MMA News

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2020

Boxing promoter and former champion Oscar De La Hoya has praised former rival Dana White for his handling of the UFC during the pandemic. De La Hoya and White have been embroiled in a bitter feud for quite some time now, to the point where there was even talk that they could settle the score in the boxing ring. Alas, it appears as if the passing of time is starting to heal the wounds.

Adam Martin - May 3, 2020

Check out videos of the top five submissions from UFC 31 to UFC 40, featuring former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir in his UFC debut. 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 2001 to 2002, 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.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum is looking to return to the Octagon this summer and he likes a matchup against Jack Hermansson for his comeback. We last saw Gastelum fight at UFC 244 this past November when he dropped a split decision to Darren Till. It was Gastelum’s second straight loss following a unanimous decision defeat to Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 in one of the best fights of 2019. During training in January of this year, Gastelum suffered an injury to his LCL and he has been out rehabbing it ever since.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee announced that he had successful surgery on his ACL which he says he re-injured in the Charles Oliveira fight. Lee fought nearly two months ago at the last UFC event when he was tapped out by Oliveira in their headliner in Brasilia. Lee said after the fight that he was unsure when he would like to fight again after a disappointing performance following his insane head kick KO win over Gregor Gillespie back at UFC 244.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2020

Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima hopes his canceled vacant middleweight title fight against Gegard Mousasi is re-booked to take place in July. Lima was set to step up a weight class and take on one of the best in the world in Mousasi in the co-main event of Bellator 242. But Bellator decided to cancel that card, as well as the promotion’s other upcoming events, and the promotion is now looking to re-launch its shows starting in July. If that’s the case, then Lima wants on the card.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall moved into the Fortis MMA gym for his training camp preparing to fight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza at UFC 249. Hall was set to fight Souza at the original UFC 249 card on April 18 in Brooklyn and later at Tachi Palace, an event that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC 249 was eventually rescheduled for May 9 in Jacksonville and Hall vs. Souza is one of the featured preliminary bouts on ESPN. On paper, it’s one of the best fights on the card.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2020

Former UFC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen believes that Tyron Woodley is actually a “really hard fight” for Israel Adesanya. Woodley and Adesanya is a surprising rivalry that has seemingly come out of nowhere to take over the headlines of MMA websites in the last few weeks. The former UFC welterweight champion Woodley is interested in moving up to middleweight to take on Adesanya, who has had his own choice words to say about “The Chosen One.” This is a rivalry that no one saw coming considering both men are in different weight classes.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier says he has learned a lot during the longest layoff of his MMA career and admitted he won’t be fighting Nate Diaz. Poirier hasn’t stepped foot into the Octagon since getting submitted by UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 last September. “The Diamond” was set to fight Dan Hooker at UFC San Diego in two weeks from now, but that card was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Poirier has not had his fight with Hooker rescheduled and is currently in a holding pattern while awaiting his next opponent.

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Paulo Costa has some questions for Chael Sonnen following the former UFC middleweight title challengers recent praise of current division champion Israel Adesanya. Sonnen has boasted about Adesanya in recent weeks, even going as far as to suggest that ‘Stylebender’ would “whip” current UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones in a potential fight.

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champ Chris Weidman believes he could find similar success against Israel Adesanya as he did when fighting Anderson Silva. ‘The All American’ moved up to the promotions light heavyweight division for his last fight, but following a disappointing setback to Dominick Reyes, Weidman now plans or returning to the 185-pound division he once dominated.

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Henry Cejudo will be looking to earn his first bantamweight title defense when he takes on former division champion Dominick Cruz in the co-main event of UFC 249. ‘Triple C’ captured the promotions vacant 135-pound title at UFC 238 in June of 2019, scoring a third round TKO victory over Marlon Moraes.

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Boxing legend Mike Tyson received some high praise from Joe Rogan and Khabib Nurmagomedov after showcasing his hand speed and power in a recent video. Earlier this week, the now 54-year-old ‘Iron Mike’ took to social media where he released the following video that left many viewers in complete shock.

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Former heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou will return to the Octagon at UFC 249 for a pivotal clash with Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The bout will mark Ngannou’s first appearance since June of 2019, where he scored a first round TKO victory over former title holder Junior dos Santos in Minneapolis.

Chris Taylor - May 2, 2020

Michael Bisping is not buying Paulie Malignaggi’s claim that he could still knockout UFC star Conor McGregor if they were to have a boxing match. Earlier this week in a interview with ESPN Ringside, Malignaggi guaranteed that he would stop McGregor in a proposed boxing match.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2020

Tyron Woodley appears ready to return to the Octagon and will do so against Gilbert Burns. Woodley has been clamoring to get a fight since his UFC London scrap against Leon Edwards was canceled. He called out Colby Covington and asked for a rematch with Kamaru Usman, yet it appears he won’t get either. Instead, he says he’ll be fighting Gilbert Burns, who has called out the former welterweight champion countless times.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2020

Jorge Masvidal may not be fighting Kamaru Usman next time out. Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sports world, Masvidal was expected to battle Usman for the welterweight title at International Fight Week in July. Yet, nothing was ever made official and now, that may no longer be the fight.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2020

Johny Hendricks says he doesn’t think about the Georges St-Pierre fight anymore. Back at UFC 167, St-Pierre was looking to defend his welterweight title against Hendricks. It was a back-and-forth fight but when the final bell rang, most fans and media, including UFC president Dana White thought Hendricks had won. But, the judges’ gave GSP a hard-fought split decision victory.

Chris Taylor - May 1, 2020

Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are gearing up for a return to action next weekend with UFC 249 set to take place on May 9 in Florida. The promotion is hoping to make up for multiple postponed events by holding three fight cards in just eight days. In addition to UFC 249 on May 9, the organization is also planning to hold events in Jacksonville, Florida on May 13 and May 16.