UFC News

James Lynch - November 9, 2018

According to former UFC flyweight Justin Scoggins, he was slated to fight this Saturday on short notice against Mark De La Rosa at UFC Denver. The match-up was slated to take place in the bantamweight division. De La Rosa was initially set to face Jordan Espinosa before an injury forced the Contender Series winner off the card. https://twitter.com/combatcobain/status/1060543685367095296

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier has accomplished incredible things in the UFC. He’s one of just two fighters to wear titles in two divisions concurrently, and is the only fighter in UFC history to actively defend two separate titles. Earlier this week, Daniel Cormier showed off the fruits of his labor, flaunting his many UFC belts in a photo he posted to social media.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

We can now add another name to the list of flyweight fighters ostracized by the UFC. As the UFC’s purported closure of the division bears down, UFC flyweight Roberto Sanchez has joined Jared Brooks, Justin Scoggins and Jose Torres among those to be released from the promotion. Roberto Sanchez made this announcement on Instagram, sharing his disappointment but also thanking the UFC for the opportunity they gave him.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Earlier this week, we were hit by the unfortunate news that Saturday’s UFC Denver card has lost one of its best matchups: a flyweight tilt between former title challengers Ray Borg and Joseph Benavidez. Borg withdrew from the matchup with an illness. Mike Perry, who trains under the same roof as Ray Borg at JacksonWink MMA, however, isn’t buying that story. He says that the flyweight is faking his illness.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Artem Lobov was originally supposed to fight Zubaira Tukhugov at the UFC’s recent UFC Moncton card. After Tukhugov got involved in the infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl, however, he was removed from this bout. After a brief scramble, the UFC was able to find a replacement opponent for Artem Lobov in former UFC lightweight contender Michael Johnson. Unfortunately, however, Johnson was unable to make weight for this fight, and was forced to cough up 20% of his fight purse, which was then paid to Lobov.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

The first pay-per-view of the year may have its headliner. According to MMAFighting, Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw is targeted for the card in Anaheim, California on January 26. What weight class that the bout will be at is unknown right now. However, it seems to make the most sense to have the fight at bantamweight given the fact it is reported that the UFC is closing the flyweight division.

Drake Riggs - November 8, 2018

The secret is out. The UFC really is planning on disbanding their men’s flyweight division which means a batch of fighters will need to find new fighting homes. In the end, surely this is being looked at from a business standpoint by the organization. So rather than getting to the bottom of whether or not it was a right or wrong decision overall or more specifically, morally, how about business-wise?

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Earlier this week, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor released a rather bizarre Tweet that seemed to blame ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong for the UFC’s choice to close down its flyweight division. You must now take all the 125lbers that have been let go, Chatri.You talk all of this Martial Art and respect talk, yet your greed has directly cost more than half a fighting division it’s chance to earn income for their family. Have respect @YODCHATRI. Sign the division.

Drake Riggs - November 8, 2018

Every fight announcement for UFC 233 so far has been an eyebrow raiser and that trend just continues with “The Violence Queen” Ariane Lipski (11-3) getting her new UFC debut. Initially, Lipski was to be making her debut on short notice as the replacement for Veronica Macedo at UFC Argentina against Maryna Moroz. Unfortunately, Moroz would suffer a broken foot that left Lipski without an opponent and led to her removal from the card.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

Ever since Demetrious Johnson was traded to ONE Championship there was talk that the UFC would soon be closing the flyweight division. Reports came out yesterday that that was indeed the case. Several flyweights have tweeted that they have been cut and Jarred Brooks was one of them as he told BJPENN.com. Several fighters are now out of a job and Conor McGregor knows someone who should sign them all.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

It appears the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) is still punishing people for the melee that occurred at UFC 229. Right now, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are indefinitely suspended with a hearing on December 10. Well, it appears one of McGregor’s teammates, Dillon Danis and one of Nurmagomedov’s, Zubaira Tukhugov will be facing discipline by the NSAC as well.

James Lynch - November 8, 2018

Now that former UFC champion Jon Jones is scheduled to return to the Octagon on December 29, “Bones” has also found himself in the top spot of the 205-pound rankings. The latest UFC rankings have Jones (22-1) one spot ahead of his UFC 232 foe Alexander Gustafsson and two spots ahead of UFC Moncton main event winner Anthony Smith. The 31-year-old hasn’t fought since a July 2017 no contest against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 where he failed a pre-fight drug test.

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

After the UFC attempted once again to set up Yoel Romero vs Paulo Costa, it fell through and now Romero wants to face Anderson “The Spider” Silva. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC was planning to book Romero vs Costa as the main event of the UFC’s first event on ESPN+ which will take place on January 19 in Brooklyn, New York.

Cole Shelton - November 7, 2018

Jarred Brooks and many other UFC flyweights got the call today. That call would be that their services would no longer be needed in the UFC. The promotion is going about shutting down the division. It is a tough pill to swallow and now leaves about 25 fighters or so out of a job. “Nobody called me from the UFC, they let my manager know,” Brooks told BJPENN.com when discussing the news, “I was just working out and actually, my coach called me. My coach and my manager are really tight, he said ‘yeah news is they are cutting the 125-pound division’ and Justin Scoggins and I were getting cut.”

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/MMAjunkie/status/1060270140405637121?s=19 “This is my last fight at 170 [pounds]. This is it. Going back to [1]55. I’m going to get the belt, it’s time. It’s time. It’s the last thing I gotta do. It’s time.

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will indeed be returning to the Octagon at some point in the future. But he’ll also be staying in the ring. A few months ago Lesnar lost his Universal WWE championship which led us to the confirmation that he would definitely be making his way back to the MMA world.

Drake Riggs - November 7, 2018

It appears that the theory many had is ending up to be true. Demetrious Johnson’s departure isn’t the last of the 125ers that will be leaving the UFC. It started with the talk of current champion Henry Cejudo possibly going up to challenge bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for his title. Soon after Johnson would head to ONE Championship as part of the first-ever MMA “trade”.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson has now been retired from MMA for more than a year, and he has definitely been missed. From the sounds of it, however, he could soon end his retirement — to the elation of his many fans.