Author: Danny Howard

Dustin Poirier expects Conor McGregor to return to form and beat Michael Chandler when they fight. “The Diamond” recently shared his thoughts on The MMA Hour on the unannounced super fight between his former conquests. During the segment, Poirier believes a rejuvenated McGregor could stop Chandler in two rounds.“If Conor is who he was before the injury and stuff, I think two rounds — I think the fight’s over in two rounds.” McGregor has been inactive since a gruesome leg injury caused a TKO loss to Poirier at UFC 264. It was the latest setback for McGregor, whose attempts to…

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, a dream fight in every sense of the word, is looking unlikely to happen. Though Jones and Miocic were expected to face off in the summer, reports are emerging that the fight is in dire straits. Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen Jones engage boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to challenge him in the UFC. Predictably, UFC President Dana White has publicly thrown his weight behind a fight that is a statistical impossibility to ever happen. Not too long after, reports began coming out that Jones may not be facing Miocic. Daniel Cormier and…

Khamzat Chimaev’s time on the sidelines is coming to an end, and a major fight is brewing. The UFC’s hottest prospect has been on the shelf since his win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279. Currently, Chimaev is training in Abu Dhabi, which is the hosting location for UFC 294. According to Chimaev, he’s sounding pretty certain that his opponent will be former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. “I’m already here in Dubai, living here, training camp, everything is good, so I’ve been in shape a long time ago. I’ve been in Thailand training camp, I’ve been here training camp, I’ve…

Jan Blachowicz is on the verge of once again challenging for the light heavyweight title, provided he defeats Alex Pereira at UFC 291. The former light heavyweight champion detailed the stakes for the Pereira fight on The MMA Hour. “When I heard that he would come to our division, I just want to fight against him. I talked with my manager and they did this fight. It was easy. I said, ‘OK, give it to me.’ Why not?” Blachowicz won the title at UFC 253, defeating Dominick Reyes in the second round. He successfully defended the title as an underdog…

Dana White has reaffirmed that Aljamain Sterling will defend his bantamweight title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. Last week, the bout was announced as the main event of the Boston card. Shortly after, Sterling made comments suggesting he would need more time after his UFC 288 win over Henry Cejudo to prepare. Not only did White confirm the fight will happen, but had to do so because Cejudo offered to step in versus O’Malley. “Henry Cejudo calls me and says, ‘This little p*ssy doesn’t want to fight, I’ll take the fight. I’m throwing my hat in right now. Let’s…

Mackenzie Dern doled out a comprehensive beating of veteran Angela Hill in the main event of UFC Vegas 73. Though many expected Dern to use her grappling to slow Hill down, she delivered a striking clinic en route to a dominant decision win. Once the fight started, it looked like Hill would get the style of the fight she hoped for as Dern readily engaged her. However, it didn’t take long for Dern to set the stage for what would tell the story of the fight. Dern slammed Hill to the canvas, then floored her with a solid shot. A…

A pair of high-stakes title fights will headline UFC 292 in Boston. The TD Garden will be headlined by the bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and #1 contender Sean O’Malley. Sterling recently turned away the challenge of Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, and O’Malley immediately confronted him in the octagon to formally challenge him. Though Sterling clearly isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, there’s no doubt that he’s a modern-day great. O’Malley is one of the promotion’s biggest stars, and he can go supernova with a title win.  “Suga” was last in the octagon defeating Petr Yan by a split…

After signing a lucrative deal with PFL, Francis Ngannou detailed the negotiations he had with Bellator, ONE Championship, and BKFC over the last few months. During his time on The MMA Hour, Ngannou detailed the efforts to sign him. The former UFC heavyweight champion was seen as the biggest free agent in the sport after his formal release from the promotion last January. The likeliest contender to sign Ngannou was Bellator, who is seen as the UFC’s biggest competitor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f65b0kdp_Og Last March, Bellator president Scott Coker was optimistic about bringing Ngannou on board. Coker’s deal would have permitted Ngannou to…

Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are set to resume hostilities at UFC 291–and the “BMF” title is on the line. More importantly than bragging rights or a fictitious title, the winner is likely to face Islam Makhachev by year’s end. The “BMF” belt was originally won by Jorge Masvidal after defeating Nate Diaz at UFC 244. Though it is a title, it is more of a trinket and not officially recognized by the UFC as a legitimate title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d4f-t_IaAA Aside from that, Poirier vs. Gaethje is set to headline UFC 291. The card is incredibly strong on paper. The two…

Francis Ngannou is PFL bound, and the former UFC heavyweight signed a deal for the ages. After failed attempts by practically every MMA body in the world, Ngannou has settled on PFL. As part of the new deal, Ngannou will be securing seven-figure paydays competing in PFL’s new “Super Fight” division, ownership of PFL’s expansion into Africa, and autonomy to pursue a boxing career. https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1658400808906498048?cxt=HHwWgIC94fiv6YMuAAAA Ngannou said the following after the announcement:“I am very excited for this game-changing partnership with the Professional Fighters League to continue my MMA fighting career in the PFL’s PPV Super Fight Division.” I believe in…