UFC News

Adam Martin - October 8, 2019

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker put Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje on blast, telling both fighters that one of them will have to fight him next. “The Hangman” shared the message on his Twitter. Here’s what he said.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2019

Eryk Anders is back to middleweight following a brief stint at light heavyweight. When he makes his return to 185 pounds at UFC Tampa this Saturday, Gerald Meerschaert will be standing across from him. Although Anders is coming off of a knockout win at light heavyweight last time out, he has a simple reason for moving back to middleweight.

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2019

Over the weekend, the UFC returned to our screens with the action-packed UFC 243 card in Melbourne, Australia. The card was topped by a middleweight title fight between undisputed champion Robert Whittaker and interim champion Israel Adesanya. In the end, Adesanya became the UFC’s one true middleweight king with a second-round stoppage of Whittaker.

Harry Kettle - October 8, 2019

UFC strawweight champion Weili Zhang has confirmed that her request for a visa to enter the United States has been rejected. Zhang (20-1) became the queen of the strawweights on August 31 when she defeated Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds to become the first ever Chinese-born champion in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was a monumental moment for the development of mixed martial arts in Asia, and it was seen by many as a turning point for Weili’s star power within the sport.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou is urging the promotion to book him for a fight, and a surprise opponent has thrown his name in the hat. “The Predator” took to Twitter to express his displeasure to the UFC for not booking him in a fight since his knockout win over Junior dos Santos in June. It appears that Ngannou is getting restless and wants to fight again as soon as possible.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2019

Israel Adesanya will have his first title defense against Paulo Costa this March in Las Vegas.  Sources told BJPENN.com the two camps are in preliminary talks and a date has been agreed upon. The UFC flew Paulo Costa out to Australia to watch the fight between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker, where following the fight they started negotiations. 

Harry Kettle - October 7, 2019

Former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor has taken a shot at his UFC 229 opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov, one year after their iconic Lightweight Championship clash in Las Vegas. McGregor, who hasn’t fought since that infamous night at T-Mobile Arena, has been heavily linked with a return to the Octagon ever since he was defeated by The Eagle via fourth round submission.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov said that Conor McGregor hitting an elderly man shows that he lacks morality and manners and he doesn’t believe he has earned a title shot. “The Eagle” was interviewed by reporters in Russia and was asked his honest thoughts on McGregor. Here’s what the champ said via RT.

Thomas Taylor - October 7, 2019

Earlier this year, Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya collided with the UFC interim middleweight title on the line. After five, razor-close rounds, Adesanya was named the winner and adorned with a UFC belt. Over the weekend, Adesanya became the undisputed middleweight champion with a second-round stoppage of Robert Whittaker. Gastelum, on the other hand, is gearing up for a UFC 244 scrap with Darren Till.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

Edson Barboza’s manager Alex Davis says that rival Paul Felder has agreed to a trilogy fight after their controversial split decision outcome at UFC 242. Felder won a split decision with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 27-30 in his favor. The fact that opposing judges had the fights 30-27 in favor of each fighter was very concerning.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

Israel Adesanya did something not many UFC fighters have done at UFC 243 — and I’m not talking about beating Robert Whittaker, as impressive as that was. Instead, I’m referring to his walk to the cage which, in an absurdly rare twist, actually featured a degree of flavor and originality. For whatever reason, the fun-killers in UFC boardroom have historically shown a complete reluctance to let fighters make their walkouts even remotely interesting. Sure, there was the time Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes walked out to live performances from Sinead O’Connor and Aaron Lewis respectively. Former UFC fighters James Te Huna and Tom Lawlor have also had a few fun walkouts. But as a general rule, a UFC fighter’s walkout is little more than a trip from Point A to Point B set to some music that, in some cases, wasn’t even that fighter’s choice.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman makes his light heavyweight debut next weekend in the main event of UFC Boston against top-ranked contender Dominick Reyes. It’s a huge opportunity for Weidman, and he knows it. According to Weidman, a win over Reyes would immediately catapult him into the top-five and get him closer to a matchup against UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones Weidman spoke to UFC Unfiltered recently and said he believes a win over Reyes would allow him to skip the line and get a matchup against Jones sooner than expected.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

New UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya heaped praise upon surging contender Jared Cannonier, saying he has been impressed by Cannonier’s quick rise up the middleweight rankings. “The Last Stylebender” was asked by reporters at the UFC 243 post-fight press conference what other middleweight contenders impress him, and Adesanya immediately singled out Cannonier as someone who expects to defend his belt against in the near future.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been officially removed from both the USADA testing pool and the UFC rankings. The moves are an indication that Velasquez is done with MMA, at least for the time being. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion recently made an appearance on WWE Smackdown, putting the pain on former Octagon rival Brock Lesnar.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

For a time, Jimi Manuwa and Daniel Cormier were heated rivals in the UFC light heavyweight division. Regrettably, the pair never got the chance to share the cage and likely never will, as Manuwa has since retired, and Cormier has hiked up to the heavyweight division. Much of Cormier’s time in the heavyweight division has been consumed by a rivalry with Stipe Miocic. The pair are tied 1-1 across two previous title fights, with Cormier winning the first encounter by first-round knockout, and Miocic winning the rematch, which occurred at UFC 241 in August, by fourth-round TKO.

Mike Heck - October 7, 2019

Jared Cannonier went from rising middleweight fighter on the UFC roster to world title contender in just under six minutes last month at UFC Copenhagen. After defeating Jack Hermansson, Cannonier sees himself mixing things up with the likes of Yoel Romero, Kelvin Gastelum, Darren Till, or anyone blocking his path to a title shot. “Killa Gorilla” finished Hermansson via second-round TKO in the main event of the UFC’s trip to Denmark. While it was one of the biggest wins of his career — snapping the four-fight winning streak of Hermansson — Cannonier is already back to normal life as Dad.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2019

Michelle Waterson is calling it the biggest fight of her career. In the main event of UFC Tampa, she is taking on former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and the winner could very well be getting the next title shot.

Tom Taylor - October 7, 2019

Colby Covington has alienated many of his stablemates at American Top Team, and that includes former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk gave her thoughts on Covington during a recent interview with James Lynch of theScore.