UFC News

Manager Ali Abdelaziz weighs in on Khabib Nurmagomedov's fighting future
Tom Taylor - July 30, 2020
Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz believes we could see plenty more of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov over the next few years, but is reluctant to comment on the Russian’s fighting future until his showdown with the division’s interim champion Justin Gaethje in the rear-view. Nurmagomedov and Gaethje, who are both managed by Abdelaziz, are set to collide for the UFC lightweight title on October 24. Abdelaziz views the fight as tremendously dangerous for both champion and challenger, but believes it’s possible Nurmagomedov, who is currently 28-0, could strive for a perfect 30-0 mark if he’s victorious.

Stipe Miocic plans to tell the referee to watch for the "eye pokes" of Daniel Cormier in upcoming trilogy
Natasha Hooper - July 30, 2020
Stipe Miocic says he’ll warn the referee for his upcoming trilogy fight with Daniel Cormier to be on the lookout for illegal eye pokes. The heavyweight star first faced off against “DC” in 2018, at UFC 226. In that fight, Cormier picked up a first-round knockout win to earn the UFC heavyweight title.

Darren Till issues lengthy statement on "chess match" with Robert Whittaker
Tom Taylor - July 30, 2020
Darren Till has issued a lengthy statement on his tense, technical battle with Robert Whittaker, which headlined the UFC’s final card on Fight Island last Saturday. Till gave Whittaker, the former UFC middleweight champion, a very competitive fight, but ultimately lost the bout via unanimous decision. Despite the undesirable outcome, his performance legitimized him as one of the best middleweights in the world.

Alexander Volkanovski says Henry Cejudo fight would be "a waste of time"
Tom Taylor - July 30, 2020
Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes a fight with former bantamweight and flyweight champ Henry Cejudo would be “a waste of time.” Cejudo retired earlier this year, after a TKO win over Dominick Cruz. Despite his retirement, he’s been adamant that he’s interested in returning to the cage for the opportunity to challenge Volkanovski for the featherweight belt.

Tony Ferguson issues scathing response to doubters who want him to retire
Tom Taylor - July 30, 2020
Tony Ferguson has issued a fiery response to the members of the MMA community who have suggested he should hang up the gloves. Ferguson, the former UFC interim lightweight champion, has not fought since May, when sustained a violent beating at the hands of Justin Gaethje, which culminated with a fifth-round TKO loss.

Mario Yamasaki believes Herb Dean could have stopped Jai Herbert fight sooner
Adam Martin - July 30, 2020
Veteran MMA official Mario Yamasaki believes that Herb Dean could have stopped last weekend’s fight between Jai Herbert and Francisco Trinaldo sooner. After Trinaldo dropped Herbert with an overhand left in their catchweight bout at UFC Fight Island 3, Dean didn’t immediately stop the fight and instead required Trinaldo to land several ground strikes on a seemingly defenseless opponent before stepping in and waving off the contest. UFC color commentator Dan Hardy was quick to criticize Dean for the late stoppage, and Hardy and Dean were then caught on camera getting into a heated argument after the bout.

Khamzat Chimaev trolls "weak man" Conor McGregor
Tom Taylor - July 30, 2020
Sweden’s Khamzat Chimaev has taken another shot at former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. Earlier this week, in an interview with reporter Adam Zubayraev, Chimaev claimed that, in 2018, he flew to Ireland with the objective of attacking McGregor.

Petr Yan trashes Cody Garbrandt for "running away" to flyweight
Tom Taylor - July 30, 2020
UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has sent a scathing message to Cody Garbrandt, who recently laid out plans to drop down to the flyweight division. Garbrandt, who recently burst back into bantamweight title contention with a knockout win over Raphael Assuncao, discussed his plans for a drop to flyweight in a recent interview with ESPN.

Chael Sonnen shares his take on who is the greatest UFC fighter to never get a title shot
Natasha Hooper - July 30, 2020
Chael Sonnen has named his pick for the best UFC fighter to never receive a title shot. The MMA fighter turned analyst is known for his thorough breakdowns of MMA fights and his in-depth insights. Today is no exception as he shared the name of the man he believes is the greatest UFC fighter who never got the chance to fight for gold.

Stipe Miocic responds to Daniel Cormier's wrestling shoes comment: "I thought we were fighting"
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2020
Stipe Miocic has a simple message for Daniel Cormier who told the champ he better bring his wrestling shoes when they fight again. On August 15, in the main event of UFC 252, Stipe Miocic is looking to defend his heavyweight title when he battles Daniel Cormier for the third time. It is a fight many fans are looking forward to, but when they do fight, it will be in the smaller Octagon.

Chris Weidman plans to "mentally and physically break" Omari Akhmedov to earn stoppage win
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2020
Chris Weidman is expecting to snap his losing streak and get back to the win column in a big way. In the co-main event of the August 8 fight card, Weidman is dropping back down to middleweight to take on the 11th-ranked contender in Omari Akhmedov. For the former champion, he knows he will the bigger man in there and expects that to be a big advantage for him.

Edmen Shahbazyan eyes "dominant performance" over Derek Brunson in main event of UFC Vegas 5
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2020
Edmen Shahbazyan is looking to turn some more heads when he headlines this Saturday’s card against Derek Brunson. Shahbazyan vs. Brunson was originally scheduled to be the co-main event, but after Irene Aldana tested positive for COVID-19,the bout was moved to headliner status.

Edmen Shahbazyan opens up on relationship with manager Ronda Rousey: "She inspired me"
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2020
Edmen Shahbazyan knows he is lucky to have Ronda Rousey as his manager. When Rousey was the UFC champion, one of her training partners was then 15-year-old, Edmen Shahbazyan who trained at the gym. At open workouts, Shahbazyan was the person Rousey would judo throw. But, since then, “Rowdy” knew he would be something special.

UFC’s Big Bang: A world where Conor McGregor fought Rafael dos Anjos would have looked very different
Jordy McElroy - July 29, 2020
The galactic forces that knocked Rafael dos Anjos out of a superfight with Conor McGregor over four years ago was a miniature big bang that indirectly spawned an iconic cross-promotional boxing match, a BMF UFC title and the most volatile rivalry in MMA history. Put on the tinfoil hats, ladies and gents. It’s time to go deep-diving into a dystopian world of what-ifs.

Khamzat Chimaev claims he flew to Ireland to "beat up" Conor McGregor, was detained instead
Tom Taylor - July 29, 2020
Red-hot UFC welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev claims that, in 2018, he flew to Ireland with the objective of attacking former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor. At the time, McGregor was gearing up for a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov—and sparing nothing in the way of pre-fight trash talk. Chimaev, hellbent on defending Nurmagomedov’s honor, apparently flew to Ireland under the pretence of training with McGregor.

Ronda Rousey praises "special" young talent Edmen Shahbazyan: "He's the one"
Adam Martin - July 29, 2020
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey praised middleweight prospect Edmen Shahbazyan, calling him a “special” young talent. Rousey, the UFC Hall of Famer, is the manager for Shahbazyan, who also trains at Rousey’s old stomping grounds at Glendale Fighting Club. The young middleweight headlines his first UFC event this weekend when he takes Derek Brunson at UFC on ESPN+ 31. It’s a massive fight for the 22-year-old Shahbazyan, who is a perfect 11-0 in his MMA career thus far. In the biggest fight of his young career to date, Shahbazyan will be looking to jump into title contention at 185lbs with a win over the perennial contender Brunson this Saturday night.

Henry Cejudo responds to jab from Amanda “The Sheep” Nunes
Harry Kettle - July 29, 2020
Retired UFC star Henry Cejudo has issued a response to Amanda Nunes following a recent jab from her on social media. You want me to kick his ass? 🤪 Vamos para + uma guerra? #nunesvscejudo @HenryCejudo pic.twitter.com/CpLd0Tn4yx

Rafael dos Anjos puts the UFC on notice: “I’m ready for 155 with 5 weeks notice or 170 with 1 day notice”
Harry Kettle - July 29, 2020
UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos has let the promotion know that he is ready to take a fight on short notice at either welterweight or lightweight. There are many fighters in the world of mixed martial arts that would be willing to take a fight on short notice in the UFC, especially under the current set of circumstances. RDA has been part of the UFC family for well over a decade now, and yet even after everything he’s been through, he’s still as determined as ever to climb up through the ranks.