UFC News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2023

Conor McGregor may be a UFC megastar, but he’s taking aim at WWE’s “Head of the Table.” McGregor has not been shy in teasing a potential appearance on WWE TV. Back in 2016, McGregor’s agent, Audie Attar, appeared on the “Five Rounds” podcast and said that when it comes to a potential move for his client to WWE, it’s all about business sense.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2023

UFC Hall of Famer Rich Franklin doesn’t think Israel Adesanya can lay claim to being the best, or even second-best, middleweight of all time. Adesanya is the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion. He’s a two-time 185-pound titleholder in the UFC, and he had five successful title defenses during his first run with the gold. He recaptured the UFC title in April, knocking out Alex Pereira, who had gone 3-0 against him in combat sports prior to “The Last Stylebender’s” huge victory.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2023

Number-five-ranked UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns has shared why he took a fight with Belal Muhammad despite being promised another crack at the 170-pound gold. Burns and Muhammad are set to collide in the co-main event of UFC 288. It’s a pivotal clash in the welterweight division. Both men believe the winner should be next in line for a UFC Welterweight Championship opportunity. While UFC President Dana White has insisted that Colby Covington is next in line to challenge Leon Edwards, perhaps an impressive showing from the winner of Burns vs. Muhammad could sway the UFC brass into reversing course.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023

Devin Clark has an interesting wrinkle ahead of his UFC 288 fight against Kennedy Nzechukwu. Clark is coming off an upset win over Da Un Jung in February and will now face Nzechukwu in an intriguing light heavyweight fight. Clark is well aware of how dangerous Nzechukwu can be, but he believes the Fortis light heavyweight is overlooking him.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023

Henry Cejudo believes he will enter the conversation as the best ever after UFC 288. Cejudo is the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion and retired following the first defense of his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May of 2020. His retirement came to the surprise of many, but three years later he is ending his now returning to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 288.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023

Alex Pereira is hoping to fight Israel Adesanya for the third time in MMA. Back at UFC 287, Pereira was looking to defend his middleweight title for the first time as he rematched Adesanya in MMA. The two fought back at UFC 281 with Pereira winning by fifth-round TKO to become the new champ, but this time around, it was Adesanya winning by second-round KO to even their series in MMA at 1-1. Of course, the two also fought twice in kickboxing with Pereira winning both, including one by KO.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023

Michael Chandler just wants his fight against Conor McGregor to get booked. Chandler and McGregor are the coaches of TUF 31 and the hope was that they would fight later this summer. Yet, the hold-up has been McGregor re-entering the USADA testing pool, but for Chandler, he says he doesn’t care if all the Irishman needs is just two clean tests. Instead, Chandler wants the fight to happen soon, but revealed it now might be the winter.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023

Henry Cejudo wants to hurt Aljamain Sterling at UFC 288. Cejudo is ending his three-year retirement to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288, as ‘Triple C’ is looking to reclaim the title he vacated after retiring. It’s an intriguing matchup and before the fight was made, the two were cordial with one another. However, since the scrap has been made official, the pair have been trash-talking one another to promote the fight.

Susan Cox - May 3, 2023

Jon Jones is not interested in fighting fellow UFC ‘star’ Israel Adesanya and is naming the one opponent who can keep him from retiring. It was during a recent interview with ‘Fox Sports’ Australia that Jones opened up about a potential fight with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya:

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023

In the main event of UFC 288, the bantamweight title is up for grabs as Aljamain Sterling looks to defend his belt against former champion Henry Cejudo. Heading into the scrap, Sterling is -111 while ‘Triple C’ is -115 on FanDuel, making the fight to be a pick’em. Ahead of the fight at UFC 288, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority of pros believe Sterling will get it done as many think the time off will be too much for Cejudo to overcome.

Susan Cox - May 3, 2023

Coach Nicksick says Francis Ngannou’s pay would have significantly dropped if he’d lost to Jon Jones. Erick Nicksick is the head coach and general manager of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Harry Kettle - May 3, 2023

Paul Craig has called out Sean Strickland after announcing plans to make a move to the UFC’s middleweight division. While he may not be the most consistent, Paul Craig is certainly entertaining. In addition to his fun personality, he also holds UFC wins over the likes of Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill. If that doesn’t prove his credentials, nothing will.

Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023

Matt Frevola didn’t expect to get a ranked opponent for his next fight, but was thrilled when he was offered Drew Dober at UFC 288. After Frevola picked up a KO win over Ottman Azaitar at UFC 281 last November, he thought he would be fighting someone like Michael Johnson or Clay Guida his next time out. Yet, he was offered Dober and couldn’t be more excited for the matchup.

Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023

Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira will no longer be fighting at UFC 289. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that the Thompson vs. Pereira bout has been scrapped from the pay-per-view event on June 10 in Vancouver, Canada. According to the sources, contracts were never officially sent out and the fight has now been postponed until July. No reason was given as to why the scrap has been postponed a month, but this is a fight ‘Wonderboy’ called for.

Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023

The trilogy between Julianna Pena and Amanda Nunes will no longer be happening at UFC 289. UFC president, Dana White took to Instagram to announce that Pena has suffered a broken rib and is out of their scheduled main event fight. However, Irene Aldana has agreed to step up on short notice and will now headline the pay-per-view event for the bantamweight title against Nunes on June 10 in Vancouver, Canada.

Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023

Nate Diaz will be heading to a New Orleans court in June. MMAFighting revealed that Diaz is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing on June 27 at 3 p.m. in New Orleans for his involvement in a brawl that occurred on Bourbon Street. Diaz is facing second-degree battery charges which carry a potential penalty of up to eight years in prison “with or without hard labor” and/or up to a $2,000 fine.

Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023

UFC 288 has taken a hit as Bryce Mitchell is out of his scheduled fight. According to Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes, Mitchell has suffered an undisclosed injury and was forced to pull out of his slated main card contest against Movsar Evloev.

Susan Cox - May 2, 2023

Khamzat Chimaev is responding to the callout from former UFC champion Kamaru Usman. Chimaev (12-0 MMA) last fought and defeated Kevin Holland (24-9 MMA) at UFC 279 in September of last year.