MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 15, 2020

UFC President Dana White is looking at options to get fans back to UFC events, but he’s not willing to compromise with socially-distanced crowds. White has been able to promote multiple events since the coronavirus pandemic began. Several occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, and the most recent have occurred inside the UFC Apex facility. Several more will occur on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in July. None have or will welcome fans.

Cole Shelton - June 15, 2020

Gray Maynard has spoken out about the way the UFC conducts its business and fighter pay. Maynard has been a UFC staple since 2007 where he had the two back-to-back title fights against Frankie Edgar including one being the Fight of the Year in 2011. Yet, for his efforts, he was only paid $26,000.

Tom Taylor - June 15, 2020

UFC President Dana White has taken another shot at boxing promoter Bob Arum, this time criticizing the ratings for Top Rank’s recent return to ESPN. Top Rank returned to ESPN early last week, just a few days before the UFC’s most recent card.

Tom Taylor - June 15, 2020

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has some advice for Conor McGregor: pump the brakes on the retirement talk and go fight. McGregor, who is riding a dominant, first-round TKO win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, announced his retirement shortly after Amanda Nunes defeated Felicia Spencer at UFC 250.

Natasha Hooper - June 15, 2020

Ali Abdelaziz has defended former UFC matchmaker Joe Silva amid accusations from several fighters. This week, UFC veteran Mike Pierce came out against the former matchmaker, claiming that Silva unfairly pressured him during his fights. He said that the UFC executive insinuated: “perform how I expect or you’re gone.”

Natasha Hooper - June 15, 2020

Miesha Tate has given birth to a healthy baby boy in her own home in Singapore. During the coronavirus pandemic, it is great to hear some positive news, and what better way than to celebrate than the birth of a healthy new child. The UFC and ONE Championship star Tate welcomed the new addition to her family. Her son arrived so suddenly that she didn’t have time to make it to the hospital.

Harry Kettle - June 15, 2020

UFC two-weight world champion Amanda Nunes has revealed that she is seriously considering retiring from MMA after her win over Felicia Spencer. Nunes’ legacy grew once again at UFC 250 as she put on a comprehensive performance to successfully defend her UFC Bantamweight Championship against Spencer, confirming what many fans already knew: she is the greatest female mixed martial artist in the history of the UFC.

Adam Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal took to social media to scold the “White Knights” who have commentating gigs with the UFC for their stances on fighter pay. Masvidal is currently locked in a contract stalemate with the UFC. Instead of taking the UFC’s offer to fight Kamaru Usman at UFC 251, which he believes is below fair market value, Masvidal decided to hold out instead. The UFC then called upon Gilbert Burns to take on Usman in the main event of UFC 251, while Masvidal sits on the sidelines instead.

Alfredo Zullino - June 14, 2020

Rising French star Ciryl Gane has a new opponent in Sergey Pavlovich, and the two will square off later this summer on August 8, sources confirmed to BJPENN.com after an initial report from La Sueur. Gane (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was initially scheduled to compete at UFC 249, on April 18, against Shamil Abdurakhimov. However, the French athlete was forced to pull out of the fight due to a collapsed lung, a pneumothorax.

Adam Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC welterweight superstar Jorge Masvidal admits that he feels bad for UFC president Dana White after failing to come to terms on a deal for UFC 251. Masvidal was supposed to fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman but he was unable to come to an agreement with the UFC on the financials of the deal. The UFC wanted Masvidal to fight on his old contract while Masvidal was hoping to spur a PPV headliner against Nate Diaz at UFC 244 into the a new deal. The UFC refused to give Masvidal more money and he decided to hold out instead, which led to Gilbert Burns stepping in. Burns now faces Usman at UFC 251 on July 11 in the main event.

Adam Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC bantamweight Ray Borg released a statement explaining why he withdrew from his fight against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC on ESPN 10. The UFC announced that Borg was out of the fight against Dvalishvili late in the week due to personal issues. Dvalishvili was lucky enough that the UFC was able to find an opponent on super short notice, and he ended up fighting and defeated Gustavo Lopez via unanimous decision in a 140lbs catchweight bout at UFC on ESPN 10. Borg, though, was not so lucky, as he once again was forced to withdraw from a fight inside the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC star Darren Till promises that he “will not fail” in his pursuit of the UFC middleweight title after failing in his bid to become welterweight champion. Till fought Tyron Woodley back at UFC 228 in September 2018 in his bid to become the top fighter in the world at 170lbs. However, Till did not perform up to his expectations in that bout, as he lost the fight via submission to Woodley. Since then, Till made the decision to move up to middleweight and get a fresh start in a new weight class after struggling to make weight numerous times during his run as a welterweight.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC women’s flyweight Cynthia Calvillo reacted after defeating the division’s top-ranked contender Jessica Eye in dominant fashion at UFC on ESPN 10. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 in favor of Calvillo, who was making her official UFC flyweight debut in the bout. Calvillo improved to 6-1-1 overall in the UFC with the victory, and since Eye was the No. 1 ranked fighter at flyweight, it figures that Calvillo will take her spot in the rankings. The victory over Eye at the very least guarantees that Calvillo will be among those who will be considered for a title shot against champion Valentina Shevchenko.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori was among four fighters who received a $50,000 bonus for “Performance of the Night” following UFC on ESPN 10. The UFC typically hands out a shared “Fight of the Night” award and two “Performance of the Night” awards following their events, but with so many individuals having standout performances, UFC president Dana White chose to give our four bonuses. White actually took to social media during the event to tell fans to vote on who they believed should win the bonuses after he was recently criticized for blowing a “Fight of the Night” bonus call.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC president Dana White discussed the shocking San Antonio shooting, where the shooter allegedly told people he was a UFC fighter from California. Eight people were injured during the shooting on Friday night, though thankfully none were pronounced dead. According to CNN, a highly intoxicated individual was denied entry into a San Antonio bar. The shooter allegedly said, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m a UFC fighter from California,” before going back to their vehicle, grabbing a long rifle, and hitting eight people with bullets. San Antonio police are still investigating the incident.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC women’s flyweight contender Jessica Eye released a statement following her loss to Cynthia Calvillo in the main event of UFC on ESPN 10. Eye was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision as the judges gave the bout to Calvillo by scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for the biggest win of her career to date. For Eye, it’s a tough loss to a newcomer to the women’s flyweight division. Eye was the No. 1 contender heading into the bout, but she will surely drop down a few pegs after this mostly one-sided defeat to Calvillo at UFC on ESPN 10.

Adam D Martin - June 14, 2020

UFC president Dana White responded to fans who criticized last night’s UFC on ESPN 10 card, which didn’t feature many big names or ranked fighters on it. White and the UFC were heavily criticized for the lineup for last night’s card, which featured a main event between women’s flyweights Jessica Eye and Cynthia Calvillo. Eye, Calvillo, and men’s flyweight Jordan Espinosa were the only fighters on the card with a ranking beside their name, which led many fans and media to criticize the card as being weak and lacking depth.

Chris Taylor - June 13, 2020

A key women’s strawweight bout featuring Jessica Eye taking on Cynthia Calvillo headlined tonight’s UFC on ESPN 10 event in Las Vegas. Eye (15-7 MMA) had missed weight for tonight’s headliner and was thus forced to forfeit a portion of her fight purse to Calvillo. The miss marked the second straight contest that Jessica Eye has failed to make the flyweight limit.