MMA News

Adam Martin - September 23, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till said that welterweight star Colby Covington “would tear LeBron James a new arsehole” if they fought. Covington has been chirping James in the media as of late, which prompted the NBA superstar for the LA Lakers recently to suggest Covington would be making a mistake stepping into the ring with him. That led to Covington taking a shot at James’ fans, saying that James wouldn’t even last 10 seconds with him in the Octagon. The banter between Covington and James has been the talk of the town as of late.

Adam Martin - September 23, 2020

UFC Vegas 11, featuring the main event between welterweights Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley, pulled in over one million viewers on ESPN+. The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger reported the ratings for UFC Vegas 11: Covington vs. Woodley, noting it as a big win for the UFC considering there were the NBA playoffs and the NHL Stanley Cup finals both on at the same time as the UFC Fight Night was.

Adam Martin - September 23, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith says that he will “beat the sh*t” out of Johnny Walker if they end up fighting. Walker picked up a first-round TKO win over Ryan Spann at UFC Vegas 11 to jump back into the win column after suffering back-to-back losses to Corey Anderson and Nikita Krylov. When asked who he wants to fight next, the No. 10 ranked Walker told Combate that he is interested in a fight against Smith, the No. 8 ranked fighter.

Cole Shelton - September 23, 2020

Sijara Eubanks is making history on Saturday night as she will tie Hannah Cfiers for the fastest turnaround for a female fighter in UFC history. She will also be the first fighter in this COVID-19 era to fight in Jacksonville, the UFC Apex and Fight Island, the three spots the UFC has held events. Eubanks, who is coming off a decision win over Sept. 12, got a call just days later to fly out to Fight Island to fight Kelten Vieira.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev is turning his attention back to Demian Maia after allegedly being snubbed by every other available top-10 welterweight. Chimaev was the breakout UFC star of the summer. 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.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2020

Last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 11 card produced a number of lengthy medical suspensions for the fighters involved—including Tyron Woodley. Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion, was stopped by Colby Covington in the fifth round of the UFC Vegas 11 main event after injuring his rib. He’ll need to be cleared by an orthopedic specialist or sit out until March 19, 2021. Several other fighters will also need to be cleared if they intend to fight before that date, including Niko Price, Randa Markos and Sarah Alpar.

Cole Shelton - September 23, 2020

In the main event of UFC 253, Israel Adesanya is looking for his second title defense when he battles Paulo Costa. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -185 favorite while the Brazilian challenger is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe it will be Adesanya using his technical striking to piece up Costa and defending his belt.

Harry Kettle - September 23, 2020

Gilbert Burns has slammed the UFC rankings after Colby Covington’s win over Tyron Woodley took him above Burns in the standings. “Chaos” was able to put an end to his rivalry with Woodley last weekend by dominating the former welterweight king before stopping him in the fifth and final round. Courtesy of the win, many believe he could be in line for another shot at the Welterweight Championship sooner rather than later.

Harry Kettle - September 23, 2020

UFC veteran Rafael dos Anjos is reinventing himself ahead of another push to try and claim a UFC championship. Dos Anjos is a popular figure within the mixed martial arts community and is known as a true legend of the game. However, with his 36th birthday coming up next month, some believe that his time as an elite fighter is coming to an end.

Adam Martin - September 22, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren took a shot at Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz ahead of their title fight this weekend at UFC 253. Since retiring from mixed martial arts following back-to-back stoppage losses to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia, Askren has become an outspoken voice on social media. Askren is particularly popular on Twitter where he has a big following due to his hilarious comments and often contoversial hot takes on all sorts of different subjects.

Adam Martin - September 22, 2020

UFC middleweight Paulo Costa looks to be in amazing shape heading into UFC 253, with his manager calling it his “best weight cut ever.” Costa takes on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC 253 pay-per-view card. The world’s leading MMA promotion returns to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi with this amazing contest as the headliner, a fight that UFC president Dana White has said is his personal pick for “Fight of the Year” in 2020.

Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020

Paulo Costa has addressed Israel Adesanya’s PED accustations ahead of their highly-anticipated title fight at UFC 253. In the lead up to the fight, Adesanya had some questions on if Costa is taking steroids and whether or not USADA is testing the top contender in Brazil.

Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020

Justin Gaethje promises to make Khabib Nurmagomedov bleed when they fight for the lightweight title at UFC 254. Gaethje is known as one of the most violent fighters on the UFC roster. In most of his fights, he and his opponent are bleeding. Yet, if you look at Nurmagomedov’s fights, he is never bleeding. So, for “The Highlight” he is interested in seeing how the champ reacts when he sees and tastes his own blood.

Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020

Khamzat Chimaev claims he is fighting Stephen Thompson next. After Chimaev scored a one-punch KO win over Gerald Meerschaert at UFC Vegas 11, many wondered what would be next for him. It was reported he would fight Demian Maia. Yet, after the fight, many thought the Swede should get a top-five opponent. According to the undefeated prospect, he claims he is fighting Stephen Thompson.

Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020

Juan Espino is back. The 39-year-old, Espino has not fought since he won The Ultimate Fighter 28 back in November of 2018. Since then, many were eager to see how the heavyweight would do inside the Octagon given his wrestling and jiu-jitsu background.

Tom Taylor - September 22, 2020

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is hoping the promotion will book a fight between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington next. Masvidal has recently been linked to a high-profile rematch with Nate Diaz, targeted for early 2021. However, that potential booking has not been overly popular, as Masvidal defeated Diaz fairly decisively when they fought for the BMF title in 2019.

Tom Taylor - September 22, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya believes his UFC 253 opponent Paulo Costa is a “tailor-made” opponent for him. Adesanya gave one of his more recent breakdowns of this matchup in an interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. He shared his belief that Costa’s aggressive, forward-marching style will play perfectly into his hands.

Tom Taylor - September 22, 2020

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is leaning toward a Khabib Nurmagomedov victory at UFC 254. Nurmagomedov, the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, is set to defend his title against Justin Gaethje, the interim lightweight champ, in the main event of UFC 254 on October 24. Chandler, who recently signed with the UFC, is expected to be on standby in the event that Nurmagomedov or Gaethje is unable to compete on the night.