Author: Dan Hiergesell

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.

Lightweight contender Paul Felder caught the MMA world by surprise last night (Sat., May 22, 2021) when he announced his official retirement from the sport during the broadcast of UFC Vegas 27 live on ESPN+.

Felder, who is ranked No. 9 in the UFC’s lightweight division right now, believes it was time to hang up his gloves because a UFC title shot was nowhere in sight. The decision was certainly a shock to fans tuning into UFC Vegas 27 to see some Saturday fights, but Felder is making the right choice if he no longer feels the desire to compete.

Following the conclusion of UFC Vegas 27, UFC president Dana White was asked about Felder and his career with the promotion in an interview with ESPN (shown below). White had nothing but good things to say about “Irish Dragon” the fighter, but he also paid tribute to Felder’s skills as a color commentator.

“Yeah he’s had an incredible career here and now he’s starting, well I shouldn’t say starting. But, he really is starting his new career after fighting. He’s a great commentator. He’s done an amazing job here and I am happy for him. Congrats on what he has done for us in the past and I look forward to working with him in the future,” said White.

Felder, 36, will leave a 9-6 UFC record behind after losing his last two Octagon appearances against Dan Hooker and Rafael dos Anjos. With fighting out of the way “Irish Dragon” will be able to solely focus on his broadcasting career and help build on an already successful commentary gig with the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.

The return of Kevin Lee has been set, as the former lightweight contender will move back up to welterweight to challenge undefeated prospect Sean Brady at UFC 264 this July, per ESPN.

Contracts have not officially been signed but the two sides have verbally agreed on the “Sin City” showdown.

Lee, 28, hasn’t competed since a submission loss to Charles Oliveira all the way back in Mar. 2020. Prior to that, “Motown Phenom” locked down one of the biggest wins of his career when he knocked out lightweight contender Gregor Gillespie with a monstrous head kick at UFC 244. This will be his first contest at 170 pounds since a loss to Rafael dos Anjos back in 2019 and an intriguing matchup that will let us know if Lee is ready to make another push towards UFC gold.

Brady, 28, has turned in a 4-0 record since making his UFC debut against Court McGee back in 2019. The Philadelphia fighter is coming off an impressive submission finish over Jake Matthews at UFC 259 this past March. A win over Lee this July will give Brady the big name on his resume that he needs to climb into the welterweight top 10.

UFC 264 will go down on July 10 live ESPN+ PPV from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor trilogy bout serving as the main event.

For more UFC 264 fight card news click here.

The action delivered throughout UFC Vegas 27’s card last night (Sat., May 22, 2021) live on ESPN+ from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Rob Font out-classed Cody Garbrandt to a dominant main event win (highlights HERE).

In addition to the bantamweight headliner, a collection of main card and “Prelims” fights produced memorable Octagon carnage. Check them out below and let us know which one stood out the most:

• Rising flyweight contender David Dvorak pushed his UFC record to 3-0 with a dominant one-armed submission victory over newcomer Juancamilo Ronderos (highlights HERE)
• Bruno Silva earned another brutal knockout finish when he smashed flyweight prospect Victor Rodriguez in just 60 seconds
• Heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell spoiled the Octagon debut of Chris Barnett with a strong second-round guillotine choke (highlights HERE)

• Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza captured her fifth-straight win with a brutal TKO finish over Chinese contender Yan Xiaonan (highlights HERE)
• Heavyweights Jared Vanderaa and Justin Tafa collided in a wild main card matchup that saw both men swing for the fences for 15 minutes, with Vanderaa coming out on top

In order to sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC Vegas 27 bonus winners below:

Fight of the Night: Jared Vanderaa vs. Justin Tafa

Performance of the Night: Carla Esparza

Performance of the Night: Bruno Silva

For complete UFC Vegas 27 results and coverage click here.