UFC News

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

On Wednesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine laid out new rules “in regard to mass gatherings in Ohio.” These rules immediately stand out as a problem for the upcoming UFC Columbus event. Shortly, we will be issuing rules in regard to mass gatherings in #Ohio. Every expert has told us that there is a risk in any kind of mass gathering – the closer you are to other people, the bigger the risk. You must ask yourself if going to a large gathering is necessary.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

MMA fans were pretty disappointed by the UFC 248 main event, which pitted middleweight champ Israel Adesanya against challenger Yoel Romero. Former fighter and MMA analyst Chael Sonnen believes that’s because, as fans, we’re accustomed to amazing fights. Or as he puts it, “spoiled beyond belief.” The man’s not wrong.

Harry Kettle - March 11, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight title contender Anthony Johnson has provided fans with an update regarding his return to mixed martial arts. Johnson, 36, has not been in the Octagon since UFC 210 in April 2017. On that night in Buffalo he was submitted by Daniel Cormier, failing to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship from “DC” for the second time.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

Diego Sanchez’s choice to continue working with controversial coach Joshua Fabia has been a hot button issue of late. One of the latest fighters to chime in on the topic is UFC welterweight James Krause, who would love to test himself against Sanchez in the Octagon. “There’s a couple of different routes I could go,” Krause told MMA Junkie with regards to his next fight. “I feel like the two routes are like fighting some legends of this sport. A couple of names come to mind like Diego Sanchez, Carlos Condit. I have a thing for Diego for some reason. I can’t stand his coach (Joshua Fabia). I feel like they’re selling wolf tickets to the sport of MMA, to the fans of MMA.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

Earlier this week, video surfaced of a sparring session between top middleweight contender Paulo Costa and YouTube star Logan Paul. During this session, which included some wrestling and some boxing, Costa ultimately sent Paul careening to the canvas with a punch — though not everybody believes the knockdown was legit.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

Daniel Cormier sees some similarities between Israel Adesanya’s underwhelming UFC 248 win over Yoel Romero and Anderson Silva’s slow 2010 win over Demian Maia in Abu Dhabi. Cormier compared the two fights during a conversation with Rich Eisen, though he misremembered the setting of the Silva vs. Maia fight as Saudi Arabia.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC 248 card, and in a fairly surprising twist, not much has changed. That’s probably because UFC 248 featured precisely zero ranked fighters outside the main and co-main events. That being said, the updated UFC rankings do feature some interesting changes. Most notably, Weili Zhang has surpassed Valentina Shevchenko on the women’s pound-for-pound list on the strength of her UFC 248 defeat of Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Daniel Cormier has also finally been removed from the UFC light heavyweight rankings, clearing the path for a host of other light heavyweights to move up.

Natasha Hooper - March 11, 2020

It appears Tyron Woodley won’t be joining The Joe Rogan Experience podcast anytime soon, as he slammed the UFC commentator for his hypocrisy on the UFC 248 broadcast. In an Instagram post, Ariel Helwani shared a quote from Israel Adesanya regarding his hopes of finishing Yoel Romero at UFC 248 last weekend.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2020

Brian Ortega has officially apologized to Jay Park for slapping him in the face at UFC 248. Park, who is a K-Pop star, was alongside Chan Sung Jung aka Korean Zombie where he was serving as Zombie’s translator. Previously, Ortega has said he will slap Park if he sees him, and he stuck to his word.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2020

Yoel Romero is looking for a quick turnaround after his UFC 248 fight against Israel Adesanya. Although Romero was on a two-fight losing streak, he got the title shot due to Paulo Costa being injured. Yet, after the lackluster scrap, UFC president Dana White said he wishes he never booked the fight and waited for Costa to be healthy.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2020

Alexander Volkanovski believes Henry Cejudo is just trying to stay relevant by calling him out. Cejudo, who is the current bantamweight champion, has said he wants to fight Volkanovski to try and become the first three-weight champion in the UFC. It would no doubt be a phenomenal feat. Yet, Volkanovski doesn’t believe it will happen, as he says “Triple C” will regret calling him out if they were to scrap down the line.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2020

Gilbert Burns is getting the biggest fight of his career in the co-main event of UFC Brasilia this weekend when he takes on Demian Maia. It was a fight Burns had wanted but he didn’t expect Maia to accept. When he found out the scrap was happening, he was ecstatic.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2020

Darren Till was as disappointed by the UFC 248 main event as the rest of us. The UFC 248 card, which went down last Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, was topped by a middleweight title fight between champ Israel Adesanya and challenger Yoel Romero.

Adam Martin - March 10, 2020

The online sportsbooks first released the odds for Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa last year, and now we have an update on them. After defeating Yoel Romero at UFC 241, Costa was expected to be next in line to fight Adesanya after he unified the middleweight titles against Robert Whittaker at UFC 243. At the time of the original fight announcement, the sportbooks released the odds for the bout, with Adesanya opening as a -140 betting favorite and Costa being a +100 underdog.

Adam Martin - March 10, 2020

UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic has given a timeline for his return to the Octagon, saying he expects to fight Daniel Cormier in a trilogy match this summer. Miocic has been on the shelf with an eye injury and hasn’t fought since defeating Cormier in the pair’s rematch last August at UFC 241. The heavyweight division has essentially been put on hold as both Miocic and Cormier have taken the last six months off to heal from their injuries, but both men are finally getting healthy and the trilogy fight between them is likely going to happen within the next few months.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2020

Joanna Jedrzejczyk sustained a serious hematoma in her UFC 248 split decision loss to Weili Zhang. By the time the pair’s war concluded, the former strawweight champ was nearly unrecognizable. Unfortunately, instead of praising Jedrzejczyk’s gutsy performance, some fight fans have tormented her with memes and negative comments. Jedrzejczyk’s training partner, Valerie Loureda, has not been impressed by this display. Speaking on her official Twitter account on Monday, Loureda scolded UFC fans for “making fun” of Jedrzejczyk, and demanded more respect for MMA’s talented female competitors.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2020

Joanna Jedrzejczyk failed to reclaim the UFC strawweight title at UFC 248, losing a razor-close split decision to Chinese champion Weili Zhang. Despite this tough setback, the Polish star seems to be in good spirits. Speaking on her official Instagram page on Monday night, the former UFC strawweight queen issued a quick and positive statement to update her fans. See it below.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2020

Eire Born Spirits, the company behind Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey and the founding team of Conor McGregor, McGregor’s manager Audie Attar and entrepreneur Ken Austin have announced that Proper No. Twelve will be donating $1.3 million dollars to first responder organizations around the world. The company announced this news in a Tuesday press release. Here are the details, per the release: