UFC News
Mike Perry, Latory Gonzalez welcome baby boy after "scare" at hospital
Tom Taylor - January 6, 2021
UFC welterweight star “Platinum” Mike Perry is officially a father after he and his partner Latory Gonzalez welcomed a baby boy to the world this week. Perry announced this exciting news on Twitter on Wednesday, noting that his son gave them a brief scare at the hospital, but is now in good health.
Cory Sandhagen: It will be "a bummer" if TJ Dillashaw gets immediate title shot
Tom Taylor - January 6, 2021
Cory Sandhagen says it will be “a bummer” if TJ Dillashaw is granted an immediate opportunity to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title. Dillashaw ruled over the bantamweight division for several years, but was stripped of his title after testing positive for EPO, an injectable-only performance enhancing drug. After being stripped and admitting his mistake, Dillashaw was suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. As his suspension nears its conclusion, he’s campaigned for the immediate opportunity to reclaim his title.
UFC president Dana White shares his thoughts on open scoring in MMA
Harry Kettle - January 6, 2021
UFC president Dana White has given his thoughts on the constant debate surrounding the potential introduction of open scoring in mixed martial arts. The idea behind open scoring is that everyone would be well aware of how the judges are scoring the fight as the contest goes on, whether it be a three round affair or a five round main event.
Dan Hooker on Michael Chandler: 'They want him to come in and look like the man'
Drake Riggs - January 5, 2021
Dan Hooker fully understands the position he’s in as he gets ready to welcome Michael Chandler to the Octagon at UFC 257 on Jan. 23. In September, it was announced that the former three-time Bellator lightweight king in Chandler had signed with the UFC. Initially acting as the backup to the title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje, “Iron Mike” now has a date with a “Hangman” to start his new promotional tenure.
Dana White reveals former UFC champion Shogun Rua has retired
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2021
Shogun Rua is officially retired, according to Dana White. After Rua lost to Paul Craig at UFC 255, many thought that would be it for the Brazilian MMA legend but there was no formal retirement. Now, however, on an ESPN+ livestream, Dana White has revealed Rua has retired.
Justin Gaethje will "probably" fight Charles Oliveira next, according to Dana White
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2021
Justin Gaethje will most likely be fighting Charles Oliveira next, according to UFC president Dana White. Gaethje does not have his next fight booked and hinted at waiting to fight the winner of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. However, that is no longer the case, as White revealed the hope is Gaethje fights Oliveira next.
Deiveson Figueiredo gets UFC pay-per-view points going forward, says manager
Adam Martin - January 5, 2021
UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will receive pay-per-view points in his contract going forward, says his manager Wallid Ismail. Figueiredo has been open about his desire for a better contract in the wake of his incredible 2020 that has seen him crowned as “Fighter of the Year” by many MMA analysts. The Brazilian went 3-0-1 last year, with two wins over Joseph Benavidez by stoppage, a quick finish over Alex Perez, and an absolute war with Brandon Moreno that was a “Fight of the Year” candidate in itself. However, Figueiredo wasn’t getting pay-per-view points for those bouts.
Video | Ronda Rousey goes beast mode in the gym in new Mizuno clothing commercial
Adam Martin - January 5, 2021
UFC women’s legend Ronda Rousey went beast mode in the gym in a new commercial where she shows off her featured clothing line with Mizuno. Rousey, one of the greatest women’s MMA fighters of all time, was last seen with the WWE. But she was back in the gym doing some mixed martial arts training once again in a commercial for the new “Mizuno X Ronda Rousey Training Collection.” Along with showing off her MMA skills, Rousey went all out and showed off her incredible athleticism by doing gymnastics and strength and conditioning. Watch the commercial below (via @RondaRousey).
Gilbert Burns predicts Jon Jones heavyweight run will end badly: "I don't like that"
Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns believes Jon Jones’s move up to the heavyweight division will probably end in disaster. Jones, the long-time UFC light heavyweight champion, recently vacated his title with plans to climb up to heavyweight. While his debut in the division is not yet set, he’s expected to fight the winner of an unscheduled title fight between champion Stipe Miocic and challenger Francis Ngannou.
Andrei Arlovski returns to the Octagon on February 20 against Tom Aspinall
Adam Martin - January 5, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski returns to the Octagon on February 20 against rising prospect Tom Aspinall. On Tuesday, Arlovski vs. Aspinall i was officially announced for the February 20 card, which is headlined by a five-round heavyweight contest between top-five contenders Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes. It’s a great matchup between a former champion in the Belarusian Arlovski and a rising star in the Brit Aspinall.
Dillon Danis says Khabib Nurmagomedov grappling match would be "easy work"
Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021
Dillon Danis says a grappling match with undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov would be “easy work.” Nurmagomedov, who recently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, is widely considered one of the best grapplers in the history of the sport. Yet Danis, a decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu blackbelt, believes he could make quick work of the unbeaten Russian in a straight grappling match.
Conor McGregor is "very good" at grappling, says Gilbert Burns
Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor has “very good” Brazilian jiu jitsu, despite perceptions to the contrary. McGregor has long stood out as one of the most lethal strikers in MMA, with a long list of knockout wins to his credit. Yet many of the Irishman’s detractors—both fans and fighters—have suggested he’s lacking in the grappling department.
Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns gets new date, goes down at UFC 258
Tom Taylor - January 5, 2021
A long-awaited welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns has a new date. It’s now scheduled for UFC 258 on February 12. News of this bout was first reported by Combate and has now been confirmed by MMA Fighting.
Tony Ferguson reflects on tough year, promises "biggest and meanest" version of 'El Cucuy' in 2021
Adam Martin - January 4, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson reflected on what was a tough year for him in 2020, promising to be “biggest and meanest” in 2021. Ferguson had a very tough year in 2020 for various reasons. The calendar started off with Ferguson being booked to fight UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in Brooklyn back in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that fight fell apart for the fifth time. Instead of getting his dream matchup against Nurmagomedov, Ferguson instead fought Justin Gaethje for the interim belt at UFC 249 and he suffered a vicious fifth-round TKO defeat.
UFC Twitter account sends out DMs stating Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 2 is now for the lightweight title
Drake Riggs - January 4, 2021
The first UFC pay-per-view event of 2021 will see the returning Conor McGregor rematch Dustin Poirier — and it may end up being for a title after all. On Monday, those within the MMA community began revealing Twitter messages that they received from the official UFC Twitter account about UFC 257 event info. This, of course, is the event where Poirier and McGregor will be headlining on Jan. 23.
Dana White sends warning to fight fans planning to illegally stream UFC 257
Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021
Dana White has sent a warning to any fight fans that plan on illegally streaming UFC 257. In the main event of UFC 257, Conor McGregor is set to face Dustin Poirier in a highly-anticipated fight. The event will do massive pay-per-view numbers but illegal streams have been a problem for combat sports so White plans on putting an end to that.
Michael Chandler claims he's a "nightmare" matchup for Conor McGregor
Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021
Michael Chandler is confident in his skill set as he believes he is a nightmare matchup for Conor McGregor. In the co-main event of UFC 257, Michael Chandler will finally make his Octagon debut against Dan Hooker in an intriguing matchup. If the former Bellator lightweight champion wins, he will likely be in line for a big fight against someone like Justin Gaethje, or the winner of Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2. If it happens to be the latter, and McGregor wins, Chandler believes he would get his hand raised.
Derrick Lewis vs. Curtis Blaydes rebooked to headline February event
Cole Shelton - January 4, 2021
Derrick Lewis and Curtis Blaydes will still fight one another. Originally, Derrick Lewis and Blaydes were supposed to headline the November 28 card, but Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19. The hope was to have the fight rescheduled for January, but according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the fight will headline the February 20 card.