MMA | Heritage Sports

May

Sean O’Malley eyes Conor McGregor fight, open to weight class move

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley is willing to do whatever it takes to land a fight with Conor McGregor in what could be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. O’Malley appeared on Bradley Martyn’s “Raw Talk” podcast and revealed that he would move up from 135 pounds to 155 pounds to secure a fight with McGregor. “He’s big nowadays,” O’Malley stated of McGregor’s current weight. A former two-division champion, McGregor will return to the Octagon at UFC 303 after a three-year hiatus to face Michael Chandler. The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 165 pounds. Looking for the best online betting […]

April

Igor Severino: There’s no excuse for biting opponent

Igor Severino, who was released from the UFC after biting his adversary last weekend, said there is “nothing that could justify” his actions that night. Severino, of Brazil, was disqualified in the second round of his UFC debut, after he bit down on Andre Lima’s left arm. The bite left a very visible mark, and quickly resulted in UFC CEO Dana White revealing Severino would not fight for the UFC again. White also awarded Lima the first-ever “Bite of the Night” $50,000 bonus. In an interview this week, Severino, 20, said he doesn’t remember biting Lima and doesn’t understand what […]

March

Ronda Rousey says history of concussions forced her to retire

Ronda Rousey, one of the most influential stars in UFC history, revealed this week that she retired from mixed martial arts primarily because of a history of concussions. Rousey retired from MMA at age 29 in 2016 after back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes. During an Instagram Live to promote the upcoming release of her memoir, “Our Fight,” Rousey, now 37, stated a long history of concussions suffered in her previous sport, judo, contributed to her decision to leave MMA. “I’d like people to understand my reasons and motivations behind things,” Rousey said. “I was forced to leave fighting when […]

March

UFC’s Sean Strickland: Hope mental health post helps fans

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland stated his recent social media post on mental health was part of a longtime “merry-go-round” with personal struggles, and he chose to share it publicly to help his fanbase. In the post, published Monday, Strickland (28-6) admitted in a video he was “spiraling” and “mentally unwell.” In follow-up comments to ESPN, Strickland said he has learned over the past year that sharing those admissions has helped others in their lives, and he has enjoyed his ability to connect with his fans more than he expected. “I enjoy showing I’m not Captain America, I’m not a superhero,” […]

February

Francis Ngannou eyes Ferreira-Bader winner after boxing match

Francis Ngannou is two weeks away from his second appearance in a professional boxing ring, but he’s already considering his eventual return to mixed martial arts. Ngannou (17-3) hinted Thursday on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” that he’d likely face the winner of Saturday’s heavyweight contest between 2023 PFL champion Renan Ferreira and Bellator MMA champion Ryan Bader. “I think the winner of this is the guy I’m going to fight in my MMA return,” Ngannou told ESPN. “It is my intention to return to the sport. When exactly, I think depends on March 8. [Ferreira and Bader] are both champions and one of them is going […]

February

Nassourdine Imavov rebounds to start ’24, beats Roman Dolidze

Nassourdine Imavov, once considered one of the top prospects in the UFC middleweight division, had a disappointing 2023. He started the campaign with a loss, and his only other outing resulted in a no contest. The Paris-based fighter got a measure of momentum back Saturday night and continued rivalries with the two men he fought last year in Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland. Imavov defeated Roman Dolidze via majority decision (49-44, 47-47, 48-46) in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Dolidze is a teammate at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas with both Curtis and Strickland, and Curtis was in Dolidze’s corner […]

October

Justin Gaethje willing to wait for crack at Islam Makhachev

Justin Gaethje considers the only unfinished business he has right now at lightweight is a title shot. The former UFC interim lightweight champion and BMF champion told ESPN on Wednesday that he will wait for as long as he has to if he does not get the next opportunity at titleholder Islam Makhachev. “Who do I fight?” Gaethje said. “There’s no one. I did what I had to do. … I don’t know what else I need to do.” Charles Oliveira, the former UFC lightweight champion, was scheduled to challenge Makhachev at UFC 294 last weekend. But Oliveira sustained a cut 12 days before […]

July

Figueiredo submits Benavidez in first to claim belt

In a rematch of their controversial fight earlier this 12 months, Figueiredo knocked down Joseph Benavidez 3 times after which choked him out at 4:48 of the first spherical in the principle occasion of Sunday’s UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi. With the victory, Figueiredo claimed the vacant UFC flyweight championship. Figueiredo clipped Benavidez with a proper hand in the opening seconds, then tried to cinch in a rear-naked choke on the bottom. Benavidez valiantly fought it off and obtained to his toes. But he couldn’t do {that a} second time. Figueiredo blasted him with a whipping proper hand in the ultimate minute of the […]

June

Bones out, Jon Jones says he’ll vacate UFC title

Jon Jones says he’s no longer the UFC light heavyweight champion while his ongoing feud with company president Dana White continues to get more tense. Jones seemingly hit a boiling point following comments from White at Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 9 post-fight news conference. The two sides have been going back-and-forth in recent days, with the entire situation stemming from “Bones” looking for what White said was a boost in payment to move to heavyweight and fight Francis Ngannou. White refused to improve Jones’ contract, and pointed to Jones’ history of outside-the-cage issues as something that’s hurt his star power in the sport. […]

May

Overeem rocked early, rallies to finish Harris

Alistair Overeem overcame early difficulty and rallied to prevent Walt Harris in the next round of their heavyweight fight Saturday night in the UFC Fight Night headliner in an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The stoppage came in the 3 minute mark. With the triumph, Overeem combined Aleksei Oleinik since the sole active UFC fighters to acquire MMA battles in four different decades. Harris swarmed Overeem with a two-punch combination and fell him against the cage about a minute into the first round. Harris continued to rain punches down since Overeem covered up, although Overeem attempted to scramble away. The fight appeared close to being […]

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