UFC News

Harry Kettle - August 21, 2020

According to a report from MMA Junkie, Ryan Hall has been forced to pull out of his fight with Ricardo Lamas on August 29. The unique featherweight contender’s reason for withdrawing has not yet been disclosed, with the UFC not yet making an announcement regarding the change to the card. Lamas is still interested in fighting someone else at the UFC APEX event, but due to COVID-19 and the short notice drop out, that could prove to be quite difficult.

Cole Shelton - August 21, 2020

In the main event of UFC Vegas 7, a key bantamweight bout headlines the card as Pedro Munhoz welcomes Frankie Edgar to the division. Heading into the fight, Munhoz is a -265 favorite while the former UFC lightweight champion is a +205 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe bantamweight is where Frankie Edgar should’ve been his entire career as he will pull off the upset and beat Pedro Munhoz.

Natasha Hooper - August 21, 2020

Michael Chandler what he views as his perfect matchup. The lightweight champion has teased the possibility of a move over to the UFC after completing his current contract with the Bellator. He criticized the organization’s CEO Scott Coker for not placing an extension on his contract, and wants to fight wherever he is valued.

Harry Kettle - August 21, 2020

Former UFC two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo continues to troll Alexander Volkanovski and campaign for a shot at the Featherweight Championship. While Cejudo may have retired in the wake of his win over Dominick Cruz earlier this summer, it’s clear to see that “Triple C” is still very much interested in the prospect of becoming the first fighter in UFC history to win a title in three different weight classes.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

The numbers are in and last weekend’s UFC 252 event drew the fourth-largest pay-per-view buy rate of any UFC event in 2020. According to Sports Business Journal reporter John Ourand (via TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter), UFC 252 ranked just behind UFC 251, UFC 249, and UFC 246 when it comes to the most-bought UFC pay-per-views in 2020. The report says that UFC 252 sold 500,000 pay-per-views worldwide and also had 400,000 viewers watch the event on ESPN+ in the United States. Overall, these are solid numbers for the UFC.

Cole Shelton - August 20, 2020

Sean O’Malley has broken his silence on his UFC 252 loss to Marlon Vera. In the co-main event of the card, O’Malley was looking to remain undefeated when he took on Vera. It was an intriguing matchup with “Sugar” telling BJPENN.com before the fight he expected to get another first-round knockout.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker says he plans on following the lead of Jon Jones and move up to the heavyweight division. Walker is one of the biggest light heavyweights in the UFC, standing at 6’6″. At age 28 he is in the prime of his career right now, but as he approaches his 30s the cut to light heavyweight is going to get tougher and tougher. Following back-to-back defeats to Nikita Krylov and Corey Anderson, it makes sense that Walker is re-evaluating his career.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

UFC middleweight Trevin Giles will return to the Octagon in November, his first fight back since recently fainting at a UFC Las Vegas event. Giles was set to fight Kevin Holland at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan earlier this month. However, while making the walk to the Octagon, Giles fainted and the fight was called off on the advice of doctors. It was a scary incident and Giles was sent to the hospital for further tests on his heart. He recently posted videos of himself training so it appears that Giles is now OK despite the recent health scare.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos appears to be in tremendous shape ahead of a return to 155lbs against Islam Makhachev. As first reported by BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, RDA will move back down to lightweight and he will meet a rising top-15 contender in the form of Makhachev. The two will battle it out on the undercard of UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje, which is set to take place on October 24. The event will likely take place on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Natasha Hooper - August 20, 2020

Marvin Vettori believes Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall should have to forfeit their positions in the UFC rankings after avoiding a possible matchup with him. Anderson Silva will return to the Octagon on October 31 for a middleweight clash against Uriah Hall in the main event.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

Jon Jones has responded to accusations that he’s ducking fights with light heavyweight contenders Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz. Jones, the long-time UFC light heavyweight champion, vacated the division’s throne earlier this week, and immediately began teasing a move up to the heavyweight division. As Jones prepares to transition to his new weight class, Reyes and Blachowicz will collide for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 253 in September.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes has a theory about why Jon Jones is moving up to the heavyweight division. Reyes, who came up short via a controversial judges’ decision in a February showdown with Jones, will fight Jan Blachowicz for the division’s vacant throne at UFC 253 in September. Jones, meanwhile, has been teasing a move up to heavyweight after vacating the light heavyweight title earlier this week.

Harry Kettle - August 20, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has shown interest in potentially fighting Tony Ferguson or Nate Diaz in his next bout. While Poirier may have come up short in his attempt to capture the UFC Lightweight Championship against Khabib Nurmagomedov last year, he was able to bounce back in a big way back in June when he scored a unanimous decision victory over one of the division’s rising stars Dan Hooker.

Harry Kettle - August 20, 2020

UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones wants an artist to paint a portrait of himself, Stipe Miocic and Anderson Silva – the “mountain goats”. Jones, who recently announced that he will be vacating the Light Heavyweight Championship in order to pursue a potential move up to heavyweight, has never been afraid to rustle a few feathers on social media.

Adam Martin - August 19, 2020

Former Bellator lightweight champion and current free agent Michael Chandler has hinted at a potential UFC fight against Dustin Poirier. Chandler recently finished his Bellator contract with a stunning KO win over former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson in the last fight of his deal. He has made it clear that he intends on testing the free-agent market and both the UFC and ONE Championship have been suggested as potential landing spots if he leaves Bellator. Indeed, UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that he intends on sitting down and talking to Chandler soon.

Cole Shelton - August 19, 2020

Dominick Reyes knows Jan Blachowicz will not be an easy out. In the co-main event of UFC 253 on September 26, Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz will be fighting for the vacant light heavyweight title. On Monday, Jon Jones announced on Twitter he would be vacating the belt and the UFC swiftly promoted the Reyes vs Blachowicz matchup to be for the vacant title.

Cole Shelton - August 19, 2020

Ovince Saint Preux had no hesitation when offered a bout with Alonzo Menifield on short notice. Originally, Saint Preux was expected to battle Shamil Gamzatov this Saturday night but his opponent withdrew. On just a week and a half notice, Menifield took the fight. For “OSP,” he says he just wanted to fight and the opponent didn’t matter.

Tom Taylor - August 19, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after UFC 252, and as expected, there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, Ecuador’s Marlon Vera has returned to the bantamweight top 15 after scoring an upset win over Sean O’Malley—a first-round TKO—in the card’s co-main event.