MMA news

LAS VEGAS – Laura Sanko is hours from making history. At UFC Fight Night 218 on Saturday night, Sanko will become the first female color commentator in the modern UFC era to call an official UFC event. It’s a big moment for Sanko and for women in the MMA industry. “It’s surreal, and it’s awesome,”

Check out these photos of the UFC Fight Night 218 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie) UFC Fight Night 218 – jesus aguilar weigh-in Highligh UFC Fight Night 218 – tatsuro taira weigh-in Highlight UFC Fight Night 218 – Taira vs. Aguilar UFC Fight Night

LOS ANGELES – The Bellator lightweight grand prix news conference and Bellator 290 ceremonial fighter weigh-ins take place Friday, and you can catch a live video stream of the proceedings here on MMA Junkie at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT). The weigh-ins take place at the Bellator host hotel in Los Angeles. The nearby Kia

A women’s flyweight bout will now headline UFC Fight Night 219. With Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera shifted to the UFC on ESPN 43 main event in San Antonio, Texas, the Feb. 18 UFC Apex show now will be headlined by Erin Blanchfield (10-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) and Taila Santos (19-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC). UFC

LOS ANGELES – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday’s official Bellator 290 fighter weigh-ins, which kick off at noon ET (9 a.m. PT). The weigh-ins take place at the Bellator host hotel in Los Angeles. The nearby Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., hosts Saturday’s event, which has a main card on CBS following

Anthony Smith admits he enjoys Dana White’s Power Slap League. Three episodes of “Power Slap: Road to the Title” have been released so far on TBS, and the show which is partially owned by UFC president White, has received criticism from many – including bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley. But Smith says after experiencing the event

Marcin Tybura hopes he gets to cross paths with Jon Jones. Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), a former two-time light heavyweight champion, will make his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the vacant title in the UFC 285 headliner on March 4. Having won six of his past seven, Tybura (23-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) isn’t

The lineup for ONE Championship’s first U.S. event continues to grow with the addition of a rebooked middleweight fight. Aung La N Sang (29-13) is set to take on Fan Rong (19-3) this spring at ONE Championship Fight Night 10. The booking was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the matchup. An official announcement

Blagoy Ivanov sees his fight with Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 218 playing out on their feet. Although Tybura (23-7 MMA, 10-6 UFC) has landed 19 takedowns throughout his octagon tenure, Ivanov (19-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) envisions more of a standup battle when the pair throw down on Saturday’s main card at the UFC Apex

Marlon Vera vs. Cory Sandhagen still is intact, but it has a new date and location. Rather than headline UFC Fight Night 219 on Feb. 18 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the targeted bantamweight contenders fight now will take place at UFC on ESPN 43. The event takes place March 25 at AT&T

Feb 1, 2023 Jeff Wagenheim Mixed martial arts is not what it used to be. In its early days, the sport was widely dismissed as a cringey toughman sideshow and relegated to the outcast fringe. For years, MMA was sustained by an obsessive and faithful fan base that mined fight clips from dingy corners of

UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev feels his upcoming showdown with Alexander Volkanovski hasn’t been promoted well. Makhachev will face Volkanovski in the UFC 284 headliner in Perth on February 11th. He’ll defend his lightweight title in a super fight against the featherweight champion Volkanovski. The Makhachev/Volkanovski clash is one of the biggest ‘champion vs. champion’

LOS ANGELES – A year into his comeback after a layoff of four and a half years, Brennan Ward has taken another big step. The Connecticut-based welterweight no longer will balance fighting with a day job. Ahead of a fight against his most accomplished opponent since 2017, Ward is a full-time fighter. “I made the

LOS ANGELES – Sabah Homasi has high expectations for his next outing. The Bellator welterweight thinks fans are in for fireworks when he gets locked in the cage with Brennan Ward on Saturday at Bellator 290. Homasi (17-10 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) thinks the two styles are a must-watch and guarantees a wild fight. “It’s a

LOS ANGELES – Steve Mowry could be forgiven if he felt like he took one step forward, then two steps back. Mowry was in a heavyweight fight that could have had some legitimate title implications with Valentin Moldavsky this past August at Bellator 284, and less than a minute into the fight he took an

LOS ANGELES – Lorenz Larkin is no stranger to his Saturday opponent – and has enough insight to think he found an edge. Larkin (24-7 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) takes on Mukhamed Berkhamov (14-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in a welterweight bout at Bellator 290. It’s a rebooked bout after their first meeting at Bellator 283 ended

LAS VEGAS – Yusaku Kinoshita will look to capitalize on his main card spot at UFC Fight Night 218. Kinoshita (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his UFC debut against Adam Fugitt (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card opener at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+. The Japanese prospect has finished all

Daniel Cormier is warning that Colby Covington will be left out of the UFC welterweight title picture if he doesn’t get a fight booked. Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) was last seen in action when he scored a lopsided unanimous decision over former training partner Jorge Masvidal in March 2022 at UFC 272. The win