UFC News
Fabricio Werdum says he gave stitches to Alexander Gustafsson in past sparring session
Adam Martin - July 14, 2020
UFC heavyweight Fabricio Werdum says he gave stitches to Alexander Gustafsson during a past sparring session between the two rivals. Werdum meets Gustafsson in an intriguing heavyweight bout at a UFC Fight Island event on July 25. Gustafsson will be moving up to heavyweight for the first time in his UFC career and will be looking to bounce back from a submission loss to Anthony Smith last June. As for Werdum, he recently returned to the Octagon with a split decision loss to Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 249 in what was a disappointing showing by the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Jessica Andrade is staying on Fight Island in hopes of taking a short-notice fight
Adam Martin - July 14, 2020
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade is staying on Fight Island in hopes of taking a short-notice fight in case someone falls off a card. Andrade lost a split decision to Rose Namajunas on the main card of UFC 251 in an entertaining bout that won her a share of “Fight of the Night” and a $50,000 bonus to boot. Although Andrade lost the decision on the judges’ scorecards, it was a very entertaining bout and it showed that she is still one of the top fighters in the division despite losing back-to-back fights to Namajunas and UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang.
Dana White says it's still possible Khabib Nurmagomedov fights in September
Adam Martin - July 14, 2020
UFC president Dana White says it’s still possible Khabib Nurmagomedov fights in September following the death of his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov, the UFC lightweight champion, is set to take on interim champ Justin Gaethje at UFC 253 on September 19. However, after his father passed away recently after a battle with COVID-19, many fans and media members speculated that the fight could be pushed back to a later date to give Nurmagomedov time to mourn his father’s passing.
Dana White reacts to UFC 251 PPV numbers, labels Jorge Masvidal a "massive star"
Tom Taylor - July 14, 2020
UFC President Dana White has reacted to the massive success of the UFC 251 card, which is reported to have done 1.3M pay-per-view buys. The card, which was headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Kamaru Usman and short-notice challenger Jorge Masvidal, went down last Saturday on the UFC’s much-discussed Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Video | Jon Jones is bulking up during UFC hiatus
Harry Kettle - July 14, 2020
UFC’s light heavyweight king Jon Jones is clearly keeping himself in good shape during his time away from the Octagon. Jones, 32, has not fought since he successfully defended his Light Heavyweight Championship against Dominick Reyes in UFC 247’s controversial main event back in February. Ever since then, “Bones” has been embroiled in a feud with the UFC and Dana White regarding fighter pay.
Marlon Moraes tests positive for COVID-19 after accepting Cody Garbrandt fight
Tom Taylor - July 14, 2020
No. 1 UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes and his wife have both tested positive for COVID-19. His children, thankfully, both tested negative. Moraes announced this news to ESPN Brazil. The Brazilian finisher says he began to feel symptoms about 10 days ago.
Paige VanZant still "destined for greatness," says husband Austin Vanderford
Tom Taylor - July 14, 2020
Paige VanZant experienced a tough loss at UFC 251, but Austin Vanderford still has unwavering confidence in her. VanZant met streaking strawweight contender Amanda Ribas in the UFC 251 pay-per-view opener. The bout marked the final obligation on her current UFC contract.
Petr Yan targets October title fight with Aljamain Sterling
Tom Taylor - July 14, 2020
New UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan knows who he wants to fight in his first title defense, and when he wants to make that defense. The UFC bantamweight title became vacant when Henry Cejudo retired in May. The UFC moved to crown a new champion by booking a title fight between Yan and former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at last weekend’s UFC 251 card. In the end, Yan won this fight with a brutal, fifth-round stoppage, becoming the new bantamweight king.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 2 with Calvin Kattar, Dan Ige & Jack Hermansson
Cole Shelton - July 14, 2020
Just like the debut episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com the second show is a stacked one ahead of the July 15 and 18 Fight Island shows. Host Cole Shelton is first joined by sixth-ranked UFC featherweight Calvin Kattar (1:19). Then, 10th-ranked featherweight, Dan Ige (17:13) comes on, and the final guest is middleweight contender Jack Hermansson (38:28).
UFC on ESPN 13 weigh-in results: Two fighters miss weight, one fight scrapped
Tom Taylor - July 14, 2020
Just days after Saturday’s blockbuster UFC 251 card, the UFC is already back with UFC on ESPN 13, a rare Wednesday night card. UFC on ESPN 13 will be headlined by a featherweight firefight between ranked contenders Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige. Both men will enter the fight with some serious momentum behind them, as Kattar recently knocked out the veteran Jeremy Stephens, while Ige spoiled the featherweight debut of former lightweight contender Edson Barboza in his last outing.
Video | Jorge Masvidal is back to training following UFC 251: “No rest for the wicked”
Natasha Hooper - July 14, 2020
Jorge Masvidal is already back to business following his UFC 251 loss to Kamaru Usman. In the main event of UFC 251 on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, the “BMF” winner faced off against the welterweight champion. Usman was originally expected to fight Gilbert Burns, but the title challenger tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced out of the contest.
Jorge Masvidal reacts after UFC 251 reportedly banks 1.3 million pay-per-view buys
Harry Kettle - July 14, 2020
UFC star Jorge Masvidal has reacted to the news that UFC 251 reportedly brought in 1.3 million pay-per-view buys on Saturday night. Everyone knew that the addition of “Gamebred” to the first Fight Island card was going to be big for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but few could’ve realistically imagined that it would be the biggest pay-per-view for the promotion since Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018 — as reported by The Athletic.
Ali Abdelaziz says he is banning ESPN and TSN from interviewing his fighters
Adam Martin - July 13, 2020
MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz says he is banning ESPN and TSN from any future interviews with his fighters who are part of Dominance MMA. ESPN is the UFC’s official broadcast partner and some of the top journalists in MMA work for the company, including Ariel Helwani, Marc Raimondi, Jeff Wagenheim, and Brett Okamoto. TSN is the top sporting media outlet in Canada and an affiliate of ESPN. Some of TSN’s talent include top journalist Aaron Bronsteter and Robin Black, who was recently nominated for a Fighter’s Only award as the best analyst of the year in mixed martial arts.
What's next for the stars of UFC 251?
Cole Shelton - July 13, 2020
In the main event of the stacked UFC 251 card on Fight Island, Kamaru Usman was looking to defend his welterweight title against Jorge Masvidal. The co-main attraction saw Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway have their immediate rematch for the featherweight strap. And, in the third and final title fight Petr Yan took on Jose Aldo for the promotions vacant bantamweight strap. In the end, Usman defended his belt for the second time in dominant fashion, winning all five rounds on two judges scorecards. In the co-main, Volkanovski narrowly edged out a split decision win, and Yan became the new Bantamweight champion with a fifth-round TKO win over Aldo.
John McCarthy explains why Max Holloway was "jobbed" by the judges at UFC 251
Adam Martin - July 13, 2020
Legendary MMA official Big John McCarthy believes that Max Holloway was “jobbed” and should have won the UFC featherweight title against Alex Volkanovski. Holloway lost a narrow split decision to Volkanovski in his bid to re-capture the UFC featherweight crown that he lost to his rival Volkanovski back at UFC 245 last December. It appeared that Holloway had done enough to earn the nod, but two of the three judges scored the rematch in Volkanovski’s favor in one of the most controversial decisions of the year. Since then fight happened, UFC president Dana White, Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, and the majority of media members have come out and said they thought Holloway won.
UFC cuts ties with German fighter due to alleged neo-nazi past
Alfredo Zullino - July 13, 2020
“We are all one”, was a statement used to promote mixed martial arts legend Genki Sudo. Apparently that’s not true to some, as the UFC just released newly-signed German fighter Timo Feucht after some alleged past neo-nazi ties emerged, sources confirmed BJPenn.com following a report from MMA Fighting.
Report | UFC 251 was the biggest UFC PPV since Khabib vs. McGregor
Tom Taylor - July 13, 2020
Last Saturday’s UFC 251 card on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi was reportedly a major success in terms of pay-per-view numbers. According to a report from Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, the card generated roughly 1.3M pay-per-view purchases, making it the most successful UFC pay-per-view since UFC 229 in 2018, which was headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
Colby Covington claims he KO'd Jorge Masvidal in their final training session
Tom Taylor - July 13, 2020
Colby Covington claims he knocked Jorge Masvidal out with a head kick in their final training session together at American Top Team. Covington and Masvidal, two of the top contenders in the UFC welterweight division, were close friends and training partners at ATT for many years. As they both closed in on welterweight title shots, however, their relationship turned sour. Today, they’re two of the most heated rivals in MMA.