MMA News

Adam Martin - January 13, 2021

UFC president Dana White broke down this weekend’s welterweight bout between “two legendary savages” Carlos Condit and Matt Brown. Condit and Brown are two of the most exciting welterweights of the past decade and this dream fight has been one that the UFC has tried to book twice in the past, both times unsuccessfully. The fight was booked in both 2013 and 2018, with the bout falling off each time. The promotion then booked this fight for the third time, and it’s set to take place as the co-main event of this Saturday’s UFC on ABC 1 event. The hope is that with the fight just a few days away, fans will finally get to see this fight.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2021

UFC President Dana White says he’s currently working on a fight for fan favorite lightweight and welterweight star, Nate Diaz. Diaz is one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster, but has not fought since November, 2019, when he was stopped by Jorge Masvidal in the promotion’s first and only “BMF” title fight.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2021

The commentary teams for the UFC’s upcoming three-event stint on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi have been made official. The UFC is set to promote three events on Fight Island starting this weekend. The first will be UFC Fight Island 7, headlined by a featherweight fight between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar, on Saturday, January 16. Next up will be UFC Fight Island 8, headlined by a welterweight clash between Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa, on Wednesday, January 20. The fun will conclude on Saturday, January 23 with the stacked UFC 257 pay-per-view, headlined by a lightweight clash between top-5 contenders Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2021

UFC President Dana White says brain injury is “just part of the gig” for those who compete in combat sports like mixed martial arts. Brain injury has been a widely discussed topic inside the MMA bubble this year. Earlier this month, the UFC donated $1 million to the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. Then, earlier this week, MMA Fighting published an in-depth long-form article on UFC veteran Spencer Fisher’s struggle with CTE. In the article, Fisher detailed problems with dizzy spells, reduced motor function, memory loss, depression, and more. He and his wife also discussed their struggle to find and pay for the treatment he needs.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2021

Tony Ferguson recently took a trip down memory lane, reminiscing on the times he was scheduled to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ferguson was scheduled to battle Nurmagomedov a ridiculous five times to no avail, with the matchup falling through due to last-minute injuries, pandemic-related travel restrictions, and more.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2021

A welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev has been rescheduled once again, this time for the main event of a card on March 13. News of this matchup’s new date was first reported by MMA Junkie, who received the information directly from UFC President Dana White.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Dusko Todorovic was surprised with the name on his bout agreement. At UFC Fight Island 7, Todorovic, who is 10-0, will battle fellow undefeated prospect, Punahele Soriano. Although the fight was surprising to many fans, given both Todorvic and Soriano are top prospects, the Serbian no longer cares as he is now just focused on the task at hand and figured he would’ve fought Soriano eventually.

Drake Riggs - January 12, 2021

Stephen Thompson looked better than ever in his last time out. With the momentum gained to close out 2020, “Wonderboy” targets a big 2021. The last UFC main event of the past year saw welterweight’s Geoff Neal presented with a big opportunity — a chance to leapfrog many of the division’s top contenders with a win over a former title challenger.

Drake Riggs - January 12, 2021

Michael Chandler has his UFC debut set. At UFC 257, the former three-time Bellator champion will be helping provide some clarity in the grand scheme of things at 155-pounds. In doing so, he’ll go to war with Dan “The Hangman” Hooker.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Max Holloway is looking to do something special when he fights Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Fight Island 7. Holloway is set to fight in his first non-title fight since he beat Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199. Although he won’t be fighting for a title, he will be on network TV as the event will air live on ABC. For Holloway, he is excited to be the main event for the first card on ABC and promises to do something special for the fans.

Adam Martin - January 12, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is looking absolutely shredded at age 41 ahead of a potential return to the Octagon in 2021. Faber is the former WEC featherweight champion and he was a long-time star for the UFC during the 2010s. The California native first retired in 2016 following a decision win over Brad Pickett, but he returned to the Octagon in 2019 to make a comeback. In his return fight, Faber scored an incredible KO win over Ricky Simon in his native Sacramento. He was then booked against rising star Petr Yan but he got knocked out at UFC 245. Faber has not fought since then, and that fight was in December 2019.

Adam Martin - January 12, 2021

UFC on ABC 1 lost another fight as a middleweight bout between Omari Akhmedov and Tom Breese has been postponed for an extra four days. Akhmedov vs. Breese was supposed to go down this Saturday night at UFC on ABC 1 in Abu Dhabi. However, the UFC announced that fight has been moved to UFC Fight Island 8 on January 20 instead due to COVID-19 issues. It’s not clear who tested positive, but it likely appears to be a case of contact tracking that led the UFC to wait a few extra days to book the Akhmedov vs. Breese fight. The two are now on track to step into the Octagon next Wednesday on the Chiesa/Magny undercard.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Matt Brown is eager to finally share the Octagon with Carlos Condit. In the co-main event of UFC Fight Island 7, Brown and Condit will finally fight one another after two previous bookings in 2013 and 2018 feel through due to Brown hurting his back and tearing his ACL.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Manny Pacquiao is looking to box Conor McGregor in the very near future. Ever since McGregor lost to Floyd Mayweather, there have always been talks about the Irishman boxing Pacquiao. However, there hasn’t been much talk of it since, but according to the boxer, he wants to compete against McGregor.

Tom Taylor - January 12, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich has been fired from his commentary job with LFA after attending last week’s Capitol riot. Miletich was among the throngs of Donald Trump supporters in Washington, DC last week, some of whom ultimately stormed the Capitol building in an attempted insurrection that left several people dead.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

The 24th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Fight Island 7 and UFC Fight Island 8. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_22658022", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"701682"} });

Tom Taylor - January 12, 2021

Reigning UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo is hoping to fight the division’s former champ Henry Cejudo—at bantamweight. Figueiredo has not fought since December, when he defended the flyweight strap in a thrilling draw against Brandon Moreno. While UFC President Dana White has stated he intends to book a rematch between Figueiredo and Moreno, the champ is fixated on a fight with Cejudo, who previously ruled over the flyweight and bantamweight divisions—and he wants to do it at 135 pounds.

Tom Taylor - January 12, 2021

Dustin Poirier has revealed his game plan for his rematch with Conor McGregor, which will headline the UFC 257 card on January 23. Poirier and McGregor first met in 2014, in the featherweight division. McGregor won that first encounter via knockout in just 1:46.