MMA News

Adam Martin - March 4, 2020

UFC president Dana White threw some shade at Joanna Jedrzejczyk, saying she’s been at the beaching soaking up the sun while Weili Zhang has been training. Jedrzejczyk meets Zhang this weekend at UFC 248 in the co-main event of the evening with the UFC women’s strawweight title up for grabs. The two rivals do not like each other and have been looking for months to get into the cage and settle their differences. Jedrzejczyk threw more fire on the rivalry when she joked about the coronavirus, and Zhang is sure to want to avenge those comments for the Chinese people.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last weekend’s UFC Norfolk card, and there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, Deiveson Figueiredo has swiped the No. 1 spot at flyweight after stopping Joseph Benavidez in the main event. Had Figueiredo made weight for the fight, he could now call himself the UFC flyweight champ, but his scale fail made him ineligible to win the division’s vacant title.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020

Judging is a hot-button issue in MMA of late, and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has a suggestion that he believes could help mitigate the problem. MMA is scored using the 10 point must system. The winner of each round receives 10 points—unless there’s a point deduction—while the user receives 9 or less. That said, we really see a disparity greater than 10-9. 10-8 rounds are a real rarity. A 10-7 round is unheard of.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2020

UFC President Dana White believes the novel coronavirus outbreak that’s currently sweeping the globe is “a serious problem” and assures that the promotion has been working diligently to determine how best to conduct business under the strain of this health crisis. “Everybody is fighting with the coronavirus,” White said during a media scrum ahead of UFC 248. “This thing started as a Chinese problem and it’s turned into a global problem. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out through the rest of this year. This isn’t really a Chinese problem, it’s a global problem.

Adam Martin - March 4, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang admits she’s still irritated by Joanna Jedrzejczyk making fun of the coronavirus on social media. Jedrzejczyk made a joke about the coronavirus on her Instagram in January which ruffled the feathers of Zhang — not to mention those in the MMA community who felt like joking about the coronavirus was an error to do considering how many people around the world have died from the outbreak.

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

The UFC has cultivated some of the biggest sports stars in the world, including Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. UFC president Dana White recently explained why fighters so often become superstars.

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.

Christopher Taylor - March 3, 2020

Nate Diaz has taken aim at longtime rival Conor McGregor. The Stockton Native took to Twitter earlier this evening where he seemingly asked the Irish star what had happened to his proposed “season” in 2020.

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

UFC president Dana White has confirmed the promotion is looking at booking a flyweight title rematch between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez in the main event of UFC Norfolk, but because Figueiredo missed weight, he was not eligible to win the vacant UFC flyweight championship. The title remains officially vacated with no current champion.

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.