UFC News

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2019

The Bottle Cap Challenge has been sweeping the MMA world. This online craze entered our little bubble late last week, when UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway tried his hand at it. He then passed it on to John Mayer, who nailed it, and Mayer passed it on to actor Jason Statham, who also nailed it. Statham directed his followup challenge to UFC veteran James Moontasri and director Guy Ritchie, both of whom succeeded. Yet his challenge also caught the attention of former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor, unsurprisingly, easily accomplished the challenge, and then passed it on to undefeated boxing legend and former opponent Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Cole Shelton - July 2, 2019

UFC 239 is set to go down from Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday. The card is headlined by two title fights, and also on the card is an intriguing welterweight fight between Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal, where the winner could very well get the next title shot. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. Although Askren is a -250 favorite, while Masvidal being the +195 underdog, the majority of the pros are leaning towards Masvidal giving Askren his first professional loss.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2019

This Saturday, on the main card of UFC 239, Ben Askren will collide with Jorge Masvidal in a pivotal welterweight contender bout. Askren originally expected to fight Darren Till in his next bout, but then Masvidal knocked Till out, jumping the line in the process. “Going in to the fight with Masvidal, I thought [Darren] Till was going to win,” Ben Askren said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “Masvidal was already making excuses so I didn’t really think it was a good possibility of me fighting Masvidal but then when he won, they started looking around at opponents for me and “Wonderboy” [Stephen Thompson] lost [to Anthony Pettis] and Masvidal was the one that made the most sense.

Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019

Back in April, Darren Till was arrested in the Canary Islands for damaging a hotel room and stealing a taxi. Now, just over two months later, the Englishman has opened up on the incident in an interview with Fighters Only. “Truthfully and honestly, we went on a lad’s birthday and we booked it for the while. We were gone for two days and we were out there having a good time. It’s a nice place,” Darren Till said (via MMA News). “Then we were in the hotel, and there were these other guys in the room. And we weren’t having trouble, but just a little bother broke out – not fights and whatnot. Obviously, the hotel didn’t get trashed. There was no criminal damage. But things got thrown and whatever.”

Fernando Quiles - July 1, 2019

Chi Lewis-Parry has given his side of the story when it comes to beefing with Jon Jones. Back in May, Lewis-Parry confronted Jones during the Bodypower UK 2019 event. Jones was making a scheduled appearance. Lewis-Parry hurled insults at Jones before being taken away by security.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019

Before his heavyweight title shot against Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou was regarded as a near unstoppable force in the Octagon. After the world watched him get walloped by the Miocic for five rounds, however, that perception changed. Suddenly, he looked like a flawed, inexperienced fighter that anybody with the right gameplan could beat. When Ngannou followed this loss up with an utterly forgettable decision loss to Derrick Lewis, fans began to question his mental game too. In the span of a few months, he’d devolved from a juggernaut to a flash in the pan. Hope for his future as a world-class heavyweight was all but gone.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019

This list of people willing to fight Francis Ngannou is seemingly getting shorter and shorter. Having rebounded from two worrying losses with a trio of blitzkrieg knockouts of Curtis Blaydes, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, Ngannou has reasserted himself as the scariest fighter in MMA. Yet there is still one man ready and willing to step into the cage with the talented Cameroonian-Frenchman: Brazil’s Johnny Walker. Walker, to remind, is not even a heavyweight, but a light heavyweight. Nonetheless, he is confident that if was locked in the cage with Francis Ngannou on this very day, he could win.

Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019

Diego Sanchez has rejuvenated his career as of late. The 37-year-old has been fighting professionally since 2002 and in the UFC since 2005. And, throughout his career, he has beaten some of the top names in the sport and even fought for the UFC title against B.J. Penn at UFC 107. Now, the veteran is on a two-fight winning streak and is set to take on Michael Chiesa at UFC 239. If he wins, he could very well have a number beside his name in the welterweight rankings.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019

For a time, there was much discussion about a potential flyweight title super fight between TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson, then the UFC bantamweight and flyweight champions respectively. At the time of these discussions, Johnson expressed some doubt that TJ Dillashaw would be able to make the 125-pound limit for their potential flyweight title fight. Dillashaw later made 125 pounds for a January title fight with Henry Cejudo, but subsequently tested positive for EPO, and named his tough weight cut as one of the reasons he turned to this substance.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019

After back-to-back losses to Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal, English welterweight contender Darren Till finds himself on shaky ground. He’ll enter his next fight in a must-win situation, as a third straight loss could be disastrous for his UFC career. Despite the massive stakes of his next fight, Darren Till says he absolutely intends to fight again this year. The Brit opened up on his fighting future in a fantastic interview with James Edwards of Fighters Only.

Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019

Don’t call it a legend tour. Michael Chiesa is set to fight longtime veteran of the sport, Diego Sanchez at UFC 239. And, after beating another veteran in Carlos Condit last time out, many are saying he is fighting legends of the sport. But, the 31-year-old makes it very clear, Sanchez is not a washed-up legend like fans are making him out to be.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019

Last weekend, former UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos stepped into the cage with Francis Ngannou in a perceived number-one contender fight. Unfortunately for the Brazilian and his fans, this fight did not go as he planned. Instead, he was knocked out in just 71 seconds, and will now have to return to the drawing board to formulate his next move. Dos Santos, of course, didn’t plan on losing, which means he didn’t give a ton of thought to what might be next if he came up short in Minneapolis.

Thomas Taylor - June 30, 2019

Conor McGregor will be remembered for a lot of things — some good, some bad. His infamous rampage inside the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York, falls into the latter category in the eyes of many fight fans. This incident occurred after Khabib Nurmagomedov and his entourage cornered McGregor’s training partner Artem Lobov several days prior. McGregor, evidently furious with Nurmagomedov’s treatment of his long-time friend, then flew from Ireland to Brooklyn in search of vengeance.

Fernando Quiles - June 30, 2019

If you were expecting Jon Jones to lobby greatly for overturning his lone career defeat, you may be surprised. Back in Dec. 2009, a young Jones went one-on-one with Matt Hamill. The bout served as the co-main event for TUF 10 Finale. Jones was having his way with Hamill, taking him to the mat and unleashing vicious ground-and-pound. Referee Steve Mazzagatti called a halt to the bout and a TKO win for “Bones” was all but secured. That was until it was revealed that Jones was disqualified for landing illegal 12-6 elbows.

Fernando Quiles - June 30, 2019

Michael Bisping believes Darren Till can turn the tide in his young career. After going 17-0-1 in his first 18 professional bouts, Till was given a UFC welterweight title shot against Tyron Woodley. Big wins over Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson caught the attention of UFC officials and once Colby Covington underwent nasal surgery, Till was given the shot at gold. He fell short, suffering a second-round submission loss to Woodley.

Tom Taylor - June 30, 2019

Conor McGregor is one of the most successful fighters ever — both financially and competitively. Given the Irishman’s monumental success, many fighters have attempted to emulate him in hopes of realizing similar heights. That hasn’t surprised UFC President Dana White in the least.

Fernando Quiles - June 30, 2019

Luke Rockhold is aware of Chris Weidman’s planned move to light heavyweight and he feels it was the right choice. Back in Dec. 2015, Rockhold and Weidman did battle for the UFC middleweight championship. At the time, Weidman was the 185-pound title holder with three successful title defenses. Rockhold handed Weidman his first professional loss via fourth-round TKO, taking the middleweight gold in the process.

Cole Shelton - June 30, 2019

On Saturday night, the Octagon returned to ESPN with UFC Minneapolis. In the main event of this card, Francis Ngannou took on Junior dos Santos in a pivotal heavyweight contender bout. The fight did not last long. Ngannou dropped dos Santos and finished him with strikes just 71 seconds into the fight. Now, Francis Ngannou could very well get another title shot, while for the former champion dos Santos, it is a step back in what appeared to be a resurgence in his career.