MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2019

Yesterday afternoon, news surfaced that a pair of Jon Jones drug tests once again turned up traces of a metabolite of oral turinabol — though not enough to jeopardize the champ’s UFC 235 fight with Anthony Smith. Speaking to the media shortly thereafter, Anthony Smith reacted to this latest Jon Jones controversy.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2019

Tomorrow night, the UFC will return to our screens with the stacked UFC 235 card out of Las Vegas, Nevada. The card will be topped by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Anthony Smith. The bout will serve as the first title defense of Jones’ latest reign as champion, and Smith’s first shot at gold in the UFC.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2019

Colby Covington is in Las Vegas for UFC 235, and he is definitely making his presence known. Shortly after crashing Kamaru Usman’s open workout and ambushing UFC President Dana White inside the casino, he tracked down White’s car, and threatened to destroy it.

Mike Pendleton - March 1, 2019

Some fans have been surprised by the rise of Anthony Smith, which has carried him to a light heavyweight title showdown with Jon Jones. Yet is coach Mark Montoya isn’t surprised one bit. In fact, this has been the gameplan for Smith since before he made his debut in the light heavyweight division in 2018, after spending 10 years of his career at middleweight.

Mike Pendleton - March 1, 2019

Tecia Torres, who began her career down at American Top Team before moving to Colorado to be with her fiancee Raquel Pennington, found herself back at the Coconut Creek, Florida gym for her UFC 235 training camp. In her return home, Torres’ strength and conditioning coach Phil Daru has seen a difference in the strawweight contender. In an interview with BJPenn.com, Daru talked about the preparation for Torres’ with her UFC 235 matchup against Weili Zhang, Torres’ return to American Top Team, and more.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2019

When Colby Covington defeated Rafael dos Anjos to win the interim welterweight title in June of 2018, he was promised a shot at undisputed champion Tyron Woodley. Unfortunately, after months of tense negotiations, the UFC decided to award the next shot at Woodley to Kamaru Usman. The pair will fight at UFC 235 this Saturday night in Las Vegas. Colby Covington made sure he was in town for the event, and living up to his nickname, he’s been causing chaos ever since he arrived.

Tom Taylor - March 1, 2019

Vitor Belfort is the latest high profile free agent to sign with Singapore-based martial arts powerhouse ONE Championship. This exciting news was announced by ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong on Thursday evening. https://twitter.com/yodchatri/status/1101295736547766272 “BREAKING NEWS: I am thrilled to announce that UFC Legend Vitor Belfort is now a ONE Championship athlete! A former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion, Vitor holds the record for the most KOs in UFC history as well as the 2nd most finishes. #WeAreONE” Sityodtong announced on Twitter.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2019

UFC 235 takes place on Saturday night live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. And to call the card stacked would be an understatement. The event features several big-time match-ups and fighters ranging from current champions to former ones, whether it be inside or outside of the UFC. There will be big debuts as well as prospects looking to take a leap up the rankings ladder. One of which happens to be Russia’s Zabit Magomedsharipov.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2019

In terms of hot MMA promotions right now, there may be none that is more of fire than the Singapore based ONE Championship. Over the recent months, ONE has made several big-name acquisitions for their roster. Most notably being none other than former UFC champions Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Miesha Tate (Vice President role).

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2019

This Saturday night at UFC 235, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones makes a relatively quick return as he looks to successfully defend his title for the first time since reclaiming it at UFC 232. Over the years as a champion, Jones has beaten literally everyone that has been put in his way. However, he has had two instances where he never ended up getting to face opponents that he was supposed to.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2019

The lightweight division has consistently been one of MMA’s deepest and best for several years now. However, more recently there has been an influx of different storylines that have kept tying things up among the very top of the food chain. Currently, the undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is suspended due to his post-fight actions at UFC 229 after he defended his title against Conor McGregor.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2019

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1101244789003964416 UFC 235 goes down on Saturday night and it’s a loaded card full of big names from top to bottom. In the night’s co-main event, the UFC welterweight title will be battled over between the champion, Tyron Woodley, and the challenger, Kamaru Usman. Despite not being involved with this fight as many expected him to be in the preceding months, former interim champion of the division, Colby Covington made his presence felt on Thursday.

Cole Shelton - February 28, 2019

Ben Askren is set to finally make his long-awaited UFC debut on Saturday night when he takes on the former champion, Robbie Lawler at UFC 235. Askren will be fighting at 170 pounds, but he believes he could be fight at 165-pounds sooner rather than later. While UFC President Dana White has denied plans for a 165-pound division on numerous occasions, Askren isn’t buying it. He believes the UFC has already decided to launch the division. Why? Because White denied it.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2019

A pair of Jon Jones drug tests, administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) ahead of his UFC 235 fight with Anthony Smith, have once again detected traces of the M3 metabolite, a component of oral turinabol. John Morgan of MMAjunkie reported this development on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2019

At long last, Ben Askren is finally a UFC fighter. That means that, as he gears up for his UFC 235 showdown with Robbie Lawler, he has to wear Reebok. That’s thanks to the UFC’s exclusive outfitting deal with the sports apparel giant. Unfortunately for Ben Askren, this UFC-Reebok deal pays out on a scale based on Octagon experience. Because he is making his UFC debut, that means he’s set to earn the lowest amount possible under the arrangement.

Cole Shelton - February 28, 2019

Jon Jones is returning to the Octagon not even three months after his last fight. In the main event of UFC 235 this Saturday, the light heavyweight champ will be taking on Anthony Smith, who has gone 3-0 in the division since moving up from middleweight. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. The majority, as expected, are leaning towards the massive betting favorite in Jones. Yet some also believe Smith will do as he’s promised and shock the world.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2019

Earlier this week, UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and top contender Anthony Smith once again came face to face ahead of their compelling UFC 235 main event showdown. Speaking to MMA Fighting shortly thereafter, Jon Jones divulged that he might have spotted a weakness during this latest staredown with Anthony Smith.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2019

If Jon Jones is able to defeat Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC 235 this weekend — the oddsmakers certainly believe he will — it will open the door to more marquee matchups in the light heavyweight division, and perhaps even the heavyweight division. Arguably the two biggest matchups available for a victorious Jones going forward would be a rematch with his arch rival, heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, and a showdown with former heavyweight champ and WWE star Brock Lesnar.