UFC News

Aspen Ladd and Sijara Eubanks set to run it back at UFC Rochester
Drake Riggs - March 7, 2019
UFC 235 took place this past Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada. As stacked of a card as it was it actually ended up staying completely intact as well… For the most part, anyway. When it comes to complete fight removals, during fight week the card lost out on a bantamweight clash between Marlon “Chito” Vera and Frankie Saenz after Vera pulled out with an illness. Saenz was a late replacement for Thomas Almeida.

Paige VanZant to appear in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2019
Drake Riggs - March 7, 2019
After a successful return to the Octagon in January 2019, Paige VanZant is now going to continue expanding her brand outside of the world of MMA as it was recently announced that she will be appearing in the 2019 issue of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. In January at UFC Brooklyn, VanZant returned to take on the Invicta FC veteran and season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter contestant, Rachael Ostovich. VanZant would end up scoring the second-round armbar submission victory after a rather one-sided opening round in favor of her opponent.

Bas Rutten explains what Conor McGregor is like off-camera
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
Conor McGregor has recently been traveling across the United States. During his travels, he’s popped into a number of notable gyms — including the home base of former UFC heavyweight champion Bas Rutten. Speaking on Submission Radio recently, Bas Rutten detailed what sounds like a pleasant visit with the international superstar Conor McGregor, and explained how the Irishman comports himself in the rare moments when the cameras aren’t rolling.

EXCLUSIVE | Dominick Reyes discusses potential strategies for UFC London showdown with Volkan Oezdemir
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
At UFC London, which goes down on March 16, surging light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes will face arguably the toughest test of his career in former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. In Oezdemir, Reyes will face a clever striker with shocking power in both hands. Given his foe’s strengths, Reyes is prepared to ground the fight if need be.

Donald Cerrone explains what's delaying fight with 'prima donna' Conor McGregor
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
Over the last few months, the fight world has been abuzz about a potential fight between Donald Cerrone and Conor McGregor. Both fighters seemed to want the fight, UFC President Dana White was on board, and of course, every fight fan with a pulse was eager to see it happen. Unfortunately, it now sounds as though the fight could be off the table.

Referee Marc Goddard gives in-depth response to Usman-Woodley backlash
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
Kamaru Usman’s unanimous decision defeat of long-time UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley was a performance to remember. Unfortunately, the fight will also be remembered for a few controversial calls from referee Marc Goddard — most notably a handful of controversial stand-ups, issued when Usman was in dominant positions, seemingly working hard. After a comment from MMA Fighting’s Luke Thomas on Twitter, referee Marc Goddard issued a lengthy explanation of his calls in this Usman vs. Woodley matchup.

Junior dos Santos has major objections to Daniel Cormier vs. Brock Lesnar fight
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
While nothing is set in stone just yet, it still sounds like UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier could next defend his title against former champ and long-time WWE star Brock Lesnar. Let’s just say Junior dos Santos doesn’t approve of this plan. “This thing where Daniel Cormier wants to fight Brock Lesnar; I know he wants to make money, but it doesn’t make any sense,” Dos Santos told MMA Junkie ahead of his fight with Derrick Lewis. “The only one who wants to see that fight or make that fight is him. Nobody else wants to see that. Of course Brock Lesnar, he’s a very polemic guy so people like to watch him and they pay to watch him, that’s why he wants to fight him. But man, that would be ridiculous to have him back in the sport and have him fighting for the title already.

EXCLUSIVE | Pro fighters make their picks for Junior dos Santos vs Derrick Lewis fight
Cole Shelton - March 7, 2019
The Octagon touches down in Wichita, Kansas for the first time in history this Saturday. In the main event, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will be taking on former title challenger Derrick Lewis. Ahead of this heavyweight fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Some believe dos Santos will be too much for Lewis, while others believe Lewis will land a fight-ending blow on dos Santos. Two others can’t decide at all.

Ben Askren explains why he sees 'no controversy' in Robbie Lawler win
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
Former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight king Ben Askren now has his first UFC victory. He snagged that elusive accomplishment at UFC 235 last weekend, when he submitted former UFC champ Robbie Lawler. Unfortunately, Askren’s impressive victory over Lawler came with a side order of controversy. While it initially looked as though the choke that sealed the deal lulled Lawler to sleep, the replay revealed Lawler might not have been out at all — and there was no tap.

Former Team Alpha Male coach Justin Buchholz blames Urijah Faber's 'ego' for gym's struggles
Tom Taylor - March 7, 2019
Last weekend, in the opening bout of the UFC 235 main card, former UFC bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt experienced his third-straight knockout loss. Justin Buchholz, who used to serve as Garbrandt’s head coach at Team Alpha Male, believes he knows why. Speaking on The TSN MMA Show this week, Buchholz attributed Garbrandt’s latest setback to subpar coaching at the Team Alpha Male.

Derrick Lewis has 'to right the wrong' with Francis Ngannou rematch
Drake Riggs - March 6, 2019
This Saturday night the UFC heads back to Kansas state for UFC Wichita. In the event’s featured attraction, we’ll see two heavyweight knockout artists throw leather. On one side of the Octagon will be former UFC champion, Junior ‘Cigano’ Dos Santos. Standing across from him will be none other than ‘The Black Beast’ Derrick Lewis.

BJ Penn returns at UFC 237
Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019
Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn will return to the cage at UFC 237 on May 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will take on a fellow veteran in Clay Guida. This bout was first reported by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. Penn confirmed this news with his website, BJPenn.com.

Max Holloway discusses featherweight future ahead of interim lightweight title fight
Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019
At UFC 236, which goes down on April 13 in Atlanta, Georgia, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will hike up to the lightweight division to battle streaking contender Dustin Poirier for the division’s interim title. Given that Holloway has always endured a pretty significant weight cut down to the featherweight division, some fans have wondered if this move up to lightweight could be permanent.

Ben Askren claims Dana White has ignored requests for sit-down
Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019
Ben Askren is now firmly embedded as a member of the UFC welterweight roster, having submitted Robbie Lawler at UFC 235. Unfortunately, his relationship with UFC President Dana White apparently remains strained. Speaking on The MMA Hour on Monday, Askren explained that he still feels quite a bit of disdain from the UFC boss. In fact, he feels White is “repulsed” by him.

Colby Covington recounts heated encounter with Nate Diaz
Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019
In the short period of time he was in Las Vegas to watch UFC 235, it seems that Colby Covington had some kind of altercation or run-in with everybody else in the city. He crashed Kamaru Usman’s open workout. He ambushed UFC President Dana White at the blackjack table. He got into it with Tyron Woodley’s mother and NFL player Todd Gurley in the crowd…. And apparently, he had words with fan favorite lightweight Nate Diaz too…

Matt Hughes' wife pens statement detailing how he allegedly beat her
Tom Taylor - March 6, 2019
Audra Hughes, the wife of former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes, recently had a restraining order granted against her husband after several alleged incidents of violence. In documents obtained by MMAjunkie, Audra detailed several of these incidents of alleged violence.

On three-year anniversary, Conor McGregor reflects on battles with Nate Diaz
Drake Riggs - March 6, 2019
Believe it or not, 2016 was the last year that former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor has scored a victory in combat sports. His opponent for his second to most recent win was none other than Stockton, Calfornia’s finest, Nate Diaz. However, that win came in the pairing’s second of two outings. The first coming just a few months prior when the two met at UFC 196 an entire years ago as of yesterday. A bout that saw Diaz pull off the upset on short notice via second-round submission (rear-naked choke).

Anthony Johnson will only come out of retirement for a heavyweight fight with Jon Jones
Cole Shelton - March 5, 2019
When Anthony Johnson announced his retirement from MMA, a fight many fans were disappointed that didn’t happen is ‘Rumble’ vs. Jon Jones. The fight had major intrigue given the fact Jones had looked unstoppable and Johnson had legitimate one-punch knockout power. The two were scheduled to fight at UFC 187 but the fight was called off after Jones was involved in a hit and run. From then on, the fight just didn’t come to fruition and Johnson walked away from MMA without ever getting the chance to fight Jones.