MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

Conor McGregor has some choice words for his lightweight rivals Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. McGregor targeted his fellow lightweights on Twitter on Monday afternoon, just days after Gaethje defeated Ferguson to capture the interim lightweight title at UFC 249.

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

The full betting odds have been released for all 11 bouts scheduled for this Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night card in Jacksonville, Florida. As was the case with UFC 249, UFC Fight Night Jacksonville will take place at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. The UFC just pulled off an incredible event this past weekend and will hold two more cards this week at the same venue. The second event in the Jacksonville series takes place on Wednesday, and it’s a solid Fight Night card featuring a light heavyweight main event between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira.

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

Tony Ferguson experienced a tough, TKO loss to Justin Gaethje in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 249 card. Despite the nature of this loss, Ferguson seems to be in good spirits. Just one day after his defeat, he was already dancing around in his hospital room. See it below:

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson is in the process of slimming down for his widely anticipated return to the Octagon. Speaking on his official Instagram account over the weekend, Johnson announced that he’s gotten his weight down to 236lbs, and that he’s beginning a “mini camp” in preparation for his UFC comeback.

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum has received a suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after testing positive for marijuana. This is the second time Gastelum has tested positive for the substance. The drug test in question was administered after Gastelum’s UFC 244 loss to Darren Till. Gastelum was originally handed a nine-month suspension for this failed test, retroactive to November 3, but that term was later reduced by four months.

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington denied that he’s in talks to be a coach on TUF, but guarantees he will fight Kamaru Usman again. UFC president Dana White recently announced the return of The Ultimate Fighter and he mentioned several coaching pairings the UFC is thinking about for the show. One of them is a pairing between Covington and Usman, bitter rivals who had one of the best fights of 2019 at UFC 245 when Usman beat Covington via fifth-round TKO to take the belt.

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming bout between former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns. Combate last week reported that Woodly vs. Burns is set to headline the UFC Fight Night card on May 23, which is rumored to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The UFC has not officially announced the bout yet but UFC president Dana White told the media last week that this is the fight the promotion wants to book, so it’s just a matter of making things official now.

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

Over the weekend, during the UFC 249 broadcast, it was announced that Georges St-Pierre will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Not long after this announcement was made, the UFC shared footage of GSP’s first reaction to the news of his Hall of Fame induction. It’s worth a watch.

Harry Kettle - May 11, 2020

UFC president Dana White has lashed out at Stephen Espinoza regarding his comments about the controversial UFC 249 event this past weekend. Espinoza made some noise in the lead-up to UFC 249 when he alleged that fighters on the card had to sign a document that claimed they would lose their purse if they spoke negatively of the UFC’s measures in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

UFC President Dana White says there are no plans on the table for a trilogy fight between former two-division champ Conor McGregor and his long-time rival Nate Diaz. McGregor and Diaz are tied 1-1 across two fights, both of which occurred in 2016. Diaz won the first fight, springing the upset with a submission win. McGregor evened the score in the rematch, defeating Diaz by majority decision. Ever since, fans have been dying to see the pair meet in a tie-breaking trilogy fight.

Tom Taylor - May 11, 2020

The UFC initially wanted commentator Joe Rogan to conduct his UFC 249 post-fight interviews from a distance, but he wasn’t on board with that plan. Speaking at the conclusion of UFC 249, Daniel Cormier, who joined Rogan on commentary duty, claimed the long-time commentator “threw a fit” when he was asked to conduct his post-fight interviews from a distance of two yards.

Harry Kettle - May 11, 2020

Former WWE champion and MMA fighter Alberto Del Rio has been arrested on sexual assault charges, NBC News 4 San Antonio reports. Del Rio, who was handily beaten in his MMA return by Tito Ortiz back in December, was arrested after a woman came forward with photographs to prove that he had been physically beating and sexually assaulting her.

Christopher Taylor - May 10, 2020

Tony Ferguson squared off with Justin Gaethje for the UFC’s interim lightweight title yesterday evening in Jacksonville, Florida. The highly anticipated bout served as the main event of UFC 249, the promotions first fight card since March’s ‘UFC Fight Night’ event in Brazil.

Adam Martin - May 10, 2020

The online sportsbooks have released the opening betting odds for the upcoming UFC lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. Gaethje earned the interim title and a shot at Nurmagomedov’s belt in the coming months after his bonus-winning effort against Tony Ferguson in the main event of UFC 249. Gaethje put on an absolute clinic for nearly 25 minutes, beating Ferguson down with punches and kicks and finishing him with less than two minutes left in the bout. It was the most impressive performance during Gaethje’s UFC career.

Christopher Taylor - May 10, 2020

Justin Gaethje took home the UFC interim lightweight title last night in Florida after earning a TKO victory over Tony Ferguson in the UFC 249 main event. Gaethje was able to get the better of Ferguson in the striking department for the majority of the opening four rounds. By the time ‘El Cucuy’ stood up for the start of round five, he was wearing multiple facial cuts and had bad swelling around his right eye. ‘The Highlight’ continued his striking assault in the fifth and final round which eventually prompted the referee to step in and call a stop to the contest.

Chris Taylor - May 10, 2020

Tony Ferguson showed the heart of a warrior last night at UFC 249, but it was not enough to score a victory over the hard-hitting Justin Gaethje. ‘El Cucuy’ and ‘The Highlight’ squared off for the promotions interim lightweight title yesterday evening in Jacksonville, Florida.

Adam Martin - May 10, 2020

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sent a classy message to Tony Ferguson, wishing his rival’s family well after Ferguson lost at UFC 249. Ferguson suffered a one-sided beatdown at the hands and legs of Justin Gaethje on Saturday night, as Gaethje turned on the volume late in the fifth round and earned a late TKO stoppage. The loss snapped the 12-fight win streak for Ferguson and all but guarantees we won’t see him fight Nurmagomedov anytime soon after the pair’s five previous encounters have been wiped out due to various factors.

Adam Martin - May 10, 2020

Below, check out videos of the top five submissions from UFC 41 to UFC 50, featuring BJ Penn tapping out Matt Hughes at UFC 46. In our latest series here at BJPenn.com “Top 5 Submissions” we take a look at the most lethal submissions from the fourth block of UFC events. These submissions all took place from 2003 to 2004, and they feature numerous future UFC Hall of Famers in their early days. Keep in mind there are many other submissions deserving of the list, but we had to choose just five.