MMA News & Rumors: UFC Vegas 18 Recap & More

Another week of MMA is in the books, with some great action at UFC Vegas 18 taking up most of the news and rumors that we will discuss this week. We will also take a look at what’s coming over the next couple of weeks and talk about some other stuff going on that you may have missed. It is the Saturday night action that dominates, though, as we now have a couple of fighters who feel that they should be in line for a title shot, as well as one who may now be looking at the end of his career. There is a lot to get to here, so let’s jump right in and then you can continue making your bets against their UFC odds.

2021 MMA Betting News & Rumors Update | Feb. 8th Edition

The headline event of the night at UFC Vegas 18 saw Alexander Volkov and Alistair Overeem go head-to-head in the Heavyweight division. Volkov laid on an absolute beating, leaving many wondering what comes next for Overeem. Now in his 40’s, you do have to wonder how much longer Overeem can go at the top level, but in an Instagram post after the fight, he suggests that he will be back in the gym as soon as possible. He is going to need some time off after getting his nose broken in the opening round.

It was a brilliant display from Volkov, who came out with guns blazing and totally controlled the fight from start to finish. Volkov started the night ranked as the #6 fighter in the Heavyweight division, and while this was an impressive performance, is it really enough to vault him into a title fight against Stipe Miocic? Volkov seems to think so and stated as much in his post-fight press conference. The reality, though, is that he is likely one or two more big wins away from that shot.

One fighter who does look to be in line for a title shot sooner rather than later is Corey Sandhagen, who became the top contender in the Bantamweight division on Saturday night. He delivered a flying knee KO that needs to be seen to be believed, taking down Frankie Edgar in less than seconds. While Sandhagen started the fight as the favorite, I don’t think anyone saw that type of win coming.

On the rumor front, Bellator will be holding a virtual event on Tuesday where they say that big news will be revealed. They may surprise us with something else, but the general consensus is that it will be to announce the return of the Bellator action on April 9. They will probably also reveal what the main card will look like for that one. Alternatively, the announcement may also be that they are planning to move to the Paramount+ streaming service, which was widely advertised during the Super Bowl. I guess we are all going to need to wait and see.

This weekend, we have UFC 258 on Saturday night. While it is the day before Valentine’s, do not expect there to be any love lost on what looks to be a great main card. We will have previews of all the fights on the main card coming later this week.

I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?