MMA News

Adam Martin - May 12, 2020

Following his win at UFC 249, Francis Ngannou has opened as the betting favorite for a potential heavyweight showdown against Daniel Cormier. Ngannou knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds on the UFC 249 PPV card to reaffirm his position as one of the top contenders in the UFC heavyweight division. “The Predator” is now running a four-fight win streak, with first-round knockouts over Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and Curtis Blaydes.

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2020

In the headliner of Wednesday’s UFC Jacksonville event, Anthony Smith returns after nearly a year-long injury layoff to take on perennial contender Glover Teixeira. Heading into the fight, the American is a -185 favorite, while the Brazilian is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe it will be Smith who gets it done as he’s the better all-around fighter.

Adam Martin - May 12, 2020

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones says he would “love” to fight rival Dominick Reyes as long as the UFC meets his conditions. Jones and Reyes met back at UFC 247 in early February. In one of the most controversial decisions of the year, the judges scored the fight unanimously in favor of Jones, despite many fans and media members scoring it for Reyes, not to mention UFC president Dana White doing the same.

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor says he’s “super excited” for a lightweight title fight in July. McGregor made this comment on Twitter on Tuesday.

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Former Invicta atomweight champion Michelle Waterson has issued a statement after her controversial decision loss to former UFC strawweight champ Carla Esparza at UFC 249. Waterson and Esparza battled for 15 minutes on the UFC 249 undercard. While Esparza was awarded a decision win, many fans felt the judges got the verdict wrong.

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman has responded to Conor McGregor teasing a future move to the welterweight division. McGregor unleashed a heated rant on Twitter on Monday, targeting multiple lightweight rivals in Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier. The Irish star wrapped this rant up by laying out plans for a move to welterweight once he’s conquered the lightweight division.

Adam Martin - May 12, 2020

With Henry Cejudo abruptly retiring from MMA, UFC bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling is calling for a vacant title fight against Petr Yan. Cejudo shocked the MMA community when he announced after this TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 that he would be vacating the belt and retiring from the sport. Though the title being vacated is not official yet and White has held the door open to Cejudo potentially changing his mind, if he does indeed give his belt up then we would need a new fight to determine who the best in the world at 135lbs is.

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

After Dominick Cruz came up short in his UFC 249 bantamweight title fight with Henry Cejudo, he claimed that referee Keith Peterson, who stopped the bout in the second round, smelled like booze and cigarettes. This remark generated immediate controversy, as many fans felt it was irresponsible of Cruz to make such an incendiary claim about an official with a very good track record.

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has options for his next opponent, according to his manager Audie Attar. Attar discussed McGregor’s next move in a recent interview with MMA Junkie.

Tom Taylor - May 12, 2020

Donald Cerrone has issued a statement after his competitive decision loss to Anthony Pettis at UFC 249 last Saturday. Cerrone performed well in the fight, which closed out the UFC 249 prelims, landing plenty of effective striking throughout. He was even ahead on some fans’ scorecards when the action concluded. In the end, however, Pettis was awarded a unanimous decision win, forcing Cerrone onto a tough, four-fight skid.

Natasha Hooper - May 12, 2020

“Iron” Mike Tyson proved that he still has iron fists in a frightening new video sharedahead of his possible boxing comeback. A former world heavyweight champion, Tyson has continued to tease boxing fans that he will be making a return to the ring.

Harry Kettle - May 12, 2020

UFC Interim Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje has received a clean bill of health following the release of the UFC 249 medical suspensions. Gaethje put on the performance of a lifetime this past Saturday night as he outworked Tony Ferguson in a dominant main event in Jacksonville, Florida.

Natasha Hooper - May 12, 2020

In the face of adversity, UFC 249 turned out to be a pay-per-view success. The original UFC 249 event faced many challenges. The fight card was originally scheduled for April 18 before being pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was set to headline the main event against Tony Ferguson also withdrew over travel restrictions and his commitment to Ramadan. Also, middleweight star Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was dropped from the card after testing positive for COVID-19.

Christopher Taylor - May 12, 2020

Nate Diaz has shared his thoughts on the recent online feud between bitter rivals Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The former two-division champion, McGregor, made headlines yesterday when he blasted numerous lightweights on social media. Among the victims of McGregor’s verbal assault were Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

The salaries have been released for UFC 249, and headliner Tony Ferguson topped the list with a $500,000 payday for this main event fight. According to the numbers obtained by MMA reporter Jed I. Goodman from the Florida State Boxing Commission, Ferguson was the highest-paid fighter at the event at $500,000, while his opponent Justin Gaethje earned $350,000. Co-headliner Henry Cejudo also earned $350,000 for his co-main event fight against Dominick Cruz, who earned $300,000 for his return bout at UFC 249.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor’s rivalry is alive and well. Earlier on Monday, McGregor took to social media and in several tweets took shots at the champ, Justin Gaethje, Tony Ferguson, and Dustin Poirier. Immediately, it caught the attention of the MMA world and the fighters involved. But, Nurmagomedov and the Irishman have continued to trade shots at one another since the initial rant.

Adam Martin - May 11, 2020

Georges St-Pierre was announced this week to be the latest addition to the UFC Hall of Fame, and now GSP has shared his list of the best MMA fighters ever. GSP was revealed at UFC 249 to be the latest entry in the UFC Hall of Fame after an amazing career that saw him capture both the UFC welterweight and middleweight titles. St-Pierre had a 20-2 record fighting in the Octagon and went undefeated between 2007 and 2017 while fighting the best fighters in the world at 170lbs and 185lbs.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2020

A.J. McKee is not a fan of Patricio Pitbull. McKee and Pitbull are currently competing in the featherweight grand prix, where the undefeated contender in McKee predicts they will meet in the finals. Once there, McKee is confident he will not only beat the Brazilian, but finish him badly.