UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has gone radio silent since his triumphant return at UFC 285. UFC President Dana White confirmed to members of the media he hasn’t heard from Jones since then. This comes in light of Jones’ new contract and a presumed UFC 290 fight with Stipe Miocic incoming. Though White’s update doesn’t sound good, he seems cautiously optimistic. “Jon Jones came out, made quick work, and poof – disappeared. He is ready to fight – he wants Stipe [Miocic], so we will get it figured out.” Dana With on his lack of contact with Jon Jones after…
Author: Danny Howard
Danny Howard
Danny Howard has been covering combat sports for 13 years and likes to think he knows what he’s talking about. He has been a featured contributor at FightHype, The Boxing Tribune, The Fight City, and Covers.
Rivals Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa might co-headline UFC 294 later this year. Chael Sonnon revealed on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that Chimaev and Costa are sure to meet. The card is expected to feature Islam Makhachev defending against the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush as the headlining act. Sonnen disclosed that the fight is beyond the idea stage, and all that’s left is a formal announcement. “Well, so my understanding is Khamzat is going to fight Paulo Costa. They’ve even got a date. They’re gonna go out [to] Abu Dhabi, that’s a co-main event. Chael…
Alex Pereira might not be running it back with Israel Adesanya, at least, not at middleweight. Following his devastating 2nd round TKO loss to his rival, Pereira is likely heading to light heavyweight after having a difficult time cutting to the middleweight limit of 185 pounds. UFC President Dana White seems to think so as well, calling Pereira “A monster,” and disclosing how difficult his weight cut was for this fight. “I know that he had, he still had like two pounds to cut leading up to [the weigh-ins],” White said. “There was like an hour left at the end.…
Israel Adesanya is the middleweight champion once again after knocking out rival Alex Pereira in the second round of their UFC 287 clash. After falling short to Pereira three times before, Adesanya managed to put “Poatan” down and reclaim his spot at the top of the middleweight division. The fight started with Pereira targeting Adesanya’s lower body with leg kicks. While neither fighter landed anything with real authority, Pereira aimed to slow Adesanya down while the latter sat back to counter. Then the roller coaster second round happened. Pereira pressed forward, landing big shots and forcing Adesanya against the cage.…
Jorge Masvidal is facing a make-or-break moment as he prepares to take on Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. The outspoken Masvidal is currently on a three-fight losing streak and, at 38 years old, he knows he can’t afford another loss. In the UFC 287 Countdown previewing the Masvidal vs. Burns clash, Masvidal openly admits that a loss here could potentially mark the end of his career. “If I lose, I’m pretty much calling it quits. But a win against Gilbert means that things are headed in the right direction. So if I roll the dice and I do everything right,…
Nick Diaz turned in an egg of a performance when he ended his seven-year retirement at UFC 266. Diaz looked terrible against his former nemesis Robbie Lawler, who exacted revenge for his UFC 47 loss back in 2004. After being battered for the majority of their encounter, Diaz was stopped in the third round. Now, the reclusive Diaz said he wasn’t entirely to blame. During an interview on the Dying To See Me Podcast, Diaz blamed his management for putting everything together. “I was in between management, it wasn’t like when I went and found a group to work with…
Anthony Pettis’ boxing debut was enough to convince him to return to what he does best. The former UFC and WEC lightweight champion couldn’t quite make a splash in boxing. Last weekend, Pettis headlined a Gamebred Boxing card against 54-year-old Roy Jones Jr. in a heavyweight fight. While Pettis won a unanimous decision over the aged and inactive legend, it was far from an inspiring performance. After the fight, Pettis expressed gratitude to Jones and said he was ready to go back to MMA. During the post-fight press conference, the 36-year-old wants to return to the octagon as a welterweight.…
Endeavor, the parent company of the UFC, is now the owner of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in a huge deal that will change the sports entertainment landscape. Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel had this to say in a press release following the acquisition: “This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed. For decades, Vince [McMahon] and his team have demonstrated an incredible track record of innovation and shareholder value creation, and we are confident that Endeavor can deliver significant additional value for shareholders by bringing UFC and WWE…
Marvin Vettori isn’t getting on the hype train when it comes to Bo Nickal. The former title challenger and #3 ranked middleweight believes Nickal might not have the goods at the top level. In an interview with InsideFighting, Vettori leveled criticism towards the UFC’s newest acquisition. Vettori, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Roman Dolidze at UFC 286, doesn’t seem to buy what Nickal is selling. Nickal didn’t make his big stage debut without controversy. While he did submit Jamie Pickett in a hurry, it came after a low blow was missed by the referee, leaving Pickett…
In all but the blind eyes of Joel Ojeda, Cory Sandhagen beat up a timid Marlon Vega in the main event of UFC Fight Night from San Antonio. Sandhagen utilized a varied offense to keep Vera on his toes, never able to get into an offensive rhythm. Ojeda’s ludicrous 48-47 scorecard for Vera was overridden by scores of 50-45 and 49-46 for Sandhagen. The first two rounds had Sandhagen display a variety of strikes and takedowns against a listless Vera. While Vera put on a better effort in the third at the urge of his corner, he was still outclassed…