Author: mmafighting
The first quarter of 2024 already has four UFC title fights on the books after Dana White made a blockbuster announcement on Monday afternoon. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Shaun Al-Shatti, and Steven Marrocco react to the UFC CEO announcing that Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis for the middleweight title will headline UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria for the featherweight championship will take place at UFC 298 in February, and Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2 will take place at UFC 299 in March for the 135-pound title. Both UFC 298 and UFC…
Jorge Masvidal is done with Colby Covington in court, but he’s far from finished with “Chaos” in the streets. On Monday, Masvidal finally ended his long-running legal battle with Covington, where he was facing multiple felony charges for assaulting his former friend outside of a Miami restaurant in 2022. Masvidal plead guilty to misdemeanor battery and agreed to pay the court fees associated with the case in a plea deal where prosecutors dropped the felony charges, meaning Masvidal will face no jail time for the incident. And speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour just hours after the matter…
Raush Manfio is no longer under contract with the Professional Fighters League. The 2021 PFL lightweight champion on Monday announced on social media that he is officially a free agent, a decision that comes more than four months after he went the distance in a highly criticized match with longtime friend and training partner Natan Schulte. Manfio wrote in his native Portuguese: “I would like to announce that I’m no longer part of the PFL, but also thank [PFL] for all these years with the promotion. We came in from the front door and left with my head held high…
Jorge Masvidal finally got closure on his assault case involving former friend and opponent Colby Covington. On Monday, Masvidal pled guilty to misdemeanor battery as part of a plea deal with prosecutors with two other felony charges being dropped after he attacked Covington outside a restaurant in Miami back in March 2022. Masvidal was sentenced to time served and he’ll be responsible for paying court fees attached to the case but he’ll face no jail time in the case. The plea deal brings the long-running saga to an end after Masvidal lost in his fight against Covington back at UFC…
The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Wednesday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time. 1 p.m. ET: We take a closer look at UFC Sao Paulo and the latest MMA news. The parlay boys also recap their latest selection, and GC looks back at this UFC Sao Paulo picks. 2 p.m.: Nicolas Dalby recaps his Fight of the Night performance at UFC Sao Paulo. 2:20 p.m.: Jailton Almeida looks back at this win over Derrick Lewis at UFC Sao Paulo. 2:35 p.m.:…
Stephen Thompson has revealed he’s been compensated following his cancelled fight with Michel Pereira at UFC 291. After Pereira missed weight for the welterweight tilt in July, Thompson opted to not take the fight, and thus, wasn’t paid for making weight himself. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour following the bout’s cancellation, “Wonderboy” said that talks had been going on between his management and the promotion. Now, ahead of his UFC 296 bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov, Thompson says things have been taken care of, and he’s happy with the result. “That was all wild and crazy,” Thompson told…
Jailton Almeida controlled and dominated Derrick Lewis for nearly the entire UFC Sao Paulo main event, and as impressive a feat as that is, the performance still left people with questions about his ceiling in the heavyweight division. Where does Almeida go from here in order to answer those questions? On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee attempt to predict who Almeida could face next following his unanimous decision win over Lewis in Saturday’s headliner. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Nicolas Dalby after his gritty comeback stoppage win…
Alex Pereira has had a movie-like career in MMA thus far. The newest inductee into the Glory Kickboxing Hall of Fame returned to MMA after a brief departure in 2016 after going 2-1. It’s no secret that the 36-year-old Pereira is a masterful striker, having been a former Glory champion, transitioning back to MMA from kickboxing and ultimately becoming a UFC champion in only four fights upon his arrival in the company. Unfortunately for Pereira, his reign as the UFC middleweight king was short-lived as he dropped the strap in his first title defense against longtime two-sport rival Israel Adesanya.…
Javier Baez doesn’t compete in MMA anymore, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t ready for a fight. This past Wednesday, Baez found himself unexpectedly having to employ his skills in self-defense when he was attacked by a knife-wielding stranger in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Cutler Bay, Fla., a town in the western part of Miami-Dade county. Baez managed to subdue the attacker by avoiding a charge, slamming him to the ground, and then apparently choking him with an arm-triangle. Watch the stunning footage of the incident below, courtesy of UFC fighter Terrance McKinney, who posted the…
Alex Pereira added another accolade to his growing resume after he became the third fighter to be inducted into the GLORY Kickboxing Hall of Fame. The Brazilian previously served as a two-division champion in GLORY after capturing both the light heavyweight and middleweight titles before eventually turning his full attention to MMA. He joins fellow GLORY legends Semmy Schilt and “Bazooka” Joe Valtellini in the GLORY Hall of Fame. “Alex Pereira was one of the greatest champions in GLORY history,” Scott Rudmann, co-founder and Vice Chairman of GLORY, said in a press release. “His accomplishments in the GLORY ring speaks…