Zuffa LLCJust looking at the past 12 months of Jimmy Flick’s career, it’s hard to imagine that he was headed anywhere else than the UFC. The 30-year-old submission specialist went 4-0 in 2020, winning everywhere he went. He began the year winning the Freestyle Cage Fighting flyweight title in February, then scored a 38-second submission win over Greg Fischer at LFA 86. He followed that up with a dazzling third-round submission win over the previously unbeaten Nate Smith on the Contender Series in September to earn a UFC contract. When Flick stepped into the cage against Cody Durden at UFC Vegas 17 (their bout was actually pushed back two weeks due to Durden withdrawing from UFC Vegas 16 with a case of

Jordan Burroughs | Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesWhen Jordan Burroughs was preparing for the 2012 Olympic games, the two-time NCAA wrestling champion was already considering a future that would lead him to mixed martial arts. At the time, he was seeing a mass exodus of top wrestlers moving over to MMA including former teammates and opponents as well as ex-Olympians like Daniel Cormier. Because wrestling has struggled to find strong financial footing over the years, Burroughs believed a move to fighting would provide him with a better living while also allowing him to remain an active competitor. According to Burroughs, he definitely considered a fighting career more than once but it turns out there was somebody in his life who had other

Francisco Rivera (red gloves) strikes a fallen Ryan Lilley | @ImShannonTho, TwitterA number of former UFC fighters competed at XMMA’s show in Florida on Saturday, with some faring better than others. In the co-main event, Francisco Rivera (12-7, 1 NC) made a triumphant return to the cage in his first fight since July 2016. Rivera, 39, needed less than a round to score a devastating knockout in his featherweight bout against Ryan Lilley (10-7). Francisco Rivera by TKO #XMMA pic.twitter.com/Bq4PCxsMGe— ShayMyName (@ImShannonTho) January 31, 2021 Not only was it Rivera’s first fight in almost five years, it was also his first win since June 2015. The ex-UFC and ex-WEC bantamweight’s most recent victory was a 21-second KO of Alex Caceres. He went on

Patricio Freire became a two-division champion in Bellator by stopping Michael Chandler in just 61 seconds. | BellatorEvery time Michael Chandler enters a cage to compete, expect a tweet from Patricio Freire. Chandler, a former Bellator lightweight champion, beat Freire’s brother Patricky Freire twice in 2011 and 2016. But “Pitbull” got the last laugh for the family, knocking him out in May 2019 to become a two-division Bellator king. Chandler isn’t on the Bellator roster anymore, but when he knocked out Dan Hooker at UFC 257, Freire was quick to compliment him — with a quick jab, of course. Good work, my son! Daddy is proud of you @MikeChandlerMMA! #UFC257— Patricio Pitbull (@PatricioPitbull) January 24, 2021 My son @MikeChandlerMMA is gonna be the

Instagram: @smilensamWhat makes professional fighters so relatable? At first glance, probably nothing. But take away the gloves, gis and bulging hematomas, and they’re actually not so different than the rest of us. These posts prove that even the toughest fighters are only human after all. Here is the latest edition of The Weekly Grind. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sam Alvey (@smilensam) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sam Alvey (@smilensam)

Shamil Musaev (blue shorts) takes down Uros Jurisic (green shirt) after their fight at KSW 58 on Saturday | @AjenoAmigo, TwitterShamil Musaev is going to have a lot of MMA fans talking about him, but probably not for the reasons he was hoping for. The Russian welterweight won a battle of unbeatens against Uros Jurisic (11-1) on Saturday at KSW 58 in Lodz, Poland, taking a unanimous decision to improve to 15-0. After the fight, there appeared to be a disagreement between the fighters’ corners. As their teams argued, Musaev approached Jurisic and tripped him to the mat. This was no friendly post-fight horseplay either as he began throwing punches at Jurisic. The final takedown. Both fighters sliding away from the pack to

Giga Chikadze | Esther Lin, MMA FightingGiga Chikadze twice drove to Las Vegas, on weight and in shape, ready to show up Kevin Holland. At the time, the UFC featherweight was running neck-and-neck with the outspoken middleweight – they both had 4-0 records in 2020. Chikadze heard Holland had gotten a fifth fight, and he wanted to get to 5-0 first. So he made the four-hour drive from his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. But like many who visit Sin City, he left empty-handed. “I was just waiting for my chance,” Chikadze told MMA Fighting. “I informed all the matchmakers, if someone pulled out, I was there to take the fight.” Holland went on to knock out Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a signature

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane | Esther Lin, MMA FightingFormer Bellator flyweight champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane has no desire for an immediate rematch with Juliana Velasquez after the Brazilian took her title at Bellator 254. That doesn’t line up with what champions usually say, but Macfarlane is honest to a fault. When she finally got around to watching the five-round fight, she told MMA Fighting, she thought it was “boring as sh*t” and looked at the positives of moving to the next chapter in her career rather than getting revenge. “Nah, I’m good,” she said when asked about a second fight. “I’m totally fine. I was joking with my corners right after the fight in the cage: ‘Does this mean I don’t have to train for

Devonte Smith (pictured) needs a new opponent for UFC Vegas 18 following Alex da Silva’s withdrawal | Esther Lin, MMA FightingThe UFC is searching for a new opponent to face lightweight Devonte Smith at UFC Vegas 18 after a knee injury forced Alex da Silva out of the Feb. 6 card in Las Vegas, multiple people with knowledge of the situation told MMA Fighting following a report from MMA Junkie. “Leko” da Silva (21-3) suffered an injury to his lateral collateral ligament and will have to remain sidelined from training for eight weeks, sources said. The Brazilian went 1-2 in his first trio of octagon appearances with win over Rodrigo Vargas sandwiched between defeats to Alexander Yakovlev and Brad Riddell. Smith (10-2)

Esther Lin, MMA FightingKamaru Usman is smart enough to learn from the mistakes others have made before him. As he was scratching and clawing his way up the welterweight ladder, the Ultimate Fighter 21 winner always kept his eyes on the ultimate prize but never looked past the next opponent standing in front of him. Usman eventually took out every fighter ahead of him until finally earning his opportunity to compete for gold against then-welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. In the days and weeks leading up to that fight, Usman heard Woodley often talk about his standing in welterweight history as he staked a claim to be considered the greatest of all time after chasing a fight against former champion Georges St-Pierre for