Ryan Baldi

  • What's At Stake For Jon Jones At UFC 214?

    Jon Jones has nothing to prove inside the Octagon, but at UFC 214 he must how he is ready to take his talent seriously

  • UFC Fight Night 112: Three Fights You Don't Want To Miss

    The UFC will stage its fourth event of the month on Sunday night, with UFC Fight Night 112 seeing the Octagon roadshow pull into the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ending a run of five consecutive weekends with a UFC show, MMA fans could be forgiven for feeling a little fatigued and disinterested in this weekend’s offering. Here are the three fights at UFC Fight Night 122 that you don’t want to miss.

  • Mark Hunt: In His Groove And Not Ready To Quit

    It may not have been quite the spectacular knock-down, walk-off knockout that has become his trademark method for finishing fights over the years, but Mark Hunt’s fourth-round TKO stoppage of Derrick Lewis at UFC Fight Night 110 on Saturday was still very impressive. The 43-year-old veteran kickboxer had the dangerous Lewis backed up against the cage and powerless to prevent the thudding blows aimed in his direction. Lewis came into the contest riding a five-fight winning streak and was widely regarded as one of the rising stars of the division.

  • UFC 212: Three Fights You Don't Want To Miss

    On August 27, 2011, the UFC staged its first even in Brazil in almost 13 years, with then-middleweight king Anderson Silva capping off a night of epic action with a stoppage victory over Yushin Okami in front of a raucous audience. The South American country has historically produced some of the greatest competitors in MMA history, and ever since UFC 134, the Octagon has returned to Brazil on a regular basis. On Saturday night, Rio de Janeiro plays host to UFC 212 and featherweight champion José Aldo’s bid to overcome interim title holder Max Holloway.

  • UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs Teixeira - A Battle For Redemption

    The UFC returns to Stockholm Sweden on Saturday nigh, a matter of days after the city hosted the Europa League final between Manchester United and Ajax. The main event sees light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira face off in a battle between two former title contenders looking to claw their way back into the discussion for one more hurrah at the 205lbs championship. Swede Gustafsson will be the crowd favourite on Saturday night as he looks to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since December 2012.

  • Now the real work begins for Manchester United after Europa League victory

    Our friends at Football Whispers have looked ahead to what will surely be a busy few months for Jose Mourinho and Ed Woodward at Manchester United.

  • All or nothing: Jose's United fate hangs in the balance

    Our friends at Football Whispers have pinpointed what’s at stake for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United against Ajax

  • Europa League Final: How Ajax compare to their 'great' 1995 side

    Ajax take on Manchester United in the Europa League Final - but how do the Dutch side compare with their 'great' predecessors of the mid-90s?

  • UFC 211: Three Fights You Don't Want To Miss

    We've picked out three fights on the UFC 211 card that you do not want to miss.

  • UFC Fan View: Yair Rodríguez - Stepping Up To The Elite At UFC 211

    Ryan Baldi on the 24-year-old Mexican fighter Yair Rodríguez who is ready to compete with anyone in the UFC's featherweight division.

  • Junior Dos Santos: Fighting For More Than Just The Heavyweight Title At UFC 211

    Brazilian heavyweight Junior dos Santos will take on champions Stipe Miocic at UFC 211; defeat could see him slip out of title contention forever.

  • UFC Fan View: Swanson v Lobov and three fights you don’t want to miss

    We've picked out three fights that are sure to guarantee excitement at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Lobov

  • UFC on Fox: Johnson v Reis - 3 fights you don't want to miss

    We've picked out three fights from UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Reis that you don't want to miss.

  • UFC 210: Three Fights You Don't Want To Miss

    UFC 210 promises to be a night of thrilling MMA action; we've picked out three fights that are sure to guarantee excitement

  • UFC 210: Gegard Mousasi's Long Road To Contention Nearing Fruition

    Mousasi came to the attention of the wider MMA world when he got his chance to compete in the now defunct Japanese organisation PRIDE in 2006, and later DREAM in 2009. A champion in Britain’s Cage Warriors and later Stateside with Strikeforce, for several years Mouasi was widely regarded as the most skilled fighter outside of the UFC.

  • UFC Fan View: Demian Maia cannot be denied a title shot much longer

    Welterweight grappler Demian Maia will take on the well-rounded and dangerous Jorge Masvidal at UFC 211 in May. If the Brazilian manages to get his hand raised, as he has in his last six outings, the UFC has to make him next in line for a title shot. It wouldn’t be the first time the 39-year-old has fought for UFC gold, having lost a five-round decision to the great Anderson Silva at UFC 110 almost eight years ago. The loss to Silva and an earlier knockout defeat to Nate Marquardt seemed to encourage the Sao Paulo native to focus more on his stand-up skills, moving away from his grappling-centric base and attempting to go toe-to-toe with opponents.

  • UFC Fight Night: Manuwa Anderson - Three Fights You Don't Want To Miss

    The last time the Octagon came to the UK we were treated to a middleweight title fight between Michel Bisping and Dan Henderson in Manchester. Not least the headline bout, which sees London’s own Jimi Manuwa, who earned the standout victory of his career at UFC 204 in Manchester by knocking out Ovince St-Preux, taking on the dangerous Corey Anderson in a light heavyweight contest.

  • UFC Fan View: Three fights you HAVE to watch at UFC 209 in Las Vegas

    The UFC is back in Las Vegas this weekend for UFC 209 at the T-Mobile Arena. The event pits welterweight champion Tyron Woodley against challenger Stephen Thompson in a rematch of the pair’s bout at UFC 205 in November last year which ended in  a majority draw. With champion Conor McGregor out of the picture indefinitely as he prepares to become a father while chasing a potential boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, the co-main event on Saturday night will be for the interim 155lbs title.

  • UFC: Who Should Georges St-Pierre Face On His Return?

    With Georges St-Pierre’s return to the UFC now confirmed, speculation has turned to who the former welterweight champion will face in his first bout since stepping away from the sport in November 2013. Three men have held the welterweight belt since St-Pierre relinquished the title, and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson came within a whisker of adding to that number when he fought current champion Tyron Woodley to a draw at UFC 205 in November last year.

  • Johny Hendricks: the former champion fighting for relevance at UFC Fight Night 105

    With Just one win from his last four fights, former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks needs to beat Hector Lombard at UFC Fight Night 105 on Saturday night just to preserve his status on the UFC roster. As he knocked out Martin Kampmann 46 seconds into their bout at UFC 154 in November 2012, Hendricks appeared unstoppable as he continued to rise up the welterweight rankings. It was his third first-round stoppage victory in his last five fights, and thrust him right into the title picture at 170lbs, the division then still monopolised by legendary Canadian champion Georges St-Pierre.