MMA News

Adam Martin - January 16, 2020

A reporter was shot down by UFC president Dana White when he asked Conor McGregor about the sexual assault allegations he’s facing. Morgan Campbell of the New York Times got a chance to ask McGregor about the sexual assault allegations that the Times previously reported on. Here’s how the exchange went down (h/t prime fedor on Twitter).

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2020

On Saturday night in Las Vegas, in the main event of UFC 246, Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone will collide in what promises to be one of the biggest fights of the year. The judges and referee for this blockbuster McGregor vs. Cerrone fight have now been assigned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (h/t MMA Fighting).

Cole Shelton - January 16, 2020

In the main event of UFC 246, Conor McGregor makes his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon, where he will battle Donald Cerrone. Heading into the fight, the Irishman is a -325 favorite while “Cowboy” is a +250 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To some surprise, most are going with the underdog Cerrone to upset McGregor.

Mike Pendleton - January 16, 2020

Back in 2014 the UFC signed a six-year outfitting deal with Reebok to become the official apparel sponsor of the UFC, and that deal has not gone well in the eyes of many fans and fighters. When fighters could represent their own sponsors, they had more opportunities to make money, but since the Reebok deal was signed, fighters are not allowed to represent additional sponsors. Reebok also pays most fighters much less than they would be paid by their own, individual sponsors.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2020

Donald Cerrone has won a lot of fights during his time in the UFC. More than anyone, in fact. That being said, he’s come up short in a few big fights, which has led some fans to suggest he cracks under pressure. Speaking at a Wednesday press conference ahead of his UFC 246-headlining fight with Conor McGregor, Cerrone addressed these concerns.

Harry Kettle - January 16, 2020

LeBron James has said that he feels humbled after learning that Conor McGregor took inspiration from the NBA star. McGregor, who is set to face Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246 this weekend, has been opening up in a series of interviews over the course of the last few weeks in the lead-up to Saturday’s event.

Harry Kettle - January 16, 2020

Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone squared off in their first face-off last night at the end of the UFC 246 press conference. One of the most notable aspects of the evening was the way in which McGregor was able to conduct himself. The Irishman didn’t go after Cerrone on a personal level, he didn’t try and get physical, and he looked like a different man in comparison to some of his past appearances in press conferences such as these.

Adam Martin - January 15, 2020

RIZIN light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka recently became a free agent and has decided to take his talents to the UFC. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto confirmed with Prochazka’s manager and trainer Martin Karaivanov that the 27-year-old Czech Republic native nicknamed “Denisa” has signed an exclusive deal with the UFC. He obviously had to vacate the RIZIN light heavyweight title in order to sign with the UFC.

Mike Pendleton - January 15, 2020

As Conor McGregor prepares to return at UFC 246 and begin his 2020 “season”, he still has his eyes on winning the UFC lightweight title once again. While Donald Cerrone is his opponent at UFC 246, McGregor still has his sights set on getting redemption on his bitter rival and current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. During an interview with BT Sport, McGregor discussed his state of mind heading into their first fight at UFC 229, and then revealed that he was offered a rematch with Nurmagomedov before the champion reached a deal to face Tony Ferguson.

Harry Kettle - January 15, 2020

A number of amusing prop bets have been released ahead of the UFC 246 press conference tonight between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone. There has been an awful lot of build-up to tonight’s press conference, which is set to serve as the first time that the two main event stars will go head to head before their welterweight clash in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Mike Pendleton - January 15, 2020

Although there was a different vibe and tone to Conor McGregor at the UFC 246 press conference, he did deliver another classic one-liner ahead of his fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. When asked about how he will prepare for Cerrone and his gameplan at UFC 246, McGregor delivered a witty response where he believes he can read “Cowboy” like a children’s book.

Cole Shelton - January 15, 2020

Colby Covington is confident Donald Cerrone will beat Conor McGregor at UFC 246. Although McGregor is a near three to one favorite, Covington believes Cerrone will get it done for a number of reasons. For “Chaos,” he believes the Irishman isn’t as focused anymore with all the money he made.

Cole Shelton - January 15, 2020

Jon Jones is a fan of what Conor McGregor has done in the lead up to his fight. McGregor has been open about him drinking too much alcohol in the lead up to the Khabib Nurmagomedov. Well, in the lead up to UFC 246, he revealed to ESPN that he is no longer doing that as he hadn’t had alcohol in months.

Cole Shelton - January 15, 2020

Conor McGregor is the former UFC featherweight champion and is not ruling out a return to the division. McGregor, who is set to headline UFC 246 at welterweight against Donald Cerrone, has said he doesn’t want to cut the weight anymore. Yet, he won’t ever rule out a return to the featherweight or a rematch with Jose Aldo which many fans wanted to see after the 13-second knockout.

Mike Pendleton - January 15, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will not be making his return to the Octagon in March. According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Whittaker is out of his scheduled fight against Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 due to personal reasons. Helwani added that the UFC would like to keep Cannonier on the card but no opponent has been found to replace Whittaker as of now. There was no further information given as to why Whittaker is out of the fight.

Adam Martin - January 15, 2020

Donald Cerrone was asked what he thinks about Conor McGregor saying he will make $80 million this weekend at UFC 246, suggesting he be given some of it. McGregor said earlier this week that he is going to make $80 million for his comeback fight to the Octagon against Cerrone. He also said he made $50 million for his fight at UFC 229 against Khabib Nurmagomedov. The UFC has not confirmed those numbers, but as the sport’s biggest star, it’s not crazy to think McGregor is in line for a huge payday.

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2020

UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Chan Sung Jung—better known as the Korean Zombie—have been going back and forth over the last few weeks, and that trend doesn’t seem like it’s over yet. The pair’s exchange began when the Korean Zombie suggested he could finish Volkanovski quickly, just like he did Renato Moicano and Frankie Edgar in 2019.

Adam Martin - January 15, 2020

Top-ranked UFC middleweight contender Jack Hermansson is itching for his next fight, and now he’s taken to social media to call out Kelvin Gastelum. Hermansson has been connected to a matchup against Darren Till, but UFC president Dana White recently said in an interview that Till will likely be booked against another top contender instead. That leaves Hermansson without a dance partner, and so it makes sense that he’s calling out Gastelum, who is also looking for his next opponent.