UFC News
Cain Velasquez sends Christmas message to upcoming opponent Francis Ngannou
Thomas Taylor - December 23, 2018
Former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez is officially scheduled to return to the Octagon in the New Year. The heavyweight star is booked for a showdown with recent heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou, which will headline the UFC’s return to Phoenix on February 17. While Cain Velasquez and Francis Ngannou are certain to fight each other with the ferocity of sworn enemies, it’s clear that there’s not actually any bad blood between them. In fact, the former champion Velasquez recently took to Twitter to let Ngannou know that his plane ticket to Phoenix is a Christmas present.
Three bold predictions for the UFC in 2019
Cole Shelton - December 23, 2018
2018 has been a great year for the UFC. Yet 2019, which will see the promotion debut on ESPN, could be even greater. While nothing is certain yet, the promotion could make some very big moves in the New Year. Here are a few things we can see happening in 2019.
Conor McGregor says that money was not the motivation for creating Proper No. Twelve whiskey
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
Conor McGregor is more than a world class fighter. The Irish MMA star is also a shrewd businessman, as evidenced by the many side projects he’s got on the go — most notably his ridiculously successful Proper No. Twelve whiskey. There’s no doubt that Conor McGregor has made mountains of money from this new venture, yet apparently, that was never his motivation for creating this whiskey.
VIDEO | Watch Amanda Nunes thump Ronda Rousey ahead of UFC 232
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
In the co-main event of UFC 232, which goes down on December 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will step up to the featherweight division to battle fearsome divisional champion Cris Cyborg. Ahead of this mammoth super fight, the UFC has released video footage of one of the most impressive victory Amanda Nunes has delivered to date: a late 2016 execution of former champion and WMMA icon Ronda Rousey.
EXCLUSIVE | Kyle Nelson will remain in UFC after stepping in on short notice at UFC 231
Cole Shelton - December 23, 2018
Canadian Kyle Nelson will indeed be a UFC fighter for the foreseeable future. Nelson stepped in on short notice to fight Diego Ferreira at UFC 231. However, he lost the fight in the second round by TKO. Even though he lost the fight, Nelson was satisfied with his performance.
Alexander Gustafsson explains why he's 'not a fan' of Jon Jones
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
Alexander Gustafsson is not a fan of Jon Jones, who he’ll battle for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 232 on December 29. The Swedish contender believes professional fighters should be role models, and that Jones’s actions outside the cage make him anything but. “I’m not a fan,” Gustafsson said at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas earlier this week (via MMAjunkie). “We’re all role models here. We have to represent the sport good. I’m not a fan at all. But we’re not here to be friends. We’re here to compete.”
5 super fights the UFC could make in 2019
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
2018 was a big year for the UFC, but with stars like Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez all ready to return to active competition, and champions like Max Holloway and Khabib Nurmagomedov becoming ever more popular, 2019 could be even bigger. In fact, the UFC is in a position to book some pretty epic super fights in the New Year, any number of which could helm blockbuster pay-per-view cards.
PHOTO | TJ Dillashaw looks shredded ahead of flyweight debut
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
On January 19, in the main event of the UFC’s first card on the streaming service ESPN+, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will drop down to flyweight to challenge divisional champ Henry Cejudo for his belt. Heading into this fight, one of the biggest challenges TJ Dillashaw is expected to face is the weight cut down to the 125-pound flyweight limit itself. He tends to look pretty buff when he fights in the 135-pound bantamweight division, and some fans have a hard time envisioning him safely making the cut down to flyweight.
EXCLUSIVE | UFC veteran Matt Brown looks back on his career
Cole Shelton - December 22, 2018
Matt Brown has been fighting in the UFC since 2008. During that time, Brown developed into a perennial contender in the UFC’s stacked welterweight division. Ultimately, however, Brown fell just short in his bid to fight for UFC gold. Nonetheless, Matt was fighting some of the top names in the sport, in the likes of Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson, Johnny Hendricks, Donald Cerrone, Demian Maia, among others. There is no question that Matt Brown has seen a lot in his storied career. Even with that, ‘The Immortal’ doesn’t really reflect on who he has fought in his career, because for him, it is just a fight no matter who the opponent is.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has reportedly received a mega offer to rematch Conor McGregor
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has reportedly received a huge offer to rematch former UFC two-division champ Conor McGregor in 2019. The bitter rivals, Conor and Khabib, first met two months ago in the headliner of October’s UFC 229 event, with “The Eagle” emerging victorious by way of fourth-round submission.
Tyron Woodley requests that the UFC do him one favor before fighting Kamaru Usman
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is still waiting for the promotion to officially book his next title defense. Despite perennial division contender Kamaru Usman recently posting a signed bout agreement, a fight between “The Chosen One” and “The Nigerian Nightmare” has yet to be made official by the UFC.
Jon Jones fires back at his critics: "Who said that’s what a champion has to be?"
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will return to the octagon at next Saturday’s UFC 232 event for a title fight rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. Jones and Gustafsson originally collided at UFC 165 in Toronto and produced one of the greatest fights in UFC history.
Let's have some fun: Nate Diaz vs. Max Holloway at lightweight
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Max Holloway handed Brian Ortega the first loss of his professional career earlier this month at UFC 231 and made it look easy. The current UFC featherweight kingpin, Holloway battered “T-City” with a record-setting number of significant strikes on route to a fourth-round TKO victory.
"I'm pretty sure Conor McGregor and I will be meeting in the Octagon soon!"
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Fight fans are eagerly awaiting news as to who will be the next man to score a “red panty night” and challenge former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor. Following his submisison victory over Mike Perry at UFC Denver, Donald Cerrone stated his desire to square off with the Irish superstar.
Cain Velasquez signs a new four-fight deal with the UFC and will return to the octagon February 17
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC and will return tot he octagon on February 17 in Phoenix, Arizona. The news of Cain’s new four-fight contract came via ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, who posted the following on Twitter.
Heavy Lies The Crown: Max Holloway Edition
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
In this week’s “Heavy Lies the Crown” feature, BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor takes a look at the dangerous challenges awaiting current UFC featherweight king Max Holloway. “Blessed” defended his 145-pound title in stunning fashion earlier this month at UFC 231, scoring a lopsided TKO victory over an insanely tough Brian Ortega in Toronto.
Dana White claims that the UFC puts on 'the best live event in all of sports'
Drake Riggs - December 21, 2018
2018 was a big year for the top MMA promotion in the world. And according to the boss himself, the live experience of the UFC product is simply unmatched. Having been the UFC President since 2001, Dana White has seen it all when it comes to the fight business. White, an avid sports fan of all kinds, recently made an appearance on the Barstool Sports podcast where he made some bold claims.
Jan Blachowicz vs Thiago Santos set to main event UFC Prague
Drake Riggs - December 21, 2018
The UFC heads to the Czech Republic in February for UFC Prague for the third show on ESPN+ on February 23. We now know the main event as it will be a pivotal light heavyweight clash between the No. 4 ranked contender, Poland’s Jan Blachowicz (23-7) and the very active and dangerous Brazilian, the No. 7 ranked Thiago “Marreta” Santos (20-6).