The new Global Fight League will hold its inaugural draft later this month, and dozens of female fighters will be on the list. The GFL will be a team-based promotion that kicks off in April. Teams will be made up of both female and male fighters. Managers from six teams will take part in the
Day: January 3, 2025
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is the latest big name to be snatched up by the fledgling Global Fight League. But Velasquez won’t be fighting. The 42-year-old will serve as a manager in the team-based league, the GFL said Friday in a news release. Velasquez named his longtime trainer at American Kickboxing Academy, Javier
Jeremy Stephens thinks he’s found a home in BKFC, and is ready to prove he’s a top dog in that promotion against Eddie Alvarez. Stephens is set to take on Alvarez in the main event of BKFC: KnuckleMania 5 on Jan. 25 at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Penn. The card streams on DAZN, with
Daniel Cormier thinks the stage is set for an Ilia Topuria takeover in the UFC this year. Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) had an unforgettable 2024 in knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to claim the featherweight title in February before knocking out Max Holloway in his first defense in October. The body of work earned “El
After it was reported Thursday that a potential plan was in place if Julianna Pena can’t fight soon, a new hat has been thrown into the proverbial ring. Manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie that an interim women’s bantamweight title may be on the table soon if Peña (11-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) can’t fight. Peña
Arman Tsarukyan has worked his way back to a rematch with Islam Makhachev, and this time it’s for the UFC lightweight title. Javier Mendez is not surprised one bit. Mendez, leading coach at American Kickboxing Academy and Eagles MMA, had a feeling his student Makhachev would cross paths once again with Tsarukyan after the conclusion
Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t think very highly of the overall quality of Irish fighters in MMA. Ahead of his cousin Usman Nurmagomedov’s (18-0) lightweight title defense against Paul Hughes (13-1) at Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai on Jan. 25, UFC Hall of Famer Khabib is not interested in a discussion about the impact of athletes
Daniel Cormier was not swayed by big-star names when making his pick for Fight of the Year. Like many, Dominick Cruz went with Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, which saw Holloway score an iconic last-second knockout. Chael Sonnen picked middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis’ submission win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.
The UFC schedule for 2025 continues to fill out after the calendar turned to a new year, with UFC 313 in particular getting a number of new fights on Thursday. The March 8 event, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and ESPN+, is
The debate for 2024 Fighter of the Year was among the most fierce in recent history, with UFC champions Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria both turning in incredible stretches of results that will be defining points of their respective careers. Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) delivered three light heavyweight title defenses in a record 175-day
John McCarthy thinks that one judge having a drastically different scorecard for an MMA fight compared to his colleagues isn’t always a bad thing. The original UFC referee and MMA pioneer sees the scenario often, in which two judges agree on one scorecard, but the third counts it as something completely different. That third judge