MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2020

Chris Weidman has made his prediction for the UFC 247 main event, which pits long-dominant light heavyweight champion Jon Jones against undefeated challenger Dominick Reyes, and it’s a bold one. He made his prediction on Twitter on Thursday.

Adam Martin - February 7, 2020

The UFC 247 weigh-ins took place Friday morning and all 24 fighters scheduled to fight on Saturday’s pay-per-view card made weight for the event. In the main event of the evening, both the champion and challenger successfully made weight, meaning we officially have a title fight. UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones weighed in one pound under the championship title fight limit at 204lbs. His opponent for the fight, Dominick Reyes, came in at the championship weight limit of 205lbs.

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2020

UFC 247, headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champ Jon Jones and challenger Dominick Reyes, is just around the corner. When it comes to the card’s main event, the BJPENN.com staff were almost in agreement — almost. We were also remarkably close to a consensus in terms of the rest of our main card picks.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2020

Valentina Shevchenko has explained why she wanted to have her new UFC contract include non-PPV events. Shevchenko is set to square off with Katlyn Chookagian in the co-main event of UFC 247 this weekend in Houston, Texas in what will mark the third time she has defended the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship since winning it back at UFC 231 in December 2018.

Mike Pendleton - February 7, 2020

This weekend the UFC will bring two title fights to Houston, Texas with the light heavyweight title and women’s flyweight championship on the line at UFC 247. In the main event, Jon Jones, who is regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, will defend his title against rising challenger Dominick Reyes, who some believe is one of the biggest challenges for Jones so far.

Natasha Hooper - February 7, 2020

This weekend at UFC 247, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will fight to defend his title for the 14th time against Dominick Reyes. The 205-pound athletes will collide at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. With a buzz swirling around the MMA community, Jon Jones is questioning why he hasn’t headlined more events outside of the MMA capital, Las Vegas.

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2020

The UFC will pay tribute to the late, great Kobe Bryant during Saturday’s UFC 247 broadcast. UFC President Dana White divulged the company’s plans to honor the basketball legend during an interview with TMZ.

Cole Shelton - February 7, 2020

For many in the combat sports world, the name Dan Ige was familiar even before the featherweight was in the UFC. He works under Ali Abdelaziz for Dominance MMA and helps Abdelaziz manage top clients like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, and Henry Cejudo. Although that has helped Ige establish a name in MMA, he wants to be known more than a manager. At UFC 247, he has that opportunity as he will take on Mirsad Bektic on the main card where a win should get him ranked.

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2020

Amid the rampant spread of the headline-dominating Coronavirus, Chinese UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang has moved her training from her native China to Bangkok, Thailand. In Bangkok, Zhang crossed paths with an absolute legend in Saenchai, widely regarded as one of the greatest Muay Thai fighters of all time — and certainly one of the flashiest.

Natasha Hooper - February 7, 2020

UFC fighter Jessica Penne has closed her GoFundMe campaign after finalising an agreement with the United States Anti-Doping Agency to avoid legal fees on her pending case. On Wednesday February 5, Penne’s Manager Brian Butler suspended her GoFundMe campaign which was set up to help the strawweight raise money for an arbitration hearing against the anti-doping organization USADA.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2020

Jon Jones has a ton of respect for Stephen A. Smith but admits the reporter needs to learn more about his sport. At UFC 246, Stephen A. Smith made headlines for saying Donald Cerrone quit when he fought Conor McGregor. The Irishman and Joe Rogan said the ESPN personality was wrong and it led to Smith and Rogan having a back-and-forth.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2020

Joe Rogan’s podcast appears to have made him quite a bit of money. The Joe Rogan Experience features guests from all walks of life, from fighters, to A-list celebrities and even politicians. He often runs it every day and gets hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Apple also announced “JRE” as the number one podcast in the world with over 190 million downloads a month.

Natasha Hooper - February 6, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t want to be associated with the dancing monkeys of the UFC as he brands the Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone matchmaking, a “well-organized circus.” The undefeated lightweight champion is well known for his embittered rivalry with Conor McGregor that culminated in their 2018 fight. “The Eagle” got his revenge on the Irishman in the UFC 229 main event as he submitted his opponent in the fourth round. However, his victory did little to dampen the ongoing feud. Both fighters have continued to fire shots, Nurmagomedov has specifically called our ‘The Notorious’ for his unruly behaviour and conduct.

Adam Martin - February 6, 2020

UFC president Dana White says that light heavyweight contender Corey Anderson is “pissed off” that he didn’t get the title shot against Jon Jones. After Anderson knocked out Johnny Walker in his most impressive performance to date at UFC 244, he called out Jones for a title shot once again. Anderson and Jones have had a feud for a while now, but Anderson was always lacking that trademark win that he needed to get a title shot until the Walker fight.

Tom Taylor - February 6, 2020

Israel Adesanya believes Jon Jones needs him in order to stay relevant. Adesanya, the reigning UFC middleweight champ, took this shot at the UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones during a recent interview with ESPN.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2020

Colby Covington believes Jorge Masvidal won’t do a thing when they cross paths at American Top Team. Following Covington’s TKO loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 for the welterweight title, he spent time in Oregon and has yet to go back to train at ATT. With “Chaos” not being back in nearly two months since the fight, Jorge Masvidal said that the former interim champion left the gym for good.

Mike Pendleton - February 6, 2020

As streaming services continue to take over the combat sports industry, there are more and more events being broadcast on platforms like ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass, DAZN, and YouTube. BJPENN.Com’s Streaming this Week series keeps fans up to date on the best combat sports action across the industry’s major streaming platforms.

Natasha Hooper - February 6, 2020

Jon Jones’ former coach, Frank Lester has written a scathing Instagram message directed at the fighter. He tagged Jones’ upcoming opponent, Dominick Reyes in the message. Here’s what he said.