UFC News

Tom Taylor - February 13, 2019

This Sunday night, in the main event of the first-ever UFC card on ESPN, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will make his long-awaited return to the cage. His welcome committee will be former title challenger Francis Ngannou. Ahead of this compelling heavyweight showdown, it’s abundantly clear what Cain Velasquez needs to be most wary of: Francis Ngannou hits absurdly hard. Ngannou hits so hard, in fact, that UFC President Dana White once compared the French-Cameroonian’s power to a Ford Escort moving at full speed.

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2019

“Definitely,” Cain Velasquez told TMZ when asked if he would be interested in fighting Jon Jones. “Anyone, you know. That’s why I’m in this sport, to fight the best guys, to be the best out there. To me, it’s just go out there, perform and win and just take on the best guys. “I think I could [beat him]. I think I’m good enough. Jon Jones, he’s an amazing athlete. I’ve watched him in all of his fights, I know what he’s capable of. Again, every guy poses a great challenge, I think he does as well. I think I could beat him, yeah.”

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2019

UFC 234 didn’t get the cap off that we were all expecting. Sure, Israel Adesanya vs Anderson Silva was a thrilling chess match. But we were going to get that regardless. Just hours before the event began, we learned that the UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker had to undergo emergency hernia surgery thus, obviously, removing him from his scheduled title defense against Kelvin Gastelum.

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2019

When it comes to the most talented heavyweights to ever compete, a discussion cannot be had without the mention of former two-time UFC champion Cain Velasquez. Unfortunately for Velasquez and fans alike, the latter portion of his career has been plagued by injuries as he’s only fought twice since 2013.

Drake Riggs - February 12, 2019

It’s hard to argue that there is a bantamweight on the UFC roster who has been more impressive than Marlon Moraes as of late. The ‘magical’ former World Series of Fighting king has absolutely torn through his top 10 opposition in his last three outings.

Cole Shelton - February 12, 2019

Cris Cyborg is one of the greatest female fighters to ever compete in MMA. For well over a decade, she was simply dominant, going 20-0-1 after losing her first professional fight. Then, at UFC 232, Cyborg had her toughest fight to date when Amanda Nunes moved up in weight to challenge her for the UFC featherweight title. Many believe it would be a close fight, but Nunes shocked the world. She knocked Cyborg out in just 51 seconds to become the new UFC featherweight champion.

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2019

Not everybody agreed with the stoppage in last weekend’s Jim Crute vs. Sam Alvey fight. UFC President Dana White, for example, was adamant that referee Marc Goddard stopped the action too early, and that Alvey should have been given a bit more time to recover. Speaking to MMA Fighting, Marc Goddard gave his take on the stoppage in this fight. In hindsight, he admits that he perhaps could have handled the situation differently, but he also reminds his detractors that he’s forced to act decisively in mere milliseconds, oftentimes when a fighter’s safety is on the line.

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2019

Kelvin Gastelum, who was supposed to battle Robert Whittaker in the UFC 234 main event, and now considers himself the middleweight champ by default after Whittaker withdrew from the fight with an injury, was not impressed by Israel Adesanya and Anderson Silva’s UFC 234 fight. Instead, Gastelum saw this fight as more “theatrics” than anything else.

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2019

Last weekend, in the last-minute main event of UFC 234, former UFC middleweight champ and undeniable MMA legend Anderson Silva came up short in an exciting, three-round battle with surging contender Israel Adesanya. In the wake of this fight, Anderson Silva has made no secret of his respect and admiration for Adesanya. In fact, he even hopes to see the Nigeria-born New Zealander become a UFC champion in the future.

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2019

Fan favorite UFC lightweight contender Nate Diaz will be returning to the cage this weekend at UFC Phoenix on ESPN, he just won’t be doing any fighting. Instead, the younger Diaz brother will be cornering BJJ ace Kron Gracie in his UFC debut opposite the always exciting Alex Caceres. ESPN’s Greg Rosenstein has the details:

Tom Taylor - February 12, 2019

Joe Rogan has interviewed hundreds and hundreds of fighters over the years, but he’s never felt threatened by any of them. Speaking on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator was asked by Brazilian actor Rafinha Bastos if he has ever felt unsafe while interviewing a fighter. Rogan responded with a firm ‘no’ and outlined his primary goal in every fighter interview he conducts.

Drake Riggs - February 11, 2019

Currently, Daniel Cormier is the reigning UFC heavyweight champion. But with an end in sight, he won’t hold that label forever. Training with Cormier for the majority of his professional MMA career has been the former two-time heavyweight king of the UFC, Cain Velasquez.

Drake Riggs - February 11, 2019

Brazil’s Johnny Walker has wasted little to no time getting his UFC career started. The 16-3 26-year old has already racked up two stunningly impressive highlight reel knockout wins since entering the promotion late last year.

Drake Riggs - February 11, 2019

Criticism is always going to find its way to athletes in professional sports. Whether it be from fans or even peers. At UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia this past weekend, ‘The Last Stylebender’ Israel Adesanya headlined his first UFC pay-per-view event.

Cole Shelton - February 11, 2019

Anthony Smith has been on a roll since moving up to light heavyweight. First, he had quick knockouts over former champions in Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua. Then, he submitted Volkan Oezdemir in the main event of UFC Moncton in October. That third win set Smith up for a title shot at UFC 235 against arguably the greatest fighter of all time, Jon Jones.

Drake Riggs - February 11, 2019

As not all heroes wear capes, not all heroes are perfect, but they don’t always have to be. In the grueling world of combat sports and as is the case with every sport at the highest professional level, the magnitude of each and every setting gets magnified to the broadest possible audience with the more and more success that is gained.

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2019

As long suspected, UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will not be retiring when he turns 40 in March, as he originally planned. The champ confirmed this news on The MMA Hour on Monday.

Tom Taylor - February 11, 2019

Daniel Cormier recently became the first fighter in UFC history to wear the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles concurrently, first capturing the vacant belt with a defeat of Anthony Johnson, then thumping Stipe Miocic to capture the heavyweight belt. Ryan Bader recently accomplished the same feat under the Bellator banner, first defeating Phil Davis to win the light heavyweight belt, and then defeating Fedor Emelianenko to capture the vacant heavyweight belt.