MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2020

It appears that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is dead serious about moving up to heavyweight to fight Francis Ngannou. On Friday morning, Jones took to Instagram to double down on his call for a fight with the Cameroonian-French knockout artist, referring to it as a “modern day David and Goliath” matchup.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2020

Fans that tuned in for this morning’s UFC on ESPN 8 weigh-ins were greeted by an unexpected face: Urijah Faber’s. Despite not being scheduled to fight on the Jacksonville, Florida event, Faber stepped onto the scale and weighed in just below the lightweight limit. Normally, this would suggest Faber is on-tap to replace any lightweights scheduled to compete on the card in the event of a last-minute shakeup. However, the UFC on ESPN on 8 lineup doesn’t feature any lightweight bouts.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2020

Anthony Smith experienced arguably the toughest loss of his career at the hands of Glover Teixeira on Wednesday, but he won the respect of Dominick Reyes. Smith had a good first round in his fight with Teixeira, which headlined the recent UFC Jacksonville card, but the momentum began to swing out of his favor in round two. By the time the fourth round ended, Smith had been brutalized to the point of losing multiple teeth. The fight was finally and most mercifully stopped in the fifth round.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2020

UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang has finally emerged from a lengthy period of quarantine in her native China, and she’s already plotting her next challenge in the Octagon. After she defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk in one of the greatest fights of all time back in March, Zhang got stranded in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. When she finally made it back to China, she was forced to endure a two-week period of isolation as a precaution.

Tom Taylor - May 15, 2020

On Saturday night, the UFC will return to our screens for a third time in eight days with the surprisingly stacked UFC on ESPN 8 card. The card will be headlined by a heavyweight showdown between former DREAM, Strikeforce and K-1 heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, and Walt Harris, who returns to the cage after the tragic death of his daughter, Aniah Blanchard.

Harry Kettle - May 15, 2020

Cub Swanson has teased the idea of a huge jump up in weight in order to fight Marvin Vettori this weekend. Vettori was set to square off with Karl Roberson on Wednesday night, but after Roberson dropped out due to reported issues with his weight cut, Vettori unleashed on him in the fighter hotel on the day of the event.

Natasha Hooper - May 15, 2020

Dominick Reyes took no prisoners on a recent Twitter campaign, targeting Jon Jones, Mike Perry, and Tyron Woodley. “The Dominator” has experienced a surge in popularity this year, particularly following his UFC 247 fight against Jon Jones. He fought the light heavyweight champion for the title and lost by decision, but many spectators believed he was the better fighter and should have won the clash.

Natasha Hooper - May 15, 2020

Giga Chikadze will face a new opponent after a short notice shakeup surrounding this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 8 event in Jacksonville. Mike Davis has withdrawn from his UFC featherweight debut against Chikadze over medical issues not relating to COVID-19. This news was first reported by Giorgi Kokiashvili of Adjara Sport. 

Christopher Taylor - May 14, 2020

Newly crowned UFC interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje thinks it is ironic that Conor McGregor is now clamoring for a fight. ‘The Highlight’ captured the promotions interim 155lbs title this past Saturday at UFC 249, this after scoring a fifth-round TKO victory over Tony Ferguson.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2020

Francis Ngannou seems interested in potentially fighting Jon Jones. For years now, many fans have clamored for Jones to move up to heavyweight. His coach, Mike Winkeljohn told BJPENN.com it was time for “Bones” to move up in weight. If he does move up, many assumed it would be for the belt. Yet, recently, many fans brought up Ngannou’s name and Jones seems interested.

Chris Taylor - May 14, 2020

In our newest segment “Top 5 Knockouts” we take a look back at some of the most brutal finishes that have occurred during numbered UFC events. In this the fifth edition of “Top 5 Knockouts”, we reflect back on UFC events 41 – 50, which occurred between the years of 2003 to 2004.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2020

Chael Sonnen is furious with Marc Montoya and Anthony Smith’s entire corner for not throwing in the towel at UFC Jacksonville. Smith was making his return after nearly a full year away from the Octagon due to injuries to take on Glover Teixeira. Early on, “Lionheart” was having a ton of success but after the first round, the tides shifted. The Brazilian dominated the rest of the fight, dropping Smith and landing vicious ground and pound shots to eventually earn a fifth-round TKO win.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2020

The salaries have been released for UFC Jacksonville, which took place on Wednesday night, and heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell took home the top earnings. According to the salaries obtained by reporter Jed I. Goodman from the Florida State Boxing Commission, Andrei Arlovski made the most banking $325,000. The next closest was heavyweight contender Ben Rothwell pocketing $260,000.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2020

In the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card in Jacksonville, Florida, Walt Harris battles longtime heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem. Heading into the fight Harris is a -165 favorite, while the Dutchman is a +135 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros have a slight lean towards Harris to get it done by stoppage, as he’ll be motivated following the tragic murder of his stepdaughter.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2020

In the main event of UFC Jacksonville, Glover Teixeira was taking on Anthony Smith in a critical fight for the title picture of the light heavyweight division. The winner could very well be one win away from a title shot, so the stakes were high. In the end, the Brazilain in Teixeira pulled off the betting upset as he TKO’d Smith in the fifth round to extend his winning streak to four.

Adam Martin - May 14, 2020

UFC president Dana White said he doesn’t “give a f*ck” about the criticism of the UFC’s coronavirus protocol from the New York Times. The NYT obtained the coronavirus protocol that was supposed to be upheld by everyone connected to the UFC Jacksonville events, but not everything was. For example, White was supposed to wear a mask at all times and he didn’t. As well, post-fight interviews in the Octagon at UFC 249 were supposed to be conducted at a distance, but UFC commentator Joe Rogan was close to the fighters when he conducted them.

Tom Taylor - May 14, 2020

Mike Tyson once tried to start a fight with NBA legend Michael Jordan, according to the boxer’s former manager Rory Holloway. Holloway claims the two sports icons nearly came to blows at a 1988 birthday party for Chicago Bears player Richard Dent. Boxing promoter Don King and Bears coach Mike Ditka were also in attendance.

Tom Taylor - May 14, 2020

Justin Gaethje is expected to fight UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the coming months, but that hasn’t stopped him from wishing the champ well during a period of personal turmoil. Earlier this week, several Russian media outlets that Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap was in a medically-induced coma in a Moscow hospital. While Abdulmanap has reportedly woken from this coma, he is still said to be in serious condition.