MMA News

Cole Shelton - December 9, 2020

Tony Ferguson expects to put on a show on Saturday night. In the co-main event of UFC 256, Ferguson is set to return to the Octagon against rising contender, Charles Oliveira. It is a very intriguing matchup and one many believe is a crossroads fight for “El Cucuy” if he wants to remain a top contender at 155lbs.

Cole Shelton - December 9, 2020

In the main event of UFC 256, Deiveson Figueiredo is looking to defend his flyweight title for the second time against Brandon Moreno. Heading into the fight, the champ is a -325 favorite while the Mexican challenger is a +250 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. Nearly all the pros predict we hear ‘And Still’ as Deiveson Figueiredo will get his hand raised and likely does by stoppage.

Cole Shelton - December 9, 2020

Justin Gaethje will be paying close attention to the UFC 257 main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. After Khabib Nurmagomedov retired following his win over Gaethje, many wondered how the UFC would book the lightweight division. If the belt was vacated many pointed to the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch as the logical option for the vacant title.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Conor McGregor is in fantastic shape ahead of his anticipated rematch with Dustin Poirier, which goes down at UFC 257 on January 23. This upcoming rematch with Poirier will be the Irishman’s first since he knocked out Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in just 40 seconds in January of 2020. Despite his long layoff, he’s evidently still in tremendous shape, as evidenced by his latest Instagram post. See it below:

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Famed MMA coach John Kavanagh has some choice words for boxing star Claressa Shields, who recently told MMA fans to “bow down” to her. Shields is widely regarded as the best female boxer in the world, and is slated to make her MMA debut in the PFL cage in 2021. Ahead of her debut, Shields is demanding respect from MMA fans for being bold enough to make the transition between sports.

Adam Martin - December 9, 2020

UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo has revealed what weight he expects to step into the Octagon at on Saturday night at UFC 256. Figueiredo is one of the biggest flyweights in the UFC and he has struggled to make the 125lbs mark in the past, most notably missing weight for his first fight against Joseph Benavidez back in February. Figueiredo ended up winning that fight and then took the rematch on Fight Island, this time making weight. He just made weight for his recent title defense against Alex Perez at UFC 255 and he expects to make weight again when he takes on Brandon Moreno at UFC 256 this Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Adam Martin - December 9, 2020

Women’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane is official for her Bellator 254 title fight, but Goiti Yamauchi missed weight by six pounds. Macfarlane is looking to once again defend the Bellator women’s flyweight title and she puts it on the line Thursday night at Bellator 254 against Juliana Velasquez. These are actually two undefeated fighters so this is a very intriguing matchup. At the official weigh-ins ahead of the fights at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, both fighters made weight and this fight is official, with both fighters coming in just a hair under 125lbs.

Adam Martin - December 9, 2020

The No. 1 pound-for-pound female boxer in the world, Claressa Shields, says that “MMA fans need to bow down and kiss her feet” ahead of her pro debut. Shields, a former Olympic gold medalist in boxing, has been teasing a debut in mixed martial arts for a few years now. Many thought that she would sign with the UFC outright due to her name recognition in boxing, but Shields surprised the MMA world when she decided to sign with PFL, instead. The Flint, Michigan native will make her mixed martial arts debut sometime in 2021 in a non-tournament bout in PFL, and it’s a big deal.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Top-5 UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson has issued a response to a recent comment from Dominance MMA CEO Ali Abdelaziz. Earlier this week, Abdelaziz claimed that Ferguson’s management company, Ballangee Group, attempted to poach his client Justin Gaethje earlier this year. Gaethje, of course, derailed Ferguson’s 12-fight unbeaten streak in May.

Adam Martin - December 9, 2020

The full betting odds have been released for the 11 fights scheduled to take place at Saturday’s UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno event. In the main event, UFC flyweight champion Deivieson Figueiredo makes a quick turnaround when he takes on top contender Brandon Moreno. Both men just fought less than three weeks ago at UFC 255, picking up impressive first-round finishes over Alex Perez and Brandon Royval, respectively. The UFC was able to get both men to quickly turn around and fight each other for flyweight supremacy in the main event of UFC 256.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last weekend’s UFC Vegas 16 card, and as expected, there have been some big changes. Most notably, Italian middleweight contender Marvin Vettori has rocketed up eight spots, into the middleweight top-5, on the strength of his thrilling decision victory over Jack Hermansson in the main event.

Harry Kettle - December 9, 2020

Former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo is the latest MMA fighter to call out YouTube boxer Jake Paul. While many critics will continue to moan and groan about the problems associated with a YouTuber moving into the world of boxing, the impact that the likes of the Paul brothers and KSI have been able to have on the mainstream media cannot be denied.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Former UFC flyweight Rachael Ostovich has responded to the “weirdos” asking her to create an OnlyFans account. Ostovich last fought at UFC Vegas 15 late last month, succumbing to a volley of third-round punches from Gina Mazany. That setback pushed her onto a three-fight losing skid, as she was submitted by Paige VanZant and Montana De La Rosa in her next most recent fights.

bjpenndotcom - December 9, 2020

The lightweight division is widely considered the best weight class in all of MMA, and it looks like it could be better than ever in 2021. Despite the retirement of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov—the division’s best fighter—a number of other world-class lightweights are poised to accomplish huge things in the New Year.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Anthony Johnson has parted ways with the UFC, and will instead be mounting his comeback in the Bellator MMA cage. News of this move comes from Ariel Helwani of ESPN.

Christopher Taylor - December 8, 2020

Yoel Romero appears to be in good spirits following news that he has parted ways with his longtime employer the UFC. On Friday evening ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Twitter that the former UFC middleweight title challenger, Romero (13-5 MMA), was now a free agent.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2020

Ciryl Gane expects to fight former teammate, Francis Ngannou in the very near future. Gane is considered the top heavyweight prospect and will get his toughest test against Junior dos Santos at UFC 256. It is a very intriguing matchup and if Gane wins, he believes it sets him up to fight Ngannou.

Adam Martin - December 8, 2020

UFC president Dana White says that the upcoming roster cuts from the world’s leading MMA promotion have “nothing to do with fighter pay.” Last week, the UFC made the surprising move to release former middleweight title contender Yoel Romero. Although Romero is 43 years old and riding a three-fight losing streak, he was still ranked in the top-five and the move came as a surprise to a lot of people. White told the media that these surprises will keep on coming as the promotion looks to cut up to 60 fighters from its active roster. That has led fans and media to speculate on the UFC’s motivation to cut all of these 60 fighters.