MMA News

Adam Martin - July 17, 2020

Former UFC welterweight star Ben Askren named Khabib Nurmagomedov as the one dream opponent he wanted outside of his normal weight class of 170lbs. Askren retired from MMA last year after compiling a 19-2, 1 NC record from 2009 to 2019. A former champion in Bellator and ONE Championship, Askren joined the UFC in a game-breaking trade for pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson in 2018. The journey to the UFC didn’t go as planned for Askren, who suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia before deciding to hang up his gloves at age 34. He cited the need for a hip replacement as one of the reasons why he decided to retire.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2020

Joseph Benavidez has bad intentions for Deiveson Figueiredo on Yas Island. In the main event of UFC Fight Island 2, Benavidez and Figueiredo are having an immediate rematch. The two fought back at UFC Norfolk on February 29 for the vacant flyweight title. Yet, the Brazilian missed weight but went on to score a second-round KO win over Benavidez following a controversial headbutt.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2020

Kamaru Usman may be forced to be on the sidelines longer than originally anticipated. At UFC 251 on Fight Island, Usman defended his welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal by decision. The champion clearly won four rounds, where many thought he won all five. Usman also didn’t take much damage but he has been handed a 180-day medical suspension.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

UFC President Dana White has responded to Dan Hooker calling for a showdown with former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. Hooker last fought in late June, when he lost a decision to Dustin Poirier in a 2020 Fight of the Year contender. Since that setback, he’s expressed interest in fights with Charles Oliveira and Tony Ferguson.

Alfredo Zullino - July 17, 2020

A featherweight scrap between Georgia’s Giga Chikadze (10-2 MMA; 3-0 UFC) and Alex Caceres (16-12 MMA; 11-10-1 NC UFC) is in the works for August 8; sources with knowledge of the situation told BJPENN.com. The former Glory kickboxer Chikadze made his UFC debut less than a year ago, in September 2019, and since then he racked up a perfect record of 3 victories and no losses, triumphing over Brandon Davis, Jamall Emmers and Irwin Rivera. All of these wins came by decision.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

UFC President Dana White has confirmed that Colby Covington signed a contract to fight former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, adding that the promotion is waiting on Woodley to sign and make the bout official. Woodley and Covington have been engaged in a heated war of words since the height of Woodley’s reign as the UFC welterweight champion. They’ve been linked to fights several times over the years, but as of yet, have not stepped into the cage together.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

UFC President Dana White has confirmed that No. 1 welterweight contender Gilbert Burns will get the next crack at the division’s champ Kamaru Usman. Usman and Burns were expected to fight in the main event of UFC 251 last weekend, but the fight was nixed when Burns tested positive for COVID-19. Burns was then replaced by Jorge Masvidal, who Usman defeated by unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

UFC flyweight contender Paige VanZant is officially a free agent, and will begin discussing the next phase of her career with the UFC and any other interested promotions. VanZant fulfilled the final obligation of her latest UFC contract at UFC 251, where she took on the streaking Amanda Ribas. Unfortunately for the fan favorite and her legions of supporters, this fight didn’t go as she planned, as she was submitted in the first round.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2020

In the main event of UFC Fight Island 2, Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez are having an immediate rematch for the vacant flyweight title. Heading into the fight, the Brazilian, Figueiredo, is a -225 favorite while the American is a +175 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of the fighters believe Benavidez will finally become a UFC champion and beat Figueiredo in the rematch.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

UFC President Dana White has responded to talk of a potential super fight between UFC stars Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor. Masvidal fought at UFC 251 last weekend, taking on UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on just six days’ notice. While Masvidal put up forth valiant effort, he wound up losing the fight by unanimous decision.

Adam Martin - July 17, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington believes he hasn’t been booked for another fight yet because the UFC “hates” him and holds a “grudge” against him. Covington hasn’t fought since UFC 245 last December when he suffered a fifth-round TKO loss to Kamaru Usman in the last round of their epic welterweight title fight. Since then, Covington has remained on the sidelines without an opponent, though a week doesn’t go by where he isn’t busy calling one of the top contenders at 170lbs out.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

UFC President Dana White believes there’s cause for a third fight between Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Holloway and Volkanovski have fought twice previously.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2020

On Saturday night, the UFC will return our screens with UFC on ESPN+ 30, the promotion’s third event in the span of a week. In the card’s main event, Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez will collide for the vacant flyweight title. The pair met earlier this year with the same prize on the line, but no champion was crowned, as Figueiredo missed weight, making him ineligible to win the title, and then won the fight via TKO. The hope is that both fighters will make weight and battle to a more decisive end this weekend.

Natasha Hooper - July 17, 2020

Gilbert Burns was not impressed with Kamaru Usman’s title defence against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251, calling it a “boring” decision. He has also responded to Leon Edwards’ hopes of getting the next shot at UFC welterweight title. Burns has been bulldozing his way through the division and was expected to put his skills the test against Usman at UFC 251. However, Burns tested posted for COVID-19 and was forced out of the championship fight that took place on Fight Island.

Adam Martin - July 16, 2020

UFC welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev says he wants to fight Nate Diaz, Mike Perry, or Robbie Lawler next as he works his way up the 170lbs ladder. Chimaev had a UFC debut for the ages when he absolutely smoked John Phillips at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 13 card in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev took Phillips down right away and beat him up so badly that one judge even scored the first round 10-7 in his favor, one of the rarest scorecards in all of MMA. In the second round, Chimaev made quick work of Phillips and submitted him with a brutal D’arce choke to pick up his first UFC win.

Cole Shelton - July 16, 2020

Kelvin Gastelum wants to run things back with Darren Till. In the co-main event of UFC 244 last November, Gastelum was looking to get back into the win column when he welcomed Till to the middleweight division. It was a very intriguing matchup where it was the Englishman in Till who edged out a split decision.

Cole Shelton - July 16, 2020

Tyron Woodley has made it clear that he is willing to fight Colby Covington, just not in August. On Wednesday night, Covington posted a signed bout agreement for a fight against Woodley on August 22. Yet, he claimed the former champ turned him down once again. According to Woodley, he says he is not ready to fight then, but will gladly fight him in the fall.

Cole Shelton - July 16, 2020

Urijah Faber is interested in continuing his legendary MMA career and has a name in mind. The UFC Hall of Famer came out of retirement last summer where he scored a first-round TKO win over Ricky Simon. He then fought again at UFC 245 where he suffered a KO loss to Petr Yan.