MMA News

Tom Taylor - November 12, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of Saturday’s UFC Moscow card, and as expected there have been a few key changes — though only a few divisions were affected. Most notably, main event winner Zabit Magomedsharipov took a significant climb at featherweight on the strength of his decision win over Calvin Kattar in the main event. Check out the newest UFC rankings, featuring Magomedsharipov and other UFC Moscow winners like Alexander Volkov, below (via MMA Mania):

Tom Taylor - November 12, 2019

Moments after Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz at UFC 244, he had the UFC’s first and only “BMF” belt wrapped around his waist by pro wrestling legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. As it turns out, the title isn’t all he received from The Rock on that fateful night in New York City.

Tom Taylor - November 12, 2019

Rose Namajunas has lost and rediscovered her passion for fighting. The former UFC strawweight champion detailed her complicated relationship with combat on Monday’s edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.

Adam Martin - November 12, 2019

Heavyweight boxing star Tyson Fury’s father John has challenged UFC president Dana White to a fight after negative comments White said about Fury’s MMA future. White recently told TMZ that he wasn’t sure why Fury would want to compete in the UFC because he believes he would get “smashed” by the promotion’s top heavyweights. Fury has responded to White’s comments by starting to train mixed martial arts alongside UFC middleweight star Darren Till. Now fighters like Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou are interested in potentially fighting Fury in the Octagon due to the allure of big money.

Adam Martin - November 12, 2019

The opening betting odds have been released for a potential MMA fight between former WWE superstar CM Punk and YouTuber Logan Paul. The online sportsbook Bovada released the opening odds for CM Punk vs. Paul. Check them out below, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.

Harry Kettle - November 12, 2019

MMA veteran and fan favorite Gilbert Melendez has issued a statement following his release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Melendez, 37, was reportedly let go from the UFC last night in the midst of a five-fight losing streak, with his last victory coming in an absolute classic against Diego Sanchez back at UFC 166 in October 2013. “El Niño” has slowly but surely been transitioning over into the punditry world, working for ESPN on a number of big UFC events.

Natasha Hooper - November 12, 2019

Former UFC champion Randy Couture is one of the many celebrities that uses the online service Cameo, which allows fans to buy personalized shoutouts from their favorite stars. One of Couture’s most recent recipients is none another than UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy. In his Cameo clip to Hardy, Couture wished the former NFL player “good luck” ahead of his short-notice UFC Moscow fight with Alexander Volkov.

Cole Shelton - November 12, 2019

Zabit Magomedsharipov was looking to remain undefeated inside the Octagon in the main event of UFC Moscow. There, he was taking on Calvin Kattar, who was coming off of a very impressive knockout win over Ricardo Lamas in June. The winner could very well get the next title shot, so the stakes were high. In the end, it was Magomedsharipov who got the decision win. It was a close fight, with Kattar coming on strong in the third and final round. Yet, it wasn’t enough to beat the Russian.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 12, 2019

Joshua Pacio is establishing himself as one of the elite champions in ONE Championship with every performance. The 23-year-old successfully defended his ONE Strawweight World Championship at ONE: Masters of Fate in front of his hometown crowd of Manila, Philippines. Pacio scored an impressive second-round submission victory over Rene Catalan.  The win was Pacio’s first defense since regaining his title from Yosuke Saruta in April. He’d been upset by Saruta back in January. In all, it was a pretty strong 2019 for Pacio as he has re-established himself as the king of his division. 

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2019

Artem Lobov and Khabib Nurmagomedov have history, and it appears their feud is far from over. At UFC 223, Nurmagomedov and his team went up to Lobov. There, he slapped the SBG Ireland product in the face. It immediately caught the attention of Conor McGregor who is Lobov’s teammate. The Irishman then went to Brooklyn and threw a dolly at the fighter bus containing ‘The Eagle’.

Christopher Taylor - November 11, 2019

Nate Diaz has responded to a fight fan who allegedly lost his rent money betting on the Stockton native in the UFC 244 main event. Diaz was defeated by Jorge Masvidal by way of third round TKO, this after the cage side physician called a stop to the scrap due to lacerations on the eye of the ‘Stockton Slugger’.

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2019

Gilbert Burns has his eyes set on Anthony Pettis for his next fight. Burns, who is on a four-fight winning streak, has taken back-to-back short notice fights at welterweight. There, he handed Alexey Kunchenko his first loss as a pro and followed that up with a decision win over Gunnar Nelson to enter the top-15 of the division.

Thomas Taylor - November 11, 2019

During a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Nick Diaz seemingly opened the door to a future fight with Jorge Masvidal. While he also claimed he has no interest in fighting again, he added that he took issue with some of Masvidal’s recent comments to his brother Nate, and hinted that he’d be willing to fight Masvidal inside AT&T Stadium for the right price. “All I see is f*cking dollar signs right now,” Diaz said of Masvidal (via MMA News). “It’s not on me. You wanna talk about baptizing my younger brother, that’s on you. I never had nothing disrespectful to say, but you don’t talk about baptizing my younger brother. So you’re already in a f*cked up position if you fight with me. You don’t f*cking talk about baptizing someone’s younger brother. That’s my baby brother, you don’t talk like that to nobody. So who rides on who’s side?

Thomas Taylor - November 11, 2019

Nick Diaz claims he has no interest in fighting again. He made that feeling quite clear during a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. That being said, he does seem to have a bone to pick with Jorge Masvidal, who recently defeated his younger brother Nate, and implied that he’d be willing to battle the Cuban-American at AT&T Stadium if the price is right. In particular, the elder Diaz bro took issue with Masvidal claiming he would “baptize” Nate.

Adam Martin - November 11, 2019

Former UFC title contender and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez has been released by the UFC after a string of losses. FightBookMMA reported the unfortunate news that Melendez did not survive the UFC’s latest wave of cuts. The promotion last week released 12 fighters from its roster, and now Melendez can be added to that list.

Tom Taylor - November 11, 2019

Much to the elation of fight fans, Nate Diaz has fought twice this year, and from the sounds of it, will do so again in the future. His brother Nick Diaz, however, does not seem to have much interest in fighting again. The elder Diaz brother was asked about a potential comeback in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani. He claimed he has no interest in fighting again, but added that it’s not really up to him.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 11, 2019

Chael Sonnen wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou. Fury, who is recognized as the lineal boxing heavyweight champion, made some waves when he claimed he was speaking with Conor McGregor on potentially training for his MMA debut. Footage later surfaced of “The Gypsy King” training with UFC middleweight Darren Till. Fury and Ngannou have expressed interest in fighting one another. “The Predator” has said Mike Tyson has agreed to train him for a boxing match with Fury.

Tom Taylor - November 11, 2019

Conor McGregor is planning to fight again on January 18, and with the opponent for his comeback still not confirmed, many fighters are doing what they can to earn this lucrative opportunity. Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos is one of the latest to do so. Dos Anjos made his call for a fight with McGregor on Instagram, imploring UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Sean Shelby to give the Irishman a “real contender” in his return to the Octagon.