MMA News

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

The Octagon returns to Minnesota this Saturday for UFC Minneapolis. In the main event of the card, Francis Ngannou is taking on Junior dos Santos in a pivotal heavyweight clash. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. In this case, a few believe Ngannou will be able to knock out dos Santos, while the rest think the Brazilian will use his wrestling and experience to win this fight.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

This weekend, in the main event of UFC Minneapolis, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will step into the cage with fearsome puncher Francis Ngannou in a perceived number one contender fight. While dos Santos is determined to reclaim the heavyweight title, he says he does not intend to wait around if a title shot doesn’t materialize promptly after if he beats Ngannou.

Christopher Taylor - June 26, 2019

UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will return to the octagon against dangerous knockout artist Thiago Santos at next month’s UFC 239 event. While ‘Bones’ is clearly focused on his upcoming fight with the Brazilian, it hasn’t stopped questions surrounding future fights with bitter rival Daniel Cormier and rising star Israel Adesanya from being asked. Jones, who has taken shots at both ‘DC‘ and ‘Stylebender’ in recent weeks, took the opportunity to add salt to the wound during a recent interview.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2019

Brendan Loughnane says he is ready to cash in after failing to get a UFC roster spot through Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Loughnane picked up a unanimous decision victory over Bill Algeo on DWCS on June 18. The 17-3 fighter did not receive a UFC contract and controversy ensued. Dana White said that Loughnane’s takedown attempt in the final 10 seconds of the fight cost him a roster spot:

Matheus Costa - June 26, 2019

Alexander Gustafsson surprised the entire MMA community, including rival Jon Jones, after announcing his retirement from fighting following his loss to Anthony Smith at UFC Stockholm. The former 3-time UFC title challenger, Gustafsson, cemented a legacy inside the octagon despite never winning a championship on the biggest stage of them all. And his biggest rival ever, the reigning 205lbs champion Jon Jones, reacted for the first time about ‘The Mauler’s’ retirement in a recent interview with “ESPN“.

Jason Kindschy - June 26, 2019

Colby Covington returns following the announcement that he will face former teammate Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC FN 156 in Newark, New Jersey on August 3rd. “Chaos” explains why he agreed to take this bout after several failed campaigns to fight Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title. Widely considered the right No. 1 contender, this scrap came as a surprise to many, but Covington is very happy with the caliber of opponent. We’ll hear Colby’s thoughts on the stylistically matchup against Lawler, why he believes a win over Robbie is essential to further cementing his legacy, and how he plans to defeat his former ATT stablemate.

Jordy McElroy - June 26, 2019

The spontaneity of the explosive rivalry between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz sprung to life over three years ago and created pay-per-view gold. There’s still a trilogy left to be mined out of the bowels of the UFC’s matchmaking grotto, but the attempt to do so now could result in a watered-down version of the original blockbuster—a quick cash-grab pairing of two marquee names. If there is no organic route to a rubber match, then perhaps it’s time McGregor and Diaz go their separate ways.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2019

Ben Askren has given his take on Artem Lobov’s victory over Paulie Malignaggi. Lobov vs. Malignaggi served as the main event of BKFC 6 inside the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall in Tampa on June 22. Malignaggi was the slight favorite going into the bout, but he dropped a unanimous decision after five rounds of bare-knuckle boxing action. Many were surprised that Lobov scored the win given Malignaggi’s boxing experience.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2019

UFC lightweight Desmond Green is in custody in the Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on bonds amounting to $194,000, per a report from the South Florida SunSentinel. Green is reportedly facing 20 charges, including a DUI charge, stemming from an August, 2018 car accident that killed two women: Emelina Morfa, 67, and Emma Suarez Hernandez, 76. The crash also left Green and one other person with injuries. The SunSentinal’s report details this Desmond Green incident as follows:

Cole Shelton - June 26, 2019

After Alex Volkanovski beat Jose Aldo at UFC 237, he along with many others expected he would the next title shot. Yet, that was not the case. Instead, the Aussie was passed over as Frankie Edgar will next face Max Holloway at UFC 240 for the featherweight title. Obviously, this was disappointing news for the 30-year-old, but he says he will make the trip to Edmonton, Alberta to be on hand for the fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2019

UFC color commentator and analyst Dan Hardy doesn’t believe anyone in the UFC can beat Jon Jones by being technical. Throughout his career, Jones has outclassed high-level mixed martial artists. From former champions to legends in the sport, “Bones” has made many renowned fighters look average. He’ll look to continue that trend when he puts his light heavyweight gold on the line against Thiago Santos at UFC 239 on July 6.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2019

At UFC 240, scheduled for July 27 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will attempt to defend his title against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. The card will also feature an interesting featherweight fight between former champion Cris Cyborg and rising Canadian contender Felicia Spencer. On Tuesday afternoon, the promotion dropped the official poster for the UFC 240 card, featuring the scarred mugs of all four aforementioned fighters, shrouded in some kind of green mist.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2019

Amanda Nunes expects Holly Holm to be at her best, but she feels prepared for her next challenger. Nunes is a UFC “champ-champ.” She holds the UFC women’s bantamweight and women’s featherweight gold. She’ll put her 135-pound title on the line against Holm in the co-main event of UFC 239 on July 6. It’ll be Nunes’ fourth bantamweight title defense.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, widely regarded as the best fighter of all time, is seemingly a shoe-in for the Modern Era of the UFC Hall of Fame. That being said, Jones also believes he could earn a spot in the Fight Wing of the Hall of Fame, thanks to his 2013 epic with Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson Jones believes this back-and-forth war, which culminated with a hotly debated decision, was absolutely Hall of Fame worthy — even if it’s precisely the kind of fight he strives to avoid.

Cole Shelton - June 26, 2019

Alonzo Menifield did not want to be on the UFC Minneapolis card on Saturday. He was hoping to fight sooner. The light heavyweight last fought back in January, when he knocked out Vinicius Moreira at UFC Brooklyn. Since then, he has been wanting to fight, but this was the first offer that came. Now, the 31-year-old is looking to go 2-0 in the UFC and he believes he knows exactly how it will happen.

Mike Heck - June 26, 2019

When you look at the UFC Minneapolis headliner between Francis Ngannou and Junior dos Santos on paper, most would agree that the meat and potatoes of the bout will take place on the feet. However, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu credentials of dos Santos have been called into question by his opponent this weekend. While speaking to the media in a scrum earlier this month, Ngannou had some things to say about the validity of dos Santos’ black belt in BJJ.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2019

The recently announced UFC Newark card, which will broadcast on ESPN on August 3, is looking like a good one. As we now know, the card will be headlined by a welterweight showdown between former champion Robbie Lawler and former interim champion Colby Covington.

Tom Taylor - June 26, 2019

The upcoming UFC Vancouver card, scheduled for September 14 in the British Columbia city, has gotten a handful of new bouts (h/t MMA Fighting). The biggest of these bouts will occur in the light heavyweight division, where former title challenger Glover Teixeira will take on dangerous Ukrainian finisher Nikita Krylov. Teixeira will look to extend his win-streak to three-straight after back-to-back submissions of Karl Roberson and Ion Cutelaba, while Krylov will look to build on the momentum of a recent submission defeat of Ovince Saint Preux.