Author: mmafighting
Jon Jones went back under the knife on Monday for elbow surgery, but he said his recovery isn’t expected to further delay his UFC return. Originally scheduled to defend his heavyweight title this past November at UFC 295, Jones dropped out of his fight against Stipe Miocic after suffering a torn pectoral muscle in training. He had surgery to repair the damage done and plans to fight this summer once healthy. Since Jones was already required to heal up his pectoral muscle, he opted to get some much-needed work on his elbow. He said his recovery and rehabilitation ultimately coincided…
Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira are two of the top lightweights in the world, but both have opened as underdogs for upcoming fights scheduled for UFC 299 and UFC 300. Poirier clashes with rising star Benoit Saint Denis in a five-round battle that serves as the co-main event of UFC 299 in March. The fight is Poirier’s first appearance since suffering a shocking head kick knockout loss to Justin Gaethje this past July. Meanwhile, Saint Denis has rattled off five straight wins — all by knockout or submission — while staking his claim to a No. 13 spot in the…
Anthony Joshua and Matchroom Sport’s Eddie Hearn had to call an audible after Deontay Wilder’s upset loss to Joseph Parker dashed plans of a long-awaited Joshua vs. Wilder showdown. But as far as back-up plans go, they certainly could’ve done worse. Joshua is slated to face MMA’s lineal heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a blockbuster 10-round boxing match in March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Obviously delighted, just a great fight,” Hearn said Monday on The MMA Hour. “Everyone’s going to play my previous clips [of me saying] that Francis Ngannou couldn’t win an English title before he fought Tyson Fury.…
Tom Aspinall is apparently willing to wait an eternity to fight Jon Jones. A matchup between the two UFC heavyweight titleholders — Aspinall won an interim belt at UFC 295, while Jones is officially recognized as the undisputed champion — has become a hot topic as we head into 2024, with Aspinall recently campaigning to fight either Jones or Stipe Miocic this year. Jones and Miocic were supposed to fight at UFC 295, but Jones was forced to withdraw due to a pectoral injury and a heavyweight bout between Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich took its place on the card. Aspinall…
Ian Machado Garry on one hand wants to make Sean Strickland answer for all the things he’s said. On the other, he feels like the UFC middleweight champ needs a hug. Garry on Monday responded to Strickland’s recent comments about he and his wife, Layla Machado Garry, and detailed his side of a run-in at the UFC Performance Institute that the champ revealed in one of several verbal shots. “I would say it was a scene,” Garry said Monday on The MMA Hour. “It was more of a glance, and him being shuffled into a lift, and that was it.…
Demetrious Johnson knows there were a lot of moving parts involved in his move to ONE Championship, but it doesn’t sound like Joe Rogan was one of them. Following the news that Johnson was traded for Ben Askren in a historic October 2018 deal that sent “Mighty Mouse” from the UFC to ONE, rumors emerged that Rogan had a hand in convincing then-UFC president Dana White to make the deal. During an appearance on the JAXXON podcast, Johnson was asked about the rumor and he clarified the situation after having spoken with Rogan. “See, I talked to Joe Rogan and…
Matt Brown didn’t get to fight at UFC 100 or UFC 200, but he’s hoping UFC 300 might have a spot open for him. The veteran welterweight with the most knockouts in the history of the division revealed on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, which drops Tuesday, that he spoke to the UFC about potentially returning on the April 13 card taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While nothing is set in stone yet, Brown says UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby was receptive to the idea, although he couldn’t say for certain where he’d…
UFC CEO Dana White promised he would be announcing some big fights, and he certainly came through with a pair of massive bouts in the promotion’s best division. On Sunday night, White revealed that former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier will face the surging Benoit Saint-Denis in the five-round co-main event of UFC 299, which takes place March 9 in Miami, and former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will look to stop the title push of Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 in April. Following the big news, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Alexander K. Lee, and Jed Meshew react to the pair…
Following a chaotic and unpredictable 2023 in the world of MMA, 2024 is shaping up to be even crazier — both in and out of the cage. Could this be a year that will see stars like Conor McGregor and Jon Jones compete multiple times? Will Khamzat Chimaev finally get his hands on UFC gold? Will Francis Ngannou continue to shake up the boxing world, and also make his MMA return? On a very special edition of On To the Next One, those questions — and a lot more — are presented during the 2024 predictions extravaganza. Hosts Mike Heck…
The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time. 1 p.m. ET: We react to the Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua news and latest fights announced by Dana White. 1:15 p.m. ET: Francis Ngannou discusses his upcoming boxing fight against Anthony Joshua. 1:45 p.m.: UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry talks about his upcoming UFC 298 fight against Geoff Neal and more. 2:20 p.m.: UFC middleweight Bo Nickal breaks down his UFC 300 fight with Cody Brundage. 3…