UFC News

Adam Martin - August 22, 2019

The head trainer at Tristar Gym, Firas Zahabi, ripped into Conor McGregor for punching an old man at an Irish bar, calling him “an embarrassment to MMA.” A fan asked Zahabi what he thought about the recent McGregor incident, and the long-time trainer of Georges St-Pierre didn’t hold back.

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2019

So far, nobody has been able to solve the Khabib Nurmagomedov puzzle. 27 fighters have tried — including monsters like Conor McGregor, Al Iaquinta, Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos and Michael Johnson — but none have been able to beat the Dagestani juggernaut.

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2019

Nate Diaz doesn’t know who Colby Covington is. At least, that’s the impression Diaz gave when he was asked about Covington after defeating Anthony Pettis at UFC 241.

Fernando Quiles - August 22, 2019

Stipe Miocic pulled something off in his rematch with Daniel Cormier that gave him added confidence. In the main event of UFC 241, Miocic took on Cormier in a bid to reclaim the heavyweight gold. Miocic was knocked out by Cormier back in July 2018, but he always expressed his belief that he’s the better fighter. Miocic found a way to stop Cormier in the fourth round to become a two-time UFC heavyweight champion.

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2019

Shortly after Nate Diaz defeated Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision at UFC 241, he set his sights on a scrap with fellow welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal. “The reason I was off is cause everybody sucked,” Diaz said in the cage. “There was nobody to fight. But with this belt I wanna defend it against, Jorge Masvidal had a good last fight. All respect to the man, but there ain’t no gangstas in this game anymore. There ain’t nobody who done it right but me and him. So I know my man’s a gangsta, but he ain’t no west coast gangsta.”

Tom Taylor - August 22, 2019

UFC President Dana White will soon launch Zuffa Boxing, a boxing promotion that he hopes will revolutionize The Sweet Science. As the official launch of Zuffa Boxing draws nearer — it’s targeted for this fall — several UFC fighters have already hinted that they’d like to step through the ropes and test their mettle in the Zuffa boxing ring.

Natasha Hooper - August 22, 2019

Joe Rogan is laughing off Conor McGregor’s attack on an older man in a pub in Ireland. Earlier this month, footage emerged of McGregor hitting a pub-goer in the face after the man allegedly refused to drink McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve whiskey. The incident reportedly occurred in April.

Jordy McElroy - August 21, 2019

Six years after legendary MMA star Georges St-Pierre bid farewell to the welterweight division, the antithesis of his championship reign fell out of the sky and crashed into the cage in the form of Nate Diaz. At UFC 241, after a three-year hiatus, there was no post-fight bowing, no pristine use of vernacular and no acknowledgment of a UFC-based hierarchy. No, Diaz walks to the beat of his own drum—a common description for the most uncommon athlete in combat sports.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

Georges St-Pierre has often found himself in the crosshairs of Nick Diaz, which has led to an ongoing rivalry between the two welterweight legends. When it comes to Nick’s brother Nate Diaz, however, St-Pierre has plenty of nice things to say. Speaking on Chael Sonnen’s podcast after watching Nate Diaz defeat Anthony Pettis at UFC 241, St-Pierre offered some praise of the resurgent Stockton-based star.

Cole Shelton - August 21, 2019

Anthony Smith and Luke Rockhold have had a heated rivalry for quite some time. Ever since “Lionheart” moved up from the middleweight division and began having success at light heavyweight, the former middleweight champion Rockhold has been critical of him. Yet when Rockhold made his own debut at 205-pounds, he was knocked out in the second round by Jan Blachowicz. For Anthony Smith, this was good to see as it forced Rockhold eat his words. But, even after Rockhold’s failed light heavyweight debut, Smith isn’t done trash-talking his rival.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo recently expressed his interest in dropping down to the bantamweight division to challenge the reigning champion Henry Cejudo for his title. At first, UFC President Dana White seemed open to this idea.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

At UFC 241, Paulo Costa picked up the biggest win of his career, defeating Yoel Romero by unanimous decision — but it didn’t come easy. Romero gave Costa everything he had, and according to Costa, the Cuban also relied on a few “dirty” tactics. “He’s a nice guy, but he’s dirty,” Costa said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (h/t MMA Junkie). “In the first round, when I make a hook in his face, he went down then got up very quickly. I say man I will knock him out in the first round because he feel my punch, my first punch, and I started hunting him in the Octagon. And when I close to knock him out, he point on something, anywhere, I don’t know. Like look there Paulo, and I lose concentration, because he point something, maybe his mouthpiece fall.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

Until Saturday, Daniel Cormier was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, according to the official UFC rankings. After losing to Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 241 on Saturday night, however, Cormier’s has plummeted six spots in those same rankings — despite picking up a first-round knockout over Miocic a little over a year go. UFC President Dana White thinks that’s “f**king insane,” and is very unhappy with the members of the MMA media who vote on the official UFC rankings.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

After a stacked card like UFC 241, it should come as no surprise that there have been some big changes to the official UFC rankings. The most notable change in this latest iteration of the UFC rankings occured on the pound-for-pound list, where the former heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier took a major tumble after losing to Stipe Miocic in the card’s main event. Elsewhere in the new UFC rankings, main card winners Nate Diaz and Paulo Costa made big climbs in the welterweight and middleweight rankings respectively on the strength of their decision defeats of Anthony Pettis and Yoel Romero.

Tom Taylor - August 21, 2019

Over the last few months, UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo has hinted at bantamweight showdowns with stars like Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar, Urijah Faber, Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt. He has not, however, made any mention of plans to defend his UFC flyweight title. Perhaps he’s not that division’s savior after all. 

Fernando Quiles - August 21, 2019

Brendan Schaub feels fight fans are more inclined to root for Nate Diaz over Conor McGregor these days. Despite being away from the Octagon since Aug. 2016, Diaz’s popularity never waned. The Stockton native finally returned to action at UFC 241 to the roar of those in attendance inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Not only did Diaz defeat Anthony Pettis, but he also proved to be a “needle mover” as UFC 241 set a record for the highest live gate for an MMA event in the state of California with $3,237,032.

Adam Martin - August 21, 2019

A battle between two of the most skilled grapplers in the UFC welterweight division is set to headline the UFC’s return to Singapore this fall, when Ben Askren takes on Demian Maia. Askren vs. Maia will headline UFC Singapore, which takes place October 26 at Singapore Indoor Arena in Kallang, Singapore. UFC president Dana White confirmed the fight with reporters at a post-fight scrum following the Contender Series.

Natasha Hooper - August 21, 2019

Henry Cejudo raised eyebrows last week when he challenged women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko to an “inter-gender” bout. UFC welterweight contender Michael Chiesa is stepping it up a notch by calling for a Brock Lesnar vs Gabi Garcia matchup. Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her flyweight title at UFC Uruguay when she went five rounds against Liz Carmouche. She beat Carmouche to a unanimous decision victory, avenging her loss from their first fight in 2010. After the fight, Cejudo took the limelight back by challenging Shevchenko to the first inter-gender fight.