MMA News

On January 23, 2011, Bellator will hold its highly-anticipated “Bellator 47” event, featuring both semi-final fights of their special “Summer Series” Featherweight Tournament. In addition to four top Featherweights battling it out to get one step closer to a shot at a championship, Bellator 47 will also feature the Bellator debut of noted WEC and IFL veteran Chris Horodecki. Still, some fans may be asking themselves: what are the best reasons to check out this card? Here’s my answer to just that: 5 reasons to watch Bellator 47. ...

Every Friday, Fighters.com will present the “Fighters Friday News And Notes”, compiling several of the top stories from around the internet. Here are all of the best stories from this week of MMA coverage. Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson Announced For “ufc On Versus 6” (Five Ounces Of Pain) New York MMA Gyms Growing Despite The Sport’s Illegality In New York (MMA Training) Another Candidate For “Worst Referee Of All Time” (Fightlinker) An Exclusive Interview With Noted Coach Gil Martinez (Find MMA Gyms) Dana White Says Tito Ortiz May Get A Title Shot If He Wins At UFC 133 (Fightline) A Look At Japanese MMA For The Rest Of The Year (MMA Fighting) Sarah Kaufman Ready To Reclaim Her Title Pending strikeforce Win (MMA Weekly) ...

MMA fans are in for a bit of a miniature “Perfect Storm” weekend, with both Strikeforce and Bellator putting out solid-looking shows this weekend. While Friday fight fans will be treated to Strikeforce’s “Challengers 17” event, the MTV2 crowd gets Bellator 47 live on Saturday. Once again, here’s a new edition of “Crash Course” designed to give you all the details on everything you need to know heading into this event. Let’s get started. ...

We’re now only a day away from Strikeforce’s “Challengers 17” event. In the main event, Roger Bowling faces Bobby Voelker for the third and final time in what has been a very under-rated series of fights. The co-main event will also be an interesting match-up, as top female fighters Liz Carmouche and Sarah Kaufman battle it out to see who stays near the top of the heap in Strikeforce’s Women’s Welterweight division. As is customary, here is my official “picks and predictions” post (covering who I think will win and why), now featuring Strikeforce “Challengers 17”. ...

On July 22, Strikeforce will hold the seventeenth edition of its “Challengers” series of events, featuring a third and final fight between Roger Bowling and Bobby Voelker. Also, top female fighters collide as former champion Sarah Kaufman fights former championship challenger Liz Carmouche. Still, some fans may be asking themselves: what are the best reasons to check out this card? Here’s my answer to just that: 5 reasons to watch Strikeforce “Challengers 17”. ...

Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the latest edition of “Crash Course”. “Crash Course” is a series of articles designed to give readers a quick rundown on all the relevant information they need to know heading into an upcoming major MMA event. Everything from why you should watch, what you should expect in the co-main and main event, and even where and when you can find it on TV is all covered in detail. So let’s get right to it with today’s edition, featuring Strikeforce’s “Challengers 17” event. ...

There are several ways veteran fighters can breathe new life into their careers. They can drop down in weight, switch training camps, or even change their personalities. Of course, the simplest way to get people talking about you again is to start winning dramatically again. A veteran of over twenty fights, Sam Stout recently did just that when he viciously KO’d Yves Edwards at UFC 131. In a new interview, Stout gave some interesting thoughts on what he thinks the future holds should he beat Dennis Siver, his upcoming opponent. ...

Hello again fans and friends and welcome to another edition of “5 Reasons Why”. UFC 133 has undergone huge changes since it was originally announced, and currently the main event will see Rashad Evans rematch Tito Ortiz. Evans is a commanding favorite to win this rematch, likely due to Ortiz’s recent string of tough losses. I’ve already covered 5 reasons why Evans could beat Ortiz, and now it’s time to give “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” his due. So here are five reasons why Tito Ortiz could beat Rashad Evans. ...

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a very well-spoken, well-respected MMA veteran. Widely praised as one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu artists to ever step foot in both a ring and a cage, “Big Nog” is bother a former PRIDE FC champion and a former UFC champion. Of course, Nogueira is only kind until he’s pushed. And Chael Sonnen has been pushing the buttons of most Brazilian UFC fighters for a long time now. In a new interview, Nogueira gave a little bit back in his own way: by calling Sonnen a detriment to the sport. And when you think about it, he’s right. Here are all the details. ...

Every once in a while, a UFC fighter will give a bizarre interview. Sometimes there are reasons for it: they want to be deliberately bizarre, they’re trying to hype a fight, or sometimes they’re even just bizarre by nature. I thought I had seen it all when Jon Jones laid the smackdown on fans purchasing replica belts, but it now appears that Vitor Belfort tops that with some interesting words on laying the smackdown on yourself. I’m only mildly kidding: for his upcoming fight at UFC 133, Belfort recently went on a long tirade criticizing internet “nastiness” of all kinds. Here are all the details. ...

Although it may not have played as integral of a role as Canada, the UK was a significant player in the ufc’s growing international appeal and is now one of their most-lucrative international markets. UK fans don’t get fights that often, though, even though they usually pack into any arena where the UFC holds a live event. It’s also been a while since the UFC visited the UK. That’s all about to change, since the UFC is planning to host a numbered UFC event in the UK in the next few months. Here are all the details. ...

When Strikeforce first announced its Heavyweight Grand Prix, just about everyone was excited. A lot of people perceived it as an important step forward on the long road towards becoming a legitimate alternative to the UFC. It doesn’t get much better than having all the best Heavyweights in the division fight each other, and the tournament has already given us some very interesting outcomes. However, it’s recently been announced that Alistair Overeem, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, has been removed from the tournament in a very controversial move by the now Zuffa-owned Strikeforce. Here are all the details. ...

A while back, when I posted my “Fighter of the Half-Year” and “Fight of the Half-Year” picks, I said I wouldn’t do anything else since virtually everyone else was doing them as well and doing a whole lot of them, plus I was busy covering the multitude of UFC and strikeforce news and notes we as fans are bombarded with on a daily basis. But after reading this excellent article over at MMA Fighting, I got to thinking that I should make a special exception today, in order to highlight a gigantic shift in MMA that shocked the entire world. So here’s why I agree that Zuffa purchasing Strikeforce was the biggest news story of the year so far. ...

ufc fans will be in for quite a few treats and no tricks in October. It’s a month so jam-packed with good fights that it even warrants that bad of a pun. The UFC is currently scheduled to run three events in October: two Pay-Per-Views and a “UFC on Versus” card. With the super-stuffed UFC 136 a week after it and the mega-stuffed UFC 137 a few weeks after it, “UFC on Versus 6” will have quite a lot to live up to. Recently, several fights have been announced for the card. Here are all the details. ...

With several major match-ups all tentatively scheduled, both ufc 136 and UFC 137 have quickly become two of the biggest attractions for the remainder of the year. Both events have serious “Event of the Year” potential, and recently, both events have seen a slew of match-ups announced. It’s now being reported that two more interesting match-ups have been announced, featuring the second UFC fight of Anthony Pettis and the return fight of Brandon Vera. Here are all the details. ...

From top to bottom, ufc 133 has been a card plagued with problems. In the grand tradition of once-great cards that fall apart without a single fighter ever walking into the cage, the co-main event of UFC 133 is now off of the table. This is in addition to the two past instances where the main event changed. It's recently been revealed that Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was forced to pull out of his UFC 133 fight against Rich Franklin. Following that announcement the UFC scrambled and ultimately were unable to find a replacement opponent for the former UFC Middleweight Champion. It’s now been confirmed that Franklin has been taken off of the card as well and the new UFC 133 co-main event will feature Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama. Here are all the details. ...

Once thought of as an interesting idea that would only appeal to a small section of the fanbase, the Facebook broadcast of preliminary ufc fights have quickly become an event all to themselves. For years we would only be able to see prelims if Pay-Per-Views needed to fill time or if we bought the event on DVD. Now we get five, six, sometimes even seven free fights spread throughout Facebook, Spike TV, even ION Television every once in a while. And as expected, UFC 133 will feature its own Facebook preliminary stream. Here are all the details. ...

From its inception to its current standing, UFC 133 has been a card filled with many large changes. Now the main event is currently set to feature Rashad Evans taking on a resurgent Tito Ortiz in what will be the second fight between the two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions. Rashad Evans has quickly emerged as the commanding favorite to win this fight, for several reasons. And what reasons are those? Here’s my take on just that: five reasons why Rashad Evans could beat Tito Ortiz. ...

I’ve been a fan of Jon Jones for quite some time… it’s hard not to rally behind a young upstart that demolishes, absolutely demolishes, everyone that’s put in his path. But recently, with Jones getting more and more of the spotlight, he’s been the focus of more and more interviews. In some of these interviews, he’s said some pretty strange things. It’s rubbed some people the wrong way, and he’s even been compared to LeBron James in terms of an outstanding athlete with a massive ego. Most of the time I simply think it’s haters hating, but thanks to a recent interview… I’m beginning to think they may have a point. ...

For the first part of my look at ufc 136 called “A First Look At UFC 136”, I took an in-depth look at three match-ups that would more than likely anchor the UFC 136 main card and undercard. It was the first three of six major match-ups that were all announced nearly at the same time for the increasingly-epic UFC 136 event. Now it’s time to focus on the other three matches, and they’re all huge: we’ve got Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship, Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian for the UFC Featherweight Championship, and Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon. Let’s dive right in. ...

It took one day, one single day, for the upcoming ufc 136 card to go from a few matches to nearly complete. Yesterday, a grand total of six fights were all announced throughout the day for the upcoming event, with several major can’t-miss attractions scheduled for the card. It was news so huge that I’m going to have to break it up into two parts. So here’s the first part of “A First Look At UFC 136”, featuring the first three recently-announced bouts: Dave Herman vs. Mike Russow, Josh Grispi vs. Matt Grice, and Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago. ...

I wasn’t lying when I said it earlier today… UFC 137 is quickly shaping up to be the can’t-miss MMA event of fall 2010. In addition to Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz, a whole host of interesting match-ups are being added to this card. And in a story that’s only just broken, it’s now been revealed that Sam Stout will be fighting Dennis Siver in a key Lightweight showdown at UFC 137. Here are all the details. ...

The two men who gave two of the best performances of the recent and amazing “ufc on Versus 4” card have tentatively been scheduled to step inside the cage with one another. In one corner will be Matt Mitrione, the fast-rising Heavyweight that is a former “Ultimate Fighter” member and has been taking the lower-tier Heavyweight division by storm. In the other will be Cheick Kongo, the veteran Heavyweight journeyman that just gave us one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history. Here are all the details. ...

With a series of shocking developments and interesting finishes, the first round of strikeforce’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix is now in the history books. Four men survived the first round: Sergei Kharitonov, Antonio Silva, Josh Barnett, and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. We even know what second-round fights will take place: Overeem faces Silva while Kharitonov will go up against Barnett. But, until today, we didn’t know exactly when these fights take place. But in a new report it’s been revealed that September could see these two massive fights go down. Here are all the details. ...

Ever since it was announced that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was interested in Nate Marquardt, there’s been a bit of a debate on whether or not Bellator should really sign the former UFC Middleweight Championship contender that quickly became the central point of one of the biggest MMA controversies of the year. Multiple Bellator fighters, including Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard, have vocally called out Marquardt. However, it now appears that Bellator won’t be able to sign Nate “The Great” after all. Here are all the details. ...

When it was announced that Tito Ortiz had decided to rethink his earlier refusal and accept the ufc’s call to rematch Rashad Evans, some of us were left scratching our heads and wondering what happened to Lyoto Machida. When it was announced that Phil Davis had to pull out of his fight with Evans, many sources claimed that Machida/Evans 2 was in the works. However, that fight hasn’t happened, and it’s interesting to note that the UFC and Machida seem to have two very different reasons for why this fight wasn’t made. Here are all the details. ...

Hello again fans and friends and welcome to the start of a new weekly series! The “Thursday Round-Up” will feature a variety of interesting stories from around the internet. So without further ado, here are some of the top MMA stories from around the web. A Great “ESP-XC” MMA Workout (MMA Training) The Worst Referee Ever (Fightlinker) An Interview With ufc Gym Vice President (Find MMA Gyms) Rich Franklin Talks UFC 133 (Fightline) Nate Marquardt Now Cleared To Fight (Five Ounces Of Pain) Well-Known Manager Alex Davis On Fight Management (MMA Junkie) Kazuo Misaki Signs With strikeforce (MMA Weekly) ...

In the past few days, the ufc has been consumed by a hunt to find Rashad Evans a new opponent for his upcoming main event fight at UFC 133. This is the second time Evans has been left without an opponent, both Jon Jones and Phil Davis were scheduled to face Evans before pulling out due to injury. One popular rumor pointed to a rematch between Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, but apparently that’s not true after all. And after originally declining the fight, it now appears that Tito Ortiz has had a change of heart and will be stepping in to fight Rashad Evans. Here are all the details. ...

When you’re at the top or near the top of the food chain in the UFC, you can expect to be called out frequently by just about everybody, especially former champions. Right now, Junior dos Santos is widely regarded as the #2 Heavyweight in the UFC. Apparently that didn’t sit well with former champion Frank Mir, who recently said in an interview that he’s bigger and hits harder than JDS. Recently, JDS responded with some interesting comments of his own. Here are all the details. ...

Following his recent loss to Brendan Schaub, many fight fans wondered if we had seen the last of Mirko Filipovic. But it was recently announced that Mirko Cro Cop would fight at least one more time, fulfilling his current contract with the UFC. And should this be Filipovic’s last fight under the UFC banner or even his last fight period, at least the feared Croatian striker can go out knowing that he’s facing a top-division Heavyweight that’s a well-respected veteran. Here are all the details on Mirko Filipovic vs. Roy Nelson. ...