UFC Champ Carla Esparza Happy to Be Different, Prepares for Long Run at the Top

Keep betting against UFC strawweight champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza.  She doesn’t mind. She encourages it, even. She thrives as the underdog.  “I like being the underdog, definitely,” Esparza told Bleacher Report. “It pushes me to prove myself.”  Since making her professional mixed martial arts debut in February 2010, Esparza has done plenty of proving.  […]

Keep betting against UFC strawweight champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza.  She doesn’t mind. She encourages it, even. She thrives as the underdog.  “I like being the underdog, definitely,” Esparza told Bleacher Report. “It pushes me to prove myself.”  Since making her professional mixed martial arts debut in February 2010, Esparza has done plenty of proving.  […]

UFC 185 Preview: Why Is It so Hard to Imagine Rafael Dos Anjos as UFC Champ?

There’s nothing wrong with Rafael dos Anjos. On the contrary, dos Anjos has been outstanding through more than six years in the UFC. He’s gone 8-1 dating back to May 2012 and no matter what happens during his lightweight title shot at UFC 185, he can boast a resume few 155-pound fighters can match. So, […]

There’s nothing wrong with Rafael dos Anjos. On the contrary, dos Anjos has been outstanding through more than six years in the UFC. He’s gone 8-1 dating back to May 2012 and no matter what happens during his lightweight title shot at UFC 185, he can boast a resume few 155-pound fighters can match. So, […]

8 Fighters Released from the UFC, Including Former WEC Champ Brian Bowles

The UFC’s massive stable of fighters shrunk slightly Tuesday when the promotion released eight fighters, including former WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles, per a report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. Aside from Bowles, the other former UFC fighters who received their walking papers were: Stanislav Nedkov, Andy Ogle, Akira Corassani, Humberto Brown, Rodolfo Rubio, Juan Puig […]

The UFC’s massive stable of fighters shrunk slightly Tuesday when the promotion released eight fighters, including former WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles, per a report from Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. Aside from Bowles, the other former UFC fighters who received their walking papers were: Stanislav Nedkov, Andy Ogle, Akira Corassani, Humberto Brown, Rodolfo Rubio, Juan Puig […]

Former UFC Champ Rich Franklin on Anderson Silva: ‘My Heart Bleeds for the Guy’

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin recently commented on the media firestorm surrounding the recent failed drug tests of pound-for-pound great and one-time Octagon adversary Anderson Silva. The Spider was given a temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission in a February hearing and will face further discipline at a commission meeting later this month. […]

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin recently commented on the media firestorm surrounding the recent failed drug tests of pound-for-pound great and one-time Octagon adversary Anderson Silva. The Spider was given a temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission in a February hearing and will face further discipline at a commission meeting later this month. […]

Fomer WEC Champ Brian Bowles Arrested on Possession of Meth, Other Drug Charges

Veteran MMA fighter Brian Bowles reached rarefied air in 2009 when he captured the WEC bantamweight title. Five years later, it seems he’s come all the way back down the mountain. Bowles and an associate were reportedly arrested earlier in January in Bowles‘ Georgia home and charged with multiple drug offenses, including the possession of […]

Veteran MMA fighter Brian Bowles reached rarefied air in 2009 when he captured the WEC bantamweight title. Five years later, it seems he’s come all the way back down the mountain. Bowles and an associate were reportedly arrested earlier in January in Bowles‘ Georgia home and charged with multiple drug offenses, including the possession of […]

The Question: Can Conor McGregor Dethrone UFC Champ Jose Aldo?

Bleacher Report lead mixed martial arts writers Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter have banded together—much like a modern-day version of the Justice League—to take on the most important questions facing the MMA world. Welcome to The Question.  Now that Conor McGregor has proven he’s got legitimate star power, setting ratings records on Fox Sports 1, a new question comes to the fore. […]

Bleacher Report lead mixed martial arts writers Jonathan Snowden and Jeremy Botter have banded together—much like a modern-day version of the Justice League—to take on the most important questions facing the MMA world. Welcome to The Question.  Now that Conor McGregor has proven he’s got legitimate star power, setting ratings records on Fox Sports 1, a new question comes to the fore. […]