MMA News

Cory Sandhagen
Pedro Munhoz

Cory Sandhagen says he turned down a short-notice fight against Pedro Munhoz after TJ Dillashaw withdrew

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Cory Sandhagen was offered the chance to still headline UFC Vegas 26 this Saturday but opted not to. Sandhagen was originally supposed to fight TJ Dillashaw in a fight many fans were looking forward to. The winner was likely going to get a title shot, but Dillashaw was forced out of the fight due to a cut above the eye.

Anthony Johnson
Bellator

Anthony Johnson believes new Bellator 258 opponent Jose Augusto is "more dangerous" than Yoel Romero

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Anthony Johnson was supposed to fight Yoel Romero in the quarterfinals of the light heavyweight grand prix on Friday but that is no longer the case. Last week, it was revealed Romero failed his pre-fight medical and was out of the fight against Johnson. The hope was to get a replacement opponent and that ended up being the case as Johnson will face Jose Augusto in the co-main event.

Billy Joe Saunders
Canelo Alvarez

Billy Joe Saunders says the ring issue for his fight against Canelo Alvarez has been "resolved"

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Billy Joe Saunders says the issue with the ring size for his fight against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday has been resolved. Saunders and Alvarez were set to fight at AT&T Stadium in a unification bout of the super-middleweight titles. It was a fight many fans were eager for as it would be a tough test for the Mexican. Yet, on Tuesday, it was revealed the size of the ring was an issue as an 18-foot ring was installed, not the 24-foot ring expected. That forced Saunders’ dad, Tom, and team to say they are out of the fight.

Jiri-Prochazka
UFC

UFC Vegas 26 rankings update: Jiri Prochazka officially the No. 2 ranked light heavyweight

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

The latest UFC rankings updates are in, and Jiri Prochazka has officially broken into the top-three rankings in the light heavyweight division. Jiri Prochazka’s knockout win over Dominick Reyes at UFC Vegas 26 earned him not only $100,000 in bonus awards, but also the No. 2 ranking in the world at 205lbs. It’s an incredible accomplishment for the Czech Republic native, who wasn’t even in the UFC a year ago. But he absolutely deserves it after beating Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir by knockout in his first two UFC appearances. As well, he is riding a 12-fight win streak. With Prochazka moving into the No. 2 spot at 205lbs, Reyes dropped all the way to No. 5. It’s also worth noting that Aleksandar Rakic also dropped one spot in the rankings to No. 3.

Canelo Alvarez

Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders off due to ring size dispute, says Team Saunders

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders will no longer be fighting on Saturday night according to Tom Saunders, the father of Billy Joe. Alvarez and Saunders were set to fight at AT&T Stadium in a unification bout of the super-middleweight titles. It was a highly-anticipated fight as Saunders was considered to be Alvarez’s toughest test, but unfortunately, just days away it has been revealed the fight is off. It is due to a ring size dispute as Alvarez put in an 18-foot ring, while most fights are in a 24-foot ring which was a problem for Saunders.

Giga Chikadze
UFC

Giga Chikadze hoping for quick turnaround fight against Jeremy Stephens

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze is hoping to return to the Octagon for a quick turnaround fight against veteran Jeremy Stephens. Chikadze is coming off of the best win of his UFC career, a body kick TKO over Cub Swanson at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 25 card. It was the best performance of the Georgian’s career to date, and it improved his UFC record to a perfect 6-0. Chikadze is one of the hottest fighters in the division at the moment and after beating Swanson in short order, he has been hanging around in Las Vegas hoping to get another fight booked.

Geoff Neal
Geoff Neal

Geoff Neal eyeing first or second round KO over Neil Magny to get top-ranked opponent next

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Geoff Neal is excited he finally gets the chance to face Neil Magny. Last August, Neal and Magny were scheduled to fight but Neal had serious health problems that hospitalized him and forced him out of the scrap. The two then got different fights and Neal ended up losing a decision to Stephen Thompson back in December, which he says was a good learning experience.

Chris Weidman
UFC

Chris Weidman shares latest health update after leg break at UFC 261

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman shared his latest health update after breaking his leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. In what was one of the most horrific injuries we have ever seen in the Octagon, Weidman broke his leg when he threw a leg kick that was checked by Uriah Hall. Immediately after throwing the kick, Weidman went down in pain and had to be stretchered out of the Octagon and taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. Fortunately, surgery went well and Weidman is expected to make a full recovery in six-to-12 months. But right now in the early days of his leg break, it has been extremely painful for him as he told his fans.

Colby Covington, Leon Edwards
Colby Covington

Ali Abdelaziz says Colby Covington can earn a rematch with Kamaru Usman by defeating Leon Edwards

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

Ali Abdelaziz believes Colby Covington would earn a rematch against Kamaru Usman by defeating Leon Edwards in his next fight. In the wake of Usman’s vicious knockout win over Jorge Masvidal, many fans have been convinced that another showdown with Covington is right around the corner. Their first fight, back at UFC 245, was contested over the UFC Welterweight Championship with “The Nigerian Nightmare” successfully defending his belt.

Just Scrap Radio
Diego Ferreira

Just Scrap Radio Ep. 36 with Michelle Waterson, Geoff Neal, Diego Ferreira, Patrick Mix, and Maurice Greene

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

The 36th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 26 and Bellator 258. We’re first joined by UFC Vegas 26 headliner and ninth-ranked strawweight, Michelle Waterson (2:56). Next, 10th-ranked welterweight, Geoff Neal (14:32) comes on. 12th-ranked lightweight, Diego Ferreira joins the show (30:30). Then, second-ranked Bellator bantamweight, Patrick Mix (45:40) comes on. Closing out the program is UFC heavyweight, Maurice Greene (1:03:26).

Daniel Cormier, UFC, Commentary
Jon Jones

Daniel Cormier says Jon Jones doesn't deserve Conor McGregor money

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier says that former rival Jon Jones doesn’t deserve Conor McGregor money when he fights Francis Ngannou. Jones is hoping to fight Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight title sometime later this year, and reports have indicated he is asking upwards of $30 million for the fight. If you ask Cormier, however, that is too rich because it would be more than McGregor, the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view superstar. For DC, it doesn’t make sense that Jones should be paid more than McGregor. Speaking on the “DC and Helwani” podcast, Cormier suggested that Jones be paid in the $8 to $10 million dollar range to take on Ngannou instead.

Brendan Fitzgerald
UFC

UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald discusses "awkward" production meeting incident with Joshua Fabia and Diego Sanchez on Fight Island

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC play-by-play commentator Brendan Fitzgerald discussed the production meeting incident with Joshua Fabia and Diego Sanchez on Fight Island. Last week, it was revealed that the UFC had cut Sanchez after a back-and-forth email exchange with the promotion’s lawyer Hunter Campbell. Sanchez and Fabia were requesting medical documents and the UFC believed that it was the right call to release him instead. Later on, there was a video leaked of an argument between Fabia and the UFC production team on Fight Island. Fitzgerald himself was in the room for it and speaking to John Hyon Ko of South China Morning Post, he gave his thoughts on the situation.

Leon Edwards
Nate Diaz

Leon Edwards reacts after bout with Nate Diaz is pushed back until UFC 263

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards reacted after his scheduled fight at UFC 262 against Nate Diaz was pushed back to UFC 263 instead. Diaz suffered a minor injury during his training camp that has pushed the fight against “Rocky” back about a month. Instead of the two rivals meeting at UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston, Texas, the two will now meet at UFC 263 on June 12 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diaz vs. Edwards bout was is scheduled for five rounds despite it being a non-title fight, and it will be one of three, five-round fights that take place at UFC 263, along with Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori 2 and Deivieson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno 2.

Herb Dean, Dan Hardy
Herb Dean

Referee Herb Dean shares his thoughts on Aljamain Sterling’s DQ win over Petr Yan

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

UFC referee Herb Dean has given his thoughts on the controversial ending to Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 259. In their UFC Bantamweight Championship clash, it appeared as if Yan was well on his way to successfully retaining his title. However, after he threw an illegal knee at a downed opponent, Sterling was able to leave the UFC APEX as champion through a disqualification victory.

Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz suffers minor injury, bout with Leon Edwards moved to UFC 263

Christopher Taylor - May 3, 2021

Nate Diaz will no longer be fighting Leon Edwards in the co-main event of UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston, Texas. Unfortunately for fight fans, ESPN reported this evening that Diaz (20-12 MMA) has suffered a minor injury and his highly anticipated welterweight showdown with ‘Rocky’ has been postponed until June’s UFC 263 pay-per-view event.

Dominick Reyes
UFC

Dominick Reyes issues statement following KO loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes issued a statement following his brutal knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25. Reyes entered this fight against Prochazka on the heels of back-to-back losses to Jon Jones and Jan Blachowicz, so he badly needed to get a win and get back in the victory column. Unfortunately for Reyes, the fight did not go his way once again as Prochazka battered him all over the Octagon until eventually scoring the finish in the second round. It was another phenomenal performance by Prochazka, who looks to be a serious title contender at 205lbs, while for Reyes it was another tough loss that will drop him out of title contention.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk
UFC

Photo | Joanna Jedrzejczyk shows off nasty shin injury

Drake Riggs - May 3, 2021

Joanna Jedrzejczyk hasn’t been seen in the Octagon in over a year – that doesn’t mean she isn’t staying busy and taking some damage. On Monday, Jedrzejczyk took to Instagram to share a photo of herself in the hospital. However, rather than just a wholesome selfie, the former UFC strawweight champion was sporting a gnarly gash on her shin.

Jake Paul, Ben Askren
Boxing News

Triller offering one month clemency for fans who illegal streamed Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2021

Triller is continuing to go after people who illegally streamed their Fight Club event on April 17 between Jake Paul and Ben Askren. Triller recently came out and said they were filing a lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages from illegal streamers. Now, the promotion is taking it one step further suggesting that anyone who illegally watched Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren can pay the $49.99 price tag for the event. In exchange, those individuals’ names will be removed from lawsuit, which seeks a $150,000 penalty from every person who pirated the card.