UFC News
Deiveson Figueiredo sends a fiery message to Cody Garbrandt ahead of UFC 255 title fight
Cole Shelton - September 4, 2020
Deiveson Figueiredo has sent Cody Garbrandt a heated a message ahead of their fight. In the main event of UFC 255, Figueiredo is looking for his first flyweight title defense when he battles Garbrandt. It is a very interesting fight and the first time Garbrandt will be fighting at flyweight in the UFC. The two have also been taking shots at one another and that continues to be the case as Figueiredo took to Instagram to tell Garbrandt he is dreaming of knocking his head off.
Video | Zelim Imadaev slaps Michel Pereira in heated UFC faceoff
Cole Shelton - September 4, 2020
Zelim Imadaev and Michel Pereira had a heated faceoff ahead of their UFC Vegas 9 fight. Ahead of Saturday nights card, many fans have already circled this fight as being the Fight of the Night. Both men have been known to be flashy inside the Octagon and both have insane knockout power.
Dana White unveils plans for next two Khamzat Chimaev fights
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2020
UFC President Dana White has revealed his immediate plans for Khamzat Chimaev, arguably the hottest prospect in the UFC at present. Chimaev was the breakout star of the UFC’s four-event stint on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi this past July, picking up a pair of stoppage wins over John Phillips at middleweight and Rhys McKee at welterweight in the span of less than two weeks. Ever since, fight fans have been dying to know what will be next for him.
UFC rankings update: Aleksandar Rakic rises, Robbie Lawler plummets
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2020
The official UFC rankings have been updated after last weekend’s UFC Vegas 8 card at the Apex facility, and as expected there’s been quite a bit of movement. Most notably, Aleksandar Rakic can now call himself a top-5 light heavyweight after beating up former title challenger Anthony Smith in the card’s main event.
Israel Adesanya reveals simple strategy for Paulo Costa fight
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2020
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has a very simple strategy for his UFC 253 title defense against Paulo Costa: hit him until he falls. Adesanya was asked about his plans for the fight, which headlines the September 26th UFC 253 card, in an interview with SCMP MMA.
UFC Vegas 9 weigh in results: All fights official
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2020
On Saturday night, the UFC will be back in our lives with the under-the-radar UFC Vegas 9 card out of the promotion’s Apex facility. The card will be headlined by a compelling heavyweight scrap between ranked contenders Alistair Overeem and Augusto Sakai. Overeem, the former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 heavyweight champion, will enter the fight with a TKO win over Walt Harris in the rear-view, and is adamant he’s got one more UFC title run left in him. The once-beaten Sakai, on the other hand, is riding four straight wins in the Octagon, having recently bested Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski, Marcin Tybura and Blagoy Ivanov.
Dana White clears up women's bantamweight title contendership picture
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2020
UFC President Dana White has shed some light on who is likely next for women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Nunes has looked more or less unbeatable since capturing the bantamweight strap, authoring impressive title defenses against Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, Raquel Pennington, Holly Holm, and Germaine de Randamie—and that doesn’t include her work up in the featherweight division, where she’s also the champion.
Michelle Waterson vs. Angela Hill promoted to five-round UFC Vegas 10 main event
Cole Shelton - September 4, 2020
Michelle Waterson will be headlining another UFC show. After next Saturday’s main event between Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira was postponed due to a positive COVID-19 test, the UFC has found its new main event. Multiple sources confirm to BJPENN.com that Waterson vs. Hill has been promoted to the main event. The fight will also be five rounds. Ariel Helwani of ESPN has also confirmed the fight will serve as the main event.
Israel Adesanya shares an interesting theory regarding power punchers
Natasha Hooper - September 4, 2020
Israel Adesanya has his own theory on power punchers. The middleweight champion is set to defend his title for a second time in the main event of UFC 253 on Saturday, September 26. He will be facing off against Paulo Costa, who is currently undefeated and is known for being able to finish his opponents with his punching power. “Borrachinha” has finished a whopping nine out of 13 fights via knockout punches.
Dana White pleads with Iranian government not to execute Navid Afkari: "Please spare his life"
Adam Martin - September 3, 2020
In an emotional video posted on his social media, UFC president Dana White pleaded with the Iranian government not to execute Navid Afkari. According to the BBC, the 27-year-old Afkari is facing execution in Iran after he “was handed two death sentences over the murder of a security guard during protests in Shiraz” two years ago. According to the report, Afkari’s family contends that his confession was extracted via torture. Human rights activists have said that Afkari, who is a popular wrestler in Iran, was peaceful at the protest and the execution should not take place.
Alistair Overeem would be "honored" to welcome Jon Jones to the UFC heavyweight division
Adam Martin - September 3, 2020
MMA legend Alistair Overeem says that he would be “honored” to welcome Jon Jones to the UFC heavyweight division. Jones recently announced that he was vacating the UFC light heavyweight title with a planned move up to heavyweight. He has already been connected to fights against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, top contender Francis Ngannou, and former champ Brock Lesnar. Now Overeem, the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion, has joined those names as someone who’d be interested in fighting Jones at his new weight class.
Michel Pereira explains his unusual training involving taking down cows and running with horses
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2020
Michel Pereira may best be known for his backflips and somersaults while fighting, but his training camp might be even weirder. Pereira is set to return to the Octagon at UFC Vegas 9 after he lost by DQ to Diego Sanchez earlier this year. For the Brazilian, he says his training camp was strange as his training partners were farm animals.
Video | Miley Cyrus insults Joe Rogan on his own podcast
Chris Taylor - September 3, 2020
UFC commentator Joe Rogan welcomed popular singer Miley Cyrus to his Uber-popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Wednesday. The two-hour interview covered a wide range of topics, including Cyrus’ “very public divorce” as well as her recent vocal surgery.
Jalin Turner ready to live up to the hype, expects to exploit and then KO Thiago Moises
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2020
Jalin Turner believes the UFC wants to push him up the lightweight rankings and is ready to live up to the hype. Turner made his UFC debut on short notice up a weight class at UFC 229 and suffered a knockout loss to Vicente Luque. He then got his first UFC win by TKO over Callan Potter but couldn’t build off of it as he suffered a loss to Matt Frevola in his next fight. In February, he returned to the win column with a TKO win over Joshua Culibao.
Michael Chiesa dubs Demetrious Johnson as the undisputed GOAT of MMA
Natasha Hooper - September 3, 2020
Michael Chiesa thinks the number one GOAT spot belongs to Demetrious Johnson On Twitter, MMA journalist Sean Sheehan posted a clip of “Mighty Mouse” during some of his best Octagon moments and wrote, “Just take a moment to enjoy the most skilful fighter in human history.”
Cody Garbrandt tests positive for COVID-19
Adam Martin - September 3, 2020
Ahead of his training camp for UFC 256 in November, UFC flyweight title contender Cody Garbrandt has tested positive for COVID-19. AG Fight first reported that Garbrandt tested positive for the coronavirus. The former UFC bantamweight champion reportedly tested positive earlier in the week for COVID-19 and he is currently in isolation as he waits for the results of his latest test. The report says that Garbrandt is feeling better but he did experience mild symptoms including a headache. However, the hope is he will be able to test negative and get back to training camp soon.
Tim Elliott among numerous UFC fighters suspended and fined for marijuana, others facing steroid suspensions
Adam Martin - September 3, 2020
Numerous UFC fighters including flyweight Tim Elliott have been suspended and fined after testing positive for marijuana. According to a report from Marc Raimondi of ESPN, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has officially suspended Elliott, UFC lightweight Luis Pena, and UFC light heavyweight Jamahal Hill after testing positive for marijuana following recent fights in Las Vegas. Both Elliott and Pena were fined 15 percent of their fight purses and also suspended for four-and-a-half months for having cannabis in their system for their recent fights against Brandon Royval and Khama Worthy, respectively. Elliot and Pena both lost those fights.
Ray Borg ends retirement after one week
Tom Taylor - September 3, 2020
Former UFC flyweight title challenger Ray Borg is no longer retired from mixed martial arts. Borg announced his retirement last week, shortly after he was released from the UFC, conceding that he never expected to hang up the gloves at such a young age.