MMA News

Harry Kettle - December 20, 2019

The UFC has announced multiple fights that will be taking place in the first few months of 2020. Next year is set to be a big one for the promotion and with 2019 coming to an end, it really does seem like this could be one of those years that will be up there with 2016 in terms of success. Nobody can know that for sure, of course, but the UFC does appear to be building some momentum across many of their top divisions – both men’s and women’s.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2019

On Saturday, the UFC will touch down in the Korean coastal city of Busan with the aptly titled UFC Busan card. The card will be topped by a featherweight fight between local hero “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. The Korean Zombie was originally expected to battle Brian Ortega on the card, but when Ortega sustained an injury in training, Edgar stepped into replace him.

Tom Taylor - December 20, 2019

Robert Whittaker is headed back to the cage. The former UFC middleweight champion will return to action opposite Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, which goes down on March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Natasha Hooper - December 20, 2019

Alistair Overeem’s gruesome lip injury is a thing of the past, as images have surfaced of the heavyweight’s miraculously healed mouth. Overeem suffered the ghastly battle wound at the hands of Jairzinho Rozenstruik in their UFC on ESPN 7 bout. Overeem was leading the fight, but that all changed in the final seconds of round five. Rozenstruik uncorked a fight-finishing punch that obliterated his opponent’s lips and sealed him the TKO victory.

Harry Kettle - December 20, 2019

Henry Cejudo has taken the time to react to the news that he has been stripped of the UFC Flyweight Championship. Cejudo, who hasn’t fought at flyweight since the start of the year when he successfully retained the belt against TJ Dillashaw, is no longer the champ after it was reported that Joseph Benavidez will fight Deiveson Figueiredo to determine the new champion on February 29 at UFC Norfolk.

Mike Pendleton - December 19, 2019

UFC ‘BMF’ champion and top welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal has plenty of options for his next opponent when the time comes, but his sights are set on a certain upcoming fight. While there had been rumors of a potential fight with Nick Diaz or current reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Masvidal mentioned on Thursday the possibility of a different opponent. During an interview on “The Ak & Barak Show” on Sirius XM, “Gamebred” was asked when he would be returning to the Octagon and his answer was that he’s in wait-and-see mode depending on the main event of UFC 246 between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone.

Adam Martin - December 19, 2019

The UFC has cut 11 more fighters from its roster, including popular Brazilian welterweight Sergio Moraes, in the latest attempt to trim its list of talent. The UFC last month cut 12 fighters from its roster, including highly-regarded welterweight Curtis Millender, and the purge continues today with the announcement that 11 more have been purged from the roster. MMAjunkie.com’s Nolan King confirmed the following cuts.

Cole Shelton - December 19, 2019

Derrick Lewis was not happy with a boxer in his gym and decided to let him have it. Lewis told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that this boxer was talking a bunch of smack to him saying boxers are better than MMA fighters.

Cole Shelton - December 19, 2019

Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo will finally share the Octagon in the main event of UFC Norfolk on Feb. 29, and a belt will be on the line. Sources close to the situation have informed BJPENN.com that the fight is targeted to headline the card and a contract to Figueiredo has been issued moments ago. It is not yet determined if this fight will be for the vacant or interim 125-pound strap.

Cole Shelton - December 19, 2019

Jorge Masvidal doubts that Colby Covington will fight again. In the main event of UFC 245, Covington took on Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in what was a back-and-forth fight. Yet, in the fifth round, “The Nigerian Nightmare” took over and dropped “Chaos” twice before finishing him with 50 seconds left.

Natasha Hooper - December 19, 2019

The UFC’s answer to 50 Cent strikes again. Tyron Woodley has called out Dillon Danis in a live-stream freestyle rap and the Bellator fighter has responded. The former welterweight champion has a variety of career accolades that extend outside of MMA. At the start of the year, the 170-pound fighter featured on a track by the Glacier Boyz called Blow. He also released his own song called Money and The Love in August 2019. The track has amassed nearly 100k views and recieved a mixed bag of reactions. Watch the full clip below.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Frankie Edgar initially planned to drop down to bantamweight to fight Cory Sandhagen at UFC Raleigh on January 25, but postponed this plan to take a short-notice featherweight fight with “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung this very weekend at UFC Busan. While The Korean Zombie is currently at the forefront of Edgar’s mind, he does still intend to drop down to the 135-pound bantamweight division. This news will come as a relief to many of his fans, who have long felt he’s too small for the featherweight division, and most certainly the lightweight division, where he previously held a UFC title.

Adam Martin - December 19, 2019

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming title fight at UFC 248 between UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang and rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The UFC recently announced that Zhang will take on Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248, which is set for March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is expected to serve as the co-main event of the card, with another title fight headlining the event.

Natasha Hooper - December 19, 2019

Ramsey Nijem has suffered the same fate as Nick Diaz, but with a significantly lighter penalty. In November, NSAC chief assistant Jeff Mullen announced to ESPN that Ramsey Nijem, Luis Rafael Laurentino and Glaico Franca tested positive for elevated banned substances.

Adam Martin - December 19, 2019

The opening betting odds have been revealed for a potential MMA bout between UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and boxing world champion Claressa Shields. Nunes defeated Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 last weekend to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Shields was in attendance at the event as a guest of UFC president Dana White but didn’t enter the cage to challenge Nunes as many assumed she would. Still, White and Nunes both admitted interest in a matchup against Shields.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Eddie Alvarez is now one year and two fights into his ONE Championship career. From the sounds of it, the former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion has enjoyed his time with the Singapore-based promotion. Alvarez discussed his time with ONE Championship, and how it differs from his time with the UFC, at Wednesday’s game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Colby Covington is arguably the most polarizing fighter in MMA today. While he’s certainly got his fair share of fans, he’s also got legions of haters, and those haters have been very vocal since he lost to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245. Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub, who now makes his living as an analyst and podcaster, believes Covington’s haters need to give it a rest. He feels that, because Covington’s persona is manufactured, fans should go a little easier on him.

Adam Martin - December 19, 2019

New UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is set to have surgery on his broken hand that will keep him on the shelf for the foreseeable future. Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC 245 to win the title and emerge as a new global star in MMA. But he suffered a broken hand during the fight and it will keep him on the sidelines and unable to defend his belt anytime soon.