MMA News

Natasha Hooper - May 8, 2020

Jon Jones is doing what he can to help those in need, as he donated 100,000 meals to families in New Mexico recently. The light heavyweight champion has been in hot water recently. In March, “Bones” was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, the widely regarded GOAT is working to get back in fan’s good books as he donated to The Food Depot, a food bank in his home city.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2020

The UFC will make its triumphant return to our screens on Saturday night with UFC 249, which means the fighters on the bill must step onto the scales on Friday morning. UFC 249, which goes down in Jacksonville, Florida, will be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was originally expected to battle undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 18, but when Nurmagomedov got stuck in Russia due to travel restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic, Gaethje stepped into to battle Ferguson for interim gold.

Natasha Hooper - May 8, 2020

Justin Gaethje explained why his upcoming opponent, Tony Ferguson, will be a harder nut to crack than the lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. UFC 249 was originally expected to be headlined by a title bout between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson. However, travel complications surrounding the coronavirus pandemic resulted in Nurmagomedov’s withdrawal from the bout. Instead, Justin Gaethje will face Ferguson in the main event on May 9, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2020

Alonzo Menifield will return to the Octagon for the first time in nearly a year to battle Devin Clark. Multiple sources confirmed to BJPENN.com that Menifield will take on Devin Clark on June 6 at a location to be announced. The contracts have already been issued and signed, the sources confirmed.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2020

A.J. McKee is looking to become a champ-champ in Bellator and then go into boxing to challenge Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather has not boxed professionally since he defeated Conor McGregor in the summer of 2016. It was a highly-anticipated bout, and McKee thinks he can capture that same momentum.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2020

Greg Hardy says he wants to become the heavyweight version of Jon Jones. Hardy made his UFC debut in January of 2019. He had five fights in the year going 2-2 and one no-contest, with one of his losses being a DQ. He’ll look to get back into the win column against Yorgan De Castro at UFC 249.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2020

Henry Cejudo says he will never fight T.J. Dillashaw again. Cejudo and Dillashaw met at UFC Brooklyn in January of 2018 where “Triple C” was looking to defend his flyweight belt against the then-bantamweight champion, T.J. Dillashaw. It was a highly-anticipated fight that ended early as Cejudo knocked Dillashaw out in just 32 seconds.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2020

On the stacked UFC 249 main card, Francis Ngannou takes on undefeated contender, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Heading into this fight, Ngannou is a -275 favorite while “Bigi Boy” is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe the scrap ends by knockout where the majority lean towards Ngannou getting his hand raised.

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

Conor McGregor has some gripes about his position in the UFC lightweight rankings, and his former foe Dustin Poirier is having none of it. McGregor defeated Dustin Poirier via first-round TKO in a 2014 featherweight fight. Nonetheless, Poirier has glided past McGregor in the lightweight rankings, settling in at No. 2, one spot in front of the Irishman.

Adam Martin - May 7, 2020

UFC welterweight Leon Edwards will next fight on Fight Island and his opponent will be a highly-ranked opponent at 170lbs, says UFC president Dana White. Edwards was set to fight Tyron Woodley back in March at UFC London, but the card was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Edwards is now stuck in his native England, which has heavy restrictions on international travel, which means he will not be able to fly to the United States to fight Woodley. Instead, the UFC is now targeting Woodley against Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC Las Vegas on May 23.

Adam Martin - May 7, 2020

UFC president Dana White believes that Dominick Cruz beating Henry Cejudo would be the biggest upset since Matt Serra knocked out Georges St-Pierre. Back at UFC 69 in 2007, Serra finished GSP via first-round TKO in what is generally considered by many the biggest upset in MMA history. We’ve seen some other big upsets over the years, such as when Holly Holm knocked out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, but the Serra vs. GSP fight still ranks as the biggest upset by many people including White himself.

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

According to UFC President Dana White, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will not receive any form of punishment from the UFC after being arrested in Albuquerque, New Mexico earlier this year. Jon Jones was arrested in late March and charged with aggravated DWI, negligent use of a firearm, and possession of an open container. Despite the fact this was not his first run-in with the law, the light heavyweight champion was able to avoid jail time.

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

UFC 249 headliner Tony Ferguson says he doesn’t care if his long anticipated fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gets rescheduled. Tony Ferguson was originally expected to battle Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 18, but this fight fell through when Nurmagomedov got stranded in Russia due to travel restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic. This marked the preposterous fifth time a matchup between the two has fallen through.

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

Tony Ferguson is days out from an interim lightweight title fight with Justin Gaethje. Given the task at hand, he doesn’t have a lot of energy for talk about Conor McGregor. Ferguson was asked about McGregor on ESPN’s First Take on Thursday morning, and he labeled the Irishman fake — as fake as chicken nuggets.

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

Like all fighters on Saturday’s UFC 249 card, Francis Ngannou had to endure a COVID-19 nasal swab test. He did not enjoy the experience. Ngannou, who is one of the top contenders in the UFC heavyweight division, underwent his first COVID-19 swab test earlier this week. The experience, which involves ramming a cotton swab so far up the nasal passage that it looks like it probably tickles the brain, did not go over well with him.

Harry Kettle - May 7, 2020

UFC veteran Donald Cerrone has revealed that he has spoken to a sports psychiatrist regarding his occasional inconsistency in the Octagon. It’s safe to say that many fans were disappointed to see “Cowboy” fall to Conor McGregor in the manner that he did back in January, with the general consensus being that he simply didn’t show up on the night. Cerrone even acknowledged that his head wasn’t in the right place himself. 

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

Mike Tyson is staging a comeback, and he’s already got plenty of suitors. Count John Fury, the father of current heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, among them. Fury Sr. announced that he wants to fight the 53-year-old legend in a charity boxing match in a video captured by Manchester Fight Club. See it below:

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2020

UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has issued a response to the notion of coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite Darren Till — and Till’s not going to like it. While the idea of a fight between Adesanya and Till has been appealing since Till debuted in the middleweight division with a big win over Kelvin Gastelum in November, the buzz surrounding this potential matchup spiked yesterday, when Till suggested he could coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter against Adesanya. Generally speaking, TUF coaches wind up fighting each other at the conclusion of the season, so Till was effectively implying he could fight Adesanya in the near future.