UFC News
Chael Sonnen rips Jon Jones over “has been” comment
Natasha Hooper - May 18, 2020
Jon Jones has been spending his COVID-19 lockdown on Twitter going back and forth with many of his rivals. His latest target is Chael Sonnen. The former middleweight and light heavyweight title contender turned MMA analyst responded to the light heavyweight champion’s insults.
Anthony Smith calls referee Jason Herzog’s apology a “cowardly move"
Harry Kettle - May 18, 2020
UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith isn’t happy with referee Jason Herzog’s apology following his loss to Glover Teixeira. Smith, who was considered to be the favorite heading into his main event fight against Teixeira, was overwhelmed by the veteran in what turned out to be a fairly one-sided beating for the Brazilian.
Ben Rothwell calls MMA judging "extra disgusting lately"
Adam Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell is not a fan of the recent slate of decisions in MMA, calling the judging “extra disgusting lately.” Rothwell was responding to a Tweet from women’s strawweight contender Angela Hill, who lost a narrow split decision to Claudia Gadelha in the co-main event of UFC Florida. The Hill decision was high scrutinized by fans and media, as were the decisions giving Dan Ige the victory over Edson Barboza and Song Yadong defeating Marlon Vera. Overall, the judging was very poor at UFC Florida and UFC president Dana White said as much himself.
Videos | Top 5 Submissions: UFC 51 – UFC 60
Adam Martin - May 17, 2020
Check out videos of the top five submissions from UFC 51 to UFC 60, featuring Matt Hughes submitting Frank Trigg at UFC 52 in a classic fight. In our latest series here at BJPenn.com “Top 5 Submissions” we take a look at the most lethal submissions from the fifth block of UFC events. These submissions all took place from 2005 to 2006, and they feature numerous future UFC Hall of Famers in their early days. Keep in mind there are many other submissions deserving of the list, but we had to choose just five.
Rose Namajunas the lone UFC fighter to have issues with fighting during COVID-19, says Dana White
Adam Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC president Dana White said that as far as he’s aware Rose Namajunas is the lone UFC fighter to not want to fight during the coronavirus pandemic. Namajunas was set to fight Jessica Andrade at the original UFC 249 card but understandably withdrew from the event after several members of her family passed away from COVID-19. The promotion told fighters on the roster during a conference call that no one is forced to fight during the coronavirus pandemic and it wouldn’t be held against any fighter if they choose not to fight.
Dana White disagrees with decision in Dan Ige fight: "I had Edson Barboza winning the fight"
Adam Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC president Dana White said that he disagreed with the judges in the Dan Ige fight, saying that he scored the bout in favor of Edson Barboza. Ige won a highly controversial split decision, with the judges awarding him the bout 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28 over Barboza, who also dropped a highly-scrutinized decision to Paul Felder in his last fight at UFC 242. Many pros reacted to the decision on social media, with the majority of those commenting saying they believed Barboza had done enough to beat Ige. Count White among those who thought that Barboza won.
Urijah Faber believes referee stopped Dominick Cruz vs. Henry Cejudo too early
Adam D Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC bantamweight legend Urijah Faber believes the referee stopped the Dominick Cruz vs. Henry Cejudo fight at UFC 249 too soon. Cejudo dropped Cruz with a knee and then followed it up with a barrage of punches which led to referee Keith Peterson stepping in and waving off the contest. Immediately following the stoppage Cruz protested it, saying that he was fine and that Peterson stopped it too early. After the event, Cruz accused Peterson of using “alcohol and cigarettes” prior to reffing the fight.
Rafael dos Anjos wonders if judging criteria has changed due to the pandemic
Adam D Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC welterweight contender Rafael dos Anjos wonders if the coronavirus pandemic has led to a change in the judging criteria in MMA. UFC Florida featured a number of controversial decisions that left fans, fighters including dos Anjos, and even the media up in arms on social media. The co-main event featured Claudia Gadelha win a controversial split decision over Angela Hill, while elsewhere on the main card Dan Ige won a hotly-contested split decision over Edson Barboza and Song Yadong won a surprising unanimous decision over Marlon Vera. The prelims also featured a close decision between Nate Landwehr and Darren Elkins.
Photo | Scorecards from last night’s hotly debated Dan Ige vs. Edson Barboza result
Adam D Martin - May 17, 2020
The judges’ scorecards have been released for the hotly-debated featherweight fight at UFC Florida between Dan Ige and Edson Barboza. In his first fight since dropping down to featherweight, Barboza appeared to have done enough to win the first two rounds against Ige and take home a decision, but the judges gave the bout to Ige via split decision instead. It’s the second straight controversial split decision loss in a row for Barboza after dropping another hotly-debated decision to Paul Felder at UFC 242. For Ige, meanwhile, that makes it six straight wins, with Barboza representing the biggest name on his resume thus far.
Marlon Vera blasts judges following controversial loss at UFC on ESPN 8
Adam D Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera blasted the judges following a highly controversial unanimous decision loss to Song Yadong at UFC Florida. Vera and Yadong went back-and-forth for 15 minutes and each man won a share of the “Fight of the Night” bonus for their tremendous showings in the fight. Many felt that while it was a competitive fight, it should have been Vera getting his hand raised. But the judges decided to go in the opposite direction, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in favor of Yadong, giving Yadong the first two round and Vera the last.
Dominick Cruz reacts to the refereeing at UFC on ESPN 8: “Send him a gift basket”
Adam D Martin - May 17, 2020
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz reacted to the officiating in the UFC Florida main event of Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris. Harris hurt Overeem badly with punches in the first round, but referee Dan Miragliota let Overeem fight out of it. The veteran then came back to win via TKO in the second round. During the first round, some observers remarked that Miragliotta gave Overeem much more leeway than Cruz was given last weekend against Henry Cejudo at UFC 249.
Matt Brown reacts following knockout loss to Miguel Baeza at UFC on ESPN 8
Adam D Martin - May 17, 2020
UFC welterweight Matt Brown has reacted following his second-round KO loss to Miguel Baeza on the preliminary card at UFC Florida. After a back-and-forth first round where Brown had Baeza hurt badly at several points, the younger Baeza was able to land a big punch in the second that knocked the veteran Brown to the floor, where Baeza finished him off with strikes for the biggest win of his career. Baeza ended up earning a well-deserved $50,000 bonus for “Performance of the Night” for the most impressive victory in his career so far.