UFC News

Natasha Hooper - May 22, 2019

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping was nearly robbed and killed during his stay in Cape Town, South Africa. On his podcast today, called Believe You Me, Bisping described the scary altercation to Luis J Gomez.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2019

This afternoon, the Nevada State Athletic Commission decided to reduce the year-long suspensions of Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov by 35 days, meaning both men will be able to fight again as of September 2, rather than October 6. This is important news, as UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov previously vowed not to fight until both men were eligible to compete again, which represented an obstacle as the UFC attempted to schedule him for a fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 on September 7 in Abu Dhabi. With the NSAC’s new ruling, of course, Khabib Nurmagomedov is clear to fight at UFC 242 without breaking his promise. Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov are also now in a position to join Khabib on the UFC 242 bill.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2019

Reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov vowed that he would not return to the Octagon until his teammates Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov were cleared to fight again. Given that they were initially suspended one year for their roles in the infamous UFC 229 brawl, and therefore ineligible to fight until October, that presented a bit of a problem as a the UFC has worked to book a title fight between Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 on September 7. Luckily, a solution has been reached.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2019

According to a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, controversial NFL veteran Greg Hardy will likely be returning to the cage at UFC San Antonio on July 20. Hardy will reportedly meet promising heavyweight prospect Juan Adams, a veteran of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. BREAKING: UFC is finalizing a bout between Greg Hardy and Juan Adams for July 20, San Antonio. Adams has targeted Hardy a lot on social media. Says he "hates" him and uses a #F—GregHardy hashtag. Obviously, a fight he's been looking for. https://t.co/TEtzaooOHW

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2019

Speaking at the BKFC 6 press conference on Monday, former boxer Paulie Malignaggi made quite a few comments that rubbed the MMA community the wrong way. Some of his comments actually targeted the MMA community point blank. Yet the thing that bothered former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping the most was Malignaggi’s fashion choices — namely his fedora. “Don’t get me started on [Paulie Malignaggi] spitting on [Artem Lobov],” Michael Bisping said on his Believe You Me podcast (transcript via MMA News). “Any motherf*cker that shows up wearing a hat like that deserves to die. It’s as simple as that. I’m sorry. You look like an absolute tit. He looks like a villain out of the Dick Tracy movie. You know what I mean? He might as well have had a pinstripe suit on, that big stupid gangsta hat. Oh my god, it did not look good.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2019

Dustin Poirier will get the next crack at UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Barring a shakeup courtesy of Conor McGregor, the next title shot beyond that will likely go to the winner of a UFC 238 fight between Tony Ferguson and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Depending on how things shake out, then, there’s a chance Poirier will find himself with the winner of Cerrone and Ferguson’s fight sometime late this year or early next.

Natasha Hooper - May 22, 2019

According to Leon Edwards and his brother, Bellator fight Fabian Edwards, Jorge Masvidal turned down the opportunity to fight him. The Edwards brothers have also recently made digs at the UFC for the current ranking and lack of hype surrounding Leon. Leon Edwards (17-3) has made his desire to fight Jorge Masvidal no secret. In a recent interview with BJPenn.com, he says his winning streak is not reflected in his position in the UFC ranking system, presumably because he doesn’t engage in trash talking.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2019

When Dustin Poirier defeated Max Holloway to win the interim lightweight title at UFC 236, he earned himself the opportunity to unify his new title with the undisputed lightweight belt owned by the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov. The longstanding rumor has been that this lightweight title fight will occur at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi on September 7. That being said, the bout is not yet official.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2019

Former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor has made more money than any other fighter in MMA history, and he’s never been shy about spending it. The Irishman lives extremely lavishly. Yet in an interview with Tony Robbins last month, which was only just released, McGregor divulged that he’s decided to change the way he spends his money. After reading a bit about NBA star LeBron James, he’s decided there are much more fruitful ways to invest his money and time. “For so long, in my mid to late twenties when I started to acquire wealth and acquire money, I was fascinated with materialistic things,” Conor McGregor began (transcript via Pundit Arena). “I would buy myself cars, watches. I have switched off of that.

Natasha Hooper - May 21, 2019

Justin Gaethje is one of the top contenders in the lightweight division and is currently ranked at No. 5 in the divisional rankings. Whilst many other major fighters in the division have confirmed bouts over the next few months, the next opponent for Gaethje remains to be seen. Gaethje partook in an interview with ESPN to share his thoughts on possible matchups. He believes he deserves to fight an opponent ranked above him and is open to a showdown with former two-division champion Conor McGregor.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2019

After kickstarting his MMA career with an undefeated run and a brief reign as UFC bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt has fallen on tough times. After back-to-back knockout losses to TJ Dillashaw, and a third straight knockout loss at the hands of Pedro Munhoz, it’s going to take some work for him to work his way back into title contention. For the moment, however, the plan for Garbrandt to take some time off to recover, according to his manager Ali Abdelaziz.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2019

The upcoming UFC Minneapolis card, scheduled for June 29, will now be topped by an Octagon-shaking heavyweight showdown between former title challenger Francis Ngannou and former champion Junior dos Santos. The card was originally expected to be headlined by a rematch between former welterweight champions Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley, but this plan was nixed when the former sustained a hand injury and was forced out of the matchup.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2019

The next crack at UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will go to Frankie Edgar, not Alex Volkanovski as many expected. The pair will meet at UFC 240 in July. Edgar has won just a single fight in the last two-years, while Volkanovski is on an massive tear, so this decision was not an overwhelmingly popular one.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2019

It has not been an easy few years for UFC flyweight turned bantamweight Ray Borg. In fact, he’s had a terribly difficult run. The biggest struggles Borg has had to deal with have been the seemingly unending health problems of his young son. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, he’s also been forced to withdraw from fights, has had opponents do the same, and has endured controversial losses when he’s actually made it to the cage.

Tom Taylor - May 21, 2019

When Alex Volkanovski defeated former UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo at UFC 237, the expectation was that he would soon be awarded a title shot opposite reigning champion Max Holloway. “My claim is rock solid,” Volkanovski said post-fight fight. “I’m undefeated. I just beat the No. 1 contender. So I’m the guy. I really am.”

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2019

Last week, the UFC’s return to Texas, UFC San Antonio, had a whopping six whole fights announced. Well, there’s more where that came from. ESPN confirmed on Monday that the July 20 event will be getting a rematch of a fight from 11 years ago that took place in the short-lived promotion that was Affliction. It will be the former UFC heavyweight champion, “The Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (27-18) squaring off once again with Ben Rothwell (36-11).

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2019

At UFC 237, Jessica Andrade slammed her way into the MMA history books when she defeated Rose Namajunas by second-round TKO in her native country of Brazil. By doing so, Andrade has become only the second current Brazilian champion in the promotion behind the dual-division bantamweight and featherweight queen, Amanda Nunes. She is also now the fourth fighter to hold the UFC strawweight title.

Drake Riggs - May 20, 2019

On March 5, 2016, we saw the then UFC featherweight champion, Conor McGregor take on Nate Diaz in an unexpected welterweight meeting. Originally, this was supposed to be a champion vs champion bout pitting the Irishman against the lightweight king, Rafael Dos Anjos. Unfortunately for one of Brazil’s finest, he would end up suffering a broken foot that forced him out of the bout with just a week prior to fight night. Because of this, his opportunity to get his hands on McGregor has since passed… and his would-be adversary knows it.