MMA News

Cole Shelton - April 10, 2020

Mike Winkeljohn believes Holly Holm is close to another crack at UFC gold. Holm fought for the bantamweight title back at UFC 239 where she suffered a first-round knockout loss to Amanda Nunes. Winkeljohn says the former champion made some crucial mistakes that costed her. “The Preacher’s Daughter” then rebounded with a decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 246.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2020

Joe Rogan has now shared his thoughts on the cancelation of the UFC 249. UFC 249 was scheduled for April 18. The card was originally expected to occur in Brooklyn, New York, but amid tightening restrictions enacted to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, it was moved to tribal land in California. As it turns out, not even this could save UFC 249. Amid growing pressure from ESPN, parent company Disney, and even some politicians, UFC President Dana White announced Thursday night that the card has been canceled.

Harry Kettle - April 10, 2020

According to a recent report from the New York Times, California governor Gavin Newsom served as the catalyst behind UFC 249 being shut down. Last night the confirmation came through that UFC 249, which was set to take place on April 18, will no longer be happening as a result of Disney and ESPN officials informing UFC president Dana White that they wanted him to stand down.

Harry Kettle - April 10, 2020

ESPN has issued a brief statement after it was confirmed that they played an important role in shutting down the controversial UFC 249 event. It was confirmed last night that UFC 249 will not be going ahead on April 18 as we previously thought. UFC president Dana White did just about everything in his power to get the job done, but in the end, the higher ups at Disney and ESPN put a stop to proceedings.

Cole Shelton - April 9, 2020

Tony Ferguson wasn’t too fazed about UFC 249 being canceled. Ferguson was expected to headline the card against Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title. It was a fascinating bout that was slated to go down on Tribal Land in California.

Adam Martin - April 9, 2020

Eric Albarracin, the coach for UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo, expressed his frustration that Cejudo kept training during the coronavirus pandemic. Cejudo was set to take on Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 250, which was set for May 9 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event had to be relocated to Tachi Palace due to the coronavirus pandemic and Cejudo was set to fight Dominick Cruz on short notice, but on Thursday the UFC announced it was postponing all upcoming events including UFC 250. That leaves Cejudo without a fight, and his coach Albarracin is frustrated.

Cole Shelton - April 9, 2020

Dana White believes ‘Fight Island’ will happen in a month to continue on with live events. Earlier on Thursday, White announced UFC 249 is canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All UFC events are indefinitely suspended as well. But, the UFC boss doesn’t expect to be out of business for long, as he says Fight Island will happen very soon and it will be a place for fighters to train as well.

Cole Shelton - April 9, 2020

One of the biggest questions in all of MMA is who is the GOAT? Is it someone who had the biggest impact on the sport or the person who won the most? It’s an interesting debate for fighters and fans alike to have at any time. So, with far less MMA on the calendar than normal, BJPENN.com reached out to several women’s fighters to ask who the bantamweight GOAT is. To no surprise, the majority believe it is Amanda Nunes but Ronda Rousey’s name still came up.

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.