MMA news

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UFC’s flyweight division consistently produces some of the most exciting fights in the sport, which is why Matheus Nicolau is disappointed that his potential title eliminator bout at UFC on ESPN 44 landed on the prelims. A winner of six straight, Nicolau (19-3-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) takes on Brandon Royval

A heavyweight bout has been added to the UFC pay-per-view event in May. At UFC 288 on May 6 in Newark, N.J., Parker Porter (13-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is expected to welcome promotional newcomer Braxton Smith (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), pending bout finalization. Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Always a bridesmaid, never the bride. While the famous idiom doesn’t exactly fit Edson Barboza’s UFC career when it comes to card placement, that’s the vibe he’s feeling ahead of his ninth co-main event bout. At UFC on ESPN 44 at T-Mobile Center, Barboza (22-11 MMA, 16-11 UFC) takes on Billy

LAS VEGAS – 2022 PFL welterweight champion Sadibou Sy is ready to pick up right where he left off. Four straight victories in 2022 led Sy (13-6-2 MMA, 7-4-2 PFL) to the championship and a $1 million prize, and he’s ready to do it all over again. His 2023 campaign starts off in a main

The UFC schedule continues this week with UFC on ESPN 44 on Saturday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there to help guide viewers through the experience. Details of who will work as commentators and analysts for each event have been acquired by MMA Junkie through

UFC Hall of Famer and former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is widely considered to be one of the best MMA fighters to ever compete in the sport. Many pundits and Nurmagomedov’s fighting peers have him high on their list of greatest fighters. After all, it’s hard to go undefeated through 29 professional fights, especially when

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rafa Garcia was a bloody mess, but all he could think about was the win. That was Garcia’s mindset the last time he fought in December against Maheshate as the two engaged in a hard-fought battle. Toward the end of the second round, Maheshate hit Garcia with an elbow across the

Kelvin Gastelum hopes he can run things back with Israel Adesanya some day. Gastelum (18-8 MMA, 12-8 UFC) gave Adesanya a tough test at middleweight, pushing him to the brink in their interim title fight at UFC 236 in 2019. Gastelum would go on to lose four of his next five before returning to the

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The importance of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 44 main event is not lost on Arnold Allen. Allen (19-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) competes in the definitive bout of his career when he takes on former champion Max Holloway (23-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) in a five-round bout at T-Mobile Center, which airs on ESPN

City Kickboxing coach Eugene Bareman questions what Khamzat Chimaev has done to deserve a shot at Israel Adesanya. After Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) reclaimed his middleweight title with a knockout of Alex Pereira in this past Saturday’s UFC 287 headliner, Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) called him out. With Adesanya already holding wins in his

This week, the UFC travels to Kansas City, Mo. for UFC on ESPN 44 following UFC 287 in Miami. Former featherweight king Max Holloway takes on Arnold Allen in the main event. Elsewhere, many other MMA events are taking place that feature a number of familiar names that have competed under the UFC banner. This

Sean O’Malley thinks Raul Rosas Jr. should take some time off and work on his craft after UFC 287. 18-year-old Rosas suffered his first loss to Chris Rodriguez by unanimous decision in this past Saturday’s main card opener in Miami. Rosas stormed out of the gate for a takedown and was able to quickly take

MIAMI – Sam Hughes beat Jaqueline Amorim with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the preliminary card at UFC 287 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Take a look inside the fight with Hughes, who handed Amorim – who was nearly a 3-1 favorite – the first loss of her career. Hughes on the fight’s key moment

Ilia Topuria expects to make quick work of Josh Emmett. In his first UFC headliner, Topuria (13-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) will meet former interim featherweight title challenger Emmett (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) on June 17. Topuria is unbeaten in his professional MMA career with finishes in all but one of his fights. With Emmett’s willingness

MIAMI – Despite all the success the UFC is having in 2023, Dana White feels there’s a glaring-missed opportunity by the company. The UFC president believes the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion is not fully taking advantage of the Mexican market, given they now have three Mexico-born champions on their roster. However, there is no event

It’s been three months since Francis Ngannou relinquished the UFC heavyweight championship and left the promotion in search of greener pastures through free agency, but so far nothing is doing. At first, many observers seemed excited by the prospect of what might come next – in boxing or MMA – for Nganou, but the narrative

Yianni Diakomihalis thinks the sky is the limit for Bo Nickal, but wants to see him pushed. A fellow multiple-time NCAA Division-I wrestling champion, Diakomihalis has a vested interest in MMA, and has been following Nickal’s (4-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) rising career. In just four MMA fights, Nickal has emerged as one of the most

MIAMI – Ignacio Bahamondes beat Trey Ogden with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 287 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Take a look inside the fight with Bahamondes, who beat an opponent in Ogden who took the fight on three weeks’ notice when his previous matchup fell off on weigh-in day.