MMA News

Cole Shelton - April 6, 2020

Greg Hardy and Yorgan De Castro will indeed fight, but it will now happen at UFC 249. Hardy and De Castro were expected to fight at UFC Columbus, yet that was one of the three promotional events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, sources tell BJPENN.com that Hardy and de Castro will be on this month’s new UFC 249 card at a location to be announced.

Natasha Hooper - April 6, 2020

Ben Askren has poked fun at Paige VanZant for giving her number out to fans on social media. The women’s top flyweight has been hitting headlines this week. She posted a series of partially covered nude photos with her husband and fellow MMA fighter, Austin Vanderford to social media. The 26-year old also gave her number out online to interact with fans. However, she revealed that she received unsolicited “d*ck pics,” that quickly ruined the fun.

Thomas Taylor - April 6, 2020

It’s official: Justin Gaethje has stepped in to fight Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249, replacing undisputed lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. As expected, this announcement generated a wide range of reactions from fighters, fans, and members of the media alike. See some of the early reactions to this Ferguson vs. Gaethje fight at UFC 249 below.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

It’s official. Justin Gaethje will fight Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18. Fighting a juggernaut like Ferguson on less than two weeks’ notice amid a pandemic when neither adequate training nor the fight itself can be guaranteed is certainly a risky move.

Mike Pendleton - April 6, 2020

Looking to improve both her personal and professional life, UFC flyweight Jessica Eye packed up and moved to Las Vegas in February of 2019. Shortly following that move she would find herself fighting for the UFC flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko. Although her bid for championship gold didn’t go as planned, Eye was just getting started with her new team at Xtreme Couture. In an interview with BJPENN.com, Eye discussed her move to Xtreme Couture and Las Vegas, after spending years with StrongStyle gym in Cleveland, Ohio, home of reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. With the decision to move to Xtreme Couture and Las Vegas, Eye feels she’s done what is best for her in personal life as well as her fighting career.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

Renowned MMA coach Ray Longo is hoping that UFC President Dana White will bite the bullet and cancel a few of the promotion’s upcoming shows amid the coronavirus pandemic. There are several arguments for the UFC canceling its upcoming events. One of the issues Longo sees is that, with almost all gyms closed, fighters are not able to make adequate preparations for their fights — if those fights even end up happening.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

As a decorated UFC and WEC veteran, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung has been around the block. During his time in the game, he’s even come across a few methods of cheating the scale at weigh-ins for fights. The Korean Zombie exposed those methods in a recent video posted to his YouTube channel in hopes that it will help level the playing field in the sport.

Adam Martin - April 6, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till believes MMA fighters are underpaid and suggests that the UFC and Reebok should increase fighter pay. Till recently did a Q&A session on his YouTube and spoke about the topic of fighter pay. Here’s what he said (via MMAFighting.com).

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

Anthony Smith believes his former opponent, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, will continue to find trouble outside the cage until he decides to make some real changes. Smith shared his take on Jones’ ongoing personal issues, which most recently manifested in the form of a DWI arrest, during a recent interview with MMA Fighting.

Cole Shelton - April 6, 2020

Mike Winkeljohn believes we may be seeing 20-plus fights on a UFC event to make up for the postponed events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the coronavirus shutting down the sports world, the UFC was forced to postpone three events and the status of the upcoming cards is unknown. But, Dana White has been adamant that all fighters will get three fights in.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

ONE Championship has been forced to postpone two April events due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These ONE Championship events were most recently scheduled to occur behind closed doors in Singapore, but were originally targeted for other territories in Asia. Unfortunately, the promotion has been forced to delay them outright, citing new restrictions from the Singaporean government, and increasing travel restrictions, which of course makes it difficult to move fighters around.

Adam Martin - April 6, 2020

Bellator welterweight Erick Silva and his family were infected with the coronavirus but they are all recovering well now and in quarantine. Combate reported that the 35-year-old Silva, his 23-year-old wife Isabela, his five-month-old son Carlos and his 10-year-old son Kalleu were all infected with the coronavirus. In addition, Silva’s 26-year-old sister-in-law Carol and her in-laws, 58-year-old Arilton and 52-year-old Jo, were also infected with the coronavirus. Thankfully, they discovered they had it relatively early and all are now in quarantine and expected to make full recovery.

Harry Kettle - April 6, 2020

Belarus has emerged as a potential plan B for the UFC when it comes to hosting future events for the promotion. The last few weeks haven’t been great for the UFC, with the promotion being forced to postpone or outright cancel a string of events as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2020

The UFC is reportedly very close to locking down a location for UFC 249. On Monday morning ESPN reported that the promotion is closing in on a potential location for the event. ESPN’s report didn’t reveal that location, but pointed to the West Coast of the United States, and specified that “tribal land” — which is outside the jurisdiction of state athletic commissions — is a likely possibility.

Natasha Hooper - April 6, 2020

Santiago Ponzinibbio is ready to step up to plate and fight Tyron Woodley last minute at UFC 249. The upcoming UFC 249 event on April 18 is clouded with uncertainty. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of his eagerly anticipated Tony Ferguson matchup in the main event. The final location and rest of the card are also not confirmed.

Harry Kettle - April 6, 2020

WWE WrestleMania 36 is in the books after two nights of intense action at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. For the first time ever, WWE split WrestleMania into two nights with nine scheduled bouts on each card. While the atmosphere wasn’t the same as a result of the events being behind closed doors, we still saw some big moments in what could prove to be one of the last shows WWE puts on for quite some time.

Chris Taylor - April 5, 2020

Dana White took to Twitter this afternoon where he confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov is out of UFC 249, this while adding that the full fight card will be announced tomorrow. UFC 249 was originally slated to take place on April 18 in Brooklyn, New York. The event was expected to be headlined by a highly anticipated lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.

Adam Martin - April 5, 2020

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw claims the promotion told him he will get a title shot when he returns from his USADA suspension next year. Dillashaw was a dominant champion at 135lbs before dropping down to 125lbs and getting knocked out by Henry Cejudo at UFC on ESPN+ 1. Dillashaw still held the bantamweight belt at that point before it came out he had failed his USADA drug test for performance-enhancing drugs and had his title vacated. He is currently suspended until January 2021.