MMA News

Harry Kettle - September 26, 2023

Michelle Waterson-Gomez has issued a short statement following her resounding defeat at the hands of Marina Rodriguez. For so many years now, Michelle Waterson-Gomez has been a big fan favorite in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She may never have won a title, but she’s been involved in some great wars – and she has a great personality to go alongside it. Now, even in the twilight of her career, she’s still competing in high profile contests, as evidenced by her bout against Marina Rodriguez last weekend.

Harry Kettle - September 26, 2023

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev has revealed that he sustained an ACL injury in his loss to Mateusz Gamrot last weekend. On Saturday night, Rafael Fiziev fell to a defeat against Mateusz Gamrot in their blockbuster lightweight main event. Unfortunately, it came under tough circumstances, as a knee injury rendered Fiziev unable to continue in the second round.

Harry Kettle - September 26, 2023

UFC sensation Colby Covington has explained why he doesn’t have much respect for the BMF championship. Over the course of the last few years, very few fighters have been as outspoken as Colby Covington. From interviews to post-fight media scrums and beyond, the man known as ‘Chaos’ is one of the most divisive figures in the history of mixed martial arts. While some feel as if this is his genuine personality, others are of the belief that it’s little more than a character he is portraying.

Harry Kettle - September 26, 2023

Ali Abdelaziz has hit out at the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings as a result of Islam Makhachev’s position in the list. Next month, Islam Makhachbev will defend his UFC lightweight championship against Charles Oliveira in a rematch of their title collision last year. It comes after a superfight against Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year and while it was a tight and competitive affair, Makhachev was the one who had his hand raised when all was said and done.

Cole Shelton - September 25, 2023

Kelvin Gastelum claims the UFC higher-ups aren’t a fan of him returning to the welterweight division. Gastelum is set to return to the welterweight division on Dec. 2 as he takes on Sean Brady at a location TBD. It’s the first time he’s set for a welterweight bout since July 2016 when he beat Johny Hendricks. During his welterweight run, Kelvin Gastelum had a tough time making weight as he came in heavy two times, including weighing in at 180lbs against Tyron Woodley.

Zain Bando - September 25, 2023

Francis Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, revealed the stunning truth that led him to getting stripped of his title and ousted from the promotion earlier this year. In a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Ngannou, who is scheduled to face current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a boxing match Oct. 28, gave the long-time UFC color commentator a sense of what was happening behind closed doors.

Josh Evanoff - September 25, 2023

UFC fighters Sean O’Malley and Bryce Mitchell won’t fight in the cage, but maybe a debate will suffice. For his part, ‘Thug Nasty’ returned to the cage over the weekend at UFC Vegas 79 against Dan Ige. There, Bryce Mitchell returned to the win column against ’50k’, scoring a unanimous decision victory. Days following the win, the featherweight contender sent a message to Sean O’Malley.

Josh Evanoff - September 25, 2023

UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes if anyone could come back from Conor McGregor’s situation, it’s him. ‘The Notorious’ is going on over two years out of the cage, last appearing in his 2021 trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier. There, Conor McGregor snapped his leg in the final seconds of round one, with Joe Rogan and others watching on. As a result, he suffered his second-straight loss to ‘The Diamond’, and was forced to spend over a year recovering.

Cole Shelton - September 25, 2023

Paddy Pimblett has opened as a sizeable betting favorite for his UFC 296 fight against Tony Ferguson. UFC CEO Dana White announced on Friday night that Pimblett is set for his first fight in a year as he takes on the former interim lightweight champion in Ferguson. It’s a fight that caught many by surprise, but on paper, does make a lot of sense in terms of where both men are in their careers.

Josh Evanoff - September 25, 2023

UFC lightweight contender Jared Gordon is the latest to notice the company’s rising ticket prices. ‘Flash’ has been out of action since a no-contest with Bobby Green earlier this summer. Now, months following his bout with ‘King’, he’s been scheduled to return. At UFC 295 in November, Jared Gordon will face Mark Madsen, who enters the contest off a submission loss to Grant Dawson in November.

Cole Shelton - September 25, 2023

The Orleans Parish District Attorney announced they will not pursue criminal charges against Nate Diaz. Earlier this year, Diaz was involved in a street brawl on Bourbon Street following a Misfits boxing event. Video surfaced of Diaz getting into a scuffle with social media influencer and boxer Rodney Peterson. The former UFC star ended up choking Peterson unconsious and ended up turning himself in to the New Orleans Police Department and was booked on a felony second-degree battery charge in April.

Susan Cox - September 25, 2023

Henry Cejudo believes that Leon Edwards is the ‘perfect’ matchup for Colby Covington. UFC 296 takes place on Saturday, December 16th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada has a stacked line-up.

Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023

Christos Giagos is eager to finally fight in front of fans again. All three of His last fights have come at the UFC Apex with no crowd, which has been hard for him as Giagos says he is a crowd fighter who feeds off the energy of fans. However, he will not be the crowd favorite on Saturday as he’s booked to return at Noche UFC against Mexican Daniel Zellhuber.

Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023

Kyle Nelson wanted a quick turnaround and he got his wish. Nelson returned to the win column back at UFC 289 in Vancouver as he pulled off an upset over Blake Bilder which saved his job. Just over three months later, Nelson is back as he will return at Noche UFC on Saturday against Fernando Padilla.

Cole Shelton - September 12, 2023

Jasmine Jasudavicius is no stranger to being the betting underdog and being counted out. Jasudavicius has been the underdog in three of her four UFC fights and has won all three of them. Last time out, she was a big underdog against Miranda Maverick at UFC 289 and pulled off the upset at home in Canada.

Cole Shelton - September 7, 2023

In the main event of UFC 293, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Israel Adesanya looks to defend his belt against Sean Strickland. Heading into the scrap, Adesanya is a massive -720 favorite while the American is a +450 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the majority of the pros are picking Adesanya to defend his belt with ease, although some are rooting for Strickland to pull off the upset.

Cole Shelton - September 5, 2023

John Makdessi will be ending his year-long layoff at UFC 293. Makdessi hasn’t fought since the UFC’s first stop in Paris in September of last year when he dropped a decision to Nasrat Haqparast. It was disappointing result for Makdessi and since then, he dealt with a hand injury that kept him out of the Octagon for over a year.

Cole Shelton - August 31, 2023

Kurt Holobaugh was surprised to see how little Conor McGregor was truly involved with his team on The Ultimate Fighter. McGregor was coaching TUF 31 opposite Michael Chandler and it was a season of veterans vs. prospects. All the veterans ended up being coached by Chandler which Holobaugh was thrilled about.

Cole Shelton - August 31, 2023

In the main event of UFC Paris, a battle of top-seven heavyweights goes down as Ciryl Gane takes on Serghei Spivac. Heading into the fight, Gane is a -174 favorite while the Moldovan is a +136 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight. The pros are leaning towards Ciryl Gane returning to the win column at home by keeping it standing and likely getting a TKO.

Cole Shelton - August 30, 2023

Thiago Moises is excited to fight in Paris, France. Moises is coming off a submission win over Melquizael Costa back in January and after the win, he stayed home in Brazil for a few months. With that, he was looking to return in the fall and was excited when he got the call to fight at UFC Paris.

Cole Shelton - August 29, 2023

Ian Machado Garry says Geoff Neal missed his chance to fight him. Garry and Neal were booked to fight at UFC 292 in Boston but just over a week before the fight, ‘Handz of Steel’ was forced out of the bout due to an injury. The Irishman believes Neal was never actually hurt and was simply traumatized by his head games, especially after selling the mugshot t-shirt.

Cole Shelton - August 29, 2023

Volkan Oezdemir will finally make the walk to the Octagon. Oezdemir last fought back in October when he dropped a decision to Nikita Krylov. It was with the first punch he landed the fight that Volkan broke his hand which hindered his performance. Following the fight, he needed to get surgery as he had been dealing with a nagging hand injury for a while.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2023

BJ Penn knows firsthand how hard it is for fighters to walk away from the sport. Penn last fought back in May of 2019, where he suffered a decision loss to former Strikeforce title holder Clay Guida.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2023

Ian Machado Garry has an idea for who will be standing across the Octagon from him in the main event of UFC Dublin. After Garry beat Neil Magny at UFC 292, he called out Stephen Thompson for a fight in November or December, which he believes will happen. Following that, the plan according to UFC president Dana White, is to bring the Octagon back to Ireland for UFC Dublin and have Garry as the main event.