MMA News

Adam Martin - November 20, 2020

UFC president Dana White says his promotion has not spoken to pound-for-pound great Jon Jones about a move up to the heavyweight division. Jones vacated the UFC light heavyweight championship in the summer with a planned move up to heavyweight in the hopes of becoming a rare two-division champion. In recent weeks, Jones has been posting videos of him bulking up in anticipation of a move up in weight. However, we still haven’t gotten an official announcement from the UFC in regards to his debut in the promotion’s heaviest weight class, which figures to come in 2021.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2020

UFC President Dana White says he intends to welcome fans to UFC 257, which will be headlined by a rematch between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The UFC has promoted a host of events during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, primarily inside its Las Vegas headquarters, and on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi. However, none of these events have featured a fan presence.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2020

On Saturday night, the UFC will promote its second last pay-per-view of 2020 in the under-the-radar UFC 255 card. The card will be topped by a pair of title fights, both in the 125-pound flyweight division. In the main event, men’s flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will look to make the first defense of his title reign against the streaking Alex Perez. UFC 255 co-headling honors, meanwhile, will go to women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and her underdog opponent, Jennifer Maia.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2020

Paul Felder isn’t going anywhere. According to a report from MMA Fighting, the lightweight contender has signed a new, multi-fight deal with the UFC. Paul Felder last fought in the main event of UFC Vegas 14 last Saturday, when he lost a split decision to former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. However, Felder accepted the fight on just five days’ notice—replacing dos Anjos’ original opponent, Islam Makhachev—so he hardly lost any ground in defeat.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2020

UFC welterweight Mike Perry is enduring a brutal weight cut for his UFC 255 main card showdown with Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means. Earlier this week, Perry admitted that his weight was quite high, and that he anticipated a significant cut to reach the 171-pound weight limit for his fight with Means.

Harry Kettle - November 20, 2020

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and AJ McKee have exchanged words following the latter’s big win at Bellator 253 last night. McKee, who now holds an unbeaten 17-0 record in mixed martial arts, shocked a lot of people by running through Darrion Caldwell last night with a dominant shoulder crank victory to earn his place in the finals of the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix.

Harry Kettle - November 20, 2020

Henri Hooft and Greg Jones have been suspended after breaching COVID-19 protocol prior to last night’s Bellator 253 event. The two men were seen breaking quarantine by training with their fighter Bellator 253 co-main event fighter Jason Jackson in the lead-up to his fight against Benson Henderson, and as a result, both Hooft and Jones have been suspended for three months by Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department of Athletic Regulation head Mike Mazzulli.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2020

Bellator will not be offering free agent, Anderson Silva a contract, Scott Coker revealed. On Thursday, it was revealed Silva was released from his UFC deal. The news came weeks after his knockout loss to Uriah Hall where Dana White made it clear he would not fight inside the Octagon again.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2020

Brandon Royval is confident he will prove the doubters wrong once again when he fights Brandon Moreno. At UFC 255, Royval is the betting underdog once again as he has been in all three of his UFC fights. Yet, against Moreno, he believes this is a perfect matchup for him to have success against.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2020

Jose Aldo and Marlon Vera will be sharing the Octagon with one another after all. Originally, Aldo and Vera were expected to fight this Saturday at UFC 255, however, the fight was never made official. Now, multiple sources told BJPENN.com that the fight has been rebooked for December 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2020

Bellator remains in Uncasville, Connecticut for Bellator 253. The fight card features one-half of the featherweight grand prix semifinals as Darrion Caldwell takes on A.J. McKee. Darrion Caldwell (14-3) is riding a two-fight winning streak with both wins coming in the featherweight grand prix. In the opening round of the tournament, he defeated Henry Corrales by decision and then followed that up with a first-round submission win over Adam Borics. Before entering the grand prix, Caldwell lost back-to-back fights to Kyoji Horiguchi for the RIZIN bantamweight title and to lose his Bellator bantamweight title. He defended his bantamweight title once but does hold notable wins over Leandro Higo, Noad Lahat, Joe Warren, and Eduardo Dantas.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, one of the greatest fighters in the promotion’s history, is no longer part of its roster. On Thursday, MMA Fighting reported that Silva has officially been released from the UFC roster, which means he’s now free to compete for another promotion, should he so choose.

Adam Martin - November 19, 2020

UFC legend Minotauro Nogueira was hospitalized with pneumonia in his native Brazil, but the heavyweight is expected to make full recovery. Nogueira, the former interim UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE heavyweight champion, released a statement on Thursday explaining why he ended up in the hospital. According to Minotauro, he was kitesurfing in Jericoacoara when he became exhausted and was sent to the hospital for further evaluation. The legend says that he expects to be fine and he recovering and doing tests at a hospital in Fortalza.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2020

It’s no secret that heavyweight MMA legend Mark Hunt is not a fan of the UFC, where he spent many years of his professional career. Speaking on the latest episode of Submission Radio, Hunt once again shared his disdain for the promotion, this time criticizing the way it pays its fighters—even its heavyweight champions.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2020

Conor McGregor has reportedly signed his contract for a long rumored January 23 fight with fellow lightweight contender Dustin Poirier. News of this matchup was first reported by MMA Fighting earlier this month, but UFC President Dana White later insisted that contracts were not yet signed.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2020

In the co-main event of UFC 255, Valentina Shevchenko is looking to defend her flyweight title against Jennifer Maia. Heading into the fight, the champ is a -1800 favorite while the Brazilian is a +850 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. To no surprise, the pros are unanimous in thinking Valentina Shevchenko defends her belt by stoppage, with the majority thinking it will be by stoppage.

Tom Taylor - November 19, 2020

Darren Till says he’s completely sincere about wanting Mike Perry to come out on top in his fight at UFC 255 this Saturday night. Perry is slated to return to the cage on the UFC 255 main card, where he’ll take on dangerous veteran Tim Means.

Harry Kettle - November 19, 2020

UFC welterweight Mike Perry has explained his unusual method behind his upcoming weight cut for UFC 255. The controversial Perry has been in the headlines for a multitude of reasons over the course of the last few months, and after some recent allegations that were thrown his way, he’ll want to try and put the focus back on his mixed martial arts career when he fights Tim Means this weekend.