MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley recently did a bit of training with Francis Ngannou, and he seems to be pretty blown away by the heavyweight contender’s sheer strength. Ngannou, currently the No. 1 contender in the UFC heavyweight division, is widely viewed as one of the hardest hitters in mixed martial arts history—maybe the hardest hitter outright.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier believes Derrick Lewis is potentially a harder puncher than Francis Ngannou. Lewis and Ngannou, the UFC’s No. 1 and 2-ranked heavyweights, are widely accepted as the hardest punchers in mixed martial arts at present. Deciding which man punches harder, however, has been the subject of much debate among fight fans.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has identified the toughest opponent he’s ever faced in mixed martial arts competition. While Woodley has shared the cage with fighters like Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, Darren Till, Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Robbie Lawler, Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck and Nate Marquardt, he says his toughest foe to date was American Top Team veteran Nathan Coy.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has made his prediction for the upcoming bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. Yan, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, will attempt to defend his title against Sterling, the No. 1 contender, at UFC 259 on March 6. Ahead of the card, Dillashaw is preparing to return from a two-year suspension due to a United States Anti-Doping Agency suspension, and will therefore be watching the action closely.

Harry Kettle - February 23, 2021

UFC light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz says he doesn’t have bad blood with Israel Adesanya right now – but that could change leading up to UFC 259. The two men are set to clash for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship as Blachowicz defends the belt for the very first time. Adesanya, on the other hand, is hoping to join an elite group of fighters to have won belts in two different weight classes.

Drake Riggs - February 22, 2021

UFC Vegas 19 got off to a hot start with a plethora of awesome finishes, and it would end the night on the same note. However, directly before the main event, there was some controversy at bantamweight — UFC President Dana White believes the judges got things right. At 135-pounds, top-ranked contenders Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya took centerstage. After a competitive grappling heavy contest that saw round-by-round momentum shifts, “Foxy” would come out on top (literally) and get her hand raised by unanimous decision.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee says he wants to run it back with Tony Ferguson when he returns to the Octagon later this year. Lee has not competed since last March when he was submitted by Charles Oliveira in the main event of the last UFC card before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He had double surgery after the fight, and after missing a full year of action, he’s ready to return to the Octagon in the coming months. And when he makes his return, he wants to rematch Ferguson.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Thiago Santos promised to be “100 times better” in his return to the Octagon at UFC 259 against Aleksandar Rakic. The last time we saw Santos, he lost in an upset to Glover Teixeira when he was submitted in the third round of that fight. Santos had success early and even dropped Teixeira in the fight, but eventually, the ring rust showed as Santos wore down and was tapped out. After losing a razor-thin split decision to Jon Jones at UFC 239 in July 2019, Santos missed over a year of action due to having double knee surgery and also catching COVID-19. So you can see why it’s somewhat excusable that he wasn’t as sharp when he fought Teixeira.

Drake Riggs - February 22, 2021

All-women’s promotion Invicta FC has truly left its mark on the sport of MMA. However, going forward it will no longer air on UFC Fight Pass. On Monday, Fight Bananas reported the separation between the two parties. Erik Kowal of MyMMANews would later confirm the report.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

Kamaru Usman will likely get his wish of fighting Jorge Masvidal next time out. After Usman scored a third-round TKO win over Gilbert Burns to defend his welterweight title he called out Masvidal. Although he clearly won the fight at UFC 251, Usman wasn’t happy that he didn’t get the finish and the excuse of “Gamebred” taking it on six day’s notice was being used.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

George Foreman believes Conor McGregor would beat Manny Pacquiao in a boxing match. In the lead-up to Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2, the Irishman has said it was to help him prepare to fight Pacquiao. Poirier, like Pacquiao, is a southpaw and the Irishman thought their styles were similar. However, the fight did not go McGregor’s way and it is now likely he will have the trilogy with Poirier.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021

Felicia Spencer will welcome Danyelle Wolf to the UFC. Multiple sources have informed BJPENN.com that Spencer vs Wolf is agreed to for May 22. Contracts have also been sent out for the fight. The location of the event has not been announced.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC featherweight Dan Ige is staying on the UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad card after Gavin Tucker stepped up on short notice. Ige was originally set to fight Ryan Hall in what would have been a really intriguing matchup, but BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton reported that Hall was forced out of the fight due to injury. The UFC looked around for potential opponents to fill in for Hall and eventually settled on Tucker. It is worth noting that Tucker was supposed to fight Cub Swanson on May 1, and it’s unclear what immediate impact that this booking will have on that fight. Ige vs. Tucker will now fight on the UFC Fight Night card that is set to take place on March 13 in Las Vegas. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto was the first to break the word of the fight.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Travis Fulton, a mixed martial arts veteran with north of 300 professional fights, is reportedly facing child pornography charges, according to The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. According to the report, Fulton, a 43-year-old native of Waterloo, Iowa, has been charged with “with sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child porn and receipt of child porn.”

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Footage of a fight fan allegedly video calling and harassing UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes has emerged on social media. Blaydes, who has long stood out as one of the top heavyweights on earth, returned to action in the main event of UFC Vegas 19 last Saturday, where he succumbed to a knockout loss at the hands of the underdog Derrick Lewis.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Paige VanZant will reportedly return to the BKFC ring for a fight with a “well-known name” sometime this summer. VanZant who achieved massive fame as a member of the UFC roster, signed with BKFC late last year, and finally made her debut with the bare knuckle promotion in early February. While she came up short in her debut, losing a decision to Britain Hart, she had plenty of success in the matchup and wowed many onlookers with her toughness.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

Spencer Jones, a wide receiver for OU football, sustained serious injuries during a bathroom brawl with a young mixed martial arts practitioner. Accounts of this fight between the OU football star and MMA specialist, which left the former with a badly damaged eye, vary depending on the source.

Tom Taylor - February 22, 2021

The UFC is under fire for running a Black History Month special starring lightweight contender Michael Chandler. February is recognized as Black History Month in the United States and several other countries. The UFC has already promoted three events in February, with one more on the calendar before the month concludes.