consensus thought seems to be that somewhere around 240 pounds is the magic number,” Joe Rogan said of Cain Velasquez (transcript via MMA Fighting). “That’s what they think. They think that 240 pounds is the amount of weight that you have where you’re strong enough that you can knock out any man but you have more endurance than a man that maybe weighs 265 or heavier and cuts down to 265. Now this has not been substantiated. The problem is, there hasn’t been a super powerful world championship athlete that weighed 265 pounds…

Donald Cerrone sets sights on Conor McGregor, 'Just waiting on him!'
Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018
Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Conor McGregor? Maybe…it seems like the American is definitely interested in sharing the Octagon with the former UFC two-division champion. Following Cerrone’s win over Mike Perry at UFC Denver this past Saturday, Cerrone reiterated that he would be going back down to his old home of 155-pounds. Along with that, he told reporters that he and the UFC already have an opponent in mind. Cowboy described that opponent as a ‘very exciting’ fighter and McGregor is exactly that.

After losing out on Cody Garbrandt fight, Jimmie Rivera and Raphael Assuncao agree to fight
Drake Riggs - November 13, 2018
Since UFC 227, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on atop the UFC’s stacked bantamweight division. But that looks to be changing very soon. With the recent announcements of Dominick Cruz’ return at UFC 233 vs John Lineker along with champion TJ Dillashaw going down to challenge for Henry Cejudo’s flyweight title, the division remains feeling held up.

Justin Gaethje vs Anthony Pettis being targeted for early next year
Drake Riggs - November 13, 2018
Ask and you shall receive. That appears to be the case now as the former UFC champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (21-8) gets the fight he was interested in for his next time out. After a war in his last fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 229 that saw him suffer a broken hand, it would seem safe to assume that Pettis wouldn’t be rushing back too quickly to get another dangerous fight. Well, guess again.

Yoel Romero explains why he wants to fight Anderson Silva
Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018
Fearsome UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero has made several callouts of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the past, and apparently, it’s still a fight he’s interested in — especially now that his planned 2019 matchup with the undefeated Paulo Costa is off the table. The appeal of this fight with Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero explains, is that it would give him a clear sense of the level he’s at. If he can beat the middleweight legend, well then he’s right where he wants to be. If he can’t, then it might be time to reassess.

EXCLUSIVE | TUF house created lifelong friendship for Maurice Greene and Justin Frazier
Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a place for fighters to try and reach their goal of fighting in the UFC. The rules are simple, win the season, get a UFC contract. Along with that, the fighters all live in a house together where arguments and drama often take place. But at times, the house has also created friendships. That’s just what happened this season as teammates Maurice Greene and Justin Frazier created a lifelong friendship inside the house. The two immediately bonded at tryouts where both of them believed they would be in the house together.

Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum official for UFC 234 in Melbourne
Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018
Earlier this month, ESPN reported that a middleweight title fight between reigning champ Robert Whittaker and surging contender Kelvin Gastelum was headed to UFC 234 on February 10 in Melbourne, Australia (February 9 in North America). The promotion has now made this booking official.

UFC rankings update: Yair Rodriguez, Germaine de Randamie surge up, retired Neil Seery appears at 125
James Lynch - November 13, 2018
The UFC rankings have been updated after an entertaining card last Saturday in Denver, Colorado. Following one of the best knockouts in UFC history, Yair Rodriguez jumped four spots in the featherweight division, and is now sitting at #11. His opponent “Korean Zombie” Chang Sung Jung fell two spots to #12, while Alexander Volkanovski (who is slated to face Chad Mendes at UFC 232) moved up one spot to #10. Meanwhile in the women’s bantamweight division, Germaine de Randamie reminded her fellow 135-pound fighters that she is here to stay after dominant performance over Raquel Pennington. “Iron Lady” moved up three spots to #2, just behind Holly Holm and current champion Amanda Nunes.

Henry Cejudo on TJ Dillashaw fight: 'I will cut the head off the snake forever'
Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018
On January 26, at UFC 233, UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw will move down to flyweight to take on divisional champ Henry Cejudo. If Dillashaw wins this fight, he will become one of just a few fighters to hold titles in two UFC weight classes concurrently. It could also spell the end of the flyweight division. Yet Cejudo isn’t sure that’s the way things will go down. He knows the cut down to 125 pounds will be tough on Dillashaw, and also believes he possesses a skillset unlike anyone Dillashaw has fought before.

Michael Johnson open to fight with Zabit Magomedsharipov
Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018
There are not a lot of featherweights out there who are openly calling for a fight with dangerous Russian contender Zabit Magomedsharipov. Michael Johnson, however, is all for the matchup.

UFC Denver Fighter Salaries: Donald Cerrone earns top payout
Christopher Taylor - November 12, 2018
The fighters salaries from Saturday’s historic UFC Fight Night 139 event in Dever have been revealed and Donald Cerrone tops the list. “Cowboy“, took home a grand total of $390,000 for his first-round arm-snapping submission win over Mike Perry.

EXCLUSIVE | Jordan Griffin excited to make dreams a reality at UFC Milwaukee
Mike Straus - November 12, 2018
One of several Roufusport fighters poised to make a run is the ‘Native Psycho’ Jordan Griffin who is ready to take the UFC’s featherweight division by storm. Before Griffin can unleash his brand of violence upon the UFC’s 145-pound division he must first make his debut. He will do so on December 15 as he takes on Dan Ige in his official first UFC bout which takes place in his own backyard of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

VIDEO | Joe Rogan reacts to Yair Rodriguez knocking out The Korean Zombie
Christopher Taylor - November 12, 2018
Joe Rogan may not have been in attendance at UFC Denver, but he did get to watch Yair Rodriguez score a spectacular last-second knockout victory over The Korean Zombie. The featherweight standouts, Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung, went to war in the headliner of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 139 event in Denver.

VIDEO | Israel Adesanya says Yair Rodriguez' knockout at UFC Denver wasn't luck, 'That was some Matrix-type sh*t.'
Drake Riggs - November 12, 2018
“That [elbow knockout by Yair Rodriguez] was crazy. And I’m seeing a lot of people saying that that was lucky, that was a lucky knockout… Like, really smart people who, that are like legends of the game.

After controversial loss at UFC Denver, Chas Skelly only planning to appeal if Bobby Moffett gets to keep win bonus
Drake Riggs - November 12, 2018
UFC Denver provided us with some truly epic moments for the UFC’s 25th-anniversary show. However, it didn’t come without some controversy as well. Aside from some very questionable scorecards early on in the night, we wound up with a potentially unnecessary stoppage involving featherweights Chas Skelly and Bobby Moffett.