UFC News

Aspen Ladd, UFC Rochester
UFC

Aspen Ladd forced off UFC on ESPN 12 fight card due to injury

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2020

Aspen Ladd will no longer be fighting Sara McMann. MMAJunkie was first to report the news that Ladd has suffered an injury and has been forced to pull out of her June 27th bout against McMann.

Dana-White
UFC

Dana White says UFC bracing for second lockdown: "I'm always thinking about the worst"

Adam Martin - June 19, 2020

UFC president Dana White says the world’s top MMA promotion is bracing for a second shutdown due to a potential second wave this fall of COVID-19. Despite all odds against them, the UFC has been pulling off shows since May even with the coronavirus still infecting people all over in the world and especially in the United States. White has remained adamant for months that the show would go on for the UFC and the promotion has made good on that promise with a number of shows in Florida in May and more in Las Vegas in June. The UFC is also planning for a number of events on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi this July and back in Vegas in August.

Dana White, UFC 249
UFC

Dana White explains why Jose Aldo received vacant title shot against Petr Yan

Adam Martin - June 19, 2020

UFC president Dana White explained why Jose Aldo received the vacant title fight against Petr Yan at UFC 251 over the other top contenders at 135lbs. Despite coming off of back-to-back losses to Alexander Volkanovski and Marlon Moraes in his bantamweight debut, the UFC is giving Aldo the title shot against Yan after Henry Cejudo vacated it last month. The Aldo vs. Yan fight has been met with widespread criticism from fans and media, who do not believe that Aldo has earned the opportunity over Aljamain Sterling and some of the other top contenders in the bantamweight division.

Gray Maynard
Frankie Edgar

Gray Maynard plans to continue fighting, wants fourth scrap against Frankie Edgar

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2020

Gray Maynard says his MMA career is not done yet. Maynard has not fought since UFC 229 where he suffered a TKO loss to Nik Lentz. The former UFC title challenger was released from the Las Vegas-based promotion after the defeat. Since then, the now 41-year-old says he still is interested in fighting.

Curtis Blaydes
UFC

Curtis Blaydes challenges UFC over "embarrassing" fighter pay: "The money is there"

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has shared his thoughts on fighter pay, which has been a hotly-debated issue over the last few weeks. Blaydes, who will battle Alexander Volkov in the main event of UFC on ESPN 11 this Saturday, shared his thoughts in an interview with CBS Sports, calling the amount some fighters are paid “embarrassing” and challenging the UFC to start sharing the wealth.

Kamaru Usman, UFC 251
UFC 251

UFC 251 official fight poster revealed

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2020

The official fight poster for the stacked UFC 251 card, scheduled for July 11 on Fight Island, has been released by the promotion. See it below:

Amanda Nunes, Holly Holm
Holly Holm

Holly Holm eyes future rematch with Amanda Nunes

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2020

Holly Holm is hoping that she’ll have the opportunity for a second shot at reigning UFC bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes in the future. Holm, 38, fought Amanda Nunes in July of 2019. She lost the fight via first-round TKO. She rebounded from that loss with a decision defeat of Raquel Pennington, and will look to make it two in a row when she takes on Irene Aldana on August 1.

Curtis Blaydes, Alexander Volkov, UFC on ESPN 10
Curtis Blaydes

UFC on ESPN 11 weigh-in results: Main event official, one fighter misses mark

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2020

On Saturday night, the UFC will return to our screens with the compelling UFC on ESPN 11 card out of the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas. The card will be topped by a heavyweight showdown between top-10 contenders Alexander Volkov and Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes will enter the fight with defeats of Justin Willis, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Junior dos Santos in the rear-view, while Volkov will look to build on them momentum of a short-notice decision win over Greg Hardy.

Holly Holm, UFC 246 Betting Odds
UFC

Holly Holm explains why she receives “plenty of title fights”

Harry Kettle - June 19, 2020

Former UFC champion Holly Holm has explained why she believes she receives fairly regular title shots with the promotion. Holm captured the UFC Bantamweight Championship back in November 2015 when she beat Ronda Rousey, but since then, she’s gone 3-5 in the UFC across her last eight fights. Despite that, she’s still fought for either the featherweight or bantamweight title three times since dropping the belt to Miesha Tate — losing all three.

Curtis Blaydes
Curtis Blaydes

Curtis Blaydes puts fans on notice: “If y’all were hoping to see a 25-min stand-up war you probably shouldn’t tune in”

Harry Kettle - June 19, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has issued a warning to fans ahead of his main event fight against Alexander Volkov this weekend. Blaydes is set to square off against Volkov in the main event of UFC on ESPN 11 on Saturday night, which will take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Blaydes is currently riding a three fight win streak, whereas Volkov has only lost one fight during his run with the promotion.

Kamaru Usman, UFC Fight Island
UFC Fight Island

UFC reveals lineups for all four Fight Island cards in July

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2020

The UFC has revealed the full lineups for all four events scheduled to go down on Fight Island this July. UFC President Dana White has been teasing his Fight Island plans for months, tabbing the the mysterious locale as the place where international UFC fighters will be able to compete during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jeff Novitzky, UFC 232, USADA, marijuana
USADA

Jeff Novitzky attempts to explain why so many fighters test positive for Ostarine and why it’s banned

Natasha Hooper - June 19, 2020

UFC Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitzky has explained why so many fighters test positive for Ostarine, and why it is a banned substance. This week, women’s flyweight Rachael Ostovich fighter received a one-year suspension from USADA after testing positive for several banned substances. The 29-year old tested positive for Ostarine and GW1516 as part of an out-of-competition drug test collected on January 3, 2020.

Paulo Costa
Paulo Costa

Paulo Costa says he wants "$15 million" to fight Israel Adesanya and coach TUF

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2020

Paulo Costa has set his price to coach The Ultimate Fighter and fight Israel Adesanya. Dana White has recently said TUF is coming back and named a few possibilities of who may coach the season. One pairing fans were eager to see was Adesanya and Costa. The two have a massive rivalry, so it would make for good TV. It would also set up their middleweight title fight, which is expected to happen later this year.

Rachael Ostovich
UFC

Rachael Ostovich suspended by USADA

Adam Martin - June 18, 2020

UFC women’s flyweight Rachael Ostovich has received a one-year suspension by USADA after testing positive for several banned substances. Ostovich tested positive for ostarine and GW1516 during an out-of-competition drug test collected on January 3, 2020. The banned substances were found in a tainted supplement that Ostovich used, as the label on the supplement did not indicate these substances were in it. This led to USADA reducing the suspension from the standard two years to one year, and that was further reduced to eight months due to time served from a 2019 atypical finding which USADA cleared Ostovich of. She may return to the UFC on August 3, 2020.

Nate Diaz Clay Guida
Nate Diaz

Clay Guida calls out Nate Diaz: "I beat his ass once, I'll beat his ass again"

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2020

Clay Guida is looking to run things back with Nate Diaz. Guida and Diaz first met back in January of 2009 at UFC 94 where Guida won by split decision. It was a back-and-forth fight in what was Diaz’s first UFC loss, but it earned both men Fight of the Night honors.

Tyson Nam
Tyson Nam

Tyson Nam wants to get "one back for Hawaii" against Matt Schnell after highlight-reel KO win

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2020

Tyson Nam had a hectic fight week for what was a do-or-die fight for his UFC career. At UFC on ESPN 10, Nam was expected to fight Ryan Benoit. Yet, Benoit had to pull out and was replaced by longtime Glory kickboxer, Zarrukh Adashev.

Eddie Alvarez, ONE Championship
UFC

Eddie Alvarez speaks up on fighter pay: "I wish more fighters understood how valuable they are"

Adam Martin - June 18, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez spoke up on the topic of fighter pay, saying that he wishes more fighters realized how valuable they are. Alvarez was one of the top-five lightweights in the world when he decided to leave the UFC and sign a big-money deal with ONE Championship two years ago. Alvarez is one of the few fighters who has fought in nearly all the big promotions in MMA, having competed in the UFC, Bellator, ONE, DREAM, and BodogFight. He has always been someone who has truly embraced the title of “prizefighter” as someone who has always gone after the biggest contract and best opportunities available, regardless of what promotion he has fought for.

Alexander Volkanovski, Alex Volkanovski, Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Max Holloway
UFC

Alexander Volkanovski open to a superfight with "one of the GOATs" Khabib Nurmagomedov

Adam Martin - June 18, 2020

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski said that he is open to a superfight against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Volkanovski is set to defend his belt against former champ Max Holloway in a rematch this summer at UFC 251 on Fight Island, and if he wins that fight there will be plenty of other options for “The Great” at 145lbs. However, that hasn’t stopped former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo from calling out Volkanovski for a potential matchup, and Volkanovski has admitted that’s a fight that interests him as well.