UFC News

Cole Shelton - May 27, 2020

Blagoy Ivanov is confident he will earn his first UFC finish this Saturday night when he battles Augusto Sakai. Ivanov is coming off a split decision loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 in a fight he thought he won. It was a disappointing outcome for the Bulgarian as a win over “The Black Beast” would’ve changed his career.

Cole Shelton - May 27, 2020

Jose Aldo is getting his bantamweight title shot after all. After Henry Cejudo TKO’d Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 to defend his bantamweight title, he shockingly announced his retirement from the sport. Immediately, people questioned if it was real while his coach told BJPENN.com it was permanent.

Adam Martin - May 27, 2020

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has approved a number of combat sports events coming up in its state, including UFC Fight Night and UFC 250. The commission on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to the UFC and Top Rank boxing to hold four events throughout May and June in Las Vegas. Arash Markazi from ESPN has the full list of the approved events below.

Tom Taylor - May 27, 2020

Colby Covington has confirmed he’s parted ways with his long-time training home, American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Covington’s departure from ATT has been rumored for several days. The fighter confirmed those rumors himself in an interview with James Lynch of theScore.

Tom Taylor - May 27, 2020

MMA power couple Austin Vanderford and Paige VanZant are known for their entertaining antics on Instagram. Yet the pair’s latest “experiment” might be their wildest yet. On Tuesday, Vanderford and VanZant shared a clip to their Instagram channels, detailing a bizarre but undeniably hilarious experiment they undertook out of pure curiosity.

Adam Martin - May 27, 2020

The UFC has officially filed trademarks for the phrase “UFSEA” after a recent suggestion by late-night TV host John Oliver as a nickname for Fight Island. According to a report from trademark expert Josh Gerben, the UFC has filed for trademarks for the name UFSEA to be used at both its events and on clothing.

Mike Pendleton - May 27, 2020

With Henry Cejudo now retired, and removed from the rankings, and the UFC’s bantamweight title vacant and up for grabs, there is new opportunity for several fighters looking to become the new champion. One of those fighters, Sean O’Malley, believes he’s just a few fights away from becoming the new bantamweight champion. O’Malley was recently a guest on The Luke Thomas Show on Sirius XM and discussed the changes inside the bantamweight division, Cejudo’s decision to retire, and why he’ll be the new bantamweight champion.

Tom Taylor - May 27, 2020

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya claims Francis Ngannou gave Paulo Costa a serious scare in the crowd at UFC 248. Adesanya fought in the main event of UFC 248, successfully defending his title against Yoel Romero with a decision win. Costa, who is the next man in line for a middleweight title shot, was allegedly heckling the champ from cage-side—until Ngannou intervened.

Natasha Hooper - May 27, 2020

The UFC has decided to change its testing methods for COVID-19 ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas event. The UFC returned to action earlier this month with three fight cards in Jacksonville. Despite introducing various safety precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the organization will be tightening the reigns for this Saturday night’s Las Vegas card. The event will be held at the UFC Apex facility.

Natasha Hooper - May 27, 2020

Former UFC fighter Sam Stout has suffered the tragic loss of his one-month-old daughter, Sydney Love Stout. The former lightweight standout retired from the sport in 2015 following a knockout loss to Frankie Perez in 2015. He competed in the UFC 20 times and finished with a professional record of 20-12-1.

Harry Kettle - May 27, 2020

The UFC’s light heavyweight king Jon Jones has given his thoughts on the recent death of George Floyd. Floyd, who was a Minneapolis citizen, was unarmed when he was detained by four police officers in Minnesota. He was held to the ground with one of the officers kneeling on his neck during the arrest, after which he was taken to Hennepin County Medical Centre where he died shortly thereafter.

Mike Pendleton - May 26, 2020

Both Claudia Gadelha and Dan Ige fought on UFC Fight Night in Jacksonville back on May 16 and both fighters came away with wins respectively. However, both fighters were also recent guests on Sirius XM Fight Nation’s ‘MMA Tonight’ and revealed they endure some COVID-19 scares in their camp. Before she picked up a win over Angela Hill, Claudia Gadelha said there was a lot of stress during her camp and the first COVID-19 test she received came back inconclusive and she was required to quarantine for 24 hours her first day in Jacksonville.

Cole Shelton - May 26, 2020

Jorge Masvidal’s manager, Abraham Kawa makes it clear his client is not ducking anyone. It was expected Jorge Masvidal would fight Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title this summer. The two have been going back-and-forth in interviews and had a scuffle at Radio Row during Super Bowl week. Yet, it has been reported negotiations have not gone well and “Gamebred” has turned his attention to the BMF title rematch with Nate Diaz.

Cole Shelton - May 26, 2020

Kamaru Usman believes Conor McGregor deserves a title shot at welterweight. After Usman TKO’d Colby Covington at UFC 245, many thought his next title defense would be against Jorge Masvidal. Yet, “Gamebred” has turned his attention to the rematch with Nate Diaz while the champion is now interested in fighting McGregor.

Adam Martin - May 26, 2020

Veteran MMA official Big John McCarthy explained why the UFC prefers to use a smaller cage whenever possible, saying it creates more action. The UFC typically uses a 30-foot cage at its big pay-per-views and big ESPN events at arenas but tends to use a 25-foot cage for its Fight Night cards. It also used the smaller cage on The Ultimate Fighter and it uses the 25-foot-cage at the new UFC Apex for the Contender Series and the Fight Night events taking place there in the next two months.

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2020

UFC President Dana White lost a $15,000 bet on the outcome of Capital One’s The Match, a charity golf game featuring one team composed of Tom Brady and Phil Mickelson and another comprising Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods. White, a diehard Patriots fan, bet $15,000 on team Brady-Mickelson to win at +175 odds. Unfortunately for him, this one went the way of Woods and Manning.

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2020

In 2019, Myles Jury migrated from the UFC’s Octagon to the Bellator cage. From the sounds of it, he made the right choice for himself. Speaking to MMA Junkie recently, Jury weighed in on the differences between the UFC and Bellator. The main difference, he says, is the level of control the two promotions have over their fighters.

Tom Taylor - May 26, 2020

Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson is getting some work in with MMA star Vitor Belfort ahead of his widely-discussed comeback. Belfort shared a clip of a training session with Tyson on Instagram, adding that the boxer was one of his key inspirations in the early days of his fighting career.