Author: Dan Hiergesell

We are just a few days away from the return of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and UFC is reminding us all what the reality show can offer fight fans everywhere.

TUF, which is set to return June 1, 2021 on ESPN+ for season 29, hasn’t aired since Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum coached season 28 back in 2018. The new season of TUF will feature UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Brian Ortega as the coaches with the two fighters squaring off later this year.

While TUF hasn’t’ been around for a few years there’s no denying what the show has accomplished in the past. From spitting out future UFC champions to producing some of the best Octagon action you will ever see, TUF has been a productive outlet for the promotion to grow young fighters and give them the opportunity to create a dedicated following.

In the leadup to season 29, UFC has released complete footage of the best finishes in TUF history. From Uriah Hall’s infamous spinning kick knockout over Adam Cella to Pete Sell’s incredible comeback finish over Scott Smith, TUF has produced some wild stoppages over the years.

Check out the video in the above player.

Only time will tell if the upcoming season of TUF will produce similar carnage. But considering the series hasn’t aired in a few years and will now take place on ESPN+, the participating fighters should do whatever they can to stand out and capture ultimate glory.

Conor McGregor is pulling out all the stops for his upcoming trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 this July and it includes trolling “Diamond” six weeks in advance.

McGregor, who lost to Poirier via second-round TKO back at UFC 257 this past January, is in desperate need of a win at this point in his career. The Irish superstar has enough money to retires ten times over, but McGregor is still trying to work his way back towards a UFC title and it all starts with his trilogy opposite Poirier. Another loss for McGregor could completely bounce him from the UFC lightweight title picture and force him out of the game whether he likes it or not.

In the lead up to his third fight with “Diamond,” McGregor is doing what he can to remind Poirier that he won their first battle all the way back at UFC 178 in 2014. That contest was held at featherweight, but McGregor still finished Poirier with a beautiful first-round knockout and one of his most infamous finishes to date.

McGregor took a trip down memory lane earlier this week when he released the below photos. The first shot is a picture of McGregor lounging around the pool taking his usual selfie. The next photo, however, sports a very clever photoshop, which shows McGregor’s knockout win over Poirier in the Irishman’s sunglasses.

This is all well and good but McGregor is unlikely to get under Poirier’s skin at this point in time. Poirier just handed “Notorious” his first career knockout loss and has all the confidence in the world to do it again. McGregor will be pulling out all the stops over the next six weeks to gain a mental advantage over “Diamond” heading into their massive trilogy fight with July.

It will be up to Poirier to deflect, defuse, and destroy McGregor like he did just four months ago.

For complete UFC 264 news and coverage click here.

We almost saw a boxing match between former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and former boxing world champion Oscar De La Hoya, but UFC president Dana White prevented it from happening.

Say what you will about White and how everything played out, a boxing match between GSP and “Golden Boy” would have been, well, golden. Some may think the matchup is a risky venture for St-Pierre, who is widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, but it would have been a great opportunity for the retired UFC fighter to earn a massive payday and test his skills against a legend like De La Hoya.

While the matchup has fallen between the combat cracks never to see the light of day again it’s still worth talking about, especially as new details emerge.

Earlier this week, St-Pierre sat down with MMA Joe (via BoxingScene) to discuss his missed opportunity to fight De La Hoya. GSP also revealed the proposed ruleset for the boxing match and a few details about a percentage of his fight purse going to charity.

“The problem with UFC, it’s a really serious sport that you can be really badly damaged. In boxing there are ways of tweaking it,” said St-Pierre. “For example, I was offered to have a fight with Oscar De La Hoya, but the rules were different because we were both retired.”

“It would’ve been bigger gloves, two-minute rounds, eight rounds. So the terms were different to accommodate, to make it more like a show,” St-Pierre continued. “It’s less dangerous. Part of the profit, part of our purses would have been given to a charity. Unfortunately, it did not happen, but it would have been fun. It’s a different form of entertainment, and with boxing you can tweak it like this — you can change the gloves — in MMA you can’t really do that.”

Most of us are still surprised that White was so quick to put a stop to this boxing match, especially since GSP shows no signs of returning to the Octagon, but it’s proof that the UFC president really doesn’t get along with De La Hoya. White may have a few different reasons why he didn’t approve of the fight, but he likely didn’t want to do business with “Golden Boy” even if it came at the expense of a massive payday for GSP.

For now, St-Pierre will stay retired and De La Hoya will have to find another dance partner for his anticipated return to the boxing ring later this year.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA announcer Jimmy Smith is moving over to the world of professional wrestling.

According to an initial report by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Smith will join World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Raw. Smith is expected to make his debut on the upcoming episode of Monday Night Raw on May 31.

Smith, 43, is best known for his seven years of commentating duties under the Bellator MMA banner. In Jan. 2018, Smith signed with UFC and helped announce a plethora of Fight Night shows and international events. UFC did not re-sign Smith after his one-year contract expired and the veteran journalist hit the free market. Two months later he ended up joining Invicta FC as a lead announcer.

Smith will now become part of one of the most notable events in sports and entertainment today. Landing the gig for WWE Monday Night Raw is a massive opportunity for Smith, who has limited background experience in announcing professional wrestling. Still, the combat veteran is excited about the chance to call WWE matches and prove his worth among some of the most loyal fans around.

“Hey guys, well it’s been a busy day,” Smith wrote on Twitter after news leaked that he had signed with WWE. “Apparently [WWE] liked my work so far. I know I’m stepping into a new world (I WAS a Mr. Perfect and Bruiser Brody fanatic however) but know I’ll do everything I can to honor the athletes and fans. Watch Monday and judge my work for yourself.”

Smith will join long-time analysts Matthew Polinsky and Bryan Kelly as part of the WWE Monday Night Raw broadcast team.

What do you think, fight fans? Is Smith a good fit for WWE?

Sound off!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has said no to a grappling match between combat veterans Cris Cyborg and Miesha Tate.

Earlier this month is was revealed that White put a stop to a potential boxing match between former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and Oscar De La Hoya. It wasn’t a popular decision considering GSP wanted to test his striking skills against a returning “Golden Boy,” but St-Pierre is still under contract with UFC and White did not want to lend his services out.

The same thing seems to be happening with a grappling match between Cyborg and Tate. The two former UFC champions were working towards a match at an upcoming Submission Underground event, but White quickly nixed that in the bud.

“I’m not surprised, you know? I’m not surprised,” Cyborg recently told James Lynch (via Bloody Elbow). “He’s the one to shut [it] out. He doesn’t want this [to] happen. She wants to have a couple fights more, she says [it’s] not the end of the line, now she can have the opportunity to do this fight in the future. And she said she’d really like to do it but they won’t let her do it. You know the story. Dana wants nothing to do with Cyborg. I’m the one rock inside Dana White’s [shoe]. But I believe in the future maybe the fans would like to watch.”

Cyborg, 35, parted ways with UFC back in 2019 after a nasty feud with White. The Brazilian veteran ended up signing with Bellator MMA and found the home she was looking for. One that would allow her to compete outside of the cage and give her the freedom to seek additional sponsors.

“Yeah, but it’s like… you have to — OK, fighters don’t have forever,” Cyborg said of White’s control of UFC fighters. “We have to use every moment of opportunity that we have. Okay, your manager and you decide one thing is good for a career, [the promoter] is supposed to let it go, let them do it. They’re not helping with the fighter. They’re gonna make extra money, extra publicity, extra matches, it’s going to be better. But I don’t know, I’m glad to be free of this. I am free, you know? I don’t have to ask anything from him to do anything.”

While there’s no real reason why White should have shot down the proposed boxing match between GSP and De La Hoya it’s likely that Tate’s looming Octagon return played a part in UFC not allowing her grappling match with Cyborg. It’s not the most popular course of events, but UFC is just protecting its asset.

What say you, Maniacs? Should UFC allow Cyborg and Tate to meet in a grappling match?

Let us know in the comments below!

Cody Garbrandt not only had to deal with a decision loss to red-hot bantamweight contender Rob Font last night (Sat., May 22, 2021) at UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, but “No Love” also had to endure some post-fight trash talk from the never quiet Jake Paul.

Garbrandt, who was making his first UFC main event appearance since his second title loss to T.J. Dillashaw back at UFC 227, struggled to adjust to Font’s length and lead jab and fell short in each and every round of the main event. Font wasn’t overly aggressive in pursuing a finish, but he dominated Garbrandt in all aspects of the fight.

Following his loss, Garbrandt was thrown under the bus by Paul on Twitter. The aspiring professional boxer took aim at “No Love’s” loss to Font while working in a joke about Garbrandt’s height.

“What’s worse,” began Paul. “Cody losing or him not being able to ride roller coasters due to height requirements?”

Garbrandt quickly responded in hilarious fashion by posting, “Roller coast deez nuts.”

It wasn’t an over-the-top exchange that we usually see between Paul and his social media pray, but it’s significant enough because Paul continues to weasel his way into the combat sports spotlight. Garbrandt was fresh off a defeat to Font and had to deal with this clown making jokes about his height.

Not the best way for “No Love” to deal with the first decision loss of his career.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.