MMA News
UFC Rochester | Pro fighters make their picks for Kevin Lee vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Cole Shelton - May 16, 2019
In the main event of UFC Rochester, Kevin Lee is moving up in weight to make his welterweight debut against former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight.
Rafael dos Anjos lists other opponents discussed before Kevin Lee — including Nick Diaz
Tom Taylor - May 16, 2019
This weekend, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos will look to correct his recent losing streak against a fellow former lightweight in Kevin Lee. The pair will collide in the welterweight main event of UFC Rochester. Before Rafael dos Anjos was offered this fight with Kevin Lee, there were several other opinions on the menu for him, including Santiago Ponzinibbio, Jorge Masvidal, and most surprisingly, the long absent Nate Diaz.
Champions carry a heavy burden and Rose Namajunas was no different
Jordy McElroy - May 15, 2019
We’ve seen fighters cry, run out of the cage unexpectedly and even demand an immediate rematch after losing the UFC title. Not Rose Namajunas.
ATT owner believes if Khabib Nurmagomedov gets tired against Dustin Poirier he 'is in for a world of sh*t'
Cole Shelton - May 15, 2019
Dustin Poirier has had a crazy road to get to a title shot. The 30-year-old had fought the very best of both the featherweight and lightweight divisions before getting an interim lightweight title shot against Max Holloway at UFC 236. Poirier would go on to defeat Holloway for the second time in his career that night in Atlanta. To see ‘The Diamond’ finally capture UFC gold was a surreal feeling for American Top Team owner, Dan Lambert.
Anthony Johnson pleads not guilty in domestic violence case
Drake Riggs - May 15, 2019
Last week it was reported that two-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger, the man known as ‘Rumble,’ Anthony Johnson had been arrested for domestic violence. MMA Junkie has now confirmed that on Monday, Johnson pleaded not guilty in Florida for his single count of misdemeanor domestic battery where his ex-girlfriend informed authorities that a ‘football hold’ was used by Johnson to pick her up and lead to her being relocated into another room during an argument that they had. The 35-year old retired MMA star did admit to doing this but denied that he was trying to inflict any harm. Police couldn’t find any visible injuries on the woman.
Michael Bisping on Jessica Andrade slam KO: 'It was kind of a fluke'
Tom Taylor - May 15, 2019
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping means no disrespect to new UFC strawweight champ Jessica Andrade, but feels the Brazilian’s slam knockout of Rose Namajunas was a bit of a fluke. Michael Bisping dished on the topic on a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, pointing to the fact that Andrade has landed this maneuver many times with less definitive results, and sharing his confidence in Namajunas should the pair rematch.
John Kavanagh ready to 'get the old gang back together' for Conor McGregor fight
Tom Taylor - May 15, 2019
Conor McGregor doesn’t currently have a fight booked, but if the former two-division UFC champ decides to return to the Octagon, his long-time coach John Kavanagh will coach and corner him. The other long-term members of McGregor’s inner circle will also apparently be there to pitch in. “I don’t think [me cornering Conor] is in doubt,” Kavanagh told the Irish Mirror of a McGregor comeback. “I’m sure I’ll be there, we talk almost daily.
Johnny Walker confident he can beat Jon Jones 'now'
Adam Martin - May 15, 2019
Johnny Walker, one of the top young light heavyweights in the game, is eager to get a shot at the belt. Speaking to reporters at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro, the streaking UFC light heavyweight contender said he wants to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones as soon as possible.
UFC generates over $600 million of revenue in 2018
Natasha Hooper - May 15, 2019
The UFC (UFC Holdings, LLC) has fulfilled a previous financial prophecy by generating over $600 million in revenue last year. Lorenzo Fertitta predicted in 2015 that the company would be making a record high $600 million. This revenue was verified by credit ratings issued last month (including prior Zuffa 2016 acquisition by Endeavor, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Silver Lake Partners.) As reported by Bloody Elbow, the Moody’s Investor Services and Global Rating Report anticipate the UFC will increase their 1st lien term loan by $435 million, increasing it from $1.442 billion to $1.877 billion. This is to repay an existing 2nd lien term loan and any extra transactional expenses.
Dana White believes Megan Anderson could 'be something' in the UFC
Tom Taylor - May 15, 2019
Dana White has always had a pretty good eye for future stars. From the sounds of it, that’s what he sees when he looks at former Invicta champ and current UFC featherweight contender Megan Anderson. White praised Anderson, who returns to the Octagon at UFC Rochester this weekend, in a recent interview with NYUP.com.
UFC Rochester | Kevin Lee expecting 'bloodbath' against Rafael dos Anjos
Cole Shelton - May 15, 2019
Kevin Lee is set to make his welterweight debut this Saturday against former UFC lightweight champion and current third-ranked welterweight Rafael dos Anjos. For Lee, to get the chance to fight a top-three opponent in his welterweight debut is exciting. He also likes the fact that dos Anjos is a former lightweight too.
Manager gives update on former champ Fabricio Werdum
Tom Taylor - May 15, 2019
Last year, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum tested positive for the anabolic steroid Trenbolone and was suspended two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). “Werdum, 41, tested positive for trenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone following an out-of-competition urine test conducted on April 25, 2018,” a USADA statement issued at the time explained. “Trenbolone is a non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and prohibited at all times under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.
Manager says Justin Gaethje would 'slaughter' Conor McGregor
Tom Taylor - May 15, 2019
With Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, Donald Cerrone, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz and Max Holloway all currently booked, there aren’t a lot of viable opponents left for former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. One option that is still available, however, is former World Series of Fighting lightweight king Justin Gaethje. While a the idea of a McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje fight is likely to excite many fans, Gaethje’s manager Ali Abdelaziz does not believe the fight would be competitive. He believes his client would dominate the Irishman, and used all kinds of creative metaphors to describe the color of McGregor’s flesh after a potential meeting with Gaethje.
Pedro Munhoz plans to make 'b*tch' Aljamain Sterling pay for PED comments
Drake Riggs - May 14, 2019
With UFC 237 in the books, it’s now onto UFC 238 in Chicago, Illinois and that means we’ll see a big night for the bantamweights. That includes the top-ranked contender, Brazil’s Pedro Munhoz. Fresh off the biggest win of his career over Cody Garbrandt via first-round knockout at UFC 235 in March, Munhoz is now one fight away from a title shot that he should arguably be getting for his next outing.
Liz Carmouche vs Roxanne Modaferri targeted for UFC San Antonio
Drake Riggs - May 14, 2019
The UFC is headed back to Texas for UFC San Antonio on July 20. With no fights yet to be announced… that’s about to be changed. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has confirmed that a pivotal flyweight match-up between seasoned veteran top contenders and former title challengers, one at bantamweight and the other at flyweight, is close to finalization for the event.
Frankie Edgar explains why title fight with Max Holloway 'makes sense'
Cole Shelton - May 14, 2019
At UFC 240 current featherweight champion Max Holloway will look to defend his title against Frankie Edgar, not Alexander Volkanovski, as many expected. The former UFC lightweight champion is just 1-1 in his last two fights and hasn’t fought since April 2018. But, according to Edgar, he knew he was next after talking to the UFC. After all, he did give up his title shot when Holloway got injured and accepted a short-notice fight against Brian Ortega, which he ended up losing.
Neil Magny reveals USADA test failure as reason for UFC Rochester removal
Drake Riggs - May 14, 2019
On Monday, Neil Magny was suddenly pulled from his UFC Rochester co-main event bout with Vicente Luque this Saturday night due to undisclosed reasons. Well, we now know why. The 20-fight UFC veteran took to Instagram on Tuesday following the news and revealed that his removal from the fight was due to a positive out of competition USADA testing from this past Saturday.
Dan Lambert believes Joanna Jedrzejczyk could get title shot now that Jessica Andrade is champion
Cole Shelton - May 14, 2019
At UFC 237, the strawweight title was on the line as Rose Namajunas was looking to defend the belt against Jessica Andrade. In the end, Andrade captured the belt in wild fashion, knocking Namajunas out with a slam. Before the title changed hands, the widespread belief was that the winner of Tatiana Suarez vs. Nina Ansaroff at UFC 238 would get the winner of Namajunas-Andrade. However, now that Andrade is the champion that plan may change given the fact former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has a win over Andrade.