MMA News

Adam Martin - December 19, 2019

The opening betting odds have been revealed for a potential MMA bout between UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and boxing world champion Claressa Shields. Nunes defeated Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 last weekend to retain the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Shields was in attendance at the event as a guest of UFC president Dana White but didn’t enter the cage to challenge Nunes as many assumed she would. Still, White and Nunes both admitted interest in a matchup against Shields.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Eddie Alvarez is now one year and two fights into his ONE Championship career. From the sounds of it, the former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion has enjoyed his time with the Singapore-based promotion. Alvarez discussed his time with ONE Championship, and how it differs from his time with the UFC, at Wednesday’s game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Joe Rogan is very excited for the upcoming lightweight title fight between undefeated champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and streaking challenger Tony Ferguson. In fact, he believes Ferguson represents the best challenge Nurmagomedov has faced to date. Rogan gave his take on this matchup on a recent edition of the Joe Rogan MMA Show, speaking to former UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Colby Covington is arguably the most polarizing fighter in MMA today. While he’s certainly got his fair share of fans, he’s also got legions of haters, and those haters have been very vocal since he lost to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245. Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub, who now makes his living as an analyst and podcaster, believes Covington’s haters need to give it a rest. He feels that, because Covington’s persona is manufactured, fans should go a little easier on him.

Cole Shelton - December 19, 2019

In the final UFC card of the year and the decade, the Octagon will touch down in Busan, South Korea. The UFC Busan main event pairs short-notice replacement, Frankie Edgar against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung. Heading into the fight, Edgar is a +145 underdog while Jung is a -175 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority believe Chan Sung Jung will get his hand raised at home.

Harry Kettle - December 19, 2019

Whenever Conor McGregor fights you can expect there to be a whole lot of money involved – and while that is likely going to be the case for his fight against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 246, some diehard fans have still had to think twice about the ticket prices that have been listed for the event. McGregor’s highly anticipated return to the Octagon has been in the works for a good few months now, with Cerrone being pinpointed as the ideal opponent for him to come back against.

Natasha Hooper - December 19, 2019

PFL light heavyweight and former UFC fighter Alex Nicholson has hit a major snag in his MMA career. On Wednesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) held their monthly meeting. Alex Nicholson was a point of discussion as the fighter allegedly tested positive for multiple banned substances on a recent drug test. The test in question was administered for his Francimar Barroso bout at a PFL event on October 31. The results concluded the positive use of three banned substances, drostanolone, nandrolone and trenbolone, in addition to an elevated T/E ratio.

Tom Taylor - December 19, 2019

Nick Diaz recently took to Instagram to advertise an opportunity for fans to win VIP tickets to his UFC return. The problem, of course, is that he doesn’t currently have a UFC return scheduled.

Mike Pendleton - December 18, 2019

As 2019 winds down, Dana White is starting to push steam behind Zuffa Boxing, although no set announcements have been made yet. Most recently, White announced that he had reached a deal with Floyd Mayweather for the two to work together on Zuffa Boxing, but White would not go into detail as to how that deal would take place. Following the news of their agreement, another boxing legend wants in on Zuffa Boxing. While making an appearance for Sirius XM’s Fight Nation’s Defining Moments of the Decade Show, former heavyweight boxing legend Evander Holyfield revealed he would like to work with Dana White and be a part of Zuffa Boxing.

Cole Shelton - December 18, 2019

Henry Cejudo and Jose Aldo are continuing to take shots at one another. The trash talk began after Aldo made his bantamweight debut against Marlon Moraes at UFC 245 and lost by split-decision. Yet, Cejuo didn’t agree with the decision and said the Brazilian won the fight. And, he asked Dana White for Aldo to get the next title shot.

Mike Pendleton - December 18, 2019

Former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald made headlines on Monday when it was announced by ESPN that he was leaving Bellator MMA and joining the Professional Fighters League. Following his shocking move, MacDonald joined Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show Podcast and discussed why he left Bellator MMA following his loss to Douglas Lima in October, as his contract expired after that fight.

Mike Pendleton - December 18, 2019

Former UFC featherweight Max Holloway is in good spirits and answering questions following his title loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245 this past weekend. On Wednesday, Holloway was a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show to discuss a wide variety of topics from his title loss to the recent happenings in his career. One situation Holloway discussed with Joe Rogan was the reasoning behind him being pulled from his scheduled fight against Brian Ortega at UFC 226 in the Summer of 2018. Rogan asked Holloway about the situation which saw “Blessed” undergo a series of tests, but nothing was every released to the public about Holloway’s health following the tests.

Natasha Hooper - December 18, 2019

On Wednesday 18th December, Max Holloway joined the JRE club by taking a seat on Joe Rogan’s podcast. The former featherweight champion reflected on his UFC 245 loss to Alexander Volkanovski and the hot topic of UFC judge’s credibility was quickly brought into question. On Saturday 14th December at the T-Mobile arena, “Blessed” embarked on his fifth title defence against the No 1 ranked featherweight contender, Alexander Volkanovski. Whilst Holloway endured the repeated attack of his opponent’s leg kicks, the champion believed he delivered more damage and effective strikes. As a result, he was taken back by the final ruling, a unanimous decision victory in favour of his Australian rival.

Fernando Quiles - December 18, 2019

Kenny Florian doesn’t see how the UFC can justify booking Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo. Aldo made his bantamweight debut this past Saturday night (Dec. 14). He shared the Octagon with Marlon Moraes on the main card of UFC 245 in Las Vegas. The bout went the distance and Moraes was awarded the split nod. While some argue that Aldo should’ve emerged victorious, the fact remains that the former featherweight kingpin lost the fight.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2019

Earlier this afternoon, news surfaced that former Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald has parted ways with the Viacom-owned promotion and signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL). While this is exciting news for MacDonald and the PFL, it does represent an unfortunate twist for fans who were hoping to see a rematch between MacDonald and reigning Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima in the future. Lima and MacDonald are tied 1-1 across two exciting fights, and now, with MacDonald moving to another promotion, it seems unlikely that we’ll see them meet in a tie-breaker anytime soon.

Natasha Hooper - December 18, 2019

Alistair Overeem debuted his post-operation lip in a clip featured on ESPN’s Instagram page. “The Reem” suffered the injury at the hands of Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The heavyweights collided in the main event of UFC Washington on December 7. The undefeated Rozenstruik filled on short notice for Walt Harris, who had to withdraw from the bout with Overeem due to the tragic death of his step-daughter.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2019

UFC pay-per-views are going to be a little more expensive going forward, starting with UFC 246 on January 18. That card, and those that follow it, will cost $64.99 rather than the usual $59.99. This price-hike can be attributed to ESPN, the promotion’s broadcast partner, as UFC pay-per-views are available exclusively through the ESPN app.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2019

Rory MacDonald has parted ways with Bellator MMA. After a period of free agency, the former Bellator welterweight champion has not signed a new deal with the promotion, and instead inked a contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL).