MMA News
UFC 278: ‘Usman vs. Edwards 2' Weigh-in Results
Susan Cox - August 19, 2022
UFC 278 kicks off with fighter weigh-ins, which take place at 11 a.m. ET today, Friday August 19th at the UFC host hotel in Salt Lake City. UFC 278 takes place tomorrow, Saturday August 20th at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
John McCarthy shares his prediction for Saturday’s UFC 278 co-main event between Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa: “I'm calling it by stoppage in the third”
Susan Cox - August 19, 2022
John McCarthy is sharing his prediction for Saturday’s UFC 278 co-main event between Luke Rockhold and Paulo Costa. UFC 278 takes place tomorrow at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Luke Rockhold believes he will make quick work of Paulo Costa if the fight hits the ground at UFC 278: “I'll treat Paulo like a bitch if it gets to the ground, it'll be over”
Susan Cox - August 19, 2022
Luke Rockhold believes he will make quick work of Paulo Costa if the fight hits the ground at UFC 278. UFC 278 takes place tomorrow, Saturday August 20th at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tyson Nam says he "needed" KO win over Ode Osbourne in a "bad way" after long layoff: "There wasn't one good thing in my favor"
Cole Shelton - August 19, 2022
Tyson Nam knew there was a lot of pressure on him heading into his UFC San Diego fight against Ode Osbourne. Nam was making the walk to the Octagon for the first time since January of 2021 after dealing with multiple injuries. Heading into the fight, Nam admits he didn’t know how he’d do or feel, as he is now 38-years-old and was coming off a major injury.
Fight fans react after Carla Esparza books first title defense opposite Weili Zhang: “Well, that reign didn’t last long”
Harry Kettle - August 19, 2022
Fight fans have reacted to the news that Carla Esparza will defend the UFC strawweight championship against Weili Zhang. Ever since her controversial win over Rose Namajunas earlier this year, fans have been wondering what the next step is going to be for Carla Esparza. The veteran, who was the first ever champion in the weight class, is a legend in the strawweight division and is now a two-time champ as a result of her second triumph against ‘Thug Rose’.
Gilbert Burns confirms he will be fighting Jorge Masvidal in December or January: “He verbally agreed. I did too”
Harry Kettle - August 19, 2022
Gilbert Burns has confirmed that he will be fighting fellow contender Jorge Masvidal in either late 2022 or early next year. The welterweight division will be watching this weekend as Kamaru Usman defends his crown against challenger Leon Edwards. Beyond that, though, there are still plenty of questions surrounding who the next challenger will be, with Khamzat Chimaev leading the charge in the lead-up to his showdown with Nate Diaz next month.
Jon Jones hints that he will be returning to action at UFC 282: "My goal, my dream is to have my first heavyweight title fight look like my first light heavyweight title fight"
Jeffrey Walter - August 18, 2022
Former light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones is teasing that his return to the Octagon will take place at UFC 282 on December 10 in Las Vegas. Jones (26-1 MMA) has not competed since successfully defending the light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February of 2020.
Kamaru Usman claims no additional weight is needed to compete at 205 lbs: "People don’t understand what my death grip is like"
Chris Taylor - August 18, 2022
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman claims he wouldn’t need to put on any weight to compete against the promotions top 205lbs fighters. Usman (20-1 MMA) is set to defend his 170lbs title in a rematch against Leon Edwards in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC 278 pay-per-view event. Should he once again emerge victorious over the Birmingham native, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has flirted with the idea of making the jump up to light heavyweight (205lbs) for his next fight.
Leon Edwards downplays Kamaru Usman boxing Canelo Alvarez: "This guy’s deluded"
Josh Evanoff - August 18, 2022
UFC welterweight Leon Edwards doesn’t fancy his chances against Canelo Alvarez. He doesn’t believe Kamaru Usman would do well either. ‘Rocky’ is set to face ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ this Saturday in the main event of UFC 278. The bout is a rematch of a previous encounter at UFC on Fox 17 in December 2015. Usman won the first matchup by unanimous decision.
Kamaru Usman states he'd be willing to fight Jon Jones for right amount: "I'll try my luck"
Josh Evanoff - August 18, 2022
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman would be willing to fight Jon Jones if the price was right. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is set to return this Saturday night in the main event of UFC 278. In the headliner, Usman will look to defend his welterweight strap against Leon Edwards. The bout is a rematch of their previous outing in December 2015, where the champion picked up the victory.
Kamaru Usman vows to “stop” Leon Edwards at UFC 278 to prove he's pound-for-pound best
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
Kamaru Usman is confident he will prove to Leon Edwards and everyone else that he is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC on Saturday. Usman is looking to defend his welterweight title in the main event of UFC 278 as he rematches Edwards. Ahead of the fight, Edwards has been vocal in saying Usman isn’t as good as people say he is.
Kayla Harrison reacts to PFL offering Cris Cyborg millions for clash: "PFL is here to make some big moves"
Josh Evanoff - August 18, 2022
PFL women’s lightweight Kayla Harrison wasn’t surprised to see Cris Cyborg get a big offer from the promotion. The Judoka is set to face Martina Jindrová later this month at PFL 9. The bout is the semifinals of the 2022 PFL women’s lightweight tournament. If Harrison wins, she’ll move on to the chance to become a three-time tournament winner for the promotion.
Geoff Neal hopes for main event fight against Gilbert Burns in a title eliminator bout: "I match up really well against him"
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
Geoff Neal is hoping to headline a Fight Night card his next time out with Gilbert Burns standing across the Octagon from him. Neal is coming off a third-round TKO over Vicente Luque back at UFC Vegas 59 and after the win, he called out Gilbert Burns. The Fortis MMA fighter believes the scrap makes sense and it’s also a contest he thinks will favor him as well.
Khamzat Chimaev claims Kamaru Usman is "scared" to fight him, believes he will "retire" instead of facing him
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t think Kamaru Usman will ever fight him. In the main event of UFC 278, Usman will be defending his welterweight title against Leon Edwards. Meanwhile, next month’s UFC 279 pay-per-view event is headlined by Khamzat Chimaev taking on Nate Diaz.
Nate Quarry says Luke Rockhold's comments about the UFC using 'mafioso tactics' are spot on: "We found emails from managers to the UFC brass saying their fighters will actually take LESS money than offered"
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
Nate Quarry says Luke Rockhold’s comments about the UFC using ‘mafioso tactics’ are spot on. The 50 year old former UFC fighter, Quarry, has responded to recent comments Luke Rockhold made on fighter pay in the organization.
Carla Esparza set to defend her strawweight title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
Carla Esparza in set to defend her strawweight title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281. Esparaza took to ‘Twitter‘ this morning announcing the bout:
UFC President Dana White responds to Luke Rockhold's title talk: “I mean, this is normal Rockhold babble”
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
UFC President, Dana White, is responding to Luke Rockhold’s title talk. It will be this coming Saturday, August 20th, that Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA) will meet Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA) at UFC 278 in the co-main middleweight event.
UFC 278 | Pro fighters make their picks for Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
In the co-main event of UFC 278, an intriguing middleweight bout goes down as Paulo Costa takes on the returning Luke Rockhold. Heading into the fight, Costa is a sizeable -340 favorite while the former UFC middleweight champ is a +250 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe Costa will eventually land something big and KO Rockhold.