MMA News
Israel Adesanya and other Black UFC athletes respond to Colby Covington's "racist" comments
Christopher Taylor - September 23, 2020
Israel Adesanya and other notable Black UFC athletes have fired back at welterweight fighter Colby Covington for his recent controversial remarks. Prior to his grudge match with bitter rival Tyron Woodley this past weekend, ‘Chaos’ made headlines when he suggested that ‘T-Wood’ was a “domestic terrorist sympathizer” for his support of Black Lives Matter.
Darren Till scoffs at comments from King James: “Colby Covington would tear LeBron James a new arsehole”
Adam Martin - September 23, 2020
UFC middleweight contender Darren Till said that welterweight star Colby Covington “would tear LeBron James a new arsehole” if they fought. Covington has been chirping James in the media as of late, which prompted the NBA superstar for the LA Lakers recently to suggest Covington would be making a mistake stepping into the ring with him. That led to Covington taking a shot at James’ fans, saying that James wouldn’t even last 10 seconds with him in the Octagon. The banter between Covington and James has been the talk of the town as of late.
Colby Covington vs. Tyron Woodley Fight Night card pulls in over one million viewers on ESPN+
Adam Martin - September 23, 2020
UFC Vegas 11, featuring the main event between welterweights Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley, pulled in over one million viewers on ESPN+. The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger reported the ratings for UFC Vegas 11: Covington vs. Woodley, noting it as a big win for the UFC considering there were the NBA playoffs and the NHL Stanley Cup finals both on at the same time as the UFC Fight Night was.
Anthony Smith says he will "beat the sh*t" out of Johnny Walker
Adam Martin - September 23, 2020
UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith says that he will “beat the sh*t” out of Johnny Walker if they end up fighting. Walker picked up a first-round TKO win over Ryan Spann at UFC Vegas 11 to jump back into the win column after suffering back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov. When asked who he wants to fight next, the No. 10 ranked Walker told Combate that he is interested in a fight against Smith, the No. 8 ranked fighter.
Colby Covington compares prior training sessions with Woodley, Masvidal
Tom Taylor - September 23, 2020
Last weekend, Colby Covington defeated a former training partner in Tyron Woodley. Now, he wants to fight another in Jorge Masvidal. Covington defeated Woodley by fifth-round TKO in the main event of UFC Vegas 11 last Saturday. With that grudge match out of the way, he’s hoping to fight Jorge Masvidal next, who like Woodley, is another one of his former training partners from his days at American Top Team.
Khamzat Chimaev claims all available top-10 welterweights ducked him, turns attention back to Demian Maia
Tom Taylor - September 23, 2020
Khamzat Chimaev is turning his attention back to Demian Maia after allegedly being snubbed by every other available top-10 welterweight. Chimaev was the breakout UFC star of the summer. The Chechen-Swede first picked up two wins in the span of 10 days on Fight Island in July, defeating John Phillips by first-round submission and Rhys McKee by first-round TKO, then picked up his third win of the season when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, also in the first round.
UFC Vegas 11 medical suspensions: Tyron Woodley facing lengthy sit
Tom Taylor - September 23, 2020
Last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 11 card produced a number of lengthy medical suspensions for the fighters involved—including Tyron Woodley. Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion, was stopped by Colby Covington in the fifth round of the UFC Vegas 11 main event after injuring his rib. He’ll need to be cleared by an orthopedic specialist or sit out until March 19, 2021. Several other fighters will also need to be cleared if they intend to fight before that date, including Niko Price, Randa Markos and Sarah Alpar.
UFC 253 | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa title fight
Cole Shelton - September 23, 2020
In the main event of UFC 253, Israel Adesanya is looking for his second title defense when he battles Paulo Costa. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -185 favorite while the Brazilian challenger is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe it will be Adesanya using his technical striking to piece up Costa and defending his belt.
UFC rankings update: Colby Covington climbs, Tyron Woodley plummets
Tom Taylor - September 23, 2020
The official UFC rankings have been updated after last weekend’s UFC Vegas 11 card and, as expected, there have been some big changes—particularly at welterweight. Most notably, polarizing welterweight contender Colby Covington has usurped the No. 1 spot in the division, pushing Gilbert Burns down to No. 2, on the strength of his fifth-round TKO win over the division’s former champion, Tyron Woodley. Woodley now sits at No. 7, marking his first stop outside the top-15 in years.
Photo | Rafael dos Anjos reinventing himself for another run at UFC gold
Harry Kettle - September 23, 2020
UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos is reinventing himself ahead of another push to try and claim a UFC championship. Dos Anjos is a popular figure within the mixed martial arts community and is known as a true legend of the game. However, with his 36th birthday coming up next month, some believe that his time as an elite fighter is coming to an end.
Ben Askren takes a shot at UFC 253 co-main event between Jan Blachowicz and Dominick Reyes
Adam Martin - September 22, 2020
Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren took a shot at Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz ahead of their title fight this weekend at UFC 253. Since retiring from mixed martial arts following back-to-back stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia, Askren has become an outspoken voice on social media. Askren is particularly popular on Twitter where he has a big following due to his hilarious comments and often contoversial hot takes on all sorts of different subjects.
Video | Paulo Costa looks in amazing shape following "best weight cut ever" for UFC 253
Adam Martin - September 22, 2020
UFC middleweight Paulo Costa looks to be in amazing shape heading into UFC 253, with his manager calling it his “best weight cut ever.” Costa takes on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC 253 pay-per-view card. The world’s leading MMA promotion returns to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi with this amazing contest as the headliner, a fight that UFC president Dana White has said is his personal pick for “Fight of the Year” in 2020.
Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull re-booked to fight Pedro Carvalho
Adam Martin - September 22, 2020
At long last, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull has been re-booked to fight his next opponent Pedro Carvalho. Pitbull, who is also the Bellator lightweight champion, was originally set to fight Carvalho with his belt on the line in the semifinals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix at Bellator 241 back in March. However, the fight and the entire event was scrapped at the last minute due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bellator re-started its events back in July, but due to visa issues for the champion, Bellator hasn’t been able to re-book Pitbull vs. Carvalho fight until now.
Justin Gaethje interested to see how Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts when he starts to bleed at UFC 254
Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020
Justin Gaethje promises to make Khabib Nurmagomedov bleed when they fight for the lightweight title at UFC 254. Gaethje is known as one of the most violent fighters on the UFC roster. In most of his fights, he and his opponent are bleeding. Yet, if you look at Nurmagomedov’s fights, he is never bleeding. So, for “The Highlight” he is interested in seeing how the champ reacts when he sees and tastes his own blood.
Khamzat Chimaev says he is fighting Stephen Thompson next
Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020
Khamzat Chimaev claims he is fighting Stephen Thompson next. After Chimaev scored a one-punch KO win over Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, many wondered what would be next for him. It was reported he would fight Demian Maia. Yet, after the fight, many thought the Swede should get a top-five opponent. According to the undefeated prospect, he claims he is fighting Stephen Thompson.
TUF 28 winner Juan Espino ecstatic to be able to fight again, promises "entertaining fight" against Jeff Hughes
Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020
Juan Espino is back. The 39-year-old, Espino has not fought since he won The Ultimate Fighter 28 back in November of 2018. Since then, many were eager to see how the heavyweight would do inside the Octagon given his wrestling and jiu-jitsu background.
Jan Blachowicz plans to prove he's "better than Jon Jones" by finishing Dominick Reyes
Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020
Jan Blachowicz wants to do what no one has done before. Finish Dominick Reyes. Blachowicz and Reyes are set to fight in the co-main event of UFC 253 for the vacant light heavyweight title. For Blachowicz, he knew he would be fighting for UFC gold after he beat Corey Anderson, but didn’t know the date or against who.
Israel Adesanya: UFC 253 foe Paulo Costa is "tailor-made for me"
Tom Taylor - September 22, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes his UFC 253 opponent Paulo Costa is a “tailor-made” opponent for him. Adesanya gave one of his more recent breakdowns of this matchup in an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. He shared his belief that Costa’s aggressive, forward-marching style will play perfectly into his hands.