MMA News
Khabib Nurmagomedov blames Conor McGregor's performance for UFC 229 post-fight brawl: "I was preparing for war and he tapped"
Cole Shelton - February 3, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov says Conor McGregor’s poor performance at UFC 229 played a key role in him starting the post-fight brawl. After Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor, ‘The Eagle’ jumped out of the Octagon and attacked Dillon Danis in the Irishman’s corner. People from Nurmagomedov’s corner then went into the Octagon to try and fight McGregor as all hell broke loose.
Sam Alvey not flustered by short-notice fight: "I'd fight Ngannou if they want me to"
Josh Evanoff - February 3, 2022
Sam Alvey is currently riding a seven-fight winless streak inside the octagon. Despite that skid, he remains undeterred by any fighter on the roster. ‘Smiling Sam’ is scheduled to fight Brendan Allen this weekend at UFC Vegas 47 at 205 pounds. However, that was far from the plan to start with. Alvey was originally scheduled to fight Ian Heinisch at middleweight at the event.
Pro fighters make their picks for Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland
Cole Shelton - February 3, 2022
In the main event of UFC Vegas 47, a battle of top-10 middleweights go down as Jack Hermansson takes on Sean Strickland. Heading into the fight, Strickland is a -210 favorite while the Swede is a +175 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros believe Strickland will be able to keep it standing and either get a late finish or a clear decision win.
Khabib Nurmagomedov scoffs at Jake Paul’s Eagle FC ultimatum: “He has to learn a lot”
Susan Cox - February 3, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov established Eagle Fighting Championship in 2020 after retiring as a former UFC lightweight champion. ‘The Eagle’ has no intention of competing again.
Sean Strickland explains why Kevin Holland doesn’t like him: “I think I told him I could rape him in prison one day”
Susan Cox - February 3, 2022
Sean Strickland, 30, (24-3 MMA) is currently competing in the UFC middleweight division and has opened up on why Kevin Holland doesn’t like him. Strickland has been very open about the tough childhood he had growing up, even going as far as admitting, ‘I got kicked out of school for hate crimes’. ‘Tarzan’ has an arguably rough-around-the-edges way with words and seemingly likes to antagonize other fighters in the UFC.
Aljamain Sterling responds to fans suggesting he got “beat up” in first fight with Petr Yan: “I won every exchange”
Susan Cox - February 3, 2022
Back in March of 2021 at UFC 259 the bantamweight title was on the line. It was Yan (16-2 MMA) vs Sterling (20-3 MMA) with ‘Funk Master’ winning by disqualification. ‘No Mercy’ was disqualified for landing an illegal knee. “I won every exchange. You clearly didn’t watch the fight.” Aljamain Sterling took to Twitter responding to fans suggesting he got “beat up”.
Paddy Pimblett explains why he’s “glad” that a UFC fight with Jared Gordon didn’t pan out
Harry Kettle - February 3, 2022
UFC newcomer Paddy Pimblett has explained why his rumoured showdown with Jared Gordon didn’t come to fruition. In the last few months we’d been hearing speculation that Paddy Pimblett, who knocked out Luigi Vendramini in his UFC debut, would be locking horns with Jared Gordon in his next fight. Unfortunately for fans that isn’t going to happen, but Pimblett will still be appearing on the upcoming UFC London card – against Rodrigo Vargas.
Derrick Lewis really appreciates Tai Tuivasa for his KO of Greg Hardy, but he’s still not willing to do a shoey: “My feet smell cheesy”
Harry Kettle - February 3, 2022
Derrick Lewis has admitted he isn’t a big fan of Tai Tuivasa’s shoeys – but he did enjoy seeing him knock out Greg Hardy. At UFC 271 next week, Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa will attempt to move a step closer to a UFC heavyweight title shot as they clash in the PPV’s co-main event. Both men are coming off the back of impressive knockout wins and while Tuivasa has a longer streak, “The Black Beast” has only been beaten once in his last six outings.
Bruce Buffer cautions fighters about parting ways with the UFC: “You become irrelevant when you leave”
Harry Kettle - February 3, 2022
UFC announcer Bruce Buffer has warned fighters against leaving the promotion during a fascinating podcast exchange. Over the course of the last few weeks and months, the discussion surrounding the future of Francis Ngannou has intensified. The man known as “The Predator” has become synonymous with both success and controversy, especially after his win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
Daniel Cormier wants Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for the interim heavyweight title
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Daniel Cormier believes the UFC will make another interim heavyweight title fight and suggests it will be Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic. With Francis Ngannou currently in a contract dispute with the UFC and needing knee surgery, Cormier believes the promotion will make an interim title fight. If they decide to do that, ‘DC’ believes it has to be ‘Jones vs. Miocic’ for a few reasons.
Jorge Masvidal releases the first episode of Judas Covington (Video)
Christopher Taylor - February 2, 2022
Jorge Masvidal promised to deliver ‘The Story of Judas Covington’ and in doing so expose his former friend Colby Covington. The former roommates turned bitter rivals, Covington and Masvidal, are set to collide in the headliner of UFC 272 on March 5, in Las Vegas, NV.
Julian Erosa wants to be the first person to finish Steven Peterson in the UFC: "I don't want to risk half my paycheck on three judges"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Julian Erosa called out Steven Peterson and is glad he’s getting the fight. Erosa will face Peterson at UFC Vegas 47 in a very fun featherweight scrap. For Erosa, he says he called out Peterson to get a fight, but after the Fortis MMA product didn’t respond, he got mad and wanted to fight him even more.
Tai Tuivasa says he was “on the piss” when he accepted Derrick Lewis fight at UFC 271
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Tai Tuivasa admits he was intoxicated when he accepted his fight against Derrick Lewis for UFC 271. The Lewis fight is one that Tuivasa called for after they both picked up KO wins back in December. However, he wasn’t sure he would get the fight due to “The Black Beast” being ranked well above him.
Michael Chandler believes he's in title mix: "Everyone wants to see a rematch of me and Charles Oliveira"
Josh Evanoff - February 2, 2022
Michael Chandler is coming off of back-to-back losses. However, he doesn’t believe that he’s far away from receiving a title shot. ‘Iron’ is currently expected to fight Tony Ferguson later this year. A win over ‘El Cucuy’ would be a big one to stop a losing streak. However, many wouldn’t expect Chandler to earn a title shot with a win given his losing streak, and also that Ferguson is also on a losing streak.
Deiveson Figueiredo declines to fight in Mexico, cites prejudiced fan comments
Josh Evanoff - February 2, 2022
Immediately following UFC 270, Deiveson Figueiredo stated that he would fight Brandon Moreno again. However, he’s since backtracked a bit since his original comments. The Brazilian said following his win over Moreno that he would fight him again, this time in Mexico. Since that original proclamation, he’s stated that he’ll only fight him again for $1 million dollars, and that a possible fourth fight won’t be held in Mexico.
Dana White announces UFC will do fights in the metaverse
Josh Evanoff - February 2, 2022
It seems that the UFC is attempting to move into the metaverse. During UFC 270 fight week, Dana White appeared on the Full Send Podcast. One of the topics that came up was the ever-evolving world of digital media. The UFC recently sold its first line of NFTs, and they aren’t stopping there.
Steven Peterson expects to KO Julian Erosa in violent fashion: "You shouldn't have called me out, you should have kept your mouth shut"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Steven Peterson has violent intentions for Julian Erosa after he was called out by his fellow featherweight. Before Erosa’s fight against Charles Jourdain, he told BJPENN.com he wanted to fight Peterson and after the win, he said the same thing in the post-fight interview. After hearing that, Peterson assumed that would be his next fight and now they will meet at UFC Vegas 47.
Benson Henderson on his time with Bellator: “They paid me a lot of money. I should have done a better job for Bellator”
Susan Cox - February 2, 2022
Benson Henderson, 38, has been competing for Bellator MMA in the lightweight division and is currently ranked at #3. Henderson, a former UFC lightweight champion (28-11 MMA) fought Islam Mamedov (20-1 MMA) at Bellator 273, last Saturday, January 29th in Phoenix, Arizona. The result was Henderson defeating Mamedov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).