MMA News

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2020

In the main event of UFC 248, Israel Adesanya is looking to defend his middleweight title for the first time when he battles Yoel Romero. Heading into the fight, the champion is a -275 favorite while the challenger is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their predictions for the scrap. There, the majority are leaning towards Adesanya but they know Romero only needs one punch to end it.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020

The UFC’s debut in Kazakhstan, scheduled for June 13, now has a main event — and it’s a good one. The card will reportedly be topped by a bantamweight contender bout between Russia’s Petr Yan and Brazil’s Marlon Moraes, which has been rumored for some time and has now been confirmed by MMA Junkie. Petr Yan will step into the cage in Kazakhstan, a country with a huge Russian population, on a fantastic nine-fight win-streak. His last six victories have occurred in the UFC’s Octagon, where he’s defeated the likes of John Dodson, Jimmie Rivera, and most recently, former bantamweight title challenger Urijah Faber, who he knocked out on the main card of UFC 245 in December. The Russian is 14-1 overall.

Harry Kettle - March 4, 2020

Dana White claims that former opponents of Yoel Romero have said hitting him was like “hitting a piece of concrete”. Romero is widely considered to be one of the most terrifying competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today, and potentially in all of mixed martial arts. At the age of 42 he still seems to possess an insane natural ability and speed that defies all forms of logic at this level.

Natasha Hooper - March 4, 2020

On Friday night, Kansas City will host a monumental night in MMA history, and Max Holloway wants to be a part of it. The former UFC featherweight champion will be in attendance for the Invicta FC show at the Memorial Hall in Kansas. It will be the first time in modern MMA that an open scoring system—or real-time scoring system—is used in major competition.

Harry Kettle - March 4, 2020

Urijah Faber and Dustin Ortiz are set to headline Copa Podio: California this Sunday at Vacaville High School in Vacaville, California. The pair will compete against one another in a submission grappling match that will serve as the main event, whereas UFC veterans Danny Castillo and Carlos Rocha will also be squaring off in a no-gi fight in Cali.

Christopher Taylor - March 3, 2020

Earlier today UFC President Dana White revealed his intention to book a rematch between flyweight standouts Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez. The pair collided in last weekend’s UFC Norfolk event headliner with the promotions vacant 125-pound title on the line, but only for Benavidez to capture. That was due to the fact that Figueiredo missed weight for the bout by 2.5lbs.

Natasha Hooper - March 3, 2020

Yoel Romero will return to the Octagon at this weekend’s UFC 248 event in hopes of dethroning current middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. The title fight has received much criticism, this due to the fact that Romero is coming off back-to-back losses to Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2020

Weili Zhang doesn’t know if Joanna Jedrzejczyk will make weight for their strawweight title fight. In the co-main event of UFC 248, Zhang is set for her first title defense when she battles Jedrzejczyk. The Pole is looking to reclaim the strawweight title she held from March of 2015 to November of 2017.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2020

Dan Hardy believes Justin Gaethje can pose a lot of problems for Conor McGregor in a potential fight. McGregor and Gaethje have traded shots at one another and a rumor recently circulated that a fight between the two could take place this summer. And, if it does, Hardy believes Gaethje can look at the Chad Mendes fight to see where he can have success.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2020

Henry Cejudo believes he made history on Saturday as he became the first person to defend their title while sitting on the couch. In the main event of UFC Norfolk, Deiveson Figueiredo was taking on Joseph Benavidez for the flyweight title that Cejudo vacated. Yet, the Brazilian missed weight and ended up winning the scrap leaving the belt to still be vacant. So, Cejudo counts that as a title defense for himself.

Natasha Hooper - March 3, 2020

Leon Edwards has his own opinions on Conor McGregor’s future in MMA. The number four ranked welterweight praised the Irishman for his performance against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, but he doesn’t see McGregor grabbing the welterweight title any time soon.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2020

A featherweight bout between Ryan Hall and Ricardo Lamas has been added to the upcoming UFC Fight Night 174 card in Oklahoma City. The card takes place May 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The main event of the card is a five-round middleweight bout between Chris Weidman and Jack Hermansson. Hall vs. Lamas will likely slot in as one of the main card bouts.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2020

UFC flyweight contender Jussier Formiga blasted Deiveson Figueiredo for missing weight at UFC Norfolk and leaving the 125lbs division without a champion. Figueiredo came in at 127.5lbs for his vacant flyweight title fight against Joseph Benavidez, making him ineligible to win the belt. Despite scoring a vicious KO victory in the second round, because Figueiredo missed weight he wasn’t awarded the belt despite his outstanding performance. Ultimately, missing weight cost Figueiredo the title, and other flyweight contenders like Formiga weren’t happy about it.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2020

Beneil Dariush is full of confidence again and expects to continue his winning streak when he battles Drakkar Klose on the main card of UFC 248. For Dariush, he says this is the biggest card he has been on. And, to be the fight right before the two title fights should give him a boost in viewership. Although the added fans will be nice, he is just looking to get his hand raised.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang explained her path to victory for defeating rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk this weekend at UFC 248. Zhang takes on Jedrzejczyk in a high-stakes battle between bitter rivals in the co-main event of this weekend’s card. The Chinese champion has been unbeatable since joining the UFC, and she believes she will extend that mark when she takes on her Polish rival this weekend.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero, who is 42 years old and turning 43 in April, says he plans on fighting into his 50s. Romero, who takes on Israel Adesanya this Saturday for the UFC middleweight championship, is one of the oldest fighters on the UFC roster, but still one of the most dangerous by far. He is in incredible physical and mental shape and is one of the top-five fighters in the world right now at 185lbs despite being the elder of the division.

Harry Kettle - March 3, 2020

Rafael dos Anjos has confirmed that he is interested in a potential rematch with Anthony Pettis following their fight back at UFC 185. Dos Anjos is coming off the back of consecutive losses at the hands of Leon Edwards and Michael Chiesa, with his last win being a submission triumph over Kevin Lee back at UFC Rochester in May 2019. Pettis, on the other hand, has also lost two in a row against Nate Diaz and Carlos Diego Ferreira.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2020

Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas says she was offered a title shot opposite reigning champ Weili Zhang, but decided to turn down the opportunity. Namajunas opened up on this would-be title fight, and explained why she turned it down, on a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast. She says she simply wasn’t sure that she wanted to continue fighting at the time — which is a pretty good reason not to fight the division’s top fighter.