Cormier: Like It Or Not, There Are Different Rules For Conor McGregor

Valentina Shevchenko is ready to make her return to the UFC Octagon for the first time in 2022. The UFC flyweight belt will once again be in the line at the upcoming UFC 275 fight card in June. Women’s Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko will be faced with the task of defending her title once again when she takes on challenger Taila Santos.

Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold thinks the UFC needs to step up and pay its top fighters to get big fights booked. Speaking with Helen Yee this week ahead of his own return to action in August, Rockhold was asked about his thoughts on Jon Jones moving to the heavyweight division. The former light heavyweight champion has recently spoken about a possible heavyweight debut against Stipe Miocic, but Rockhold thinks it’s on the UFC to make that fight happen.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping has described just how seriously Dana White was taking a potential boxing bout with Tito Ortiz in 2007. The sport of mixed martial arts is full of intriguing matchups that never came to fruition, from the cursed Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson bout and a dream clash between Khabib and former champ-champ Georges St-Pierre to… Dana White vs. Tito Ortiz?

UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush thinks his former foe Tony Ferguson may want to consider training with him at Kings MMA. Ferguson is looking for a fresh start following a fourth-straight loss in the UFC. Despite a strong first round against Michael Chandler at UFC 274, he suffered a brutal knockout by getting hit by a front kick to the face in Round 2.

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith has recalled an altercation he had with an individual in a bar following his wedding. They say weddings are meant to be the happiest day of a person’s life (the wife’s, at least…). For Smith, a 52-fight MMA veteran who has competed in the sport since 2008, it seems that he gets a lot of his happiness when surrounded by the walls of the Octagon with an opponent to beat down in front of him.

Sara McMann has sounded off on fighters using illegal substances in MMA. Sara McMann has been a crucial part of the UFC bantamweight division since 2013. She is a talented fighter and former Olympic wrestler. She earned herself a title fight back in 2014 and has been working to earn another at 41 years old.

The U.S Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has refuted the claims made by Tony Ferguson following UFC 274. The USADA has a responsibility to test all UFC athletes they see fit, whenever and wherever they see fit. Since the organization linked up with the UFC back in 2015 to handle the drug testing, there have been many athletes who have publicly voiced their unhappiness with the process. On some occasions, the testing people can show up at houses very early, or basically any other place that a fighter is at random times.

Former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar has become the latest MMA figure to try his hand at stand-up comedy. With color commentator Joe Rogan and former heavyweight Brendan Schaub consistently stepping on the stage, as well as bantamweight queen Julianna Peña pondering a future set (if she can avoid fighting the hecklers…), there seems to be a loose tie between mixed martial arts and comedy.

Marlon Vera and Petr Yan can’t seem to come to an agreement on when they’d like to meet inside the Octagon. Vera has been very vocal about wanting a fight with Yan next, feeling it’s the best available match up that could propel him into title contention. However, Vera seems to want to fight Yan as soon as August.

Kayla Harrison has given her opinion on Amanda Nunes’ departure from American Top Team. After losing her bantamweight championship, Amanda Nunes is looking to make some changes. She recently announced that she has left her longtime home gym of American Top Team in Florida to go out on her own. ATT is the home to many high-caliber athletes and at times there can be problems that arise.

UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw is prepared for the inevitable trash talk that will come his way if a fight against champion Aljamain Sterling comes to fruition. At UFC 273, Sterling proved a whole host of doubters wrong by successfully defending his 135-pound gold against arch-rival Petr Yan. Having legitimized what had been a disputed reign up until the April 9 pay-per-view, “Funk Master” has now turned his attention to his next potential challenger.

UFC veteran Al Iaquinta thinks that if a universal open scoring system was implemented across MMA, it would do more harm than good. Iaquinta has been a strong advocate for UFC fighter rights, more specifically when it comes to fighter pay. But, the former lightweight title challenger doesn’t think an open scoring system would be a good idea.

Claressa Shields will have some big time help in her preparation for her return to mixed martial arts (MMA). Shields recently spoke with Mirror Fighting and discussed her eventual return to MMA competition. The boxing star said she’s looking to improve her ground game, and is gearing up to travel...

ABC President Michael Mizzulli has responded to Dominick Cruz‘s recent criticisms about the quality of their judges. Athletic commissions and judging have been under heavy criticism for some time now. However, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, whose words carry a lot of weight, recently spoke out on the matter, specifically in regards to judges’ qualifications to score an MMA fight.

UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett wants to help former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa with his past weight-cutting struggles. Pimblett is set to face Jordan Leavitt in his Octagon return later this year at the UFC’s next London event on July 23. He most recently defeated Kazula Vargas back in March after earning a first-round knockout in his promotional debut against Luigi Vendramini.

Alexander Volkanovski can finally travel around and show off his UFC championship belt. Volkanovski is quickly becoming one of the best fighters ever to hold the UFC featherweight belt. He won the title back in Dec. of 2019 and really didn’t have much time to enjoy it before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Volkanovski is an Australian native and as many may be aware, Australia was one of the strictest countries when it came to lockdown.

Paulo Costa has launched a meme competition on his Twitter page, with the winner receiving a $2,000 prize. Costa took to his Twitter to officially announce the competition. The winnings will be split between four winners. All you need to do to enter is respond to the announcement post with their best meme.

UFC welterweight contender Michel Pereira nearly found himself in a physical altercation with heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Pereira is fresh off his win over Santiago Ponzinibbio in the UFC Vegas 55 co-headliner. He earned the victory via a split decision and has now won five in a row over the likes of Niko Price and Andre Fialho.

Nate Diaz is back at it again sharing his frustrations about being matchless and has even disclosed failed efforts of fighting Khamzat Chimaev. Nate Diaz currently has one fight remaining on his UFC contract, and by all appearances, the Stockton superstar has done everything in his power to make that fight happen. There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by where Diaz isn’t venting, challenging, or even urinating to get his point across.

Chael Sonnen believes that UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Amanda Nunes gave a “very fair” reason behind her decision to leave American Top Team earlier this year. In 2021, it seemed all was relatively well at ATT in regards to its two leading female athletes. As well as Nunes attending PFL events in support of Harrison, the two-time women’s lightweight champion returned the favor at UFC 269 in December.