Author: mmafighting
Jacobe Smith’s quick work in the cage gave him plenty of time to play afterwards. At Fury FC 86 in Dallas on Saturday, Smith scored a thudding 18-second knockout of Jared McLoughlin and then unleashed one of the most insane celebrations of 2024. Watch the fight in its entirety below. To summarize: Smith cracked McLoughlin with a right hand and then nailed him with a follow-up punch to finish the fight Smith then proceeds to get some air and do a full-force flop onto his back Smith continues to tumble, doing a full 360 roll on the ground before exploding…
The UFC antitrust lawsuit is nearing a trial date on April 15, and several prominent fighters and managers are set to testify on behalf of the promotion in the court case. A brief filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada revealed several names the UFC put forward as witnesses ahead of the trial for a case that’s been slowly moving toward that date since first being filed all the way back in 2014. The list of witnesses includes two former UFC champions and three more past title challengers testifying for the UFC. Bloody Elbow…
Brandon Royval is excited about heading into enemy territory. He could get his wish on May 4 if the matchmakers decide to give him another crack at Alexandre Pantoja, who successfully defended the flyweight title against Royval this past December at UFC 296. The Brazilian star is poised to headline UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, but he needs a challenger, and Royval’s win over Brandon Moreno in the UFC Mexico City main event may have made Royval the front-runner for that spot. Royval earned a narrow split decision over Mexico’s Moreno to avenge a November 2020 loss and if…
Raul Rosas Jr. will not get the chance to fight in front of an adoring crowd at UFC Mexico City. The highly-touted bantamweight prospect suffered an illness that left him unable to compete, and his fight with Ricky Turcios was scrapped just before the two were scheduled to walk to the octagon. The news was announced during the UFC Mexico City broadcast. While certainly not the best circumstance possible, there is hope that Rosas won’t have to long to compete, as it was also announced that his fight with Turcios has been rescheduled for the UFC Vegas 87 card this…
Did Alexander Volkanovski come back too soon? It’s a question plenty of people have asked since Volkanovski’s almost five-year reign atop the UFC featherweight division ended with a brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. The result was Volkanovski’s second straight knockout loss — “The Great” fell similarly to a first-round head kick against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in a short-notice bout this past October — and his four-month turnaround between fights raised eyebrows considering UFC 294 marked the first knockout defeat of Volkanovski’s octagon tenure. Three-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is a gigantic fan of…
Jon Jones doesn’t have a vested interest in Francis Ngannou’s future any longer now that they compete in rival promotions. That being said, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion still finds himself rooting for Ngannou in his upcoming boxing match, where he faces Anthony Joshua in a showdown in Saudi Arabia on March 8. Ngannou already shocked the world when he knocked down Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut and nearly pulled off an upset in a razor-close decision loss. Now Ngannou attempts to build on that performance when he faces Joshua in his second pro bout. “I’m rooting for…
UFC Mexico City ended without a highlight-reel knockout … unless you count the wild brawl that broke out in the crowd during the event. While skirmishes happening during sporting events is nothing new, a fight between several people in the audience at the UFC’s return to Mexico on Saturday resulted in a moment that Dana White won’t soon forget. Not only did the fight go until one person got absolutely demolished by a punch, it also didn’t appear security was anywhere nearby to intervene. The UFC CEO reacted to the melee during the post-fight press conference on Saturday. “I mean,…
It looked like disaster struck for Brian Ortega again, but this time he somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. After his previous encounter with Yair Rodriguez ended when he suffered a freak shoulder injury, Ortega had to feel snake-bitten when he jumped in the air during his introduction and actually rolled his ankle after an awkward landing. Things didn’t get much better when the action started, as Rodriguez began battering Ortega with strikes, and there were a couple of moments where it looked as if the fight might be over. Instead, Ortega showed incredible resilience and heart to…
Watch Brandon Royval vs. Brandon Moreno 2 full fight video highlights from the main event of UFC Mexico City, courtesy of the UFC and other outlets. UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 took place Feb. 24 at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (21-8-2) rematched Brandon Royval (16-7) in the night’s main event. The fight aired live on ESPN+. Catch the video highlights below. For more on Royval vs. Moreno 2, check out the live blog by MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti. Round 1: Hot damn. These main-eventers have a heck of a show…
Brandon Royval had to wait over three years to get a win over Brandon Moreno. The two headlined UFC Mexico City on Saturday and they lived up to their billing, battling back and forth for five rounds en route to a split call. It was Royval who left the cage with his hand raised, with a pair of 48-47 scores earning him the victory. Making the win extra special was that Moreno is the man who handed Royval his first UFC loss back in 2020. The two first fought at UFC 255, where Moreno won via first-round TKO in a…