[ Highly touted heavyweight prospect and Cuban judo Olympian Robelis Despaigne has his first UFC assignment. At UFC 299, Despaigne (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will make his promotional debut vs. Josh Parisian (15-7 MMA, 2-4 UFC), the UFC announced Tuesday. The event takes place March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Despaigne, 35, is a … Read more
[ Dustin Poirier is significantly higher ranked than Benoit Saint-Denis, but the oddsmakers see “The Diamond” having his hands full at UFC 299 – so much so, in fact, that he’s opened as a slight betting underdog. Poirier, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, and No. 13 Saint-Denis are scheduled … Read more
[ Dustin Poirier will oblige to call for him to give a surging lightweight contender a chance when he meets the streaking Benoit Saint-Denis in the UFC 299 co-main event. UFC CEO Dana White announced Sunday that former interim champ Poirier (29-8 MMA, 21-7 UFC) will clash with Saint-Denis (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in a … Read more
[ UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has grand aspirations for his career going into a pivotal 2024 campaign. O’Malley has been pegged as having superstar potential in the fight game ever since he broke onto the scene with Snoop Dogg screaming his name as he earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in … Read more
[ Gilbert Burns rates Jack Della Maddalena’s boxing very highly. Burns (22-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) meets Della Maddalena (16-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 299 on March 9 at Kaseya Center in Miami. Della Maddalena is just outside the top 10 in the UFC’s welterweight rankings, so why is Burns fighting him? “Durinho” said he … Read more
[ Share this article share tweet text email link on Facebook on Twitter via text message on LinkedIn via email https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/12/francis-ngannou-pfl-bellator-jon-jones-2023-usada December 26, 2023 1:05 pm ET Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, panelists Brian “Goze” … Read more
[ The rebooked matchup between Ian Garry and Geoff Neal has a new date and location. After UFC CEO Dana White initially announced the welterweight bout for March’s UFC 299 in Miami, the clash between Garry (13-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Neal (15-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has been shifted to UFC 298, which takes place … Read more
[ Share this article share tweet text email link on Facebook on Twitter via text message on LinkedIn via email https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/ufc-news-2024-schedule-toronto-miami-vegas-saudi-anaheim December 20, 2023 9:00 pm ET With its 2023 campaign finished, the UFC turns its attention to the new year. At a seasonal news conference Thursday at MGM Grand Garden Arena, the promotion announced … Read more
[ Michael Page believes there was a sense of urgency for the UFC to sign him after he faced off with Cedric Doumbe. All signs were pointing to Page joining the UFC after he made several appearances on its broadcasts, as well as UFC CEO Dana White expressing interest. But when Page (21-2 MMA, 0-0 … Read more
[ Share this article share tweet text email link on Facebook on Twitter via text message on LinkedIn via email https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2023/12/ufc-news-video-opinion-analysis-296-recap-297-298-299-preview-colby-covington-leon-edwards December 18, 2023 8:00 am ET Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, panelists Brian … Read more
