MMA News

Mike Pendleton - December 10, 2019

Duke Roufus has a team full of superstar fighters including top lightweight contenders Paul Felder and Anthony Pettis at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and after the Christmas holiday, another top fighter will be visiting to get some work in: Donald Cerrone. Ahead of his welterweight fight against former UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, “Cowboy” will be making a trip up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to train with Duke Roufus and his team. Roufus announced this news while making an appearance on The Luke Thomas Show this past Friday.

Adam Martin - December 10, 2019

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is eager to step back into the Octagon and he’s hoping the UFC matchmakers pair him with Glover Teixeira next. Smith has not fought since June when he submitted Alexander Gustafsson in a big upset. He has been hoping to get back into the Octagon, but thus far has not been able to secure an opponent. A call out of Corey Anderson last month went nowhere after the UFC matched up Anderson against Jan Blachowicz at UFC Rio Rancho instead.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 10, 2019

Vitor Belfort is already a legend. Throughout his career, Belfort had broken barriers and reinvented himself. He’s gone from being a brawler who specialized in disposing of his opponents as quickly as possible to a more well-rounded athlete capable of submitting his foes as well as knocking them out.

Natasha Hooper - December 10, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father and coach Abdulmanap recently opened up on the preparation for Khabib’s upcoming bout against Tony Ferguson. The undefeated lightweight champion Nurmagomedov is expected to face off against No. 1 ranked lightweight contender Ferguson at UFC 249 in April 2020. This will be the fifth time the athletes have attempted to fight. Both fighters withdrew from their previous bouts for various reasons including health complications. Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap believes the prior cancellations only add to the importance of the fifth (and hopefully final) attempt at the matchup.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

In the main event of UFC 245, Kamaru Usman will look to defend his welterweight title for the first time when he battles his arch rival, Colby Covington. Heading into the fight, the champion is a -185 favorite while “Chaos” is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. This time around, the pros are split, as the majority believe it will be a close fight where it could go either way.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

Top UFC welterweight contenders Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington used to be friends — but no longer. Over the last few months, the pair have devolved into arch enemies. What better way to eulogize their ruined friendship than with a Friends-inspired tribute? See just that below:

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

Israel Adesanya seems to have packed on some size. The UFC middleweight champion flaunted his impressive physique in a recent Instagram post, attributing his apparent gains to all the “‘Murica food” he ate during his recent travels in the United States.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway and UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov were briefly scheduled to battle for the lightweight title in early 2018. Unfortunately, this super fight never materialized. That being said, Holloway still wants it, and is still optimistic it will happen.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2019

Geoff Neal is looking to be the first person to knockout Mike Perry at UFC 245. Although Neal is ranked and undefeated in the UFC, he is taking on an unranked Perry who is also coming off a loss. Yet, the Fortis MMA product doesn’t care as he knows “Platinum” is a big name.

Natasha Hooper - December 10, 2019

Sean O’Malley’s skills extend outside of the MMA sphere as the UFC bantamweight fighter placed 8th in a Fornite tournament and donated all his winnings to charity. The 25-year-old fighter is currently undefeated in MMA with a 10-0 record.

Harry Kettle - December 10, 2019

Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier have both taken the time to praise the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the financial aid the company has provided them in the past. The UFC has come under fire many times in the last few years for their perceived poor treatment of fighters in regards to how much they get paid as well as how they’re looked after. This has become a particularly notable topic of conversation since the release of Liz Carmouche, who looks set to be immediately snapped up by Bellator.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2019

Who is the greatest female MMA fighter of all time? In the eyes of former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, who is one of the most accomplished female fighters ever herself, that’s “an easy pick” to make. In Tate’s eyes, there’s no question that the GOAT of women’s MMA is reigning UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Cole Shelton - December 9, 2019

Diego Sanchez’s last fight saw him use one cornerman with little to no martial arts experience. Now, the UFC veteran is hoping to add a boxing legend to his corner. Sanchez will return to the Octagon on Feb. 15 at UFC Rio Rancho when he takes on Michel Pereira. If the 37-year-old has his way, former boxing heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson will be in his corner for that fight.

Adam Martin - December 9, 2019

The UFC surprisingly released Liz Carmouche last week, but it doesn’t appear she will be on the free-agent market looking for work for long. According to Steven Marrocco of MMAFighting.com, Bellator has already been in touch with Carmouche about signing with the promotion. At this point, Bellator is just waiting for the UFC to send out its official release papers.

Cole Shelton - December 9, 2019

Jorge Masvidal has become one of the biggest stars in the UFC in 2019. And, he makes it clear he is not waiting on anyone for a fight. Since “Gamebred” beat Nate Diaz at UFC 244, him and Nick Diaz have gone back-and-forth in interviews and many thought a fight between the two would happen. Yet, Jorge Masvidal makes it clear there has been no progression on the fight and is not waiting on the elder Diaz to return to the Octagon.

Natasha Hooper - December 9, 2019

Bellator fighter James Gallagher hopes Nick Diaz stays in retirement for good as he found his recent interview concerning. Diaz sat down for an interview with Ariel Helwani last month and hinted at a possible Octagon return against Jorge Masvidal (to avenge his younger brother’s recent loss.) As Nick Diaz is a figurehead of the sport that many younger fighters look up to, his demeanour was a cause for concern for the young Irishman. Gallagher said (transcript via Metro News):

Mike Heck - December 9, 2019

One of the fights fans were looking forward to seeing most on Saturday night at UFC on ESPN 7 was a bantamweight fight between Cody Stamann and Song Yadong. While the fight featured a solid game plan from Stamann against a 2-1 favored opponent in the dangerous Yadong, it was mired in controversy following the reading of the judges score cards. Stamann, along with many members of the MMA community, believed he had done enough to get the nod against Yadong. However, one judge scored it for Stamann, while the others scored it an even 28-28 to lead to a majority draw — the first of two draws on the night.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2019

Top UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington is an outspoken Donald Trump supporter, and even met the United States President after a 2018 interim title win over Rafael dos Anjos. As Covington makes his final preparations for his UFC 245-headlining welterweight title fight with undisputed champion Kamaru Usman, which goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas, he’s decided to promise Trump another UFC title win.