Author: mmafighting
Mark O. Madsen is calling it a career. The 39-year-old UFC veteran, who won a silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2016 Olympics, announced his retirement Wednesday following a decade-long career in MMA. Madsen announced the news on Facebook with his manager Ali Abdelaziz also confirming the news to MMA Fighting. “The time is right,” Madsen said in the post. “I’m full and looking back on a career in elite sports that I’m very proud of. Sports have shaped me as a person, and I’m grateful for everything it has given me and my family. “MMA is a demanding…
The upcoming UFC Atlantic City card on March 30 needs a new main event. The welterweight showdown between Sean Brady and Vicente Luque has been scrapped from the card with no word yet on a potential replacement for the UFC’s return to New Jersey. Multiple sources confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday following an initial report from Harry Mac on Twitter Despite the announcement that was made about the fight serving as the main event, sources told MMA Fighting that Brady never actually signed a bout agreement as he was still dealing with an injury following his recent…
Kayla Harrison understands a lot of the questions surrounding her debut at UFC 300 won’t center around her skills or abilities but rather how she’s going to look setting foot on a scale at 135 pounds. As she prepares to take on Holly Holm on the historic card on April 13, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo, who earned those titles competing at nearly 172 pounds, admits that she’s not a big fan of weight cutting. In fact, Harrison revealed she actually didn’t walk around much bigger than 155 pounds when she fought at lightweight in the PFL because…
Renato Moicano knows his fight with Drew Dober at UFC Vegas 85 is must-see TV – even if they’re not the main event. That honor falls to middleweights Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov, who compete in a five-round fight to cap off the latest card at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. Truth be told, Moicano doesn’t really even know much about the fighters in the top slot ahead of his co-main event matchup, so it’s hard for him to justify that as a quality headliner. Then again, with almost no fans in attendance in a largely quiet arena like…
In 2012, then-UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta told ESPN.com the percentage of UFC revenue that went to fighters was “not far off what the other sports leagues pay as a percentage of revenue.” When asked if the split was similar to sports such as NFL, NBA and MLB, where athletes get around 50 percent, Fertitta said it was “in that neighborhood.” The story sparked backlash from fight fans who suspected UFC was short-changing its fighters, and from then-UFC President Dana White, who said the promotion’s now-broadcasting partner had done a hatchet job on its business. But one year later, Fertitta commissioned…
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: All your questions answered in the latest edition of On The Nose. 1:30 p.m.: UFC bantamweight standout Cory Sandhagen talks about the division and his next move. 2 p.m.: UFC strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez updates us on her injury and timeline for return. 2:20 p.m.: Suarez talks about her new HBO documentary, The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez, with director Cassius Corrigan. 2:30 p.m.: UFC bantamweight champion…
The MMA world continues to wait for the official return of its all-time biggest star. It feels like Conor McGregor will never fight again. At age 35, the iconic figure is getting ready to bask in the Hollywood spotlight at its fullest after the release of the trailer for his first big movie role in Road House. “The Notorious” has maintained that he will be coming back to fight again this year despite his absence since July 2021. It’s just a matter of whether or not it will still be against his originally planned opponent and rival coach on The…
Larissa Pacheco wonders if Cris Cyborg really wants to fight her. PFL’s biggest event to date is set for Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia, with a pay-per-view offering that features multiple clashes between PFL and Bellator champions after the two companies merged. But Pacheco is the only active PFL champion not added to the card. Pacheco told MMA Fighting she was informed in early January that she will not be on the card and was OK with it since PFL guaranteed her that Cyborg and Kayla Harrison also wouldn’t be fighting each other. Harrison has since signed with the UFC…
A new Bellator light heavyweight champion will be crowned in March as the brand is set to debut for the first time under the PFL umbrella. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Bellator’s return will take place March 22 in Belfast, and in the main event, Corey Anderson faces Ireland native Karl Moore for the vacant title. A venue has yet to be revealed for the event. Ariel Helwani was first to report the news. The booking is set after Vadim Nemkov vacated the title as he makes the move to the heavyweight…
The full fight card for UFC Vegas 88: Ribas vs. Namajunas is official with 11 fights headed to UFC APEX. UFC Vegas 88: Ribas vs. Namajunas takes place March 23 and streams exclusively on ESPN+, with a flyweight headliner between ex-strawweight champ Rose Namajunas and Amanda Ribas taking the top spot. Namajunas makes her second appearance at 125 pounds after her debut against Manon Fiorot went south with an early hand injury and subsequent decision loss. She moved to flyweight after the loss of the strawweight title in a rematch with Carla Esparza. Ribas, a veteran at 125 pounds, moves…