What storylines kept our readers engaged the most in 2023? Let’s recap the articles that drove massive amounts of traffic last year!

Another year of mixed martial arts action is going into the history books. An advanced apology from myself and my editor when I continually type 2023 in the dates for the next three months!

What will stand out about 2023 in combat sports? A few narratives come to mind, from Francis Ngannou definitely not fumbling the bag to Alex Pereira’s rise to two-division champion. There were, of course, incredible submissions, stunning upsets and wild back-and-forth wars in the last 12 months too. It won’t be easy to forget Josh Emmett’s right hand crashing into the skull of Bryce Mitchell, for example.

What’s fun is that there’s no guarantee any of those stories will rank among the most popular of the year here on MMAmania.com. It’s always an unpredictable batch! So, as the year comes to a close, what stories drove the most traffic through MMAmania.com amidst the chaos?

Let’s take a look at the first batch (No. 6 to No. 10) …

*** Note: To check out the Top 5 stories at MMAmania.com in 2023 click here at noon ET ***

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Number 10: Colby Covington facing ‘serious’ health concerns ahead of UFC 296 after reported ‘brain injury’ during MMA absence
Writer: Jesse Holland
Summary: Teddy Atlas talks the consequences of the Jorge Masvidal steakhouse attack on Colby’s brain
Why It Blew Up: I don’t have any insider info on how many pay-per-view (PPV) buys he moves, but based on the numbers available to me, “Chaos” does indeed move some traffic. Ahead of the last big PPV of the year, Covington and the Masvidal attack were back in the spotlight! I would posit that there’s now strong evidence of brain injury given how poorly Covington fought and the peak level of dingus he’s achieved in the aftermath of UFC 296.

Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Number 9: CANCELED! UFC Las Vegas weigh ins disaster leads to main card scratch, heavy fines

Writer: Jesse Holland
Summary: Ricardo Ramos and Jared Gooden missed weight
Why It Blew Up: It’s actual news! Timely and important! By and large, fight announcements and the like don’t explode into viral success stories. Last-second cancellations, however, always tend to do well, and perhaps this one was aided by Ramos missing the Featherweight limit by nearly an entire weight class.

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Number 8: Undefeated! Sean O’Malley’s record changed to 17-0 after Marlon Vera loss at UFC San Antonio

Writer: Jesse Holland
Summary: O’Malley is a silly goose
Why It Blew Up: Sean O’Malley — and this is pre-champion “Suga” mind you — knows how to stay in the headlines. After Marlon Vera’s shutout loss to Cory Sandhagen, O’Malley declared himself once again undefeated on Twitter, which sparked enough laughter and outrage to land this article on the Top 10 list.

Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Number 7: Jessica Andrade says wardrobe malfunction played part in Erin Blanchfield loss: ‘My breast completely slipped out’

Writer: Drake Riggs
Summary: Andrade’s top slipped while trying to defend an Erin Blanchfield takedown
Why It Blew Up: The word breast is in the title. My own top article of the year — which did NOT make it into these ranks, I’m loathe to admit — had the word boobs in the headline. MMA fans love boobs!

Congratulations to Drake Riggs for being the only non-Jesse Holland post in the entire Top 10. Somehow, I don’t think the biggest WMMA fan on the MMAmania crew would be thrilled that THIS was his top article, but that’s the internet for ya.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC

Number 6: Cocky fan steps to ranked UFC fighter, gets folded with brutal liver shot (Video)

Writer: Jesse Holland
Summary: Topuria puts a fan on the ground
Why It Blew Up: One of the great joys of being an MMA fan is watching regular folks step up to bat and take a low kick or body punch. It offers some valuable perspective. Seeing as Topuria’s body shots regularly fold other professional fighters, it’s not a shock that some random couldn’t stand up to his power. Still, it’s fun to watch and generally the kind of post that does well, even if this one popped off and exceed expectations.

Honorable Mention

Stayed tuned for the five most popular posts of the year, which will run later this evening right here. Until then, check out some honorable mentions from positions 11-25, which include stories about “dirty” UFC contract negotiations, Ronda Rousey’s return to MMA … rules, and disfigured slap fighters who win anyway.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/transgression1492_ [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou arguably made the biggest impact in combat sports in 2023.

To kick off his yearly campaign, the 37-year-old Ngannou made the bold decision to bet on himself and leave behind the UFC, where he made his name and ultimately became the heavyweight champion. Unable to negotiate a new deal that allowed him the freedom to pursue other ventures — like boxing — “The Predator” parted ways with the promotion and signed with the PFL as not only a fighter but an “owner and chairman,” overseeing PFL’s new Africa league.

Ngannou has yet to make his return to MMA since his January 2022 unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. He has, however, made his dream of competing as a professional boxer a reality when he took on the worldwide best Tyson Fury in October. Despite coming up short via split decision, Ngannou was the clear winner in the grand scheme as he performed much better than anyone expected him to. Additionally, the amount of money he made is more than his entire UFC career combined, according to Ngannou. The Cameroon native didn’t get to this point by himself though, and his longtime head coach at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas Eric Nicksick is also enjoying the fruits of their collaborative labor.

“It was the most money I’ve ever been paid by a fighter — it was unbelievable,” Nicksick told MMA Junkie of his coach payment from Ngannou. “It was more than I expected. Obviously, Francis has always taken great care of me, but it floored me. When I saw my Wells Fargo account that morning, it literally brought me to tears. That’s a true story. Literally brought me to tears because he changed my life — not only from a professional standpoint but a monetary standpoint.

“It allowed me a lot of financial freedom to allow me to be able to enjoy my coaching, enjoy being a dad and a husband and I get to take my kids to Park City this weekend, my daughter’s 16th birthday. Helped us buy a new car. There’s a lot of things with Francis moving over to boxing, and the way he takes care of his team. He loves every single one of us and he shows it. He takes care of us, and I couldn’t thank him enough.”

Nicksick’s 2023 outside of Ngannou was a big success overall as he continued building champions. The most notable of the bunch undeniably being the surprise UFC titleholder of the year Sean Strickland, who won middleweight gold with a clean unanimous decision over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September.

Ngannou’s rise to the UFC title saw Nicksick by his side throughout his biggest title efforts, which came with the title win in his rematch against Stipe Miocic in March 2021 before the aforementioned Gane defense. What caught Nicksick the most off-guard about his training for the Fury match was that he wasn’t nearly as involved as the previous two MMA tilts.

“Remember, as his head coach, the two title fights with Stipe and Gane, he paid me more for the Tyson Fury fight as basically his assistant behind Dewey,” Nicksick said. “I was behind Dewey and I got paid way more than I did in the Gane and Stipe fights and he was taking care of me on that, as well, percentage-wise. If he wants to box, man, I’m all for it. All day long, brother.

“I think it does show that you’re able to go outside the UFC and still be successful. It’s hard to put an evaluation when you talk about Francis and his star power and what he’s capable of doing. Can Jeremy Kennedy do that same thing? I don’t know. There’s just guys I don’t know if that’s going to work out in their favor the same way it did for Francis. But it also gives guys more options, and I think more options are important to have.”

TOP STORIES

Harsh. ‘Underwhelming’: Pros react to Conor McGregor’s UFC return fight announcement

Unforgotten. MMA’s Best of the Rest: Round of the year, feel-good moment, villain, and more 2023 awards

Next. Leon Edwards plans to defend title at UFC 300, also ‘in talks’ to fight in Birmingham

Prediction. Dan Hooker doubts Islam Makhachev rematches Arman Tsarukyan: ‘I guarantee he’ll retire by the time Arman gets there’

Recap. RIZIN 45 results, videos: Kyoji Horiguchi taps Makoto Shinryu, Kai Asakura folds Juan Archuleta to win title

Scores. MMA Fighting’s 2023 Robbery Review Rundown: What was the biggest robbery of the year?

Story. RIZIN’s Igor Tanabe changed focus from BJJ to MMA because of mid-pandemic fatherhood

Memories. ‘A product that’s nothing like the UFC’: Ex-PRIDE exec Nobuyuki Sakakibara ranks top 3 favorite NYE moments

VIDEO STEW

The best of MMA Fighting’s Watch Party in 2023.

THUG Rose – Full documentary.

2023 Debut and Comeback nominees.

Year of the Fighter collection.

PFL Tops.

A … Wonderful … Breakdown.

LISTEN UP

DAMN! They Were Good. MMA Fighting reflects on “right leg hospital, left leg cemetery” — the legend of Mirko Cro Cop.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Slo’d ‘em.

Impressive.

Birthday boy.

Embracing the hate.

Banter.

RIZIN 45 madness.

There we have it?

Champs.

An understanding.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Yoshinori Horie (13-4) vs. Luiz Gustavo (13-2); RIZIN Landmark 8, Feb. 24

Vugar Karamov (19-5) vs. Kazumasa Majima (16-4); RIZIN Landmark 8, Feb. 24

Rena Kubota (13-5) vs. Yu Ri Shim (6-3); RIZIN 46, March 23

Koji Takeda (15-6) vs. Kyohei Hagiwara (7-8); RIZIN 46, March 23

Naoki Inoue (16-4) vs. Shoko Sato (35-15-2); RIZIN 46, March 23

Chihiro Suzuki (12-3) vs. Masanori Kanehara (31-14-5); RIZIN 47, May 6

FINAL THOUGHTS

You always love to hear these types of stories. Especially for a guy like Nicksick, who certainly deserves his riches as well.

Happy 2024, peeps. I hope you all put a nice and neat little bow on the 2023 behind us. It was quite a year, to say the least. Onward! Thanks for reading!

POLL POSITION

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 78% of 600 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Is Colby Covington vs. Ian Machado Garry the fight to make if Garry gets past Geoff Neal at UFC 298?”

Thursday: 87% of 911 total votes answered “No” when asked, “Do you have any interest in Tyron Woodley vs. either Georges St-Pierre or Nick Diaz?”

Wednesday: 67% of 454 total votes answered “Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler” when asked, “Which fight would you rather see at this point?”

Tuesday: 61% of 413 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Belal Muhammad get the next UFC welterweight title shot?”

Monday: 57% of 437 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Tony Ferguson ever fight in the UFC again?”

Today’s exit poll:

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

With a year full of fantastic comeback victories, only one could walk away as the favorite among the LowKick MMA crew.

With six different bouts receiving nominations, it was perhaps this year’s closest vote, but in the end, Dan Hooker’s impressive split decision comeback over division standout Jalin Turner at UFC 290 was the victor with three total nominations.

Comeback of the year – dan hooker vs. jalin turner – UFC 290 – (3 Votes)

From the moment the bout was first announced, fight fans pegged Hooker vs. Turner as the Fight of the Night. Needless to say, the contest did not disappoint as the heart of Hooker weathered the incredibly violent storm of Turner to walk away with a split decision.

After a solid first round, ‘The Hangman’ found himself in some serious trouble after eating a nasty head kick from Turner in the second stanza. Biting down on his mouthpiece, Hooker returned fire and forced Turner to retreat and had his opponent dead to rights with a rear-naked choke in the round’s final seconds. The only thing that saved Turner from certain defeat was the bell.

Honorable Mentions:

C.J. Vergara vs. Daniel da Silva – UFC san Antonio – (1 vote)

C.J. Vergara narrowly survived the first round against Daniel da Silva but proved he had plenty of stamina as he pounded out his opponent en route to scoring one of the biggest comebacks of 2023.

In the opening round, Vergara ate a clean wheel kick from da Silva that had him literally running away from his opponent inside the Octagon. Surviving an early onslaught, Vergara bounced back in the second round, landing a series of ground-and-pound strikes that forced the referee to step in and call for the stoppage with less than a minute to go in the round, giving fans an unforgettable comeback.

Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff – UFC Vegas 81 – (1 Vote)

Beloved veteran Edson Barboza got off to a rocky start when he stepped into the main event spotlight for a clash with Sodiq Yusuff. ‘Super’ badly wobbled Barboza in the first exchange of the fight and repeatedly stunned him with a series of boxing combinations. A finish appeared to be imminent, but a takedown by Yusuff slowed the fight and gave Barboza the time he needed to recover.

Barboza found his footing in the second round and officially turned the tide in the third, landing one of his signature spinning wheel kicks. Barboza was unable to capitalize on the moment, but he was able to carry that momentum into the final two rounds, walking away with a unanimous decision after surrendering a 10-8 in the first. It was a comeback for the ages from one of the UFC’s most tenured talents.

Mike Breeden vs. Anshul Jubli – UFC 294 – (1 vote)

Anshul Jubli came out guns blazing and put on a spirited fight in his promotional debut at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. After taking the first two rounds with an onslaught of offense, Anshul was seemingly headed for a win. However, Breeden came out for the final round with a vengeance.

Barking like a dog, Breeden amped up the aggression and landed a series of heavy-handed shots that had his opponent backpedaling in an attempt to survive. With two minutes to go in the round, Breeden cracked Jubli with a stiff right hand that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas. Clearly compromised, the referee called for the stoppage, giving fans one of the most exciting come-from-behind victories of the year.

Elves Brener vs. Guram Kutateladze – UFC Vegas 76 – (1 vote)

Elves Brener entered the matchup with Guram Kutateladze as a sizeable underdog, but the Brazilian ended up scoring the most significant victory of his career after a wild back-and-forth scrap.

Brener came out looking to play spoiler with a couple of solid takedowns in the opening round, but it was the chopping leg kicks of Kutateladze followed by a huge flurry of strikes to close out the first. The second frame began with the Georgian opening up a huge cut on the forehead of Brener. Undeterred by the sight of his own blood, Brener continued to walk down Kutateladze with a variety of combinations.

Brener connected with a big left hook that had his opponent curled up against the fence in the third round before some follow-up punches ended the contest.

Rodolfo Bellato vs. ihor Potieria – UFC Austin (1 vote)

After a fast-paced opening round between the two light heavyweight standouts, Potieria landed some major damage in the early stages of the second round, dropping Bellato and putting the fight on the cusp of being stopped. However, Bellato refused to quit and managed to get back to his feet.

Potieria was understandably exhausted after failing to secure the finish which allowed Bellato to pour on the punishment in the second. Bellato landed a takedown, moved to mount, and unloaded a series of strikes until referee Jacob Montalvo stepped in and stopped the bout at the 4:17 mark of Round 2, paving the way for another epic comeback in 2023.

Which comeback of 2023 was your favorite?

Full List Of The LowKick MMA 2023 Comeback Of The Year Votes:

• Ross Markey: Dan Hooker
• Ian Shutts: Dan Hooker
• Murdo Todd: Elves Brenner
• Craig Pekios: Edson Barboza
• Makoa Goble: Rodolfo Bellato
• Tony King: Dan Hooker
• Red Pill MMA: Carlston Harris
• Michael Owens: C.J. Vergara
• Danny Podolsky: Mike Breedan

LowKickMMA.com

submitted by /u/Khazar2 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

submitted by /u/Yodsanan
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Co-Promoting Future
| BJPenn.com

If Team McGregor had their way, “The Notorious” would be fighting at UFC 300 on April 13th. Unfortunately, UFC brass had other plans.

Conor McGregor is finally returning for another fight in the UFC, but it’s not going to be as soon as he’d have liked.

McGregor announced on social media that he’d be fighting Michael Chandler on the UFC’s big June 29th pay-per-view which anchors International Fight Week 2024. That’s six months away, which is a long time to wait considering he’s already been sitting out with an injury for two and a half years.

The endless limbo got to Conor in Saudi Arabia last weekend, and he went on a tirade over the lack of a concrete return date.

“I’m waiting. I’m waiting and I’m waiting,” he said. “My patience is wearing thin on me waiting.”

Now he has a date, but it wasn’t the one he was hoping for. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reports that Team Mac was shooting for UFC 300 on April 13th.

“McGregor wanted to fight at 300,” Helwani wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “He pushed hard for it. He was ready, I’m told. But after meeting with the brass last week they settled on June 29.”

Why wouldn’t the UFC be interested in getting McGregor back in the cage as soon as possible? It comes down to maximizing profits. In their mind, they don’t need Conor to sell UFC 300 because UFC 300 sells itself. They’d rather use McGregor to anchor another event so they get two bites at the big PPV apple.

It makes business sense, but isn’t the most fan-friendly decision — especially if UFC 300 ends up being slightly less spectacular than we’ve been anticipating. Helwani had a note on that front as well.

“As he mentioned yesterday, the plan is for Leon Edwards to defend his title at UFC 300,” he wrote. “As of now, the opponent slated to face him would be Belal Muhammad. Shavkat Rakhmonov definitely was in the mix, too.”

If that title fight doesn’t excite you, there’s still Dana White’s secret superfight to look forward to.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/inooway
[link] [comments]
MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Former two-weight Octagon champion, Conor McGregor has been backed to land a destructive stoppage of Michael Chandler within just two minutes of the opening round by his head coach, John Kavanagh, after the Dubliner revealed today he would be returning at UFC 302 on June 29. during International Fight Week next year.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion under the banner of the promotion, has yet to make good on a comeback to the sport since he headlined UFC 264 back in July, suffering a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier, after fracturing his left tibia and fibula in the opening round.

As for Chandler, the Missouri veteran himself has been out of action since November of last year, dropping a third round rear-naked choke submission loss to common-foe, former interim champion, Poirier at Madison Square Garden.

And revealing his comeback to the Octagon on June 29. next in Las Vegas, McGregor announced he would be fighting The Ultimate Fighter 31 foe, Chandler in a main event clash in ‘Sin City’ – claiming the bout is set to be contested at the middleweight limit. 

“Ladies and gentleman, a Happy New Year to you all,” Conor McGregor said in the video posted on social media. “I would like to announce the return date for myself, ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor, the greatest comeback of all time, will take place in Las Vegas, for International Fight Week, on June 29.”

“Come a little closer, and the opponent; Michael Chandler,” Conor McGregor continued. “And the weight, Mr. Chandler, 185 pounds.” 

John Kavanagh predicts 2 minute win for Conor McGregor at UFC 302

And welcoming the idea of a middleweight fight with Crumlin striker, McGregor, Chandler has been backed to be dispatched by the Dubliner by his head coach, Kavanagh, early within the opening round.

“Let’s go ChampChamp,” John Kavanagh posted on his official X account. “Couple of months of misery for a 2min destruction job.” 

Who wins at UFC 302 next year: Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler?

LowKickMMA.com