UFC News

Cole Shelton - July 18, 2019

Germaine de Randamie headlined her second UFC card on Saturday, taking on the undefeated Aspen Ladd in the main event of UFC Sacramento. But, fans were not happy with the ending of the fight as the former featherweight champion knocked out the 24-year-old in just 16 seconds with one punch. As soon as the fight was over, boos came down from the crowd, who evidently thought the referee intervened early. De Randamie had no idea if it was an early stoppage during the fight. But, now looking back on it, the Dutch fighter believes it was a good stoppage and wonders why fans want to see fighters take more damage than necessary.

Mike Heck - July 18, 2019

Kevin Lee certainly doesn’t see a scenario where a matchup with Ben Askren would be all that competitive. Now that “The Motown Phenom” has had a taste of the welterweight division — and with plans to stay at 170-pounds — a fight between him and Askren is something that could be on the table. With both fighters coming off of a loss, the matchup certainly makes sense. Sprinkle in some back-and-forth at the UFC 236 seasonal press conference and you have a storyline to build off of.

Natasha Hooper - July 18, 2019

Being able to maintain an undefeated record is no easy feat, especially when there are so many rising stars on the UFC roster. Yet strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez has just done that. Currently holding a 9-0 record, it may be no surprise that some are comparing her to the undefeated UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. Suarez made her UFC debut in The Ultimate Fighter in 2016. She beat Amanda Cooper via  d’arce choke in the first round and took home the victory. Since then she has continued competing in the Octagon and beaten worthy contenders including Nina Ansaroff last month at UFC 238. Similarly to Nurmagomedov, Suarez utilizes wrestling to defeat her opponents.

Tom Taylor - July 18, 2019

Greg Hardy is set to return to the Octagon this Saturday on the main card of UFC San Antonio, where he will take on heavyweight prospect Juan Adams in what is likely his toughest challenge to date. Ahead of this fight, Adams has been vocal about his distaste for Hardy, but apparently, Hardy is unfazed.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2019

Dustin Poirier believes his upcoming fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov is very similar to Rocky IV. There, Rocky Balboa went to Russia to take on Ivan Drago, the heavyweight Russian. In Poirier’s case, he is going to Abu Dhabi to take on undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov where the Russian will have the Muslim crowd behind him. “This is real, I’m a world champion,” Poirier said to ESPN. “As is he. This is a super fight to me. That’s how I feel, that’s what this feels like to me. We’re going to a sold-out arena they’re building as we speak in Abu Dhabi, the middle of the desert, and princes and sheiks will be there. It’s crazy. It’s a Rocky movie.”

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2019

After Henry Cejudo beat Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 to become the bantamweight champion he called out a bevy of names including Urijah Faber. Then, at UFC Sacramento, “The California Kid” knocked out Ricky Simon in 46 seconds and returned the favor by calling out Cejudo. Since the callouts, many are interested in seeing that fight and even the UFC Hall of Famer said the chances of the fight happening next are very good. According to Cejudo’s manager in Ali Abdelaziz, however, he doesn’t believe Urijah Faber deserves it and instead should fight Marlon Moraes for the chance to fight the champ-champ.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2019

Michael Bisping wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Urijah Faber jump the line in the UFC bantamweight division. Back in Dec. 2016, Faber ended his professional mixed martial arts career. He walked off on his terms, defeating Brad Pickett via unanimous decision in Sacramento. Faber was later inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. For Faber, however, the itch to compete didn’t go away.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2019

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz likes his chances in a prospective showdown with the promotion’s reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. In fact, he believes he’d perform better against Jones than Daniel Cormier did.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2019

Tito Ortiz doesn’t appear to think too highly of Ben Askren. Askren entered the UFC with a ton of hype. Having won Bellator and ONE Championship gold and being a former Olympic wrestler, many thought “Funky” had a good shot at success on the biggest mixed martial arts stage. There’s still time for Askren to make his mark, but a devastating flying knee KO defeat to Jorge Masvidal has at least served as a bump in the road.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2019

Surging UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal has recently been campaigning for a showdown with former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. In fact, Masvidal’s manager recently stated that McGregor is the only opponent they’ll accept outside of a title fight with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Unfortunately for team Masvidal, UFC President Dana White says it’s not happening.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2019

Days ahead of his UFC Sacramento fight with Sheymon Moraes, UFC featherweight contender Andre Fili reunited with his father, who had been in prison for 17 years. In fact, Fili’s father actually attended the fight, and watched his son’s impressive first-round TKO victory. Speaking to MMA Junkie after the fight, Andre Fili explained how fighting in front of his long absent father, his family and friends in Sacramento provided extra motivation to win.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2019

Last Saturday, Ryan Hall took to the Octagon in Sacramento and beat a local favorite, Darren Elkins, by decision. While Hall is known for his world class Brazilian jiu jitsu, it was his striking that was on display in this fight, as he was able to drop Elkins twice en route to his win. Although Hall didn’t get the finish, he says the fight went about as perfect as it could have.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2019

Georges St-Pierre is retired. That being said, a large portion of the MMA community is still clinging to the hope that the former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion will eventually dust off his gloves and return to the Octagon — perhaps in pursuit of a third title against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. UFC President Dana White says that won’t be happening, as St-Pierre didn’t hold up his end of the deal after battling Michael Bisping for the middleweight title in 2017. He doesn’t seem to trust the Canadian after this incident.

Cole Shelton - July 16, 2019

Max Holloway was set to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, this after Tony Ferguson had to withdraw last minute due to an injury. There, the featherweight champion would have been moving up in weight to make his UFC lightweight debut. However, the fight did not come to fruition as the commission stopped the Hawaiian from cutting weight. Since then, Max Holloway went back down to featherweight and defended his title against Brian Ortega at UFC 231. He then got another chance to fight at lightweight at UFC 236 when he took on Dustin Poirier for the promotions interim lightweight title. Had Holloway emerged victorious, he would have once again been in line for a fight with Nurmagomedov. But, the featherweight king lost the bout and is now headed back to 145-pounds for a fight with Frankie Edgar.

Cole Shelton - July 16, 2019

Back at UFC 235, Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight title against Anthony Smith. Although it was a dominant performance from “Bones” he nearly had another DQ loss on his record. During the fight, the champion threw a knee that connected with Smith’s head while he was down. It was an illegal knee and had “Lionheart” not been able to continue, he would have won the belt. But, he decided to stay in the fight and took Jones to the scorecards.

Adam Martin - July 16, 2019

Serious criminal charges have been laid against former UFC lightweight contender Abel Trujillo. According to a report from TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter, Trujillo has been charged with felony sexual exploitation of a child and felony obscenity. The report says that Trujillo is currently being held on a $10,000 bond in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Natasha Hooper - July 16, 2019

Jorge Masvidal broke the UFC record for the fastest KO in history on July 6, snapping Ben Askren’s undefeated streak with a brutal flying knee. At UFC 239, “Gamebred” anticipated a takedown attempt from Askren and counteracted “Funky” with a flying knee. Askren was knocked out cold, and Masvidal was quick to bask in the glory of his swift victory. The fight ended officially at the five second mark of round 1. However, Masvidal believes if the referee had intervened sooner, the fight would have finished within 2 or 3 seconds.

Jordy McElroy - July 16, 2019

The shuttering quake from comatose welterweight star Ben Askren crashing to the canvas in record-breaking time at UFC 239 could be felt from Nevada to Singapore, where former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was shipped off to in a historic trade less than a year ago. Not even the Richter scale is capable of measuring the size of those tremors, which opened up cracks in the reasoning Johnson was ever traded in the first place. That isn’t to suggest Ben Askren in the UFC hasn’t been entertaining. It has been a rollercoaster ride and cotton candy rolled into one. He talks the talk and walks the walk against the toughest guys in the UFC; guys that boast the kind of knockout power to alter careers with a single strike.