UFC News

Adam Martin - April 3, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Jairzinho Rozenstruik is calling for an interim heavyweight title fight against Francis Ngannou to headline UFC 249. UFC president Dana White continues to be adamant the show will go on despite Khabib Nurmagomedov making it clear he cannot compete at UFC 249 against Tony Ferguson. The promotion is reportedly in talks with Ferguson and Justin Gaethje about a lightweight fight between them to headline the event, but so far nothing has been made official.

Cole Shelton - April 3, 2020

One of the biggest questions in all of MMA is who is the GOAT? Is it someone who had the biggest impact on the sport or the person who won the most? It’s an interesting debate for fighters and fans alike to have at any time. So, with little to no MMA on for the foreseeable future, BJPENN.com reached out to several current and former light heavyweights to ask who their divisional GOAT is. To no surprise, the vast majority picked Jon Jones despite the USADA and legal issues.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2020

Former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold still hasn’t decided if he’ll fight again, but for the moment, it’s not a priority. “I’m taking a leave of absence,” Rockhold said on the Major Waves Podcast (via MMA Junkie). “I’m just kind of doing my thing right now — getting life organized, getting things together. It’s good to be back on the West Coast. I was training out in Florida and it’s just – Florida’s tough. It’s hot, it’s humid – it’s a different lifestyle.”

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2020

Chatri Sityodtong is keen to pit some of the best fighters in ONE Championship against the stars of the UFC. Speaking during a live Q&A on Facebook, Sityodtong was asked about potential ONE Championship vs. UFC super fights and quickly suggested a battle between ONE strawweight champ Xiong Jingnan and her countrywoman, UFC strawweight champ Weili Zhang.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2020

Joe Rogan tries to keep things pretty professional when he’s working as a UFC commentator, but at the end of the day, he’s a fight fan. So, when something crazy happens in the Octagon, he tends to lose his mind. We’ve seen it countless times over the years, and it never ceases to be entertaining. The UFC recently compiled some of the best Joe Rogan reactions in a video posted to social media. See it below:

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2020

Some fight fans might not know it, but long before Michael Bisping became the UFC middleweight champion, he was a DJ. Now retired from fighting and cooped up in his home amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bisping has been brushing up on his DJ skills and sharing the fruits of his efforts with his fans.

Adam Martin - April 3, 2020

UFC women’s flyweight contender Paige VanZant recently provided an update on her upcoming free agency plans, saying she is open to all offers. VanZant has one fight left on her current UFC contract. She was set to fight Amanda Ribas at UFC Brasilia last month but was forced to pull out of the fight after re-breaking her arm. Ribas ended up fighting Randa Markos and putting a beating on her but afterward called for the UFC to re-book the VanZant bout. Whoever VanZant fights next in the Octagon will be the last fight on her current deal, and then she will become a free agent.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2020

Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer is willing to work at UFC 249 on April 18 — provided the UFC can find a location for the card and ensure the safety of staff and fighters during the coronavirus pandemic. “I stand on the basis that, if there’s an event announced – based on the location, the safety factor of everybody involved, how we’re being tested, whatever, all the obvious – if there is such a word anymore, a completely safe thing to do, then let’s do it. Right?” Buffer told MMA Junkie. “Obviously there would not be an audience; we know that.”

Harry Kettle - April 3, 2020

Ben Askren has taken yet another shot at UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman – doing so through his Twitter account. There are very few people that seem to be capable of getting under the skin of “The Nigerian Nightmare”, but it certainly appears as if “Funky” is one of them, even months after his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Natasha Hooper - April 3, 2020

Jorge Masvidal has slammed Kamaru Usman by claiming he has multiple personalities in a scathing video. The sport of MMA features many outspoken personalities and trash-talking. Fighters such as Henry Cejudo and Colby Covington have been criticized for intentionally playing up to the camera and changing their personality to gain notoriety. The “BMF” winner and rising welterweight star, Masvidal has been very critical of fighters’ media behavior. He previously called out Covington for putting on a performance despite being the “most sensitive guy in the UFC.” He also accused his former opponent Ben Askren of playing up to the camera. Now, “Gamebred” is calling out Kamaru Usman for the same behavior.

Natasha Hooper - April 3, 2020

Jorge Masvidal may have found a new friend in his former foe, Ben Askren. On Twitter, the “BMF” winner asked his former opponent to join his “creative department”, to which “Funky” responded. In recent months, Masvidal has been targetting the welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. The fighters are expected to collide in the Octagon soon. For the meantime, “Gamebred” has used his time to mock the champion and even accuse him of having “multiple personalities”. This week, he posted a video of Usman that shows “The Nigerian Nightmare” contradicting himself and previously praising the BMF champion.

Harry Kettle - April 3, 2020

The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has canceled all combat sports events for the month of May, creating yet another dilemma for UFC. While the majority of promotions have already canceled or postponed some of their events across the next few months, the Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to try and push on – despite the overwhelming evidence being that they shouldn’t.

Cole Shelton - April 2, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t believe he should be stripped of his belt after withdrawing from UFC 249. The undefeated lightweight champion did an Instagram Live where he said is stuck in Russia and UFC 249 would most likely go on without him. Following that, Ferguson called for Nurmagomedov to be stripped. For the lightweight champ, he says that proves “El Cucuy” is a stupid guy.

Adam Martin - April 2, 2020

The UFC has launched a new Record Book website and fans can now deep dive into statistics and records for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Many other sports have intensive record-keeping websites for statistics, such as Baseball-Reference for MLB and HockeyDB for hockey. Now, the UFC has its own such site in the form of the UFC Record Book. Many of the stats are taken from the old FightMetric website and they are now put together in a much more comprehensive website.

Chris Taylor - April 2, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov is still willing to leave Russia for a fight with Tony Ferguson on April 18, but he needs Dana White to give him some answers. The promotions undisputed UFC lightweight champion, Khabib, had hinted on Wednesday that he would be unable to participate at UFC 249 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Adam Martin - April 2, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson is gunning for matchups against Colby Covington and Leon Edwards when the MMA schedule resumes. Thompson is currently the No. 5 ranked welterweight on the UFC roster. In his last fight, he defeated Vicente Luque via unanimous decision to jump back into the winner’s circle after back-to-back losses to Darren Till and Anthony Pettis. Now that he’s back on track, Thompson is gunning for two fighters ranked above him in Covington and Edwards.

Tom Taylor - April 2, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov has spent quite a bit of time broadcasting on Instagram Live over the last 24 hours, primarily explaining why he will not be fighting Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. One of his recent sessions was nearly commandeered by his arch rival Conor McGregor. See the moment that McGregor attempted to goad Nurmagomedov into bringing him into the broadcast below (h/t RT Sport):

Tom Taylor - April 2, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov will not be fighting Tony Ferguson on April 18 as originally planned. This marks the fifth time the bout has fallen through, but the hope is that the UFC will try for a sixth time to book the fight when the coronavirus pandemic subsides. Speaking during an Instagram Live session on Thursday, Nurmagomedov offered up two potential dates for a rescheduled fight with Ferguson, noting that he will first have celebrate Ramadan — a period during which he never fights.