Author: Dan Hiergesell

Paul Felder announced his retirement from MMA earlier tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) during the broadcast of UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Felder, who was posted up cageside for commentary duties, took a moment before the heavyweight matchup between Justin Tafa and Jared Vanderaa to speak to UFC fans and put an official end to his fighting career. “Irish Dragon” said he didn’t feel the burning desire to continue fighting as a potential shot at UFC gold started to slip away. Felder also believed he’d be holding up the lightweight division if he stayed around.

“I don’t have that burning desire to fight for many more years to become the champion,” said Felder in his emotional send off (shown above courtesy of UFC/ESPN). “I’m retiring officially from the sport of mixed martial arts and from the UFC.”

“I fought some of the baddest dudes in the division and I want to thank all of them,” Felder said moments later. “My apologies for holding up the division for all the guys behind me… I’m officially stepping down, it’s not right to hold up the division.”

Felder, 37, was the No. 9-ranked fighter in the 155-pound division before making his decision to retire. The talented striker lost his last two Octagon appearances in exciting main events against Dan Hooker and Rafael Dos Anjos.

Felder will leave behind a 17-6 record (9-6 UFC) and six UFC post-fight bonus awards. His most notable wins came against Edson Barboza, Danny Castillo, and current UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

Heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell spoiled the Octagon debut of Chris Barnett earlier tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) at UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when “Big Ben” scored a second-round submission finish (guillotine choke).

Despite filling in on short notice Barnett came out swinging and tried to take Rothwell’s head off. Unfortunately for Barnett, Rothwell has a head of stone and ate every shot. Rothwell was able to tire Barnett in the first with some good top pressure before brining it back to the ground in the second. That’s where “Big Ben” quickly locked up the choke and eventual finish.

Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

This finish lands Rothwell back in the win column after losing a decision to Marcin Tybura in Oct. 2020. It was a good showing for Rothwell who still has the size, experience, and finishing ability to make another run at the heavyweight top 15.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

Bruno Silva captured another gnarly knockout finish earlier tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) at UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the Brazilian power puncher stopped flyweight counterpart Victor Rodriguez just 60 seconds into the first round.

Silva wasted no time coming out and swinging hard. He connected with a flush knee inside that caught Rodriguez to the body and seemed to hurt him bad. Silva immediately rushed in and landed a brutal right hand that sent Rodriguez flying to the canvas. A few more punches on the ground was all that was needed for Silva to claim the fast knockout stoppage.

Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

After beginning his UFC career at 0-2 (1 NC) Silva has finally found his footing in the growing 125-pound division. This was an absolutely vicious stoppage and one that should land Silva an even bigger fight his next time out.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

Rising flyweight contender David Dvorak made quick work of Octagon newcomer Juancamilo Ronderos earlier tonight (Sat., May 22, 2021) at UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, when “Undertaker” scored a dominant first-round submission finish (rear-naked choke).

Ronderos was filling in on just two days notice so he wasn’t expected to pull off some insane upset. Unfortunately for the UFC newcomer, Dvorak didn’t let him breathe from the opening bell. After catching Ronderos with a crisp right hand Dvorak was able to grab a hold of Ronderos’ back during a scramble to the ground. That’s when “Undertaker” was able to utilize one arm to choke out his flyweight adversary.

Check out the video highlights above courtesy of UFC/ESPN.

Dvorak is now 3-0 in UFC competition and hasn’t lost a fight since 2012. The streaking flyweight contender looks like a real problem at 125 pounds and could only be a few more wins away from a UFC title shot, especially if he keeps producing finishes like this one.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

A potential women’s strawweight clash between rising contenders Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez is currently in the works.

UFC president Dana White spilled the beans to TMZ Sports earlier this week and revealed that Dern is going to fight Rodriguez next. White didn’t have too many details but did acknowledge the matchup is close to “done.”

“She does have a fight coming up,” said White. “I was just talking about her this morning. We haven’t announced it, I’m sure, but I’ll give it to you, anyway. Hopefully, it’s done. My people hate when I do this. She’s taking on Marina Rodriguez next, which is a great fight.”

Dern, 28, is coming off an impressive submission win over Nina Ansaroff back in April to push her current win streak to four. The BJJ prodigy improved her overall UFC record to 6-1 with the victory and is now tied for the most submission wins in UFC women’s history with four. Dern was always expected to fight for the women’s strawweight title when she made her debut back in 2018 and a win over Rodriguez later this year could certainly get her there.

“Since she had a baby, she’s come back and looked like she has been reborn again,” White said of Dern. “She is a whole different fighter, physically, emotionally, mentally, technically, everything. She is completely changed.”

Rodriguez, 34, is coming off a spectacular main event debut against Michelle Waterson earlier this month to earn a unanimous decision win and push her UFC record to 4-1-2. The Brazilian contender has been matched up with the best in the division since her debut back in 2018 and has looked better each and every time she’s stepped inside of the Octagon. Rodriguez’s TKO finish over Amanda Ribas at UFC 257 this past January remains the biggest win of her career thus far.

What say you, fight fans? Who wins this matchup of surging strawweight contenders? Does the winner get a crack at current UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko?

Let us know in the comments below!

A matchup between Kamaru Usman and Conor McGregor is something we may never see so it’s important to pay attention to the trash talk shared between both fighters.

While there’s always been some sort of bad blood between Usman and McGregor things seemed to escalate following Usman’s recent knockout win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261. McGregor took to social media after Usman’s massive victory to claim he was a “copycat” and threatened to move back up to 170 pounds to meet “Nigerian Nightmare” inside of the Octagon.

Usman, who is widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport today, is never going to lay down for “Notorious.” After all, Usman is much bigger and has all of the ingredients to smash McGregor in minutes if the two ever fought for real.

As of now, Usman doesn’t even respect McGregor as a top-flight fighter anymore. The UFC welterweight champion acknowledges that McGregor used to have a hold on the MMA game, but since he’s been losing and getting knocked out things have changed.

“He’s not the champion Conor McGregor,” said Usman (via ESPN). “He’s not the double champion. He’s not that guy anymore. The old Conor, the hungry Conor, that was the fighter that fighters respected.

“Not that we don’t respect him at all, he’s still a UFC fighter, but he’s just a regular fighter.”

McGregor, who is coming off a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 this past January, is scheduled to meet “Diamond” in a trilogy bout at UFC 264 this July. If “Notorious” can defeat Poirier in their third fight he will regain considerable momentum at 155 pounds and likely land a matchup with current UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for end of year.

From there, it will be up to McGregor to win the lightweight strap once again and decide if he wants to move up to 170 pounds and settle his ongoing beef with Usman.

What do you think, Maniacs? Do we ever get Usman vs. McGregor? Does Conor even stand a chance?

Sound off!