MMA News
Dana White on Nate Diaz: 'We might not hear from that kid for another three years'
Tom Taylor - September 5, 2019
Nate Diaz made a successful return to action after three years away at UFC 241, defeating Anthony Pettis by decision. After this comeback, he called for a fan friendly showdown with streaking welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal. While pretty much everybody wants to see Diaz and Masvidal fight, UFC President Dana White seems to have no update on this booking. In fact, he doesn’t seem to have any idea when we’ll see Diaz back in action again.
Dana White says Tony Ferguson will get next UFC lightweight title shot
Adam Martin - September 5, 2019
UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Tony Ferguson will get the next lightweight title shot. The UFC bossman the plan is for “El Cucuy” to fight the winner of the UFC 242 main event between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. As long as he’s healthy, that is.
Khabib Nurmagomedov to make biggest payday yet for UFC 242
Tom Taylor - September 5, 2019
UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov pocketed a flat purse of $2M for his late 2018 defeat of Conor McGregor. According to Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap, there’s an even bigger fight purse coming. Speaking to the Russian outlet TASS, the elder Nurmagomedov claimed his son will make at least three times what he made against McGregor when he fights Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242 this weekend in Abu Dhabi. If math isn’t your strong suit, that’s $6M — potentially even more.
UFC 242 | Pro fighters make their picks for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier title fight
Cole Shelton - September 5, 2019
In the main event of UFC 242, undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov wil look to defend his belt against Dustin Poirier. Heading into this fight, the champ is a -500 favorite on Bovada, while the challenger is a +350 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority are leaning towards Khabib Nurmagomedov, but they think it is a closer fight than the odds suggest.
Brendan Schaub: 'I don’t give a f**k about women’s strawweight'
Thomas Taylor - September 4, 2019
Former UFC heavyweight turned podcaster Brendan Schaub was not overly sold on last weekend’s UFC Shenzhen card, which was headlined by a women’s strawweight title fight between champ Jessica Andrade and challenger Weili Zhang, but was otherwise pretty lacking in main value. Schaub did not hide his disinterest in this card ahead of time. In the end, UFC Shenzhen turned out to be pretty enjoyable in the eyes of most fans, as Weili Zhang made history by stopping Jessica Andrade in less than a minute to become the first Chinese champion in UFC history. Schaub, however, did not watch the event, and claims to have no regrets about missing Zhang historic victory in China.
VIDEO | Dustin Poirier shows off deadly striking ahead of UFC 242
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
Dustin Poirier is just days away from his UFC 242 headlining battle with undefeated UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is arguably the best grappler in MMA today. While Nurmagomedov will surely be looking to get his grappling going in this fight, Poirier will be keen to keep the action in the standing position, where he’d seem to have a clear advantage. On Wednesday afternoon, at the UFC 242 open workouts, Poirier took to the stage, where he flaunted his deadly striking arsenal with one of his coaches.
Kenny Florian likes how Namajunas, Jedrzejczyk match up against Weili Zhang
Fernando Quiles - September 4, 2019
Kenny Florian thinks Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk have a good chance at giving Weili Zhang problems. Zhang made history at UFC Shenzhen. She defeated Jessica Andrade via TKO in 42 seconds to capture the UFC strawweight title. This makes Zhang the first UFC champion born in China.
Khabib Nurmagomedov shares simple formula for making Dustin Poirier tap out
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his belt against interim champ Dustin Poirier. From the sounds of it, Nurmagomedov plans to end this fight via submission. While Poirier has proven quite difficult to submit, having tapped out just once in 31 fights, Nurmagomedov is confident he can make it happen.
Dustin Poirier doubts ring rust will be a problem for Khabib Nurmagomedov
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has not fought since October of 2018, when he defeated Conor McGregor by decision. For some fighters, a break of this length might cause problems. Nurmagomedov’s next opponent Dustin Poirier, however, expects the champion to be sharp and ready when they step into the cage together. “I think that’s more of an individual thing,” Poirier said on the UFC 242 conference call last week (via MMA News). “Everybody is different.
Scott Coker explains how Bellator will promote Cris Cyborg better than UFC
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
Former Strikeforce, Invicta and UFC champ Cris Cyborg is now a Bellator MMA fighter. The Brazilian legend signed with the Scott Coker helmed promotion this week. Cyborg and Coker have a longstanding professional relationship, as Coker was the president of Cyborg’s former home in Strikeforce. As the pair begin the next chapter of their professional relationship, Coker is vowing to handle Cyborg’s career properly — which he believes the UFC failed to do.
How Singtongnoi Por Telakun turned a life of adversity into a legendary career
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 4, 2019
No one in the know would dispute a claim that Singtongnoi Por Telakun is one of the greatest Muay Thai kickboxers of his era. His record of 220-80 speaks for itself, and the multiple world championships he’s won only further validate his position as an all-time great. As spectacular as his accomplishments in competition are, those battles pale in comparison to his victory outside of the ring. Singtongnoi Por Telakun is a cancer survivor, and when you roll his entire story into one complex thought, it is among the most inspirational you’ll ever hear.
Joe Rogan: UFC is 'finally recognizing' value of Nate Diaz
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
Joe Rogan believes the UFC is finally realizing how big of a draw Nate Diaz is. The UFC commentator discussed Diaz, who recently returned from a three-year break with a unanimous decision win over Anthony Pettis, with his latest podcast guest, retired boxer Andre Ward. Ward has trained previously with both Nate and his older brother Nick.
UFC rankings update | Weili Zhang soars at strawweight, Israel Adesanya joins P4P rankings
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last weekend’s UFC Shenzhen card, and as expected, there have been some big changes. Most notably, Weili Zhang has assumed the top spot in the strawweight division, having captured the title by defeating Jessica Andrade in less than a minute in the card’s main event.
Tony Ferguson shuts down potential Conor McGregor bout
Natasha Hooper - September 4, 2019
Tony Ferguson believes Conor McGregor should be fighting celebrities, and leaving the real action to the top dogs in the lightweight division. During the latest episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Ferguson discussed a potential fight with McGregor. He doubts anybody would be interested.
Greg Hardy returns at UFC Singapore, takes on long-absent "Man Mountain"
Adam Martin - September 4, 2019
Controversial UFC heavyweight Greg Hardy is set to make his return to the Octagon at UFC Singapore in October, and his opponent may surprise you. The UFC announced Wednesday that Hardy will take on fellow heavyweight Jarjis Danho at UFC Singapore, taking place October 26 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
Report | UFC 242 trending for massive PPV success
Natasha Hooper - September 4, 2019
According to a report from Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports, early figures suggest UFC 242 could be one of the biggest pay-per-view events in UFC history. The card will be topped by a lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. Nurmagomedov’s last fight against Conor McGregor in 2018 was one of the most anticipated match-ups in UFC history. The UFC 229 event sold over 2 million pay-per-views and shattered all previous PPV records for the promotion. The UFC would of course be happy to recreate this success when Nurmagomedov returns to the Octagon against Poirier this Saturday.
Dominick Cruz says 'UFC is pretty interested in booking' him against Henry Cejudo next
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019
Henry Cejudo has called for a ‘tune-up’ fight with Dominick Cruz for his next bantamweight bout. The former UFC bantamweight champion, Cruz, has not fought since he lost the title to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207. Since then injuries have kept him away from the Octagon. Yet, he says he should be cleared to fight soon and says the UFC is interested in giving him a title shot against Henry Cejudo when he returns.
Tony Ferguson is hoping Dustin Poirier 'puts away' Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019
Tony Ferguson is hoping Dustin Poirier leaves Abu Dhabi as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion and stops Khabib Nurmagomedov in the process. Nurmagomedov will look to defend his title in the main event of UFC 242 when he scraps the aforementioned Poirier. It will no doubt be an interesting fight where the winner is likely to be fighting Tony Ferguson next. And, if ‘El Cucuy’ has his way, that fight would be against the current interim lightweight champion.