Author: mmafighting
There are fighters who came through on the ground floor to become big stars in the UFC and the sport of mixed martial arts, there’s others who just didn’t have it when the octagon door closed, but there are others who seemed to have it all and their stories were never fully told. Who is the biggest “what if” fighter in UFC history? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, it’s Free-For-All Friday where listener topics include some of those fighters who, for one reason or another, weren’t able to finish their career stories in the way fans…
The first heavyweight main event of 2024 is set for the UFC’s octagon. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that the scheduled bout between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Shamil Gaziev will serve as the headliner for UFC Vegas 87, which takes place March 2 at the UFC APEX. Eurosport was first to report the news. The event was originally slated to take place in Saudi Arabia before the promotion’s debut was postponed to June. Rozenstruik will make his 13th octagon appearance and looks to bounce back from a main event submission loss to Jailton Almeida…
If there’s a narrative being spread about you, rather than get mad, leaning into it is a spectacular defense — which is exactly what Alexander Volkanovski is doing ahead of his intriguing title defense next weekend. Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against surging contender Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 298, which takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Volkanovski, 35, has been hearing from fans since the fight was announced that, perhaps, his best days are behind him, and that his age could play a factor, so “The Great” partnered up with Sportsbet for…
Welcome to the latest edition of Missed Fists where we shine a light on fights from across the globe that may have been overlooked in these hectic times where it seems like there’s an MMA show every other day. We like to consider ourselves to be of refined taste around these parts, so you can imagine our excitement when a fighter comes along with a name or nickname that invokes a cultural classic. My attempts to force a headline out of a Victor Hugo Madrigal submission attempt fell flat some years back, but like The Count of Monte Cristo (different…
At the UFC Vegas 86 weigh-ins, all 28 fighters on Saturday’s card in Las Vegas will step on the scale Friday. MMA Fighting will have live video of the proceedings, courtesy of Ag. Fight. In the main event, Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer can weigh no more than 186 pounds, the maximum allowed for their non-title middleweight fight. The UFC Vegas 86 official weigh-ins are at 12 p.m. ET. Middleweights Clash In Las Vegas! Jack Hermansson vs. Joe Pyfer face off – LIVE HERE – on Saturday. Watch Live Stream Here Main card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET) Jack Hermansson…
Themba Gorimbo is a man on a mission. This past Saturday, Gorimbo had the best performance of his career, knocking out Pete Rodriguez in just 32 seconds at UFC Vegas 85. This followed up Gorimbo’s win this past May over Takashi Sato, where the Zimbabwean fighter caught the eye of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Needless to say, it’s been a life-changing past 12 months for Gorimbo, who believes that everything that has happened is proof that he’s destined for still greater things. “I did ask myself [why me], but I always say, this is not me, this is God,” Gorimbo…
Joe Pyfer just wants credit where credit is due. According to Pyfer, he set the record for the most powerful punch at the UFC Performance Institute, a claim that he has made in several interviews including on The Joe Rogan Experience where he provided video evidence for host Joe Rogan. However, Pyfer apparently is yet to be granted the official status of world’s hardest puncher and that existing doubt has him salty ahead of his main event fight with Jack Hermansson this Saturday at UFC Vegas 86. “This s*** pisses me off,” Pyfer said at media day on Wednesday. “I…
Teofimo Lopez promises there’s a method to his madness. As he prepares for a Thursday night bout against Jamaine Ortiz in Las Vegas, the now 26-year-old boxer addressed his brief retirement and concerns over his mental health following some disturbing comments made in the weeks leading up to his last win over Josh Taylor. In various interviews, Lopez accused his promoters at Top Rank of favoring “black fighters” over him and took shots at the ESPN boxing commentary team calling his fights. He was also caught on camera talking to his team about whether he still had it or not,…
Gina Carano has broken her silence regarding the lawsuit she filed days ago against Disney and Lucasfilm after she was fired from her role on the Star Wars spinoff series The Mandalorian. Her exit came after Carano made a number of controversial posts on social media including one particular photo that seemingly compared the backlash conservatives face in America to the atrocities suffered by the Jews during the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. Disney eventually released a statement saying Carano was not employed by the studio and there were no plans to bring her back for another appearance on The Mandalorian…
Sage Northcutt isn’t on the same page as ONE Championship when it comes to his recent fight withdrawal. “Super Sage” was supposed to fight Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki at a ONE event this past January. However, on fight day, it was announced that Northcutt had been forced to withdrawal due to “unforeseen circumstances with his cornermen,” according to the broadcast. Aoki went on to submit John Lineker, who stepped in for Northcutt at the last minute. On Thursday, Northcutt took to social media to dispute ONE’s claims that the issue couldn’t have been avoided. “ONE Championship is implying that…