UFC News

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

The UFC is under fire for running a Black History Month special starring lightweight contender Michael Chandler. February is recognized as Black History Month in the United States and several other countries. The UFC has already promoted three events in February, with one more on the calendar before the month concludes.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally closed the door on his long-desired superfight with former two-division UFC champ Georges St-Pierre. Nurmagomedov last fought in October, when he submitted Justin Gaethje to defend the UFC lightweight title for a third time. After that victory, he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

UFC heavyweight Derrick Lewis caught the attention of rapper Lil Wayne with his viral knockout of Curtis Blaydes. Lewis took on Blaydes in the main event of UFC Vegas 19 last Saturday. The fight, which was rife with heavyweight title implications, generated quite a bit of interest inside the combat sports bubble—and as it turns out, outside it as well.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Mortal Kombat actor Lewis Tan says his character in the film, Cole Young, is based in part on UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal. Tan’s Mortal Kombat character, Young, is a jaded former MMA champion. At one point in the film, Young can be seen casually leaning against the cage in the moments before a fight, just like Masvidal did before his highlight reel 2019 knockout of Ben Askren.

Christopher Taylor - February 21, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo continues to taunt Dana White by taking shots at some of the promotions champions. Cejudo (16-2 MMA) retired from mixed martial arts immediately following his second round TKO victory over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249. The victory had marked Henry’s sixth in a row and first career defense of his bantamweight title.

Chris Taylor - February 21, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes Conor McGregor’s best days are over following his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. McGregor squared off with Poirier for a second time in the headliner of last month’s pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi. Despite promising another first round finish of ‘The Diamond’, things did not pan out as planned for the Irishman.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC fighter Markus Perez detailed a recent sparring session he had with Jake Paul ahead of his upcoming boxing match with Ben Asken. Perez was recently among the latest round of UFC roster cuts. Following his recent loss to Dalcha Lungiambula on Fight Island in January, Perez asked the UFC matchmakers to cut him and let him go back down to the minor leagues to work on his game. With a 2-5 record in the UFC and a three-fight losing skid to end his run in the Octagon, the matchmakers decided to release “Maluko” from the roster. But while he might not be on the UFC roster anymore, Perez has already landed a gig as a sparring partner for Paul. Check out the photo that Perez posted on Instagram after a recent sparring session with Paul in Florida.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman revealed this father-in-law recently passed away, and the family is asking fans to help. According to his obituary, Vincent John Pecora passed away on February 17 at the age of 70 years old. His daughter, Marivi, is married to Weidman. In a lengthy statement posted on his Instagram, Weidman revealed that his father-in-law tragically died after he was hit by a truck in an intersection while crossing the street. Weidman said he knew the man since he was in the seventh grade when he met his daughter and future wife at a wrestling camp. Pecora became a huge part of Weidman’s life and one of his biggest supporters.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos congratulated his fiancée Yana Kunitskaya on her upset win over Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 19. Santos was in the corner of Kunitskaya as she defeated Vieira via unanimous decision in a fight that had somewhat controversial scorecards. Though it appeared that Vieira had done enough to control Kunitskaya on the mat from top position with her grappling that she would win the decision, the judges had other ideas. Instead, the three judges unanimously agreed that Kunitskaya had done enough to win the fight. Although Vieira had the takedowns and the control time on top, Kunitskaya was working the entire fight from the bottom, and she appeared to steal the fight in the final minute when she cut Vieira open.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Sijara Eubanks issued a statement following domestic violence allegations against ex-partner Lilly Ruiz. On Saturday, a video was posted to Eubanks’ own Twitter, allegedly showing her committing an act of domestic violence, reportedly in front of the couples’ child. Eubanks’ Twitter was later deleted, but the video remains on social media. According to the Twitter user “DatBoyLouu,” his mother-in-law is Eubanks’ ex-partner Ruiz, and he says he posted the video in order to get the media’s attention, saying Eubanks “needs to be stopped.”

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira explained why he turned down the chance to fight at UFC 259 for the backup role instead. The 41-year-old Teixeira is currently the No. 1 contender in the UFC light heavywight division following a submission win over Thiago Santos in his last fight. The Brazilian has won his last five straight fights and many analysts thought he should have been next in line to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. Instead, the UFC decided to give the next title shot at 205lbs to Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz and Adesanya will now headline UFC 259 on March 6, with Teixeira flying to Las Vegas to serve as a backup for the fight.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis explained why he wants to fight Alistair Overeem, accusing “The Reem” of turning him down four times. Lewis brutally knocked out Curtis Blaydes in the main event of UFC Vegas 19, picking up the victory as a massive +350 betting underdog. It’s a huge win over Lewis over the No. 2 ranked heavyweight in the UFC and it should push him closer to getting a title shot. However, the title is not what Lewis is striving for next. Instead, he called out Overeem for his next fight. Overeem is, of course, a teammate of the Elevation Fight Team and also one of the top-10 ranked heavyweights in the world. Following the win, Lewis explained why he wants to fight Overeem despite him getting knocked out by Alexander Volkov.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC featherweight Chas Skelly revealed the emotions that went through him when opponent Jamall Emmers did not enter the cage at UFC Vegas 19. Skelly was set to make his return to the Octagon for the first time since a decision win over Jordan Griffin in September 2019. Skelly missed all of 2020 due to injuries and was looking forward to returning to the cage against Emmers. Skelly had already made the walk to the Octagon and was awaiting Emmers to join him, but the fight was canceled at the last minute when Emmers suffered back spasms during his warmups. The fight was scratched, leaving Skelly with two straight canceled fights after a bout with Grant Dawson fell through at the last second in January 2020. Safe to say Skelly is frustrated by all of the bad luck.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall called for a fight against fellow heavyweight prospect Chris Daukaus following his big win at UFC Vegas 19. Aspinall picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday night when he submitted former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski via rear-naked choke in the second round. It was by far the biggest win of Aspinall’s career to date and it should land him a ranked opponent in his next fight. Although Arlovski is a quality veteran fighter who is respected around the fight game, he wasn’t in the top-15. After finishing him by second-round submission, Aspinall is hoping to fight someone ranked next, and it just so happens that the perfect opponent also fought on Saturday night. That would be Daukaus.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard took to social media to roast the United States Senator Ted Cruz with a comical tweet. Maynard took a shot at Cruz, who controversially left Texas during a winter storm to travel to Cancun, Mexico last week. The move to take a family vacation during the middle of the pandemic, especially with the state being in serious trouble due to these brutal snowstorms, has led to Cruz being smeared all over social media. Not to mention, UFC Vegas 19 winner Derrick Lewis had a hilarious quip earlier this week about taking a selfie with him at the airport. And now you can add Maynard to those who trolled Cruz.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski issued a statement following his submission loss to prospect Tom Aspinall at UFC Vegas 19. Arlovski was riding a two-fight win steak into this bout against Aspinall, a 27-year-old British heavyweight prospect who many believe is the future of the division. Though Aspinall was a considerable favorite entering the bout, there were many out there who thought Arlovski had a good chance to pull off the upset after he defeated Tanner Boser and Philipe Lins as an underdog in his last two fights. However, Aspinall is a much different beast from those two. The young heavyweight outstruck Arlovski in the first round and in the second round finished the fight with a surprising rear-naked choke submission victory.

Adam D Martin - February 21, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan and rival Aljamain Sterling engaged in a heated online feud, with Kevin Holland coming to the rescue. Yan and Sterling meet on March 6 in the co-main event of UFC 259, with Yan’s bantamweight belt on the line. The two rivals have been going back-and-forth on their social media accounts for seemingly the last year or so, and they will finally be able to put an end to their bitter feud next month. In the meantime, they continue to go after each other on Twitter. Only this time, a familiar face stopped by to lend a helping hand.

Christopher Taylor - February 20, 2021

Derrick Lewis referenced The Undertaker in an attempt to explain his extra punches after dropping Curtis Blaydes at UFC Vegas 19. Lewis (25-7 MMA) extended his current win streak to four in a row this evening by scoring a spectacular second round knockout victory over Blaydes.