MMA News
Colby Covington ready to "play ball" with UFC as contract nears conclusion
Tom Taylor - June 4, 2020
Chael Sonnen sees five options for next Conor McGregor opponent
Tom Taylor - June 4, 2020
According to MMA analyst Chael Sonnen, Conor McGregor has five options in terms of opponents for his next fight—whenever that next fight winds up happening. Sonnen explored the options in a video posted to his official YouTube channel, using a whiteboard to share his picks.
Cory Sandhagen bids farewell to "annoying" Henry Cejudo
Tom Taylor - June 4, 2020
Streaking UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen is glad that Henry Cejudo, the division’s most recent champion, has retired and vacated the throne. Cejudo shocked viewers by announcing his retirement from MMA shortly after he defended the UFC bantamweight title with a second-round TKO of Dominick Cruz at UFC 249.
Amanda Nunes believes she had coronavirus
Adam Martin - June 4, 2020
UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes believes she may have been infected by the coronavirus a few months ago. Nunes, who defends her 145lbs strap this weekend at UFC 250 against Felicia Spencer, told Combate that she believes she was infected by the coronavirus on a trip to Las Vegas a few months ago. According to Nunes, she felt sick when she returned home to Florida and passed along her illness to her fiancee Nina Ansaroff. Nunes says she was never actually tested for COVID-19 but is convinced she had it and defeated it.
Dana White pushes Fight Island debut ahead, now targeting June 27
Tom Taylor - June 4, 2020
UFC President Dana White says we could be seeing fights on his much-discussed Fight Island as soon as June 27. White has been battling hard to keep promoting fights during the coronavirus pandemic. While he’s managed to promote a handful of events in Jacksonville, Florida, and at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, those events have been populated by American fighters, and fighters based on US soil.
Chuck Liddell explains why he intervened at a recent protest in California
Harry Kettle - June 4, 2020
UFC legend Chuck Liddell has explained why he tried to intervene in the George Floyd protests in California this past weekend. The protests across the United States have largely been peaceful, but the escalation of violence in some areas of the country has been well documented. Part of this has been due to looters, whereas police brutality has also played a leading role.
Sergei Kharitonov claims Mike Tyson is “juicing” but doesn’t hold any resentment to the boxing legend
Harry Kettle - June 4, 2020
MMA veteran Sergei Kharitonov has claimed that boxing legend Mike Tyson is on steroids ahead of his proposed return to the ring. Kharitonov, who holds a 30-7 (2) professional mixed martial arts record with his last win coming at World Total Kombat Federation 5 in February, has stated that he would be interested in welcoming Tyson back to the boxing world.
Aljamain Sterling reveals he was knocked out by “Ninja” Zabit Magomedsharipov in 2017 training session
Natasha Hooper - June 4, 2020
Aljamain Sterling revealed he was knocked out by Zabit Magomedsharipov during training. In an interview with TheScore, the UFC bantamweight contender described sparring with the Russian fighter for the first time.
Dana White discusses current drama with Jon Jones: “Eventually you get to a point where you get tired of fighting”
Natasha Hooper - June 4, 2020
UFC President Dana White recently opened up on his public dispute with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Tensions between the light heavyweight champion and the UFC president have reached an all-time high. Jones announced he was vacating his title after matchup negotiations for a Francis Ngannou fight turned sour.
Jack Hermansson vs. Kelvin Gastelum set to fight July 18 on Fight Island
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2020
Jack Hermansson and Kelvin Gastelum will finally get the chance to fight. Hermansson and Gastelum have talked about fighting one another quite some time and will do so on Fight Island. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the two will meet on the July 18 show.
Tyron Woodley says he's already been offered and accepted Colby Covington fight following Burns loss
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2020
Tyron Woodley says he’s already been offered and accepted a fight against Colby Covington following his loss to Gilbert Burns. Woodley and Covington have had a long-standing rivalry and it was expected they would finally meet inside the Octagon after “Chaos” won the interim title. Yet, he needed nose surgery so Woodley defended his belt against Darren Till and has since lost two bouts in a row to Kamaru Usman and Burns.
Dana White says the "smartest move" for Conor McGregor is to wait and fight the winner of Nurmagomedov-Gaethje
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2020
Dana White believes Conor McGregor should wait to fight the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje for his next scrap. Ever since McGregor knocked out Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds back in January at UFC 246, many wondered what would be next for the Irishman. Names like Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz came up. But, for White, he believes McGregor shouldn’t fight again until he gets the title shot.
Raphael Assuncao not focusing on Cody Garbrandt's past losses, knows a win puts him in title contention
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2020
Raphael Assuncao believes his UFC 250 co-main event fight against Cody Garbrandt could very well have title implications on the line. Assuncao is currently on a two-fight losing streak while Garbrandt is on a three-fight skid. Yet, both are still ranked in the top-10, with Assuncao at five.
Rafael dos Anjos on final fight of UFC deal, uncertain of future with promotion
Tom Taylor - June 3, 2020
Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is on the final fight of his current UFC deal, and is uncertain what the future holds beyond that. He’s hoping to fight again in the coming months, and with a little luck, re-sign with the UFC, where he’s spent the vast majority of his MMA career thus far.
Colby Covington trashes potential Usman vs. Burns matchup
Tom Taylor - June 3, 2020
Colby Covington has no interest in a potential welterweight title fight between champ Kamaru Usman and top contender Gilbert Burns. In fact, he feels the vast majority of fans share that disinterest. Last weekend, in the main event of UFC on ESPN 9, Burns picked up the biggest win of his career, defeating the former champion Tyron Woodley with a dominant, unanimous decision win. The win earned Burns the No. 1 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings, and very possibly the next crack at Usman.
Cody Garbrandt says his "demons" are in the past, sets sights on bantamweight belt
Tom Taylor - June 3, 2020
Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt has lost his last three fights, and all by way of knockout. As he gears up for his UFC 250 fight with Raphael Assuncao, he says his troubles are behind him. “I just needed for me, first and foremost, to get out of my comfort zone and go rekindle that love for fighting,” Garbrandt told MMA Fighting ahead of UFC 250, explaining what he’s changed since his third straight loss. “I don’t know if I was going through the motions or if it was just the same thing but I needed a switch up.
UFC 250 | Pro fighters make their picks for Amanda Nunes vs. Felicia Spencer title fight
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2020
In the main event of UFC 250, Amanda Nunes is looking to defend her featherweight belt for the first time when she takes on Felicia Spencer. Heading into the fight the champ is a massive -650 favorite while the Canadian challenger is a +425 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Amanda Nunes will get it done, with many thinking it will be by stoppage.
Photo | Check out all the upcoming UFC matchups in June, July and August
Adam Martin - June 3, 2020
Take a look at all of the upcoming matchups confirmed for June, July, and August in a new graphic showcasing what fights the UFC currently has in the works. MMA reporter Marcel Dorfff of MMADNANL put together a list of all the fights scheduled to take place at UFC events on the following dates: June 6, June 13, June 20, June 27, July 11, July 18, July 25 and August 1. All of these events are scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex. You can see all of the confirmed upcoming fights on the list below.
Colby Covington reacts to Tyron Woodley's loss to Gilbert Burns
Tom Taylor - June 3, 2020
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Colby Covington has reacted to Tyron Woodley’s UFC on ESPN 9 loss to Gilbert Burns. As expected, he did not hold back when discussing his long-time rival’s fall from grace.