For the second time in his career, Ben Askren is retiring from mixed martial arts competition. “Funky” made the announcement on Monday’s episode of the Ariel Helwani MMA Show, citing a hip injury as one of the primary reasons.
The injury was unbeknownst to most of the MMA community, until Askren revealed it on the show. And apparently, he intended for it to be that way and not make it seem like an excuse for his recent losses in the UFC.
So, the UFC’s latest trip to Sao Paulo didn’t exactly come off with a bang. Jacare vs. Blachowicz wasn’t necessarily booked to be an all-time thriller, but the hope was that they’d at least entertain. Add in a funky split draw in the co-main event and it made for a night of fights that left many fans feeling like they’re now really ready for the upcoming non-event weeks.
Despite riding a three-fight win streak, breaking the record for the fastest KO in UFC history (5 seconds) and battering Nate Diaz to a pulp to capture the UFC’s one-off ‘BMF’ title, Kamaru Usman isn’t quite sold on Jorge Masvidal.
Speaking to MMA Fighting in a recent interview, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ explained why he thinks ‘Gamebred’ is all hype and hasn’t evolved since losing to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and Demian Maia in back-to-back fights back in 2017.
A women’s flyweight fight between two fighters at opposite ends of their careers is being planned for UFC 246, as Maycee Barber is scheduled to fight Roxanne Modafferi.
A women’s flyweight matchup between rising prospect Maycee Barber and former title challenger Roxanne Modafferi is in the works for the UFC’s first PPV of 2020.
Earlier this week, reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones declared his next title defense would be against streaking contender Dominick Reyes, who recently disposed of Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 6.
“Just finished a coaches meeting studying Dominick and Cory‘s careers. Established Dominicks definitely the more dangerous fighter. Beating his ass next” Jones posted on Twitter.
Nick Diaz might just be angling for his shot at the BMF belt.
Diaz recently spoke with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani in what was a lengthy, rambling interview and told the veteran reporter that Jorge Masvidal’s commemorative strap belongs to the Stockton star.
Gregor Gillespie entered UFC 244 with an undefeated record and some hype behind him. But that all changed inside two and a half minutes of action when he ate a left kick to the jaw from Kevin Lee, knocking him out cold.
Gillespie spoke to MMA Fighting recently, where he says he remains in good spirits despite the nasty end to his 13-fight win streak.
Despite riding a three-fight win streak, breaking the record for the fastest KO in UFC history (5 seconds) and battering Nate Diaz to a pulp to capture the UFC’s one-off ‘BMF’ title, Kamaru Usman isn’t quite sold on Jorge Masvidal.
Speaking to MMA Fighting in a recent interview, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ explained why he thinks ‘Gamebred’ is all hype and hasn’t evolved since losing to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and Demian Maia in back-to-back fights back in 2017.
Jorge Masvidal may have had an anticlimactic win against Nate Diaz, but it doesn’t take away from his dominance at UFC 244.
“Gamebred” beat up Diaz on his way to an unpopular doctor’s stoppage win in Saturday’s main event for the “BMF” title. As the MMA world looks ahead to upcoming UFC pay-per-views, there has been discussion about which opponent Conor McGregor could face for his self-proclaimed January 18th return. At the post-fight press conference, Masvidal was asked about being a potential McGregor foe, and you just knew he wasn’t going to hold back.
