MMA News
UFC 279 | Pro fighters make their picks for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz
Cole Shelton - September 8, 2022
In the main event of UFC 279, a welterweight bout headlines the card as Khamzat Chimaev takes on Nate Diaz, who’s fighting out his UFC contract. Heading into the fight, Chimaev is a massive -1200 favorite while the American is a +700 underdog on FanDuel. Heading into the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros expect Chimaev to get a stoppage win, but they are rooting for Diaz to pull off the upset.
Tony Ferguson explains his decision to move up to welterweight for UFC 279: “This is where I hang my hat”
Susan Cox - September 8, 2022
Tony Ferguson is explaining his decision to move up to welterweight for UFC 279. UFC 279 takes place this Saturday, September 10, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Dana White reacts to the possibility of UFC 279 being Nate Diaz’s final Octagon appearance
Susan Cox - September 8, 2022
Dana White is reacting to the possibility of UFC 279 being Nate Diaz’s final Octagon appearance. It will be Nate Diaz (21-13 MMA) vs Khamzat Chimaev (11-0 MMA) in the welterweight main event this coming Saturday, September 10th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson slam the UFC for not giving Nate Diaz a proper send-off: “Diaz probably garnered the UFC somewhere between 500 million to a billion dollars”
Harry Kettle - September 8, 2022
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson have questioned the UFC for not giving Nate Diaz a proper send-off. This Saturday night at UFC 279, Nate Diaz will battle Khamzat Chimaev in a blockbuster welterweight main event. For many months now fans have questioned whether or not this is the right route to go down for both men, especially with Diaz being set to compete in the last fight on his current UFC deal.
Conor McGregor takes another jab at Hasbulla on social media
Harry Kettle - September 8, 2022
Conor McGregor has taken another shot at Hasbulla as one of combat sports’ strangest rivalries seemingly continues. It’s not exactly unheard of for Conor McGregor to go on a strange rant via social media but more often than not, it’s targeted at someone he’s actively trying to fight – usually in the UFC.
Michael Chandler reacts after fight with Dustin Poirier is made official for UFC 281
Harry Kettle - September 8, 2022
Michael Chandler has given his thoughts on his fight with Dustin Poirier being officially confirmed by the UFC. After a great deal of speculation in recent months, it’s finally been confirmed that Michael Chandler will battle Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. The pair will collide in a lightweight showdown with the contest going down at Madison Square Garden, offering both men a big opportunity to make a statement in the world’s most famous arena.
Nate Diaz says he "gave up" on preparing for Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 279: "Whatever. Beat me."
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Nate Diaz has given up on preparing for Khamzat Chimaev ahead of their main event clash at UFC 279. For the longest time, Diaz has been wanting to fight out his UFC contract but the promotion wasn’t willing to give him the fights he wanted. He then got booked to headline UFC 279 against Khamzat Chimaev in a fight he says he didn’t want and still doesn’t want.
Darian Weeks plans to proves he belongs with stoppage win over Yohan Lainesse at UFC 279: "I'm better in a lot of positions than he is"
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Darian Weeks believes he will finally get his first UFC win when he faces Yohan Lainesse at UFC 279. Weeks is coming off a decision loss to Ian Garry back in April and before that, he suffered a decision loss to Bryan Barberena in a fight he took on a couple of days’ notice. He was then booked to face Cedric Doumbe at UFC Paris, but due to French commission rules the fight was scrapped and he was then quickly re-booked to face Lainesse at UFC 279 a week later.
Johnny Walker reveals previous CBD treatment left him with schizophrenia: “I was getting drugged every single day for the last three years and didn’t know”
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC light-heavyweight Johnny Walker had a horrific experience with CBD. The Brazilian is set to face Ion Cutelaba at UFC 279 this Saturday. The bout is an important one, as Walker badly needs a victory. Heading into this weekend, he’s lost four of his last five outings.
Kevin Holland says Khamzat Chimaev only puts on his “wannabe street” antics when the media is around: “When you guys aren’t around, he wants to do fist bumps and he wants to be your best friend”
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC welterweight Kevin Holland says Khamzat Chimaev only acts gangster when cameras are around. ‘The Wolf’ is set to return to action in the main event of UFC 279 on Saturday. The bout will be a rare non-title pay-per-view main event, as Chimaev will face Nate Diaz. It’s the first headlining role for the welterweight contender.
Robert Whittaker reiterates that he's the most dangerous fighter at middleweight: "I don't just come to the fight to win, I come to break my opponents"
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker believes he’s the most dangerous man at 185-pounds. ‘The Reaper’ is fresh off his co-main event outing with Marvin Vettori at UFC France. Last Saturday night, Whittaker scored a dominant decision victory over the Italian contender. The win was the former champion’s fourth in his last five contests.
Tony Ferguson still believes he will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov: "I am the one to get him out of retirement"
Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2022
UFC welterweight Tony Ferguson believes he will one day share the octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ has been out of the cage since his fight with Justin Gaethje in October 2020. After securing a second-round submission, Nurmagomedov retired in the post-fight interview. The Russian later explained that his mother pleaded with him to retire.
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler official for UFC 281
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler has been made official. For months, Poirier and Chandler have been going back and forth with one another hoping a fight would happen. They were linked to facing one another at UFC 281 and now according to UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell – who told ESPN – the bout has been made official for the November pay-per-view card. The fight will also only be three rounds.
UFC Fighter Salaries: Kamaru Usman takes home top disclosed payout
Susan Cox - September 7, 2022
Former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, took home the top disclosed payday from last month’s UFC 278 event. Usman, (20-2 MMA) received a flat $500,000 for his fifth round knockout loss at the hands of Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA) who pocketed a $350,000 purse and earned himself the UFC welterweight title. Although neither headliner was to receive a win bonus, the welterweights probably shared in the pay-per-view profits.
Nate Diaz explains why “fake ass” Kamaru Usman got slept by Leon Edwards at UFC 278: “Because you’re over here play fighting, dog”
Susan Cox - September 7, 2022
Nate Diaz is explaining why ‘fake ass’ Kamaru Usman got slept by Leon Edwards at UFC 278. It was only weeks ago at UFC 278 that Kamaru Usman (20-2 MMA) was defeated by knockout at 4:04 of round 5 by challenger Leon Edwards (20-3 MMA) in the main event welterweight bout. Edwards win earned him the title of UFC welterweight champion.
Chris Barnett expecting a "war" in "the king of the dad bods battle" against Jake Collier at UFC 279: "We are going to strike, we are going to spin"
Cole Shelton - September 7, 2022
Chris Barnett is excited to face Jake Collier at UFC 279 and to fight in front of fans again. Barnett is coming off a decision loss to Martin Buday, however, the entire camp was a hard one as his wife was in the hospital, and 30 hours before the fight he got a call that he had to make a decision about her. Following the loss, she, unfortunately, passed away. With that, Barnett spent the next few months with his kids but now finally feels ready to fight again.
UFC President Dana White responds to rumors that he and Nate Diaz nearly went at it in a nightclub years ago: “We were drinking”
Susan Cox - September 7, 2022
UFC President Dana White is responding to rumors that he and Nate Diaz nearly went at it in a nightclub years ago. It was during an interview with ESPN that Nate Diaz revealed there was an incident which occurred between the UFC President and the fighter way back in 2014. Laughing, Diaz said he ‘almost beat up’ White during the altercation:
Paulo Costa believes verbal altercation with Khamzat Chimaev "was just for show": "He's a fake gangster"
Ryan Harkness - September 7, 2022
Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev got into a heated argument at the UFC Performance Institute earlier this week that almost turned into an all-out brawl. If you believe Chimaev, a fight was only avoided because his training partners held him back. According to Costa, the whole thing was just a show for the cameras. In an interview with Full Send MMA’s Shawny Mack, the popular Brazilian middleweight described how ‘Borz’ and his team withdrew quickly after it looked like Costa was willing to throw down.