UFC News
Report | UFC revenue for 2019 could be near $1B
Tom Taylor - December 27, 2019
UFC President Dana White recently took to social media to proudly claim that 2019 has been the biggest year ever for the company. https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/1209275582627774464
Darren Till DMs Israel Adesanya requesting middleweight title, champ responds
Natasha Hooper - December 27, 2019
All Darren Till wants for Christmas is the middleweight belt. On Christmas Day, the recent addition to the middleweight division sent an Instagram DM to the 185-pound champion. He wished Israel Adesanya a Merry Christmas, but on the condition that he hands over the middleweight gold. The king of memes (and the division) responded with a meme from The Anchorman film, egging Till on.
UFC rankings update: Justin Gaethje passes Conor McGregor
Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019
The official UFC rankings have been update in the wake of last weekend’s UFC Busan card, and as expected, there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, UFC Busan main event winner has climbed up the featherweight list after knocking out Frankie Edgar.
Donald Cerrone understands why Conor McGregor could get title shot before Justin Gaethje
Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019
On January 18, former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon for a welterweight fight with Donald Cerrone. Ahead of this fight, UFC President Dana White has stated that, if McGregor wins this welterweight battle, he could get the next shot at lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. This possibility has troubled some members of the MMA community for a number of reasons. First, McGregor’s fight with Cerrone is at welterweight, not lightweight. Additionally, McGregor experienced a decisive loss to Nurmagomedov just over a year ago. Lastly and perhaps most controversially, lightweight contender Justin Gaethje is on a three-fight win-streak, and is arguably far more deserving a title shot than McGregor, at least in terms of rankings.
'Jacare' returns to middleweight for fight with Uriah Hall
Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has decided the light heavyweight division is not for him. After losing a controversial and frankly forgettable decision to Jan Blachowicz in his light heavyweight debut this fall, Jacare has elected to return to his native middleweight division. The Brazilian is now scheduled to meet Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout at UFC 249, which is scheduled for April 18 in Brooklyn, New York. ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC, was first to report this matchup. MMA Fighting subsequently confirmed that report.
Khabib Nurmagomedov hails Jon Jones as pound-for-pound king
Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is viewed by many fans as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. If you ask the man himself, however, that lofty title belongs to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Nurmagomedov, a friend and training partner of Jones’ arch rival Daniel Cormier, was asked who he considers the sport’s pound-for-pound king at a recent press conference in Russia.
The biggest MMA stories of 2019
Natasha Hooper - December 26, 2019
2019 was a rollercoaster ride for the world of MMA, featuring plenty of ups and downs. As the year draws to a close, BJPENN.com looks back on 10 of the biggest MMA stories of 2019, from the good to the bad to the downright ugly.
Multiple UFC fights announced on Christmas Day
Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019
Here’s your Christmas present from the UFC, fight fans: a whopping five fights were announced on Christmas Day, including appearances from stars like Rachel Ostovich, Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos and Kai Kara-France. Here’s a rundown of the new UFC fights announced on Christmas Day, via Marcel Dorff on Twitter.
Top-10 MMA fighters of the decade
Adam Martin - December 24, 2019
Check out BJPenn.com‘s list of the top-10 MMA fighters of the decade, featuring the likes of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Demetrious Johnson and Cris Cyborg. The first thing to note is that this is a very subjective and difficult list to come up with. There were so many fighters who could be included in the discussion, but ultimately we had to leave many of them off since it’s just a top-10. But before we do that, here’s a list of some honorable mentions that just missed the list.
Patrick Cummins announces his retirement from MMA
Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019
Patrick Cummins, the UFC light heavyweight contender who famously left his job as a barista to fight Daniel Cormier on short notice, has announced his retirement from MMA. Cummins made his announcement on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon.
Dana White hails 2019 as the 'biggest year' in UFC history
Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019
UFC President Dana White says 2019 was the “biggest year in the company’s history.” A jubilant White made this claim in a Tuesday afternoon Instagram post. See it below:
Sean O'Malley announces return against Jose Alberto Quinonez
Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019
Undefeated UFC bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley has announced that he’ll be taking on Jose Alberto Quinones at UFC 247 on February 8 in Houston, Texas. O’Malley made this exciting announcement in a Tuesday afternoon Instagram post.