LAS VEGAS – Molly McCann can breathe a little more easy after a successful strawweight debut. The fan-favorite fighter foought for the first time at 115 pounds Saturday at UFC Fight Night 235. In dominant fashion, McCann (14-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) submitted Diana Belbita (15-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) with an armbar in the first round
Month: February 2024
Although the Bellator brand has been around longer than the PFL by quite a bit, one of its biggest stars thinks he and his colleagues might be getting looked at as the proverbial red-headed stepchildren. Later this month in Saudi Arabia, Bellator’s champions and standouts will take on their PFL counterparts in the first event
LAS VEGAS – For Natalia Silva, it doesn’t matter who she fights next, as there’s only one thing she has her eyes on: The UFC championship belt. The Brazilian women’s flyweight continued her impressive streak Saturday and improved her run to 11-0 since her most recent defeat, which dates back to 2017. Silva (18-5-1 MMA,
Alejandra Lara now is a free agent. The former Bellator women’s flyweight title challenger was released by the PFL in the wake of its recent acquisition of Bellator. Lara (9-7), who renewed her contract with Bellator after her most recent performance, had been working with the promotion prior to the sale on her return. However,
Ilia Topuria has a bold prediction for his first UFC championship fight. The undefeated featherweight contender sees himself not only dethroning champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, but also finishing him – and in the first round. Volkanovski has yet to lose at 145 pounds in his 10-year career as a professional MMA fighter. Yet
What mattered most at UFC Fight Night 235 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings … Can Themba Gorimbo make noise in welterweight division? [embedded content] You have to credit the mix of humility and confidence beaming out of Themba Gorimbo, and it’s hard not to root for him
Diana Belbita can breathe a slight sigh of relief after her latest fight. The Romanian-Canadian strawweight was on the wrong end of a nasty armbar submission Saturday at UFC Vegas 58 as she was forced to tap out with seconds remaining in the opening round of her preliminary fight with Molly McCann. Unfortunately for Belbita,
After years of punishing weight cuts down to bantamweight, Aljamain Sterling will finally make his long-discussed featherweight debut against Calvin Kattar at UFC 300. And regardless of how the experiment plays out, the record-setting former UFC champion is already resolute on one thing: He’s never making 135 pounds again. “Just the thought of it gives
Phil De Fries seeks a new challenge. KSW’s dominant heavyweight champion is set to face MMA veteran Josh Barnett in a submission grappling match in Gliwice, Poland, on Feb. 24, the promotion announced Friday. De Fries has run roughshod over KSW’s heavyweight division, recording nine straight successful title defenses and riding a winning streak that
Three Asian standouts punched (and choked and armbarred) their way to UFC contracts Saturday in Las Vegas. At the Road to UFC season finale, Rongzhu, Yizha, and Rei Tsuruya all joined the UFC roster after finishing their opponents inside the distance. For Rongzhu and Yizha, this is their second shot at octagon glory, while Tsuruya
Charles Radtke continues to find new ways to push the buttons of his audience. Fresh off a highlight-reel knockout of Gilbert Urbina at UFC Vegas 85, Radtke used his post-fight presser time for the usual mix of reflection and bravado. Then he took things in an entirely different direction. “With a knockout like that, you
Cory Sandhagen still needs a more time before he can fight again after two surgeries. But he believes his return could include a bantamweight title shot. Following a dominant win over Rob Font this past August, Sandhagen revealed he had suffered a torn triceps during the fight, and the injury dramatically affected his performance. Afterward,
BKFC President David Feldman isn’t giving away too many details from a recent meeting with UFC CEO Dana White, but it appears he’s made a new friend in combat sports. Following the conclusion of BKFC 57 on Friday night, Feldman addressed a recent photo posted that showed him standing alongside White after sitting down to
Holly Holm has faced nearly every prominent name in her weight class and there’s one legend she’d be open to fighting again. Former two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes was recently in attendance at UFC 297 in Toronto and though “The Lioness” has given no indication that she plans to come out of retirement, seeing her
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — “The Rock” was happy that his guy won. Themba Gorimbo notched his first UFC stoppage at UFC Vegas 85 last night (Sat., Feb. 3, 2024), knocking out Pete Rodriguez in 36 seconds flat with a nasty right hand followed by ground-and-pound from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada (watch highlights).
The unified rules struck again. Last night (Feb. 3, 2024), Nassourdine Imavov largely dominated Roman Dolidze in the UFC Vegas 85’s main event. He picked apart the grappler for most of five rounds, yet the scorecards were quite odd, including one judge declaring the bout a draw. That scorecard is indefensible, but part of the
Manny Pacquiao is out of retirement and looking at a big money fight against Conor McGregor in Saudi Arabia. “Pac-Man” retired from professional competition in 2021 but never really hung up the gloves. He fought influencer DK Yoo at the end of 2022 and has been in talks to fight Buakaw Banchamek and Floyd Mayweather
Strange things were afoot at ONE 165 when the long-awaited Sage Northcutt vs. Shinya Aoki fight fell apart at the last minute. Northcutt said his coaches were deported because they didn’t have working visas, and he was unwilling to fight without them. An unhappy Aoki would end up fighting John Lineker, beating the UFC vet