MMA News

Thomas Taylor - October 7, 2019

Earlier this year, Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya collided with the UFC interim middleweight title on the line. After five, razor-close rounds, Adesanya was named the winner and adorned with a UFC belt. Over the weekend, Adesanya became the undisputed middleweight champion with a second-round stoppage of Robert Whittaker. Gastelum, on the other hand, is gearing up for a UFC 244 scrap with Darren Till.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

Edson Barboza’s manager Alex Davis says that rival Paul Felder has agreed to a trilogy fight after their controversial split decision outcome at UFC 242. Felder won a split decision with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 27-30 in his favor. The fact that opposing judges had the fights 30-27 in favor of each fighter was very concerning.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

Earlier this year, Combate Americas laid out plans to promote a fight between former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz and pro wrestler turned Combate Americas exec Alberto Del Rio. That fight now has an official date.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

Israel Adesanya did something not many UFC fighters have done at UFC 243 — and I’m not talking about beating Robert Whittaker, as impressive as that was. Instead, I’m referring to his walk to the cage which, in an absurdly rare twist, actually featured a degree of flavor and originality. For whatever reason, the fun-killers in UFC boardroom have historically shown a complete reluctance to let fighters make their walkouts even remotely interesting. Sure, there was the time Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes walked out to live performances from Sinead O’Connor and Aaron Lewis respectively. Former UFC fighters James Te Huna and Tom Lawlor have also had a few fun walkouts. But as a general rule, a UFC fighter’s walkout is little more than a trip from Point A to Point B set to some music that, in some cases, wasn’t even that fighter’s choice.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2019

UFC 243 has come and gone and with it, a new middleweight champion has been crowned. In the main event, the middleweight title was on the line as champion, Robert Whittaker was taking on the interim champion in Israel Adesanya. In the end, Israel Adesanya TKO’d Robert Whittaker in the second round to become the undisputed champion.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

New UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya heaped praise upon surging contender Jared Cannonier, saying he has been impressed by Cannonier’s quick rise up the middleweight rankings. “The Last Stylebender” was asked by reporters at the UFC 243 post-fight press conference what other middleweight contenders impress him, and Adesanya immediately singled out Cannonier as someone who expects to defend his belt against in the near future.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been officially removed from both the USADA testing pool and the UFC rankings. The moves are an indication that Velasquez is done with MMA, at least for the time being. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion recently made an appearance on WWE Smackdown, putting the pain on former Octagon rival Brock Lesnar.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

For a time, Jimi Manuwa and Daniel Cormier were heated rivals in the UFC light heavyweight division. Regrettably, the pair never got the chance to share the cage and likely never will, as Manuwa has since retired, and Cormier has hiked up to the heavyweight division. Much of Cormier’s time in the heavyweight division has been consumed by a rivalry with Stipe Miocic. The pair are tied 1-1 across two previous title fights, with Cormier winning the first encounter by first-round knockout, and Miocic winning the rematch, which occurred at UFC 241 in August, by fourth-round TKO.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

New UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes he will eventually see former champ Robert Whitaker in the Octagon again one day. Despite knocking Whittaker out in devastating fashion in the second round of their UFC 243 main event fight, Adesanya doesn’t believe it will be the last time he meets Whittaker in the cage. “The Last Stylebender” spoke to reporters at the UFC 243 post-fight press conference and said that he expects to eventually have a rematch with “The Reaper.”

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2019

Michelle Waterson is calling it the biggest fight of her career. In the main event of UFC Tampa, she is taking on former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and the winner could very well be getting the next title shot.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

Colby Covington has alienated many of his stablemates at American Top Team, and that includes former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk gave her thoughts on Covington during a recent interview with James Lynch of theScore.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 7, 2019

Recent ONE Warrior Series contract winner Lito Adiwang of the Philippines will make his highly-anticipated ONE Championship main roster debut this October 13th when he faces Pancrase Flyweight World Champion Senzo Ikeda in a three-rounder bout in the first part of ONE: CENTURY. The event streams live from the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, and features a slew of high-profile matchups.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 7, 2019

Danny “The King” Kingad will meet Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in the Finals of ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix in the biggest event in mixed martial arts history at ONE: Century on October 13 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Teammate and former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio is confident that Kingad is well prepared for the upcoming bout.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

Robert Whittaker is no longer the UFC middleweight champion, having come up short to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 over the weekend. Even in defeat, however, the Australian still has the respect and admiration of long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan. Rogan was not on commentary duty for UFC 243, and instead watched the card from the United States. Shortly after the card wrapped up, Rogan praised Whittaker for the way he handled his defeat to Adesanya and the loss of the UFC middleweight strap.

Chris Taylor - October 6, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was watching last night’s UFC 243 main event between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker with keen interest. After all, ‘Bones’ and ‘Stylebender’ had been going back and forth on social media and interviews for months in the lead up to tonight’s event.

Cole Shelton - October 6, 2019

The opening odds have been released for a potential middleweight title fight between champion Israel Adesanya and Paulo Costa. Adesanya called for a fight with Costa after he beat Robert Whittaker on Saturday to win the middleweight title.

Adam D Martin - October 6, 2019

UFC executive Lawrence Epstein took the place of UFC president Dana White at the UFC 243 post-fight press conference. He got the usual questions of who’s next for who, who won the bonuses, what the attendance was, and so on. But he also got an interesting question about fighter pay. At the UFC post-fight presser, The Athletic’s Ben Fowlkes asked Epstein about fighter pay and if he believes it’s fair the UFC only pays 20 percent of its revenue to the fighters. In comparison, most of the other top professional sports leagues are closer to a 50/50 split.

Adam D Martin - October 6, 2019

Top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Islam Makhachev has called out Dan Hooker after Hooker’s victory over Al Iaquinta in the co-main event of UFC 243. Makhachev took to Twitter to respond to “The Hangman” calling out Dustin Poirier. Here’s what Makhachev said.