UFC News

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019

This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his belt against interim champ Dustin Poirier. From the sounds of it, Nurmagomedov plans to end this fight via submission. While Poirier has proven quite difficult to submit, having tapped out just once in 31 fights, Nurmagomedov is confident he can make it happen.

Cole Shelton - September 4, 2019

Diego Ferreira is set to open the UFC 242 pay-per-view card against Mairbek Taisumov. He was set to do the same thing at UFC 237 in his native Brazil, but a bout of kidney stones forced him to pull out of the bout. Now, just four months later he will return and is excited for this rescheduled matchup against Taisumov. He knows their styles will make for an entertaining fight.

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has not fought since October of 2018, when he defeated Conor McGregor by decision. For some fighters, a break of this length might cause problems. Nurmagomedov’s next opponent Dustin Poirier, however, expects the champion to be sharp and ready when they step into the cage together. “I think that’s more of an individual thing,” Poirier said on the UFC 242 conference call last week (via MMA News). “Everybody is different.

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019

Joe Rogan believes the UFC is finally realizing how big of a draw Nate Diaz is. The UFC commentator discussed Diaz, who recently returned from a three-year break with a unanimous decision win over Anthony Pettis, with his latest podcast guest, retired boxer Andre Ward. Ward has trained previously with both Nate and his older brother Nick.

Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last weekend’s UFC Shenzhen card, and as expected, there have been some big changes. Most notably, Weili Zhang has assumed the top spot in the strawweight division, having captured the title by defeating Jessica Andrade in less than a minute in the card’s main event.

Natasha Hooper - September 4, 2019

Tony Ferguson believes Conor McGregor should be fighting celebrities, and leaving the real action to the top dogs in the lightweight division. During the latest episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Ferguson discussed a potential fight with McGregor. He doubts anybody would be interested.

Adam Martin - September 4, 2019

Controversial UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy is set to make his return to the Octagon at UFC Singapore in October, and his opponent may surprise you. The UFC announced Wednesday that Hardy will take on fellow heavyweight Jarjis Danho at UFC Singapore, taking place October 26 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

Natasha Hooper - September 4, 2019

According to a report from Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports, early figures suggest UFC 242 could be one of the biggest pay-per-view events in UFC history. The card will be topped by a lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. Nurmagomedov’s last fight against Conor McGregor in 2018 was one of the most anticipated match-ups in UFC history. The UFC 229 event sold over 2 million pay-per-views and shattered all previous PPV records for the promotion. The UFC would of course be happy to recreate this success when Nurmagomedov returns to the Octagon against Poirier this Saturday.

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019

Henry Cejudo has called for a ‘tune-up’ fight with Dominick Cruz for his next bantamweight bout. The former UFC bantamweight champion, Cruz, has not fought since he lost the title to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207. Since then injuries have kept him away from the Octagon. Yet, he says he should be cleared to fight soon and says the UFC is interested in giving him a title shot against Henry Cejudo when he returns.

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019

Tony Ferguson is hoping Dustin Poirier leaves Abu Dhabi as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion and stops Khabib Nurmagomedov in the process. Nurmagomedov will look to defend his title in the main event of UFC 242 when he scraps the aforementioned Poirier. It will no doubt be an interesting fight where the winner is likely to be fighting Tony Ferguson next. And, if ‘El Cucuy’ has his way, that fight would be against the current interim lightweight champion.

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019

When Ryan Bader was in the UFC, Daniel Cormier called him the easiest fight in the light heavyweight division. Yet, a fight between the two never came to fruition and as “Darth” left in free agency for Bellator. Even though Ryan Bader is in Bellator, he still wants that fight and revealed he and his management reached out to the UFC for a cross-promotional fight with Cormier.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019

Brian Ortega is ready to step back into the UFC’s Octagon and separate himself from a late 2018 loss to reigning featherweight champion Max Holloway. He even knows who he wants to fight in his return to action: “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. While this matchup with The Korean Zombie still isn’t official, Ortega believes it makes plenty of sense. He also likes his chances against the fan favorite Korean fighter.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019

Leon Edwards’ number-one choice at present is a matchup with his welterweight rival Jorge Masvidal. “Obviously, I want the fight [with Masvidal]. Now it’s up to him and his fat manager,” Edwards told MMA Fighting. “I am willing to fight in November. I will co-main event [Kamaru] Usman-[Colby] Covington and whoever wins gets a title shot.

Fernando Quiles - September 3, 2019

Michael Bisping believes Darren Till is in a high-risk, high-reward situation. Till is set to move up to the middleweight division when he takes on Kelvin Gastelum. The bout is scheduled for UFC 244 on Nov. 2. The action is being held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. In terms of size, Till is certainly bulking up for the change in weight class.

Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019

This Saturday, the UFC will touch down in Abu Dhabi with UFC 242. While the card features several Middle Eastern fighters, there has yet to be a UFC champion from the region. UFC President Dana White believes that will change soon. The UFC boss believes the UFC could have a Middle Eastern titleholder within the next six or seven years.

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019

Edson Barboza is set for the first rematch of his career when he takes on Paul Felder in the co-main event of UFC 242 this weekend. The two first fought back at UFC on FOX 16 in 2015, when Barboza won by decision. The fight was honored as the Fight of the Night. Now, however, when the two step back into the Octagon, Barboza, who is from Brazil and trains at American Top Team, is not looking for another Fight of the Night.

Natasha Hooper - September 3, 2019

The UFC has released its first Embedded vlog for UFC 242, which goes down on Saturday, September 7 in Abu Dhabi, and will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim champ Dustin Poirier. Watch the full episode below:

Natasha Hooper - September 3, 2019

Dan Hardy recently shared his take on the UFC 242 co-main event, which will pit Paul Felder against Edson Barboza in a rematch of an excellent fight. The card goes down on September 7 in Abu Dhabi.