Category Archives: Mmaweekly.com

Former UFC lightweight title challenger and welterweight fan favorite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was rushed into surgery earlier this week after suffering an injury while practicing riding a bull.  

Cerrone was schedule to attempt to ride Dana White’s bull “Twisted Steel” at Professional Bull Riders (PBR) “Unleash The Beast” event on May 18 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.  Instead, Cerrone will be recovering from surgery.  

“As y’all know I was set to ride Dana White’s ‘Twisted Steel’ at the PBR World Finals on May 18,” Cerrone wrote on Instagram. “I was just rushed into surgery with 100-percent biceps tear off the bone! Guess you mess with the bull you sometimes get the horns. This is not the end. I will rehab and get back after it.”

View the original article to see embedded media.

In a followup post, Cerrone explained that UFC CEO Dana White lined him up with a surgeon who specializes in full bicep tears.  

‘Well if y’all want to see what happened to the one arm man, this is it. Now if you’re thinkin this is it, and ol’ cowboy is down and out— no sir. @danawhite hooked me up with one of the best surgeons for a full bicep tear and give it six-eight weeks and with help from @transcendHrt and I’ll be back at it,” Cerrone wrote. 

View the original article to see embedded media.

 White released a statement about Cerrone’s injury and thought “Cowboy” trying to ride his bull was probably not the best idea from the beginning.  

“I thought this was a bad idea for Cowboy from the start,” White said in a statement provided to MMAmania.com. “Twisted Steel is the nastiest bull in the PBR. He’s bucked 90-percent of his riders. Let’s leave it to the pros at the PBR World Finals in Arlington.”

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Ian Machado Garry is determined to fight former three-time title challenger Colby Covington at UFC 303 on June 29th in Las Vegas.  “The Future” is growing impatient with “Chaos,” and urged Covington to ‘sign the contract.’  

“Don’t be a coward sign the contract,” Garry wrote on social media tagging Covington.  Accompanying the comment was a video.  

“Everybody knows who my next fight is.  Everybody knows what it is.  It’s no secret,” Garry said in the video.  “All I’m waiting on, all we need is Colby to sign the f**king contract and say yes.  Let’s go Colby.  Can’t talk all that sh*t and not back it up.”  

View the original article to see embedded media.

Garry and Covington have hurled insults back and forth on social media for months, called each other out, and Covington has gone so far as to insult Garry’s wife with some pretty disrespectful allegations.  It’s a grudge match at his point.  

Garry is undefeated (14-0) and is currently ranked inside the Top 10 at seventh. Covington, a perennial contender, is ranked fourth in the weight class. Covington (17-4) lost to champion Leon Edwards in his last outing and has lost three of his last five fights. 

UFC 303 takes place at T-Mobile Arena during International Fight Week.  The event is headlined by the return of former two-division champion Conor McGregor taking on lightweight contender Michael Chandler.  Garry is confident that he’ll be facing Covington in the co-main event.  

“When I read the news and see something ain’t right – I’ll be co-main mark my words #UFC303 @ufc,” he wrote on Instagram.  

View the original article to see embedded media.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Florida is oftentimes like a video game, and that was the case recently when an MMA fighter was forced to wrestle an alligator.

Amateur mixed martial artist Mike Dragich sprung to action when a wild alligator found itself loose on the streets of Florida. As police and civilians sat idle, it was Dragich who overpowered the gator, bringing it in peacefully before anyone was endangered.

Sneaking up from behind, the 34-year-old handled the alligator without any shoes or equipment on hand. After recieving a call while out spending time with his family, the licenced alligator trapper took care of the animal with ease, despite not having his tools to help.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by WJXT4 The Local Station (@news4jax)

His heroics have not gone unnoticed as Mike Dragich spent time discussing the bizarre situation with Ingraham of FOX News.

Dragich detailed the events that led to him9 capturing the alligator.

“I’m just a true Florida man and doing what true Florida men do out there,” Dragich said during an interview with FOX News. “So, I was at a hockey game with my family and I got an emergency alligator call, so I knew I had to respond.”

“I actually left the hockey game, caught the alligator, and made it back to the hockey game.”

“I didn’t do it in the most professional way possible, ’cause I didn’t have my gear with me. So I just adapted and overcame, and I caught him with my bare hands.”

Related: Max Holloway shows off leg injury days after UFC 300

Assuring those concerned, Dragich insisted that the alligator wasn’t harmed during their brief wrestle.

“I didn’t hurt the alligator at all when I was wrangling him on camera there. It’s what it takes, you gotta tire those animals out by pulling them around a little bit and jump on them so nobody gets hurt.”

“You gotta make sure they’re tired before you do anything crazy like that.”

This wasn’t the first time Dragich has gone viral for handling an alligator. Just last year, the MMA fighter had a nail-biting encounter with a vicious 10-foot gator.

If being an army veteran, amateur MMA fighter, and an alligator trapper wasn’t cool enough already, Dragich has been hanging out with UFC legends Randy Couture and Clay Guida.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Dragich (@bluecollar_brawler)

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

“Platinum” Mike Perry faced former UFC lightweight champion and former two-time Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of December’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship 56 event.

The symbolic ‘King of Violence’ championship was on the line and Perry forced Alvarez to not come out of his corner for the third round.  

Alvarez wobbled Perry in the opening round with a right hand.  His jab and right cross gave Perry problems, but the tides would turn in the second frame.  The two exchanged heavy shots in the second round.  Perry relentlessly pressured Alvarez and both men connected cleanly.  At the conclusion of the second round, Alvarez told his corner, “I can’t see.  I can’t see.”  Alvarez’ corner asked him if he wanted to stop and he again said that he couldn’t see.  The corner immediately stopped the fight.  

Perry faces Thiago Alves in the main event of Bare Knuckle Mania IV on Saturday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.    

Mike Perry vs. Eddie Alvarez Full BKFC 56 Fight Video

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Heavyweight champion Jon Jones was injured while preparing for his UFC 295 title defense against former titleholder Stipe Miocic.  “Bones” tore his pectoral muscle while training last October.  

Jones underwent surgery days later and has done physical therapy for months.  It’s been six months since the surgery and Jones has returned to the gym.  

“First day back in the gym since my injury, felt amazing,” Jones wrote on Instagram. “And so it began.”

View the original article to see embedded media.

Jones is almost universally considered the mixed martial arts GOAT.  He’s the youngest UFC champion in history.  He’s a two-time light heavyweight champion with 11 title defense.  He held the 205-pound championship for a record 1,501 days.  He’s the current heavyweight titleholder and has the most wins in UFC title bouts.   

Jones vacated the light heavyweight title in 2020 following his UFC 247 decision win over Dominick Reyes.  Three years later, he returned to the octagon to fight for the heavyweight championship.  

Jones faced top contender at the time, Ciryl Gane in the UFC 285 main event in March 2023.  The fight lasted two minutes.  Jones submitted Gane via guillotine choke and became a two-division UFC champion adding to his legacy.   

The Jones and Miocic bout is expected to be rebooked at some point later this year.  It will be Jones’ first heavyweight title defense.  

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Ryan Garcia may have just pulled off one of the most well-executed trolls in the history of combat sports. According to ‘King’ Ryan, almost everything he did in the buildup to his fight with Devin Haney was to trick people into believing he was crazy, though one thing he didn’t fake was his views on Bohemian Grove.

Having only ever been defeated by Gervonta Davis throughout his career, it was the boxers mental state that was in question opposed to his in-ring ability last time out. Despite coming into the fight as the heavy underdog, Garcia fought back from early adversity, managing to drop Haney three times, and rightfully walked away with the majority decision victory.

During an appearance on the PBD Podcast, Ryan Garcia revealed that his perceived madness heading into his Devin Haney clash was just an act.

“We have it prerecorded months ago. What did I say was going to happen? I said, ‘I’m about to make sure everybody thinks I’m going to go crazy. I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that. Watch, this is going to be called the great escape.'”

“I have it all documented. I was already planning it weeks and weeks and months behind.”

“I don’t know what made me come up with the idea, honestly. I just one day decided just to go all in and just commit to a plan that I had.”

“I was not going to budge for nobody. It don’t matter if I went on his podcast, anybodies podcast. I was acting like sporadic, like just crazy… What was real though is, at times I did drink a little bit during camp because I like to drink.”

One controversial comment that Ryan Garcia doubled down on was his views on Bohemian Grove.

“There’s actually many stories on it [Bohemian Grove] and there’s actually a lot of people that have come forward to me.”

“There’s actually really people in the front lines of all this, you know? I’m in contact with them. His name is Jaco.”

“He’s a big advocate. He goes to Congress all the time to speak about child sex trafficking and he could confirm all these things.”

“A lot of these things I have experienced, not only like spiritually in my spiritual senses before I even knew about the Bohemian Grove… I had a vision in 2021. I seen a beast coming out of San Francisco and I saw the San Francisco bridge and then I saw the woods.”

“I saw people doing really weird things and I went up to my friend–I said, ‘Hey, man. Is there a place that people do weird things in the woods? I’m just curious.’ And he said, ‘What are you talking about? Bohemian Grove.’ I didn’t know what it was but that was 2021.”

Related: Ryan Garcia takes shots at Logan Paul and KSI following win over Devin Haney

Alongside his visions, Garcia insists he has video proof of the disturbed situation.

“I actually do have videos. Yes, we do have videos,” Garcia said. “The guy Jaco, he has them. We’re going to go to Congress with it.”

“I’m just not going to put that on the internet. And then there’s also other people that have videos and they’re victims. But I’m not going to put that on the internet, that’s disgusting.”

“Everything’s in people’s faces, you don’t [have] to look too far. There’s so many stories, I mean, this is not even conspiracy at this point. At the end of the day, all these things can be traced and documented.”

“It’s right in front of everybody’s face. They paint it in the illusion that it’s a conspiracy but it’s not a conspiracy if there’s proof.”

Watch Ryan Garcia’s PBD Podcast interview below.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev headlines the UFC 303 fight card on June 1 in Newark, New Jersey against former interim titleholder Dustin Poirier.  Makhachev admits that Poirier is a legend and a dangerous opponent, but believes his style will be a bad matchup for “The Diamond.”   

“Against him (Poirier) I know my plan.  I just have to defend my neck from his guillotine.  And that’s it,” Makhachev jokingly told New York Post Sports.  “He is a legend.  If we talk about Dustin, he’s already a legend.  He has big experience in this sport.  He’s a problem.  He has good striking.  His bad point is his wrestling and grappling, but he has a good guillotine.”  

“My fight style is bad for Dustin because we saw his fight with Max Holloway and with other people that have good striking.  I think the best boxing in this sport, in my division, Dustin has.  Honestly because he beats everybody.  In the striking, nobody can beat him,” Makhachev continued.  “But for the fighter who has good wrestling and good grappling, he has bad points… He lost to Khabib [Nurmagomedov] who has good wrestling and grappling.  He lost to Charles Oliveira.  That’s why, in my opinion, my style is bad for him.”

Makhachev (25-1) is coming off back-to-back wins over former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.  Both of his title defenses were against the Australian.  Poirier (30-8, 1NC) knocked out Benoit Saint Denis in his last outing.     

UFC 302 takes place at the Prudential Center.  In the fight card’s co-main event, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland takes on former title challenger Paulo Costa.  The event will mark the promotion’s tenth visit to Newark. 

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Michael Chandler’s long wait for Conor McGregor to return is almost over.  The two are scheduled to headline the UFC 303 fight card on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

McGregor hasn’t fought since July 2021 at UFC 264.  He suffered a broken leg in the final seconds of the opening round in a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier.  Chandler last fought in November 2022 at UFC 281, losing to Poirier via submission.  

McGregor and Chandler coached The Ultimate Fighter 31 last summer against one another.  Heading into their June 29 showdown, Chandler doesn’t think McGregor is what he used to be before the injury and layoff.  

“I’d say he’s the better striker from a crisp, longer, more sniping standpoint.  He’s got that great step-back left.  He’s had great success with guys who aggressively fight him who hare a little bit shorter than him.  Stocky wrestlers with an overhand he calls it,” Chandler said on the Shawn Ryan Show.     

“What I need to work on for this fight is continue to be the best version of myself.  Maybe a little bit more tactical realizing that I’ve earned this.  Realize that I am the better fighter.  I am the tougher fighter, and the guy that deserves it more,” Chandler continued.  “I don’t need to getting into a fire fight with a guy who has got a bigger riffle than me.  I think I hit harder than he does.  

“I would venture to say his time out of the cage has lent itself to his timing not being what it used to be.  His movement not being what it used to be.  His reflexes not being what they used to be being out of cage now for, it will be three years by the time we fight.  So I’m just going to, from the first exchange, hit him with big punches, make his second guess himself, keep my hands up a little bit more than I have in the past, pick him up and put him down if I want to, choke him if I want to, go out there and get the finish and just absolutely outclass and dominate him because I deserve this and I’ve earned this.”   

Related: Daniel Cormier wants Conor Mcgregor vs. Michael Chandler to be for the 165-pound title

Chandler plans to ‘drown’ McGregor with a relentless pace and a solid game plan.  In fact, he expects McGregor to ‘look for the exit’ early in the fight.  

“The goal is to suck all of the oxygen out of the octagon.  He’s already ready to down with the lifestyle that he has lived and the work that he has not put in over the last couple of years,” Chandler said.  “I believe we suck the oxygen out of the octagon.  He looks for the exit sign somewhere in the second round and I usher him toward the door.”  

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Fresh off his UFC 300 TKO win over Aleksandar Rakic, former light heavyweight titleholder Jiri Prochazka wants a rematch against champion Alex Pereira.  Prochazka and Pereira fought for the vacant title at UFC 295 in November 2023.  Pereira finished Prochazka in the second round, but Prochazka believes it was an ‘early stoppage.’

Following his UFC 300 win over Rakic, Prochazka called for a title shot.  “I want to face the champion,” he said in his post-fight interview.  Headlining the UFC 300 event, Pereira successfully defended the title by knocking out former champion Jamahal Hill in the first round.    

“Like I spoke after the fight, I’m looking for the title fight, for Alex Pereira,” Prochazka said during an interview with Michael Bisping.  “I was able to and am still able to take the fight in Brazil.  I will see.  Now it’s on the UFC…  Let’s see if it will be necessary to fight someone else before the title fight.  I will do that, but I think I deserve it.”

Prochazka called for a title shot in his UFC 300 octagon interview, during the post-fight press conference and in interviews since the April 13 event.  However, he has not spoken to the fight promotion. 

“I told that to interviews.  Not to the UFC, but I told that to (my) manager who is in contact with the UFC with Hunter Campbell and Dana White too,” Prochazka said.

“I’m just saying that I’m prepared.  I’m prepared like in two weeks in Brazil.  I’m prepared in the summer to take that fight.  And that’s it,” Prochazka said.    

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

There isn’t a 165-pound ‘super lightweight’ division in the UFC, but if former two-division champion Daniel Cormier had his way that would end this summer at UFC 303.  

Cormier would like to see fellow former two-division champion Conor Mcgregor and Michael Chandler fight for the inaugural UFC super lightweight title.

“Here’s my thought process, right? When it comes down to championship opportunities, I have said this time and time again, a lot of times it comes down to being at the right place, at the right time,” Cormier said Monday on Good Guy / Bad Guy.

“Even going back to me, they had no intent of giving me my first championship opportunity]. But then Alexander Gustafsson got hurt, they called me in, I stepped in. I never left the title picture after because I was reliable. They could always call me and say, ‘Hey, do you want to fight this guy for the belt?’ It was also the same way with Dustin Poirier right now, we see it happening where, if you’re in the right place at the right time under the right circumstances, sometimes it happens faster.

“I believe that if they’re going to do a 165-pound division, it should have a name attached to the weight class that is so big that it draws people’s attention,” Cormier continued. “Conor McGregor being that name. Michael Chandler, on the other hand, will benefit from being in the right place at the right time, where these guys would then fight for the super lightweight championship of the world, because that’s what I believe it is. Because it’s only 10 pounds heavier than 155, so let’s call it the super lightweight division. Move 170 to 175, move 185 to 195, keep 205, and heavyweight.”

McGregor last fought in July 2021 at UFC 264, losing to Dustin Poirier after suffering a broken leg at the end of the first round.  The Irishman has lost three of his last four fights.  Chandler has been sitting on the sidelines waiting for McGregor’s return.  He too has lost three of his last four fights and is also coming off a loss to Poirier.  

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos