MMA News

Natasha Hooper - April 9, 2020

Boxing legend Mike Tyson believes MMA fighters will never earn as much as boxers. The extensive history of boxing has provided a lucrative career path for veterans of the sport including Mike Tyson. The retired athlete earned a whopping $400 million in the ring and had a total net worth of $685 million (according to Forbes).

Chris Taylor - April 9, 2020

Earlier this afternoon Dana White broke the unfortunate news that the promotion has decided to cancel UFC 249 which was set for April 18. The pay-per-view event was originally slated to take place in Brooklyn and feature a lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Adam Martin - April 9, 2020

UFC president Dana White explained on Thursday why UFC 249 has been canceled and why all other events have been postponed until further notice. The UFC bossman made the disappointing announcement to ESPN on Thursday that UFC 249 — which just saw the full card announced — had to be canceled. He later explained in detail why the UFC was forced to do it.

Chris Taylor - April 9, 2020

More bad news for fight fans as UFC President Dana White has officially announced the cancellation of UFC 249 which was set to take place on April 18. UFC 249 was originally slated to take place in Brooklyn and feature a highly anticipated lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Adam Martin - April 9, 2020

A heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris has been rescheduled to take place at the UFC Fight Island event on May 16. Overeem and Harris were supposed to meet at UFC Washington, D.C. in December 2019 but Harris was forced to withdraw after the murder of his daughter Aniah Blanchard. Overeem ended up fighting Jairzinho Rozenstruik and was knocked out in the fifth round of the fight. The UFC re-booked Overeem to fight Harris at UFC Portland but the card was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2020

On Wednesday night, news surfaced that former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas has been forced out of her planned UFC 249 rematch with Jessica Andrade. Now we know why.

Adam Martin - April 9, 2020

UFC bantamweight contender Jose Aldo and 13 other Brazilian MMA fighters have been removed from upcoming UFC events in the United States. Aldo was set to fight Henry Cejudo in the main event of UFC 250 for the bantamweight championship, but Aldo was unable to obtain a visa to fight in the U.S. after the card was moved from Sao Paulo to Tachi Palace. Instead, the UFC is giving Dominick Cruz the title shot against Cejudo.

Natasha Hooper - April 9, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has claimed that Conor McGregor passed on the opportunity to fight at UFC 249 because he knows “Tony Ferguson would beat his ass.” After Nurmagomedov withdrew from his anticipated UFC 249 fight against Ferguson, his former opponent McGregor mocked him. The Irish star called him a “chicken” and claimed he “scurried out” of the bout against Ferguson at the first available opportunity.

Adam Martin - April 9, 2020

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate says she is OK with UFC president Dana White’s plans to keep the UFC running during the coronavirus pandemic — as long as he does so safely. Even with the pandemic ravaging the world, White announced this week that he plans on following through with the UFC’s upcoming events, with the first four taking place at Tachi Palace in California and then the next batch of events taking place on a mysterious private island. By contrast, ONE Championship — which employs Tate — has canceled its upcoming two cards, despite originally announcing they would take place behind closed doors.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2020

The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) has agreed to list the upcoming UFC 249 card as a sanctioned event. UFC 249, which is scheduled for April 18, was originally expected to go down in Brooklyn, New York, but has been moved to the Tachi Palace Casino on tribal land in California as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2020

UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik has some understandable concerns about calling the upcoming UFC 249 event. UFC 249 is scheduled for April 18. It was originally expected to go down in Brooklyn, New York, but has been moved to tribal land in California to skirt public health advisories and travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Natasha Hooper - April 9, 2020

Josh Thomson has slammed Dana White for endangering lives by proposing future UFC fights go down on a private island. A former UFC fighter and current Bellator analyst, Josh Thomson isn’t afraid to give his take on MMA controversies. That includes the hot topic of White’s proposed fight island.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2020

Joe Rogan is hesitant about serving as a commentator for UFC 249, and from the sounds of it, for any other UFC cards that occur during the coronavirus pandemic. Rogan previously stated that he wouldn’t be on commentary duty for UFC 249.

Harry Kettle - April 9, 2020

Dustin Poirier has said that he understands why he wasn’t the man chosen to replace Khabib Nurmagomedov in the UFC 249 main event. When Nurmagomedov’s removal from the UFC 249 card was confirmed, speculation began regarding who may be the man to replace him on the seemingly doomed card. Poirier was one of several fighters to offer to step in. It was eventually revealed to be Justin Gaethje, with many believing “The Highlight” had more than earned the right to fight for the title — even if it’s only the interim alternative.

Natasha Hooper - April 9, 2020

Daniel Cormier is ready to do whatever it takes to fight Stipe Miocic, even if that means fighting in an empty arena. The former heavyweight champion has fought Stipe Miocic twice. In 2018 at UFC 226, he delivered a showstopper knockout against his opponent in the first round to seal the victory. In their second meeting a year later, “DC” delivered another strong performance. However, the body shots he endured at the hands of Miocic eventually caught up with him and he lost by TKO in the fourth round.

Mike Pendleton - April 9, 2020

UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou is preparing for a possible title eliminator at UFC 249 on April 18 against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, but he has very high goals for his entire fighting career. In an exclusive interview with BJPENN.com’s Inside The Cage, Ngannou was asked about a potential crossover to boxing later in his career, and he said it’s something he’s very serious about because it was his first dream.

Christopher Taylor - April 9, 2020

Justin Gaethje will be stepping up on short notice to battle Tony Ferguson for the UFC interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18. Ferguson was originally slated to challenge undisputed lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at the event. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ‘The Eagle’ was grounded in Russia and unable to participate at the California-based event.

Christopher Taylor - April 8, 2020

Former UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo will no longer be challenging Henry Cejudo for the promotions bantamweight title at UFC 250. As reported by Combate, Aldo’s removal from the event stems from the Covid-19 pandemic which has forced the legend to remain in Brazil.