MMA News

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith believes he’s quite close to another shot at the division’s ultimate prize. Smith, who lost a decision to Jon Jones in a light heavyweight title fight in 2019, is currently riding a TKO loss to Glover Teixeira. However, after Jones vacated the light heavyweight title to move up to heavyweight, the former title challenger sees a clear path back to the championship, despite suffering a setback in his last outing.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

We’ve got a small update on a potential superfight between former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre and reigning lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre recently joined Chisanga Malata of the Daily Star for an interview, and divulged that, as of yet, he hasn’t received an offer from the UFC with respect to a potential fight with the lightweight champion.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 7 card, and as expected, there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is now a ranked bantamweight having defeated Pedro Munhoz with a controversial split decision in the card’s main event. Edgar, who has spent the last few years competing in the featherweight division, was making a debut at bantamweight, and has swiped the division’s No. 5 spot in victory.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez hopes Daniel Cormier, one of his most decorated students, sticks to his retirement. Cormier had been floating his retirement plans for over a year, and made that retirement official after UFC 252, where he came up short by decision against UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.

Adam Martin - August 26, 2020

The full betting odds have been released for the 11 fights scheduled to take place Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 33: Smith vs. Rakic event. In the main event, two of the top-10 light heavyweights in the UFC go at it as Aleksandar Rakic takes on Anthony Smith. Rakic is coming off of a split decision loss to Volkan Oezdemir in his last outing, while Smith is coming off a  brutal TKO loss to Glover Teixeira. With Jon Jones recently vacating his title, this is a very important fight in the 205lbs title picture.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold believes he still has what it takes to hang with the top fighters in his weight division. Rockhold has not fought since a 2019 knockout loss to Jan Blachowicz in the light heavyweight division. After that loss, he gave reason to believe he might end up retiring, but he recently announced his intention to fight again.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

UFC 253 is one of the biggest events on the combat sports calendar, but the location of the event has been a mystery until now. According a report from Brazilian combat sports publication AgFight, the card will go down on the UFC’s Fight Island—Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The UFC has promoted four events on Fight Island thus far, all in July, and it certainly makes sense that UFC 253 will be the fifth. The card features many international fighters who likely have a far easier time getting to Abu Dhabi than they would to Las Vegas.

Tom Taylor - August 26, 2020

UFC President Dana White has responded to the critics of his scheduled appearance at the Republican National Convention this week. White is slated speak in favor of US President Donald Trump on Thursday, which is the final night of the convention. While the UFC boss’s support of Trump is certainly no secret, his dabbling in the world of politics has still generated plenty of backlash.

Natasha Hooper - August 26, 2020

Dana White has rapid expansion plans for the UFC and that even includes creating the first UFC hotel. The UFC president is attempting to grow the company on a global scale by building more UFC gyms, signing more partnership deals, and hosting more international events (especially when not in the midst of a pandemic).

Natasha Hooper - August 26, 2020

Anthony Johnson is eligible to return to the UFC’s Octagon in early 2021 after re-entering the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool. In April 2017, the heavyweight fighter came up short in his second shot at UFC light heavyweight gold when he fought former champion, Daniel Cormier. Despite his submission loss in the second round, he was still regarded as one of the top 205-pound fighters, and his subsequent retirement from MMA shocked fans around the world.

Adam Martin - August 25, 2020

UFC legend Anderson Silva will retire following his fight against Uriah Hall on Halloween, confirmed UFC president Dana White. Silva is 45 years old and is the oldest fighter on the UFC roster. On October 31, he returns to the Octagon one last time when he takes on Hall in a battle between two incredible strikers. For Silva, the fight against Hall will mark the final time he makes the walk to the Octagon. The long-time UFC middleweight champion is one of the greatest fighters of all time, but in recent years he has really struggled, losing four of his last five fights.

Adam Martin - August 25, 2020

UFC president Dana White says a matchup between Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier will “probably” take place at UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje. White recently revealed that the UFC was working on an intriguing lightweight matchup between Ferguson and Poirier for an upcoming card. With so many of the UFC’s upcoming events already booked with five-round headliners, fans and media were already speculating what card the fight could take place on. It seems like the type of big fight that deserves five rounds but considering the upcoming schedule that may not be possible.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2020

Alexander Volkanovski has a simple message to the featherweight division: Start fighting. Volkanovski is coming off his first title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 251. Following the win, many wondered what would be next for the champ. He made it clear the division needed to start fighting, and nearly two months later, the message remains the same.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2020

Diego Sanchez reveals Nick Diaz used to send him hate e-mails where the Stockton, California native brought up Sanchez’s parents. Sanchez and Diaz fought back in 2005 at The Ultimate Fighter 2 finale with Sanchez getting the job done by decision. The two had a rivalry in the lead up to the fight, but now, the 38-year-old reveals the rivalry went deeper than most realized.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2020

Paulo Costa continues to taunt Israel Adesanya ahead of their UFC 253 title fight. For months now, Costa and Adesanya have taken shots at one another. The trash-talk has been intense, but recently, the middleweight champion questioned if the Brazilian has been tested by USADA.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2020

Bruce Buffer isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Buffer has been the voice of the Octagon for over 25 years. As of late has had to provide the same energy with no fans in the building. Yet, for Buffer, he says even when fans are in arenas, the introduction has always just been him and the fighter.

Tom Taylor - August 25, 2020

UFC President Dana White is scheduled to speak at the Republican National Convention this week, and there are some pretty interesting prop bets available for his appearance. Check out some of the bets available below via BetOnline/MMA Mania:

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2020

The eighth episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 8. We’re first joined by the voice of the Octagon, Bruce Buffer (1:46). Next, former UFC featherweight and Top Rank boxing star, Clay Collard (15:38) comes on. Then, rising featherweight contender, Giga Chikadze (27:47) joins the program. Finally, UFC middleweight, Zak Cummings (43:59) closes out the show.