MMA News
Anthony Smith looks to end his two-fight losing skid in November against Devin Clark
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith will look to end his two-fight losing skid when he takes on Devin Clark in a key fight this November. News of the Smith vs. Clark fight was first reported by MMAjunkie.com, who noted that the two will fight at a UFC event scheduled to take place on November 28 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. That event is targeted to be headlined by an important, five-round heavyweight fight between top title contenders Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis.
UFC legend Mark Coleman praises Khamzat Chimaev: “I think he fights for a long time”
Adam Martin - October 15, 2020
UFC heavyweight legend Mark Coleman praised top prospect Khamzat Chimaev, saying that he believes Chimaev has a long career in MMA. Coleman is one of the greatest heavyweight MMA fighters of all time and he knows a thing-or-two about the art of ground-and-pound. Coleman, after all, is considered along with Tito Ortiz as the pioneers of GNP, with “The Hammer” also going by the nickname “The Godfather of Ground and Pound.” One of Chimaev’s top moves is to take his opponents down and beat them up, and it looks like the legend Coleman has taken notice.
Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has a "50 percent chance" of happening according to coach
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
Georges St-Pierre vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov has a 50 percent chance of happening according to St-Pierre’s coach, Firas Zahabi. For quite some time, St-Pierre and Nurmagomedov have been linked to fighting one another. However, the UFC didn’t want to book it in case “GSP” won and walked away with the belt. Yet, with Nurmagomedov saying he will retire at 30-0, Zahabi says if the undefeated Russian beats Justin Gaethje he thinks the fight could happen.
James Vick released from the UFC, already in talks with multiple other promotions
Cole Shelton - October 15, 2020
James Vick’s time as a UFC fighter is now over. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter was first to report the news that Vick has been released from the promotion.
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.