MMA News
James Krause says UFC declined his offer to fight Joaquin Buckley twice: "It's dead in the water"
Adam Martin - February 24, 2021
James Krause says the UFC matchmakers twice declined his offer to fight Joaquin Buckley, and he thinks the matchup’s “dead in the water” now. Krause and Buckley have had tension for quite a while now due to previous issues at gyms in the Kansas City area, and both men have expressed interest in potentially fighting each other for several months. Calls for the fight became especially loud after Buckley knocked out Impa Kasanganay last fall with an insane head kick. However, the UFC did not book the fight between Buckley and Krause, instead choosing to match up Buckley with other opponents such as Jordan Wright and Alessio Di Chirico in an effort to build him into a contender at middleweight. Those efforts shot up into flames when Buckley himself was the victim of a brutal KO by di Chirico.
Valentina Shevchenko set to defend flyweight title against Jessica Andrade at UFC 261
Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021
UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is set to defend her title against No. 1 contender Jessica Andrade at UFC 261 on April 24. UFC President Dana White announced this matchup through ESPN, the promotion’s official broadcast partner.
ONE Championship reveals lineup for Atomweight World Grand Prix
Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021
ONE Championship has announced the eight-woman lineup for its anticipated Atomweight World Grand Prix. ONE has been teasing its Atomweight World Grand Prix for quite some time, and on Wednesday, finally revealed the eight woman that will compose the tournament lineup.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik on UFC Vegas 20 opponent Ciryl Gane: "This guy has a lot of hype"
Adam Martin - February 24, 2021
UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik commented on his upcoming UFC Vegas 20 opponent Ciryl Gane, saying that “this guy has a lot of hype.” There are many MMA analysts who believe Gane could be a future UFC heavyweight champion. Not only does he have the Muay Thai striking background, but he also has an absolutely phenomenal ground game to go along with it, which is a rarity for a big man of his size. There is so much hype behind Gane that, despite being ranked No. 7 in the UFC, he’s a huge betting favorite heading into this fight against Rozenstruik despite the fact “Bigi Boi” is ranked above Gane at No. 3. That right there shows how much hype there is right now behind Gane, hype that Rozenstruik hopes to steal.
Anthony Johnson shuts down notion that Bellator is inferior to UFC
Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021
Anthony Johnson has a message for anybody who believes Bellator is inferior to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Johnson, who fought for the UFC from 2007 to 2017 and competed for the light heavyweight title two times in the stretch, migrated to Bellator to much fanfare earlier this year.
Sage Northcutt returns at ONE on TNT 4, meets Japanese legend Shinya Aoki
Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021
ONE Championship’s Sage Northcutt is finally slated to return to action. The former UFC star will take on Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki at ONE on TNT 4 on April 28. News of this matchup, which will occur in ONE’s 170-pound lightweight division, was given to ESPN by ONE officials. The promotion has since confirmed the fight on social media.
Kevin Lee says Khabib Nurmagomedov should vacate the UFC lightweight title
Adam Martin - February 24, 2021
Kevin Lee believes that UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov should make the decision to vacate his title and walk away from MMA. Lee is one of the top-15 lightweights in the world and is one of the fighters striving to hold the belt that Nurmagomedov currently wears around his waist. However, with “The Eagle” openly talking about retiring, Lee wants him to give up his title and let the rest of the division be able to fight for it again. Speaking to SCMP MMA, Lee said he hopes the UFC lets Nurmagomedov retire in peace and encouraged him to give up his belt.
Max Holloway lays out plans for busy 2021
Tom Taylor - February 24, 2021
After fighting just once in 2020, former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is hoping for a much busier 2021. Holloway is already off to a good start in that regard, having kicked off the year with a dazzling decision victory over Calvin Kattar. With that win behind him, he’s hoping to stay busy and fight two more times by the end of the year.
Daniel Cormier shares prediction for Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya title fight at UFC 259
Harry Kettle - February 24, 2021
Daniel Cormier has given his thoughts on the upcoming Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya. The two men will meet at UFC 259 in a fight that will see Blachowicz defend his newly won belt for the very first time. Adesanya, on the other hand, will be attempting to join an elite group of fighters to hold two belts in the UFC at the very same time.
400-pound Zuluzinho loses fight after nearly finishing opponent in Russia
Drake Riggs - February 23, 2021
In the typical fashion of a Zuluzinho fight, especially in 2021, there was some weirdness. Taking place in Russia, the PRIDE FC vet earned his 10th career loss. At AMC Fight Nights: Sochi after three rounds of action against unbeaten 5-0-1 Yusup Shuaev, the 400-pounder connected with a big punch to drop his opponent. Immediately celebrating, little did Zuluzinho know that the fight hadn’t been stopped.
Michael Chandler offers support to Dan Hooker, believes they will fight again in the future
Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021
Michael Chandler has offered his support to Dan Hooker. Hooker recently posted on social media that he is back in New Zealand but in quarantine. He shared a photo of him behind the fence with his wife and daughter looking at him. It was a sad photo and what made it worse is the fact he still has another 12 days to go in quarantine, despite already being away from his family for 44 days.
TJ Dillashaw wants rematch with "lucky" Henry Cejudo to prove he's not "as good as he thinks he is"
Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021
TJ Dillashaw is hoping to lure Henry Cejudo out of retirement. In January of 2019, Dillashaw dropped down to flyweight to face Cejudo to try and become a champ-champ. Unfortunately for Dillashaw, the fight did not go his way as he was knocked out in 32 seconds and was then suspended for two years by USADA.
Curtis Blaydes releases statement following nasty knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at UFC Vegas 19
Adam D Martin - February 23, 2021
UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes released a statement following his nasty knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 19. Blaydes was a massive betting favorite heading into the UFC Vegas 19 main event against Lewis, and for the first round at least, he appeared to be the better fighter. Blaydes didn’t even need to use his wrestling in the first round as he was able to outstrike Lewis and take the first round. However, the second round would prove to be a different beast. After attempting a takedown, Lewis connected on a gigantic uppercut which knocked his opponent to the floor, where he landed two follow-up shots before the referee stepped in.
Alex Oliveira gets short-notice replacement opponent for UFC Vegas 20 as Ramazan Kuramagomedov fills in
Adam Martin - February 23, 2021
UFC welterweight Alex Oliveira will stay on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 20 card after all, with Ramazan Kuramagomedov stepping up on short notice. Oliveira was originally set to take on Randy Brown in what would have been an exciting bout between two fan favorites. Unfortunately for Oliveira, his status on this weekend’s card was up in the air while the UFC sought out a new opponent. Thankfully, the UFC matchmakers got Kuramagomedov to step up on short notice. The Russian will now make his UFC debut this Saturday against Oliveira, with MMAjunkie.com first reporting the news.
Daniel Cormier offers Dana White advice about Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement: "Keep trying"
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes Dana White should keep trying to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight again. Nurmagomedov, the UFC lightweight champ, announced his retirement after an October submission victory over Justin Gaethje. Despite the champ’s retirement announcement, UFC President Dana White has been determined to convince him to fight again.
Alexa Grasso "very happy" with win over Maycee Barber, believes title shot isn't far off
Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021
Alexa Grasso picked up one of the biggest wins of her career as she beat Maycee Barber at UFC 258. Entering the fight, all the hype was around Barber making her return. However, as Grasso was quietly going about her business, in the co-main event, she proved to everyone just how good she is.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 29 with Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Alexander Hernandez, and Dustin Jacoby
Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021
The 29th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 20. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_22657760", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"723957"} });
PFL announces first-round featherweight, lightweight matchups, including debut of Anthony Pettis
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced the first-round matchups for its featherweight and lightweight seasons—including the league debut of former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. The league unveiled its first-round featherweight and lightweight fights, all of which will go down on the PFL 1 event on April 23, on Tuesday morning.