MMA News

Mike Pendleton - August 6, 2020

UFC middleweight Darren Till might not need surgery after all. Following his loss to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in July, Till said he suffered an injury to his MCL which might have required surgery, but this week he provided an update.

Tom Taylor - August 6, 2020

UFC welterweight contender and MMA superstar Jorge Masvidal has shared the tentative timeframe for his next trip to the Octagon. On Wednesday night, Masvidal competed against American Cornhole League champion Cody Henderson, coming up short despite receiving a 15-point handicap to begin the match.

Tom Taylor - August 6, 2020

On Friday night, Bellator MMA will return to our screens with the stacked Bellator 243 card out of Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. The card will be topped by a rematch between former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler and former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. The pair first met in November 2016, with the Bellator lightweight title on the line. On that night, Chandler retained the title with a thrilling, split decision win over the former UFC champ.

Tom Taylor - August 6, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa has shared a truly bizarre promo video for his upcoming title fight with reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. While most pre-fight promos feature footage of knockouts and trash talk set to soundtracks of heavy metal or dramatic orchestral music, this one features a sultry saxophone soundtrack and footage of… well… we’ll just let you watch it.

Tom Taylor - August 6, 2020

A dinner order intended for UFC heavyweight contender Alexey Oleynik somehow ended up in the hands of the man he’ll fight this Saturday night, Derrick Lewis. Lewis, not one to pass up an opportunity for some mischief, decided to add “more seasoning” by spitting in Oleynik’s food.

Tom Taylor - August 6, 2020

New UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo says granting former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt a flyweight title shot would be “unfair.” Garbrandt, who enjoyed a brief reign as the UFC bantamweight champion in 2016 and 2017, recently rebounded three-straight losses by knocking out Raphael Assuncao. While this dazzling knockout win put him in prime position in the race for a bantamweight title shot, he later expressed interest in dropping down to flyweight to challenge Figueiredo. He even proclaimed himself as the division’s No. 1 contender, despite never having fought there before.

Adam Martin - August 5, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson explained why a matchup against highly-ranked Jack Hermansson is the next fight to make at 185lbs. Brunson is coming off of a huge third-round TKO victory over Edmen Shahbazyan in the main event of UFC Vegas 5. Brunson was a +300 underdog in the contest but defied the odds as he beat down the youngster to improve to a three-fight win streak overall. The win over Shahbazyan keeps Brunson solidified in the top-10 of the UFC middleweight division as he looks to continue to climb the ladder and get closer and closer to a title shot.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2020

Dillon Danis is confident he would be able to beat Jorge Masvidal in a street fight rather easily. Danis is currently 2-0 in MMA and has had rivalries with multiple fighters in Bellator, UFC, and boxers.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2020

Stipe Miocic believes a fight between Jon Jones will happen. For quite a few years now, many fans have called for Jones to move up to heavyweight. Yet, he has been reluctant to do until recently when he called for a scrap against Francis Ngannou. The UFC did not want to pay Jones what he wanted and now he said he will sit out for a couple of years if that is needed.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2020

Scott Holtzman is looking to be the latest fighter to knock out Beneil Dariush. On the main card of UFC Vegas 6, Holtzman is getting the chance to fight a ranked opponent in Beneil Dariush. It is an interesting matchup and “Hot Sauce” believes it is the perfect next step after beating Jim Miller last time out.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2020

Zabit Magomedsharipov is not happy with Yair Rodriguez for pulling out of their scheduled main event scrap on August 29. Magomedsharipov and Rodriguez have been linked to a fight for quite some time and were finally expected to meet on August 29 in Las Vegas. Yet, on Tuesday evening, Dana White confirmed that Rodriguez is out of the fight citing the Mexican having a high ankle sprain and a fracture.

Tom Taylor - August 5, 2020

UFC middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault has tested positive for ostarine, but maintains he didn’t knowingly ingest the banned substance. Barriault failed a drug test surrounding his June 20 knockout win over Oskar Piechota.

Tom Taylor - August 5, 2020

Birmingham’s Leon Edwards has set his crosshairs on fellow welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal, pegging the potential pairing as “the only fight that makes sense” if he’s not given a title shot. Edwards called for a fight with Masvidal on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon.

Adam Martin - August 5, 2020

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza admitted that she’s interested in fighting current champ Weili Zhang for the belt. Esparza is coming off of four straight wins over Marina Rodriguez, Michelle Waterson, Alexa Grasso, and Virna Jandiroba. She is 8-4 overall in the UFC and is a former TUF winner and was the first-ever UFC women’s strawweight champion. But since losing her belt to Joanna Jedrzejczyk back in 2015, Esparza has essentially acted as a gatekeeper at 115lbs. After reeling off four straight wins, “The Cookie Monster” now wants that to change.

Adam Martin - August 5, 2020

The full betting odds have been released for all 12 fights scheduled to take place this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 32: Lewis vs. Oleinik event. In the main event, the No. 4 ranked heavyweight Derrick Lewis takes on No. 10 ranked Aleksei Oleinik. Lewis has won two straight fights over Ilir Latifi and Blagoy Ivanov, while Oleinik is coming off of back-to-back wins over Maurice Greene and Fabricio Werdum. Lewis is a knockout artist and Oleinik is a submission master, meaning this is a true two-outcome fight. It should be interesting to see what happens in this fun heavyweight main event.

Adam Martin - August 5, 2020

UFC president Dana White explained why he is giving light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby a second chance to fight in the Octagon. Jacoby defeated Ty Flores via lopsided unanimous decision in the main event of Tuesday night’s Contender Series, winning the fight with scores of 30-26, 29-27, and 29-27. White usually only hands out contracts to fighters on the show who get the finish, so it was perhaps a bit of a surprise when he announced that Jacoby would be given a contract. Along with Jacoby, lightweight prospects Jordan Leavitt and Uros Medic also earned deals.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2020

In the main event of Bellator 243, Michael Chandler and Benson Henderson are having a rematch nearly four years in the making. The first fight took place in 2016 where Chandler won a split decision. Heading into the rematch, Chandler is a -235 favorite while the former UFC champion is a +185 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe the three-time Bellator lightweight champion in Chandler will get his hand raised again.

Tom Taylor - August 5, 2020

Jorge Masvidal and Cody Henderson had an interesting staredown ahead of their Cornhole League showdown, which goes down tonight on ESPN 2. See the pair come face-to-face—with a guest appearance from Masvidal’s son—below.