MMA News
Bellator 250 | Pro fighters make their picks for Gegard Mousasi vs. Douglas Lima title fight
Cole Shelton - October 28, 2020
In the main event of Bellator 250, a massive middleweight fight goes down for the vacant belt as Gegard Mousasi takes on the welterweight champion, Douglas Lima. Heading into the fight, Mousasi is a -170 favorite while the Brazilian is a +140 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believes Lima’s striking is just too good that he will be able to pick apart Mousasi and earn the win to become a champ-champ in Bellator.
Tony Ferguson predicts Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight again: "I'll be f**king ready"
Tom Taylor - October 28, 2020
Top UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson has some doubts about the permanence of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent retirement announcement. Nurmagomedov, the undisputed lightweight champion, announced his retirement after he submitted Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 last weekend.
Bellator parts ways with multiple fighters, including several former MMA champions
Tom Taylor - October 28, 2020
Bellator MMA has parted ways with a long list of high profile fighters, including several who have worn gold in major promotions. Bellator has signed a number of free agents recently, but as always, additions to the roster come at a cost.
Georges St-Pierre shares his thoughts on the MMA GOAT debate
Harry Kettle - October 28, 2020
Georges St-Pierre has offered up his thoughts on the ever-present debate regarding who the GOAT of mixed martial arts really is. St-Pierre, who last fought back in November 2017, has been a man in demand over the course of the last few days in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement. Many fans and pundits alike were hoping that St-Pierre would go head to head with Nurmagomedov somewhere down the road, but now, it doesn’t appear as if it’s ever likely to happen.
Tony Ferguson throws his support behind Jon Jones in MMA GOAT debate
Christopher Taylor - October 27, 2020
Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson has thrown his support behind mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones (26-1 MMA). Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA) defeated Justin Gaethje by way of second round submission at Saturday’s UFC 254 event, many fans and analysts have dubbed ‘The Eagle’ as the greatest of all time.
Breaking: Dominick Reyes to headline February fight night card against rising contender Jiri Prochazka
Cole Shelton - October 27, 2020
A pivotal light heavyweight bout between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka will headline an upcoming UFC Fight Night card in February. UFC president, Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Reyes will take on Prochazka in the main event on February 27.
Baseball star Josh Donaldson calls Khabib Nurmagomedov "one of the most boring fighters in the world"
Adam Martin - October 27, 2020
Baseball star Josh Donaldson called former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov “one of the most boring fighters in the world.” Donaldson is a former American League MVP for the Toronto Blue Jays in MLB and currently stars for the Minnesota Twins as the team’s starting third baseman. Donaldson is also a massive UFC fan and was a regular guest when the promotion held events in Toronto while he played for the Blue Jays. He also developed a friendship with UFC welterweight contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson after meeting him at an event.
Gegard Mousasi praises 'legend' Anderson Silva, but says he 'tarnished his legacy'
Adam Martin - October 27, 2020
Bellator middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi praised UFC legend Anderson Silva but says he “tarnished his legacy” by hanging on too long. Silva will go down as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, but he is no longer the consensus GOAT. After starting his UFC career with 16 straight wins — which is still a company record to this day — Silva has gone 1-6, 1 NC as he’s struggled in the limelight of his career to get his hand raised. Since defeating Stephan Bonner in 2012, Silva’s only win is a controversial decision over Derek Brunson, with a No Contest against Nick Diaz.
Cory Sandhagen hopes to be backup for UFC 256 bantamweight title fight
Adam Martin - October 27, 2020
Cory Sandhagen hopes to be the backup fighter for the UFC 256 bantamweight title fight between champion Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. Sandhagen is coming off of an incredible win as he was able to knock out the No. 1 contender Marlon Moraes with a spinning wheel kick and punches on Fight Island earlier this month. Sandhagen was able to bounce back nicely after a surprisingly-quick loss to Sterling back at UFC 250 in June and the win over Moraes cements his place in the top-five of the weight class. He isn’t far away from a title shot at this point.
Tony Ferguson believes he will be fighting Dustin Poirier for the vacant lightweight title
Cole Shelton - October 27, 2020
Tony Ferguson is confident his next fight will be for the UFC’s vacant lightweight title. After Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 to defend his lightweight title, he then retired from the sport. Immediately, many wondered who would be fighting for the vacant belt. According to Ferguson, he says it will be him vs. Dustin Poirier for the vacant lightweight title.
Douglas Lima responds after Michael Page suggests the Bellator champ is ducking him: "Fight contenders"
Adam Martin - October 27, 2020
Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima responded after Michael Page suggested the champ is ducking him, saying to “fight contenders.” Lima is set to take on Gegard Mousasi in a superfight for the vacant Bellator middleweight championship at Bellator 250 on Thursday. Win or lose, Lima will likely make a title defense of his welterweight bout next, and one of the top contenders in the division is Page. After defeating Ross Houston at Bellator Paris in his last fight, Page suggested that the reason he isn’t fighting for the belt yet is that Lima is ducking him.
Miles Johns believes "things are going to get scary" in the later rounds for Kevin Natividad
Cole Shelton - October 27, 2020
Miles Johns is looking to get back into the win column. Entering the UFC, Johns had a lot of hype behind him given he was the LFA bantamweight champion and picked up a big win on the Contender Series. He then followed that up with a decision win over Cole Smith in his debut.
Jon Jones calls new UFC pound-for-pound rankings "number one bullsh*t"
Adam Martin - October 27, 2020
UFC legend Jon Jones reacted to the new UFC rankings, calling them “number one bullsh*t” after falling below Khabib Nurmagomedov at P4P. Jones was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter for a long time before Nurmagomedov finally took over the spot following his second-round submission over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Jones has now fallen to second in the P4P rankings, and he’s not happy about the movement, as he believes he’s done more than enough to earn his spot at the top.
UFC 254 medical suspensions: Jared Cannonier facing six-month sit
Tom Taylor - October 27, 2020
The medical suspensions for UFC 254 have been released, and as expected, a handful of fighters are facing long sits on the sidelines. Most notably, middleweight contender Jared Cannonier could be out for six months following his decision loss to the division’s former champion Robert Whittaker. Nathaniel Wood and Liana Jojua are also facing six-month suspensions following losses to Casey Kenny and Miranda Maverick.
Paulo Filho explains what fighting after losing your father feels like in wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254
Adam Martin - October 27, 2020
Veteran middleweight Paulo Filho explained what fighting after losing your father feels like in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. Filho, the former WEC middleweight champion, recently spoke to Marcelo Alonso of Sherdog.com. The 42-year-old Filho said that he himself fought days after the death of his own father, and he said he was moved by what Nurmagomedov did at UFC 252, defeating Justin Gaethje in the wake of his father Abdulmanap’s death from COVID-19.
Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts to earning No. 1 pound-for-pound ranking
Tom Taylor - October 27, 2020
Khabib Nurmagomedov has reacted to the news that he’s now the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the official UFC rankings. Nurmagomedov returned to the cage in the main event of UFC 254 last weekend, where he defeated Justin Gaethje, a man widely considered his toughest foe to date, by second-round submission. After the fight, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA, and shared his hope that he’d leave the sport as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Anderson Silva explains how "UFC changed" when it was sold
Tom Taylor - October 27, 2020
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva says the “UFC changed” when it was sold by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. The Fertitta brothers sold their majority stakes in the company to WME-IMG in 2016 for a massive $4 billion.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 16 with Alexander Hernandez, Maurice Greene, James Krause & Brad Katona
Cole Shelton - October 27, 2020
The 16th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 12. We’re first joined by UFC lightweight, Alexander Hernandez (2:19). Next, UFC light heavyweight, Maurice Greene (19:55) joins the program. UFC welterweight, James Krause (36:00) comes on. Closing out the program is EMC bantamweight and former UFC fighter and TUF winner, Brad Katona (48:38).