Author: mmafighting
Sean O’Malley has heard the voice of the people, and that voice says ‘Merab Dvalishvili.’ This past Saturday, Dvalishvili extended his current win streak to 10 in a row with a dominant unanimous decision win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 298 in Anaheim, Calif. Following his win, Dvalishvili called out O’Malley, who was sitting cageside for the event, but the UFC bantamweight champion did not jump at the idea, with O’Malley later saying that after he beats Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299, he wants a fight against newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. But now, O’Malley is changing course…
Brian Ortega doesn’t believe Ilia Topuria fought the same Alexander Volkanovski that he did nearly three years ago. This past Saturday, Topuria knocked out Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298 to claim the featherweight title. It was the 35-year-old veteran’s first ever loss in the weight class and as a man who previously faced the now ex-featherweight champion, Ortega says that that he’s not sure that was the same Volkanovski he had to square off against. “It just got shuffled last week, bro!” Ortega when asked about the state of the featherweight division during his UFC Mexico City…
A new UFC featherweight champ was crowned this past Saturday in the main event of UFC 298 after Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round. While it’s the dawning of a new era, it also puts an end to one of the most impressive title reigns in recent memory, Where will each fighter go, and will it be a rematch with one another next? On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to Topuria’s championship victory, talks what it means for the featherweight division, and whether or not a rematch should be next. Additionally,…
Anthony Hernandez is smiling his way straight to the top. This past Saturday, Hernandez chalked up another win inside the octagon, submitting Roman Kopylov on the main card opener of UFC 298. The win earned Hernandez the No. 12 spot in the UFC middleweight rankings, and also made “Fluffy” some extra fans when he finished the fight in style, grinning and celebrating while locking in the fight-ending rear-naked choke. Speaking on The MMA Hour, Hernandez said that the celebration was a spur of the moment thing brought on by recognizing a famous face in the crowd. “I saw f****** Mario…
Francis Ngannou will find his next opponent after the PFL vs. Bellator card on Saturday. The former UFC heavyweight champion, who faces Anthony Joshua in a boxing match on March 8, confirmed plans to return to MMA and make his long awaited debut in the PFL in the near future. He won’t have to wait long to find out who he’s facing with Bellator champ Ryan Bader scheduled to clash with PFL champ Renan Ferreira with the winner expected to move onto face Ngannou. PFL officials announced the news on Thursday after Ngannou addressed the possible fight during an appearance…
Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t have anything in writing just yet, but he’s confident the UFC will follow through with a title shot after his win over Henry Cejudo. On paper, his nine-fight win streak prior to UFC 298 probably should have already put him in title contention, but instead Dvalisvhili was matched up with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. He passed that test with flying colors, and afterward UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Dvalishvili is next for the winner of the upcoming bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera. Of course, nothing is certain until contracts are…
Brian Ortega returns from a long layoff due to injury as he steps back in the octagon in a rematch with Yair Rodriguez in the co-main event of UFC Mexico City this Saturday. What are the biggest questions you need answered this weekend in regards to the return of “T-City?” On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses the five-round bout and what is at stake for Ortega in the matchup. Additionally, listener questions include Merab Dvalishvili getting himself over with the fans without a ton of promotion behind him, the UFC 300 main…
Alexander Volkanovski may no longer be the UFC featherweight champion, but UFC color commentator Laura Sanko wants to relay an important message to the newer MMA fan base: Outside of a couple rare cases, everybody loses in this game. Volkanovski was knocked out by new champion Ilia Topuria in the second round of the main event of UFC 298 this past Saturday in Anaheim. Volkanovski’s reign — which began in December 2019 after defeating Max Holloway at UFC 245 — comes to an end after five successful title defenses over a more than four-year span. Volkanovski has now lost back-to-back…
Colby Covington earned a spot on UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry’s hit list by joining in to a chorus of negative and defamatory attacks against Garry and his family. Now, Garry has a very violent plan for Covington, one that strikes to the heart of the character “Chaos” has created over the years. “I’ll talk to him when I beat the f*** out of him in the octagon,” Garry said this week on The MMA Hour. “If [Donald] Trump’s in attendance, I will drag Colby in front of Trump, and I’ll beat the mouth off him, and I’ll say, ‘This…
Alex Pereira’s first defense of his UFC light heavyweight title comes against ex-champion Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300, which takes place April 13 in Las Vegas. However, Pereira doesn’t consider Hill to be the second-best 205-pounder on the UFC roster. “Poatan” went into The MMA Hour studio on Wednesday to discuss the newly announced clash with Hill, and was asked if Hill is the best talent in the division after him. “He’s not in second,” Pereira said in Portuguese. “I don’t know which position I’d put him, but at least fourth. … If I were to…