UFC News
EXCLUSIVE | Colby Covington confident Oscar De La Hoya would 'dust' Dana White in a fight
Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019
After being deprived of his promised shot at the UFC welterweight title, top contender Colby Covington has had plenty to say about UFC President Dana White of late. Of course, Covington isn’t the only person to make negative comments about the polarizing UFC boss recently. Retired boxer turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya has also gone back and forth with Dana White over the last few weeks, even challenging the UFC President to a fight on the undercard of the next Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view.
TJ Dillashaw issues statement after loss to Henry Cejudo
Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019
Last Saturday night, in the main of the UFC’s first ever card on ESPN+, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw dropped down to the flyweight division to challenge local champ Henry Cejudo in a bid to become a two-division champ. Unfortunately for Dillashaw and his fans, this mission didn’t go as planned, as he was stopped by Cejudo in 32 seconds. In the wake of this tough loss, TJ Dillashaw has been adamant that the referee intervened too early. Speaking in a post-fight statement on Instagram, Dillashaw reiterated this feeling.
EXCLUSIVE | Anthony Pettis explains why he is moving up to 170
Cole Shelton - January 21, 2019
Anthony Pettis used to be the UFC lightweight champion, and also fought at featherweight in 2016. However, his first fight in 2019 will be at welterweight, where he will take on former title challenger, Stephen Thompson. For Pettis, moving up to 170 to fight ‘Wonderboy’ was an easy decision.
Henry Cejudo shares terms for potential rematch with TJ Dillashaw
Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019
Henry Cejudo needed just 32 seconds to defend his UFC flyweight title against UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw in Saturday night’s UFC Brooklyn main event. Unfortunately for him, some members of the MMA community — Dillashaw and UFC President Dana White included — feel the referee intervened a little too early in this fight. Give the controversial stoppage in this fight, TJ Dillashaw has been adamant that he deserves a rematch with Henry Cejudo — and once again for Cejudo’s UFC flyweight title.
Lando Vannata explains how he knew the UFC would re-sign him
James Lynch - January 21, 2019
Lando Vannata never had any doubts that he wouldn’t be back with the UFC. The 26-year-old came to terms with the UFC on a new four-fight deal and is set to face Marcos Rosa Mariano at UFC 234 on Feb. 9 “I figured [the UFC] would want to re-sign me. I’m a pretty exciting fighter, I put on a show every time I step into the cage,” Vannata told MMA News. “I wasn’t too surprised they came back looking to re-sign me to a new deal. I was keeping my options open but I figured they would want to [re-sign me] and if the figures were right then yeah I would go back. The UFC had exclusive rights [to negotiating].”
Debut UFC on ESPN card was reportedly a major success for both companies
Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019
According to a release from the ESPN Public Relations team, the first UFC on ESPN card was a massive success, driving hundreds of thousands of new ESPN+ subscriptions, and drawing massive viewership to the ESPN channel. Here’s what the release had to say:
EXCLUSIVE | Elias Theodorou seeks to strike cannabis from USADA banned substance list
Cole Shelton - January 21, 2019
Elias Theodorou’s toughest fight is not against any UFC fighter. Rather, it is taking on the United States Anti-Doping Agency to get a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for medical cannabis which has been prescribed by his doctor. Although cannabis is legalized in Canada where Theodorou lives, it doesn’t matter to USADA.
Rachael Ostovich opens up on loss to Paige VanZant
Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019
On Saturday night in Brooklyn, New York, on the main card of the UFC’s debut event on ESPN+, Rachael Ostovich sought to make a triumphant return to the cage opposite fan favorite flyweight contender Paige VanZant. While Ostovich had a strong first round, things took a disappointing turn for her in the second, as she was caught in a Paige VanZant armbar and forced to tap out.
Khabib Nurmagomedov shares the three names he would like to face before retiring
Drake Riggs - January 21, 2019
Russia’s first and only UFC champion is none other than ‘The Eagle’, the 27-0 Sambo machine, Khabib Nurmagomedov. In Nurmagomedov’s last time out, he participated in the biggest fight in UFC history when he made a successful title defense of his lightweight crown.
Dustin Poirier makes interesting claim about cancelled Nate Diaz fight
Thomas Taylor - January 20, 2019
Streaking UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier was briefly scheduled to return to the cage opposite Nate Diaz at UFC 230 in early November, but unfortunately, that plan was derailed when he sustained a hip injury that forced him off the card. At least, that’s what we thought. Responding to a fan on Twitter on Sunday afternoon, Dustin Poirier claimed that, by the time he withdrew from the card with a hip injury, Nate Diaz had already dropped out of the matchup himself.
Pros react to potential Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone fight
Christopher Taylor - January 20, 2019
It appears that a lightweight fight against Cowboy Cerrone could be next for former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. The former 155-pound title challenger, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (35-11 MMA), returned to the lightweight division yesterday evening following a ten-fight stint at welterweight.
Alex Hernandez issues classy statement after loss to 'Cowboy'
Thomas Taylor - January 20, 2019
Rising UFC lightweight contender Alex Hernandez was brimming with confidence ahead of his Saturday night showdown with MMA legend Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Unfortunately for the rising lightweight and his fans, this fight didn’t go the way he planned, as he was out-struck and ultimately stopped by his amply more experienced adversary. Despite the pre-fight trash talk that Alex Hernandez unleashed ahead of this fight, he’s been nothing but classy in defeat, even thanking Cowboy for the learning experience.
Gregor Gillespie had his wallet stolen at UFC Brooklyn
Tom Taylor - January 20, 2019
On Saturday night, on the main card of UFC Brooklyn, wrestling ace Gregor Gillespie secured the dominant victory he was seeking, thrashing the dangerous Yancy Medeiros to second-round stoppage. Unfortunately, it’s not all good news for the surging lightweight contender. At some point during the night, a slimy fan slithered into the Barclay’s Center and stole Gregor Gillespie and his coach’s fight bags. In doing so, they made off with not only his gear, but his wallet.
Dana White responds to Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone fight buzz
Tom Taylor - January 20, 2019
Late last year, fan favorite welterweight and lightweight contender Donald Cerrone started calling for a fight with former lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. Though Cerrone was then booked for a fight with Alexander Hernandez, he once again called for a fight with McGregor after beating Hernandez at UFC Brooklyn on Saturday night. And this time around, McGregor answered. Evidently impressed by Cerrone’s victory over Hernandez, Conor McGregor announced that he is willing to accept the fight.
What's next for UFC Brooklyn's headliners?
Cole Shelton - January 20, 2019
Last night, the UFC held its first show on ESPN and ESPN+, in Brooklyn, New York. The card was headlined by a flyweight title fight between current flyweight champion Henry Cejudo and bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. Cejudo needed only 32 seconds to put Dillashaw away. Meanwhile, headlining the ESPN portion of the card was a lightweight fight between Alexander Hernandez and Donald Cerrone. ‘Cowboy’ was back at lightweight and looking to start off his title run with a win. In the end, he put on a masterful performance and won a performance bonus and fight of the night bonus.
Henry Cejudo defends "great stoppage" in TJ Dillashaw fight
Tom Taylor - January 20, 2019
Henry Cejudo needed just 32 seconds to defend his UFC flyweight title against UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw in Saturday night’s UFC Brooklyn main event. Unfortunately for him, some members of the MMA community — Dillashaw and UFC President Dana White included — feel the referee intervened a little too early in this fight. Despite this controversy, Henry Cejudo says he is fine with the stoppage. In fact, he considers it a “great” stoppage.
Conor McGregor gives interesting perspective on Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw fight
Tom Taylor - January 20, 2019
Last night, in the main event of the UFC’s first card on ESPN, UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo made a lightning quick defense of his title, stopping slimmed down bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw in just 32 seconds. In the wake of this shockingly short super fight, fans seem to be divided. There are some fans who are simply impressed with the dominant performance of Henry Cejudo, while others seem to feel the fight was stopped early and that TJ Dillashaw should have been given more time.
Greg Hardy reacts to disqualification loss to Allen Crowder
Tom Taylor - January 20, 2019
Last night, in the co-main event of UFC Brooklyn, former NFL star Greg Hardy stepped into the cage for his debut UFC bout. In the end, Hardy lost this fight by disqualification, smashing his foe Allen Crowder with an illegal knee in the second round. “He was getting up, it was inexperience in mistiming it, man,” Hardy said post-fight (via MMA Fighting). “But I trying to time it like I had just watched Donald Cowboy Cerrone do, like I saw everybody else do, and I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. And it was not. I messed up.”