UFC News

Tom Taylor - February 21, 2020

UFC 249, scheduled for April 18 in Brooklyn, New York, is arguably the most anticipated card on the promotion’s calendar. That’s thanks in large part to the main event: a lightweight title fight between undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and streaking challenger Tony Ferguson. Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have been scheduled to fight a whopping four times previously, but the bout has consistently failed to come to fruition.

Tom Taylor - February 21, 2020

The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently made the decision to ban Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury from squaring off after they weigh in for their Saturday night rematch, evidently wary after the pair got physical at a press conference earlier this week. Former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor is not on board with this decision. McGregor reacted to this bizarre decision from the NSAC on Twitter. He began by praising the commission for the work it does, but then offered a solution that will allow Wilder and Fury to square off: just beef up security!

Mike Pendleton - February 21, 2020

With the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line in his next fight, contender Joseph Benavidez is not looking back. Benavidez is scheduled to take on Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC on ESPN+ 27 which will take place in Norfolk, Virginia for the title that Cejudo was stripped off as he maintains his focus on the bantamweight division and his title there. During a recent interview with Jimmy Smith and Miesha Tate for MMA Tonight on Sirius XM, Benavidez was asked about the possibility of going up to bantamweight to chase a fight with the former flyweight champion, and there was little to no interest for him. Already holding a victory over Cejudo, Benavidez said he doesn’t feel a fight against Cejudo is one that he needs to go chase.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2020

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming UFC women’s flyweight title fight at UFC 251 between champion Valentina Shevchenko and challenger Joanne Calderwood. ESPN broke the news this week that Shevchenko vs. Calderwood will take place on June 6 at a location and venue that is do-be-determined. Typically the UFC visits Chicago in June so there’s a chance the card could be placed there yet again, though that’s not confirmed yet. Regardless, it seems like Shevchenko vs. Calderwood will wind up as the co-main event on the card.

Tom Taylor - February 21, 2020

Conor McGregor wants a rematch with UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, but Nurmagomedov seems increasingly uninterested in this possibility. Contrary to Nurmagomedov’s disinterest in the rematch, it’s been widely speculated that McGregor will serve as the replacement opponent for the champ’s UFC 249 fight with Tony Ferguson, meaning he’d step in and fight if one of the two men fails to make it to the cage.

Adam Martin - February 21, 2020

The UFC Auckland weigh-ins took place Friday morning and 24 fighters made weight for the card, including headliners Dan Hooker and Paul Felder. In the non-title lightweight main event, Hooker stepped on the scale at 156lbs while Felder came in at 155.5lbs, making the headlining fight official. Hooker and Felder are both ranked in the top-10 of the stacked UFC lightweight division and the winner of this fight will be one step closer to jumping into title contention.

Tom Taylor - February 21, 2020

Back in December, in the main event of UFC 245, Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington delivered an absolute thriller of a welterweight title fight. In the end, Usman won this fight via fifth-round TKO to retain the title, yet it doesn’t sound like his time in the cage with Covington is over yet.

Natasha Hooper - February 21, 2020

The fight card for UFC Oklahoma City is coming together. The promotion recently added three bouts to the card, including the return of Andrei Arlovski. UFC Oklahoma City takes place Saturday, May 2 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The event marks the third time the UFC has visited Oklahoma City, the last event taking place in 2017. The UFC has not officially announced the headling fight. However, former UFC champion Chris Weidman is expected to take on top contender Jack Hermansson in a middleweight battle in the main event.

Natasha Hooper - February 21, 2020

Diego Sanchez has become a hot topic of conversation recently, but MMA analyst Chael Sonnen has the welterweight’s back. In 2019, “The Nightmare” announced he would be leaving his training home of JacksonWink MMA to try an unorthodox training approach with self-awareness coach Joshua Fabia. His new training strategy was once again put to the test when Sanchez faced Michel Pereira at UFC Rio Rancho this month. By all accounts, his opponent was leading the fight before delivering a clear illegal knee to Sanchez in the third round. Sanchez had the option to continue the fight, but he decided to refrain and ultimately claimed the disqualification victory.

Adam Martin - February 20, 2020

UFC president Dana White spoke on Thursday evening at a political rally in Colorado in support of United States President Donald Trump. White and Trump are good friends going back two decades now, with Trump being instrumental to the rise of MMA in the early days of the UFC. When White had the chance to speak at Thursday’s rally, he praised Trump and spoke glowingly about the president. Below is the video and a written transcript of what White said at the podium.

Cole Shelton - February 20, 2020

Joshua Fabia, the coach, trainer, and manager of Diego Sanchez is firing back at his critics. He says his pupil has some of the best defense in MMA and isn’t sure why he is getting made fun of. Back at UFC 239, Sanchez had a public falling out with JacksonWink. There, he dropped them on fight week and only used one cornerman in Fabia. Since that fight and Sanchez’s most recent scrap at UFC Rio Rancho, Fabia was critiqued by the way he communicated and the movements he shows.

Cole Shelton - February 20, 2020

Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Derek Brunson will no longer be happening at UFC 248 as expected. Shahbazyan announced on social media that he was off the card, but added he’s ready to fight right now.