Author: mmafighting
A lot of MMA observers think former UFC heavyweight Stipe Miocic should step aside to decide the best in the big-man division. That includes interim champ Tom Aspinall, who’s publicly campaigned to unify the belt against undisputed champ Jon Jones. On Friday, Miocic responded to a series of tweets from Aspinall arguing the title unifier should be next on the UFC’s schedule, and for all the reasonable points the U.K. titleholder raised, the American also had a reasonable one. “I have never caused a delay in the Jon fight,” Miocic wrote on Friday. I have never caused a delay in…
UFC phenom Raul Rosas Jr. will take on Ricky Turcios at UFC Mexico City. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed the fight to MMA Fighting after an initial report from Eurosport NL. UFC Mexico City takes place Feb. 24 at Arena CDMX in Mexico City. The event is expected to air on ESPN+. Rosas Jr., the youngest-ever fighter to sign with the UFC at 17, hopes to cement his first UFC winning streak five months after stopping Terrence Mitchell at Noche UFC this past September. Now 19, Rosas Jr. has been forced to adjust expectations after a…
Francis Ngannou is back at it again. The former UFC heavyweight champion is set to face two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua later this year in a blockbuster 10-round boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An official date for the bout has yet to be announced, however a kickoff press conference is already slated for January 15 in London. It’s yet another massive coup for Ngannou, who made his professional boxing debut with a stunning performance against Tyson Fury this past October. Despite being universally counted out for the bout, Ngannou gave Fury one of the toughest tests of his boxing…
Francis Ngannou’s first fight of 2024 is booked, and it will take place in the boxing ring, not an MMA cage. As MMA Fighting confirmed on Friday, Ngannou will face Anthony Joshua in a 10-round boxing match that is targeted for March, although the date is currently not finalized at this time. Following Ngannou making the decision to leave the UFC as heavyweight champion in early 2023, he went on to sign with the PFL before taking Tyson Fury to the limit in his pro boxing debut in October. Now, “The Predator” gets another massive opportunity to shake things up…
Jim Miller didn’t blink when the UFC called with an offer to fight at its Jan. 13 card. Despite his years-long plan to compete at the historic UFC 300 event that takes place just three months later on April 13 — after previously appearing at UFC 100 and UFC 200 — the veteran lightweight refused to sideline himself to wait for that opportunity. With the most fights and most wins in UFC history already on his résumé, Miller couldn’t fathom turning down a date or an opponent just because he wanted to be the only fighter to participate in all…
UFC 300 will be here before we know it, and everyone seems to have an idea of what the historic UFC pay-per-view event should look like. With Conor McGregor announcing he’s fighting Michael Chandler in June, the main event — along with the full supporting cast — remains a mystery. So what would be your ideal UFC 300 lineup? On a special edition of Heck of a Morning (in the afternoon), MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck takes your UFC 300 fight card suggestions. Additionally, he’ll answer your questions about anything and everything as it relates to the crazy world of MMA,…
Chris Weidman is mounting another UFC comeback. A matchup pitting the former UFC middleweight champion against Bruno Silva is being targeted for UFC Atlantic City, which takes place March 30 at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. MMA Fighting confirmed the targeted bout with sources close the situation on Friday following an initial report by Laerte Viana, however the matchup has yet to be finalized. Weidman (15-7) once again seeks to return from injury after suffering a fracture in his leg midway through his August 2023 loss to Brad Tavares. That bout was Weidman’s first following a 28-month layoff, the result of…
Festivus is over, but Paddy Pimblett still feels the need to air his grievances. Following his win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296, the popular lightweight from England revealed the fighters the dislikes the most, and that list starts with top-ranked featherweight contender Ilia Topuria. Pimblett’s beef with Topuria stems from an altercation that took place ahead of UFC London in March 2022 where the fighters nearly got into a brawl at the host hotel. The fracas ended with Pimblett launching a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria, which he adopted as a nickname for the 27-year-old Georgian fighter. “Probably…
Conor McGregor could add another feat to his impressive résumé in his next fight. “The Notorious” recently announced that he is fighting Michael Chandler at the UFC’s International Fight Week event on June 29, noting that he expects the bout to take place at 185 pounds. The UFC has not officially announced the matchup, but Chandler has replied that he welcomes a fight with McGregor in any weight class. Sean O’Malley discussed the news on an episode of his TimboSugarShow, expressing his excitement at the possibility of McGregor owning highlight-reel knockouts in four divisions. “I feel like he might be…
Turnover is a fact of life in the fight game — and few years demonstrated that more clearly than 2023. After 2021 and 2022 saw record-tying change among the UFC’s championship class, 2023 hoisted itself up and proclaimed loudly for all to see, ‘Nah, y’all ain’t seen nothing yet.’ Twelve UFC beltholders began this past year with gold sitting on their mantelpieces — just four managed to reached 2024 with that gold still intact, setting a new benchmark for the largest championship turnover in UFC history. Hell, even one entire division didn’t make it to the new year. (So long,…