MMA News
James Krause knows he's a "tough stylistic matchup for Claudio Silva" at UFC Fight Island 6
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
James Krause is taking another short-notice fight. At UFC 247, Krause stepped up to fight Trevin Giles at middleweight on 24 hours notice. Even though he took the fight on very short notice he had a ton of success and lost a very controversial decision.
Khamzat Chimaev sizes up Darren Till as a potential opponent
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Khamzat Chimaev has shared his thoughts on a potential showdown with ranked middleweight contender Darren Till. Till is currently ranked far above Chimaev. The British striking specialist has a spot in the middleweight division’s top-5, while the Chechen prospect is not yet ranked at middleweight or welterweight—the two divisions he competes in.
Joaquin Buckley shares funny encounter with St. Louis police officer after going viral
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
UFC middleweight Joaquin Buckley shared a funny encounter with a St. Louis police officer after going viral on the internet in the last week. Buckley became an overnight celebrity with his incredible spinning back kick KO over Impa Kasanganay at last weekend’s UFC Fight Island 5 card. The KO went viral and was even picked up by rapper Kanye West. Buckley was not well known coming into the fight, with his other lone appearance in the UFC being a KO loss to Kevin Holland. But with the win over Kasanganay, Buckley is now one of the most talked-about fighters in the sport today.
Martin Nguyen vows to be the "best version" of himself against Thanh Le
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
ONE Championship featherweight titleholder Martin Nguyen says he’ll be better than ever when he steps into the cage with streaking challenger Thanh Le on October 30. The bout will be Nguyen’s first since August, 2019, and the champion is unsurprisingly very excited to get back into the cage—particularly when so many athletes are unable to compete during the coronavirus pandemic.
Khamzat Chimaev believes he could choke out Demian Maia
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Red hot UFC welterweight and middleweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev believes he could choke out legendary BJJ specialist Demian Maia. Chimaev is currently looking for an opponent for his fourth fight in the Octagon and Maia has been mentioned many times as a potential dance partner for the prospect.
Scott Coker says Fedor Emelianenko is "50/50" on a rematch with Fabricio Werdum
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
Bellator president Scott Coker says that heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko is “50/50” on whether he wants a rematch with Fabricio Werdum. It’s been over 10 years since Werdum pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history when he finished Emelianenko by submission in a Strikeforce fight in June 2010. Werdum would parlay that win over Emelianenko into a UFC contract, where he eventually became the promotion’s champion. As for Emelianenko, he was very up-and-down during the 2010s after being the fighter of the decade in the 2000s. In recent years, Emelianenko has found a home in Bellator, whose promoter Scott Coker is also close friends with Werdum.
Opening odds released for Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
The opening odds have been released for the upcoming UFC bantamweight title fight between champion Petr Yan and challenger Aljamain Sterling. The UFC officially announced this week that Yan will make his first title defense against Sterling in the co-main event of UFC 256, which takes place on December 12. Sterling has been waiting for his title shot even since submitting Cory Sandhagen back at UFC 250 in June, while Yan is fresh off of a vicious fifth-round TKO win over Jose Aldo to win the belt.
Khamzat Chimaev reacts to potential Neil Magny bout
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Khamzat Chimaev has reacted to the buzz surrounding a potential fight with long-time UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny. Chimaev was the breakout UFC star of summer, 2020. The Chechen-Swede first picked up two wins in the span of 10 days on Fight Island in July, defeating John Phillips by first-round submission and Rhys McKee by first-round TKO, then picked up his third win of the season when he knocked out Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, also in the first round.
Roy Jones Jr. shares interesting theory as to why Mike Tyson bout was delayed
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Roy Jones Jr. has an interesting theory as to why his anticipated exhibition boxing match with fellow legend Mike Tyson was delayed. Jones and Tyson were originally expected to fight on September 12, but the bout was ultimately pushed back to November 28. The bout’s promoters attributed this delay to needing more time for marketing and publicity, but Jones is skeptical.
Pro fighters make their picks for Brian Ortega vs. Korean Zombie
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
In the main event of UFC Fight Island 6, Brian Ortega is returning to the Octagon after nearly two years away to battle Chan Sung Jung aka “the Korean Zombie.” Heading into the fight, Ortega is a +160 underdog while Jung is a -200 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Korean Zombie will eventually land the knockout punch as the pros are worried about ring rust on Ortega’s side.
Joe Rogan expects Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. to go for KO despite "exhibition" label
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2020
Joe Rogan believes Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. will be looking for the knockout when they step into the ring together. Tyson and Jones, two legends of the boxing world, are expected to meet in a massive exhibition bout on November 28. Because this fight is an exhibition, neither man is supposed to be gunning for a knockout.
UFC 254: ‘Khabib vs Gaethje’ fight card receives shakeup following the removal of Islam Makhachev
Harry Kettle - October 15, 2020
The UFC 254 card has been hit by a late change as the Islam Makhachev vs. Rafael dos Anjos fight has been officially called off. Many fans were excited to see Makhachev get back into the cage and attempt to extend his current winning streak at UFC 254, but he won’t be doing so on Fight Island after it was announced that the aforementioned dos Anjos was pulled from the card as a result of a positive COVID-19 test.
Israel Adesanya continues to torment Paulo Costa following win at UFC 253
Christopher Taylor - October 14, 2020
Undefeated UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (20-0 MMA) continues to torment Paulo Costa following their clash at UFC 253. ‘Stylebender’ and ‘The Eraser’ collided in the headliner of last month’s UFC 253 pay-per-view event on Fight Island. While many were expecting the contest to result in a “fight of the year” performance, that did not prove to be the case.
Gillian Robertson expects to submit Poliana Botelho: "It’s no secret what my game plan is"
Cole Shelton - October 14, 2020
Gillian Robertson currently holds the most wins in the UFC’s flyweight division as well as the most submission wins by a woman in UFC history and thus she is looking to build off that at UFC Fight Island 6. Robertson got back into the win column with a submission win over Cortney Casey last time. Following the win, many expected the Canadian to get a ranked opponent next, but that wasn’t the case.
Anthony Johnson slams Paulo Costa over recent comments regarding his return to UFC
Christopher Taylor - October 14, 2020
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson has issued a scathing response to recent middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa. Costa (13-1 MMA) put his undefeated mixed martial arts record on the line while hoping to dethrone middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (20-0 MMA) at last months UFC 253 pay-per-view event on Fight Island.
Jan Blachowicz shares interesting theory as to why Jon Jones vacated his light heavyweight belt
Cole Shelton - October 14, 2020
Jan Blachowicz has a theory as to why Jon Jones vacated his light heavyweight belt and now has a planned move up to heavyweight. At UFC 253, Blachowicz fought and beat Dominick Reyes to win the vacant light heavyweight title. Immediately after the fight, Jones tweeted asking fans if he should go try and reclaim his belt. Yet, for the Pole, he doesn’t think “Bones” has any interest in fighting him as he knows he would get knocked out.
Dana White says The Korean Zombie vs. Brian Ortega winner will be No. 1 contender at 145lbs
Adam Martin - October 14, 2020
UFC president Dana White confirmed that the winner of The Korean Zombie vs. Brian Ortega will be the next No. 1 contender at 145lbs. Zombie and Ortega meet this Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Island 6. Both men are former featherweight title challengers and will be looking to get another crack at the belt currently held by UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. There have been whispers that the winner of this fight would be the No. 1 contender, and now White has confirmed the winner of the fight gets a title shot in an interview with ESPN.
Fresh off "KO of the Year" contender, Joaquin Buckley returns at UFC 255 against Jordan Wright
Adam Martin - October 14, 2020
Fresh off of the 2020 “KO of the Year” contender, middleweight prospect Joaquin Buckley returns at UFC 255 against Jordan Wright. Buckley became an overnight phenomenom after scoring one of the greatest knockouts of all time against Impa Kasanganay at last Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 5 card. After suffering a brutal KO loss to Kevin Holland in his UFC deut back in August, Buckley was a big underdog against the undefeated Kasanganay. But he went in there and scored the upset when he landed an incredible spinning back kick that went viral on the internet.