Author: mmafighting
If the rumored Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz boxing rematch turns out to be accurate, multiple-time UFC title challenger and MMA pundit Chael Sonnen is not in favor of it. “This is amongst — if not the worst — idea I have heard in a meaningful period of time, unless your goal is like Brewster’s Millions to see how fast you can [run] out of money,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “The only thing that has kept [boxing] alive is that you keep finding a bigger fool who is willing to lose money. “[I’ve been around the game,] so…
The PFL Pay-Per-View Super Fight Division will kick off on Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia as the expected PFL vs. Bellator champions event has been officially announced. With the main card heading to pay-per-view, and the UFC bringing a free event with UFC Mexico City that same day, can this card outkick its coverage? MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Shaun Al-Shatti, and Jed Meshew react to the event’s announcement, and give their 1-to-10 scores in regards to excitement levels — which may or may not change throughout the reaction. Additionally, they discuss the card, the main card being behind a paywall,…
Sean Strickland is setting the terms for UFC 297 fight week. After an ugly lead-up to the first UFC pay-per-view of 2024, the UFC middleweight champion issued a direct threat to Dricus du Plessis on his podcast The Man Dance on Monday, warning his South African challenger as UFC 297’s festivities in Toronto draw near. “Remember when I attacked Dricus?” Strickland said. “I actually sent him a message and I was like, ‘Dude listen, Dricus, we’re going to go try to murder each other, but if you bring that s*** up again, I will f****** stab you.’ Press conference, weigh-in…
Dominick Cruz will replace Joe Rogan on the broadcast team for the upcoming UFC 297 pay-per-view, which originates from Toronto, Canada on Saturday. Typically a staple of the pay-per-view team calling fights, Rogan rarely travels outside of the United States so Cruz got the call to take his seat for the first major card in 2024. Cruz will be joined on the broadcast team by play-by-play man Jon Anik and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier calling the fights on Saturday. Megan Olivi serves as the in-house reporter for the card while Din Thomas joins the broadcast as the “coach”…
The highly anticipated PFL vs. Bellator pay-per-view fight card finally has a date and location. After acquiring Bellator at the end of 2023, PFL founder Donn Davis declared that one of the first orders of business for the promotion would be a “mega event” pitting PFL champions against Bellator champions sometime early in 2024. Now the event is set as on Tuesday, PFL officials confirmed with MMA Fighting that the PFL vs. Bellator super-card will take place on Feb. 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ariel Helwani was the first to report the news. Along with the date and location, PFL…
While UFC 300 is coming together, currently there isn’t an announced main event for the historic fight card. With Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis getting set to battle for the middleweight title this Saturday at UFC 297, could the UFC be looking at the winner of that fight to do a quick turnaround for UFC 300 — possibly against Israel Adesanya? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses the weight the Strickland vs. Du Plessis fight could have on UFC 300, and if the winner truly matters in this conversation. Additionally, listener…
Sean Strickland was the 2023 Fighter of the Year. Is he about to author a repeat performance? That might sound crazy reading it, but it’s no less crazy than Strickland dominating Israel Adesanya to become champion. On Saturday at UFC 297, Strickland has his first title defense as he takes on Dricus du Plessis, who has yet to taste defeat inside the octagon. Strickand’s run at the top could be over before it begins, but a win over “DDP” could send him soaring toward another year of accolades. MMA Fighting’s Alexander K. Lee, Steven Marrocco, Damon Martin, and Jed Meshew…
Matt Brown couldn’t imagine a better scenario than fighting Jim Miller at UFC 300 in the final appearance of his career. As he awaits word from UFC matchmakers, the 43-fight veteran with the most knockouts in UFC welterweight history hopes that he’ll get the call to compete at the historic event on April 13. Miller specifically asked for Brown as an opponent following his win over Gabriel Benitez this past Saturday night. Now Brown has answered the challenge with a resounding yes — and is revealing that he’s already contemplating that night for his retirement. “It would be an honor,”…
Love him or hate him, Sean Strickland never puts on a show for the cameras. The brash and often outlandish demeanor that the UFC’s reigning middleweight champion carries during press conferences, interviews, and over social media is exactly the same person who spends the majority of his time training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, according to teammates and coaches who spoke to MMA Fighting. The gym, founded by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, serves as home to dozens of professional fighters, including Strickland after he officially relocated there full-time in recent years. Prior to that, Strickland was almost…
Sean O’Malley has his immediate future all mapped out. Outside of an exception here or there, the UFC has turned away from champion vs. champion fights in recent years after it felt like they were becoming the norm. The featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is the most recent champion to try and hold multiple titles at once after he attempted it twice in 2023. Unfortunately for “The Great,” he came up short in both his bids opposite the lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev. Depending on how things shake out across the UFC landscape, Volkanovski could be the next champion to defend his…