UFC News
ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong makes bold prediction for Ben Askren's run in the UFC
Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018
Former ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren is now headed to the UFC — though the promotion has not officially announced his arrival just yet. Askren’s long-awaited migration to the Octagon was made possible by a history-making trade between ONE and the UFC that saw the UFC cough up its former flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson in exchange for the former ONE welterweight king.
Dana White to Floyd Mayweather: 'You want to fight, come fight'
Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018
Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor by submission in the UFC 229 main event, he’s been linked to a potential boxing match with undefeated legend of pugilism Floyd Mayweather Jr. Nurmagomedov initiated this talk by calling Mayweather out, but Mayweather quickly dumped gas on the fire, assuring that the boxing match will actually happen.
Ben Askren pushes UFC to officially announce signing, says promotion is acting 'embarrassed'
Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018
The history-making trade is a done deal. Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has been sent to ONE Championship in exchange for former ONE welterweight champ Ben Askren. Strangely, however, the UFC has still not officially announced the signing of Ben Askren. This has the former ONE welterweight champ wondering if the promotion is embarrassed.
PHOTO | UFC drops poster for UFC 232 featuring Jones, Gustafsson, Cyborg and Nunes
Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018
UFC 232, which goes down on December 29 in Las Vegas, is still two months away, but the promotion has already released the official fight poster for the mammoth, end-of-the-year card. This poster features the mugs of former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and top contender Alexander Gustafsson, who will rematch for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the main event, and those of featherweight champion Cris Cyborg and bantamweight champion Amana Nunes, who will battle in a featherweight title super fight in the co-main event.
Daniel Cormier on potential Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre booking: 'That's the fight'
Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018
Now that he’s dispatched of Conor McGregor, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov would seem to have a long list of options in terms of his next fight. He could rematch McGregor. He could fight Tony Ferguson or Dustin Poirier. He could welcome Ben Askren to the UFC… Yet in the opinion of UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, a long-time friend and training partner of Khabib Nurmagomedov, there’s currently only one fight to make for the undefeated Russian champion: a showdown with former welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre.
Daniel Cormier vows to slap Brock Lesnar if he enters cage at UFC 230
Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018
Minutes after Daniel Cormier won the UFC light heavyweight title with a July knockout of Stipe Miocic, he was joined in the cage by former UFC heavyweight champ and long-time WWE star Brock Lesnar. Lesnar then shoved Cormier, causing chaos in the Octagon and adding some serious zest to their potential matchup. Although Daniel Cormier was then expected to fight Brock Lesnar next, he instead agreed to battle streaking contender Derrick Lewis in the UFC 230 main event on November 3.
Ben Askren ready to provide closure on his career, 'We don't know if I'm as good as I say I am.'
Drake Riggs - October 30, 2018
The biggest knock on Ben Askren throughout his dominant MMA career has been that we haven’t seen him face the very best and he realizes that. But now we’re going to get too as the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight king is finally on his way to the UFC.
Ariane Lipski in need of new opponent for UFC Argentina after Maryna Moroz suffers broken foot
Drake Riggs - October 29, 2018
UFC Argentina has taken a hit as Maryna Moroz is going to have to pull out of her upcoming bout with ‘The Violence Queen’ Ariane Lipski at UFC Argentina. Initially, this bout was made thanks to an injury as Moroz was to face off with Veronica Macedo before Macedo suffered an injury of her own that led to the former KSW flyweight champion Lipski stepping in.
Report | Bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre in the works
Drake Riggs - October 29, 2018
After the biggest fight of his career at UFC 229, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov now seems destined for continuing the trend of landing fights that are on that same level. Nurmagomedov has always had his sights set on taking on the ultimate challenges and has never shown fear when doing so. One of the challenges he has made it clear that he would like to take on is the arguably greatest fighter of all time, former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion, Georges “Rush” St-Pierre.
Dana White's parting thoughts on Demetrious Johnson: He 'never really got the love and respect he deserved from the fans'
Thomas Taylor - October 29, 2018
Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who shattered the record for most consecutive title defenses by a UFC champion with 11-straight victories, is headed to Singapore-based Asian MMA powerhouse ONE Championship. The widespread feeling is that the former champ will fit in well in his new home and be well-received by fight fans in Asia. This is good news, considering the fact that Johnson never quite caught on with UFC fans. Although he was one of the sport’s most dominant champions, and the dynamo behind some of the most incredible performances in recent memory, he was never quite what you’d call a needle-mover for the promotion.
Report | UFC veteran Stephan Bonnar arrested for DUI after being detained by armed citizen
Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018
According to a report from TMZ, UFC and Bellator veteran Stephan Bonnar has found himself in hot water. Bonnar, who was a finalist on the historic first season of The Ultimate Fighter, and holds a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame for his war with season one winner Forrest Griffin, reportedly crashed his car in Nevada, at which point he was detained by a group of citizens who were concerned he was driving while impaired. These citizens, including one who was apparently armed with a gun, were reportedly able to get Bonnar to the ground, where they kept him until police arrived.
Ben Askren gives definitive response to talk of fight with Tyron Woodley: 'No.'
Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018
By moving to the UFC, Ben Askren has opened the door to dozens of exciting new matchups, and he’s already started laying the foundation for some of those new fights. There is one matchup, however, that seems to be off the table: one with reigning UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, to remind, are frequent training partners at Roufusport in Milwaukee. The relationship they’ve developed inside the Milwaukee gym is strong enough that Askren assures he’ll simply never fight the reigning champion.
UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori announces potential USADA violation
Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018
UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori has announced that he’s currently facing a potential United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation. The Italian fighter, who trains at Kings MMA in California, made this announcement on his official Facebook page, explaining that the failed test in question was administered on August 6 (h/t Tudor Leonte of Sherdog).
Chris Weidman 'pissed off' Kelvin Gastelum received middleweight title shot before him
James Lynch - October 29, 2018
It’s been a rough year for former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman (14-3). From an injury that has been keeping him on the sidelines since July 2017, to his opponent Luke Rockhold withdrawing from Saturdays UFC 230 bout, 2018 hasn’t been the year Weidman has hoped for. But perhaps the most frustrating part is that the last man he defeated, Kelvin Gastelum, is fighting for the middleweight title sometime next year against champion Robert Whittaker.
New ONE Championship star Demetrious Johnson excited to leave the drama of the UFC behind
Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018
These days, it seems like trash talk is part of the buildup to almost every major UFC fight. Pre-fight press conferences, media conference calls and interviews are increasingly filled with virulent mudslinging, while incidents like Conor McGregor‘s infamous bus rampage and the UFC 229 post-fight brawl seem to be making headlines with greater frequency. For fighters who aren’t fond of this kind of drama, this can be a little problematic.
Demetrious Johnson says it's 'unfortunate' that the UFC might close the flyweight division
Christopher Taylor - October 28, 2018
Demetrious Johnson joined ONE Championship this weekend as part of a historic trade which sent undefeated welterweight Ben Askren to the UFC. The former UFC flyweight kingpin, Johnson (27-3-1 MMA), officially announced that he had joined the Asian-based promotion earlier this evening on Twitter.
Michael Johnson unsure if Artem Lobov will return fine as promised
Christopher Taylor - October 28, 2018
Michael Johnson defeated Artem Lobov in the co-headliner of last night’s UFC Fight Night 138 event in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. “The Menace” was able to utilize his lightning-quick jab to outpoint “The Russian Hammer” for the better part of fifteen minutes.
Pros react to Michael Johnson defeating Artem Lobov at UFC Moncton
Christopher Taylor - October 28, 2018
A featherweight bout featuring Michael Johnson taking on Artem Lobov co-headlined last night’s UFC Fight Night 138 event in Moncton, Canada. “The Menace” served as a short-notice replacement for the fight, this after Lobov’s originally scheduled opponent Zubaira Tukhugov was pulled from the fight card due to his involvement in UFC 229‘s now infamous post-fight brawl.