MMA News

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Michelle Waterson didn’t hesitate to accept when the UFC offered her another short-notice main event fight. After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of the UFC Vegas 26 main event against Cory Sandhagen, the UFC was quick to book Waterson vs. Marina Rodriguez at flyweight. For “The Karate Hottie,” she’s ecstatic to be headlining another UFC card.

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).

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.

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.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC welterweight Alex Morono reacted to the news that he will be taking on Donald Cerrone at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 26 event. Cerrone was expected to take on fellow Octagon veteran Diego Sanchez this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 26, but the fight fell apart when Sanchez got into a medical disagreement with the UFC and was released from his contract. The UFC has spent the last week looking for a replacement opponent to keep Cerrone on the card, with a number of fighters offering to fill in on short notice. In the end, the matchmakers decided that the right man for the job is Morono, who will step in on just six days’ notice to fight Cerrone this Saturday night.

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.

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.

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.

Drake Riggs - May 3, 2021

Tatiana Suarez’s days at 115-pounds may be behind her. After seeing how the last UFC flyweight title bout played out, the dominant wrestler likes her chances against one of the sport’s very best. Having not competed since June 2019 due to lingering injuries, the undefeated 8-0 season 23 winner of The Ultimate Fighter is now feeling a move to flyweight could be in her future. Therefore making the ultimate goal a showdown with reigning queenpin, Valentina Shevchenko.

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.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2021

Donald Cerrone will fight on Saturday night after all. Cerrone was originally set to fight Diego Sanchez, in what was going to be Sanchez’s retirement fight. However, the UFC ended up releasing the TUF 1 winner and a search for a replacement opponent was underway.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley will return to the Octagon on July 10 at UFC 264 when he faces off against Louis Smolka. MMA journalist Ryan Frederick was the first to report the O’Malley vs. Smolka fight, which will take place on the Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor III undercard at UFC 264. Multiple sources have indicated to BJPenn.com that this booking is accurate and will take place.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker was criticized by coach Eugene Bareman for turning down a title shot against Israel Adesanya. After defeating Kelvin Gastelum in lopsided fashion at UFC Vegas 24, it was fully expected that Whittaker would get the next title shot against Adesanya. However, the promotion announced that it will be Marvin Vettori who next takes on Adesanya at UFC 263 on June 12. Whittaker later explained the reasons that he was unable to go so soon because he’s banged up, and the UFC decided to go with Vettori. But for Bareman, it was a bad call.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson is confident that his brother-in-law Chris Weidman will fight in the UFC Octagon once again. Thompson was in the corner of Weidman last weekend at UFC 261 when he suffered one of the worst injuries we have ever seen in the history of the sport when Weidman broke his leg on a checked kick against Uriah Hall. Immediately after throwing the kick, Weidman’s leg snapped in half and he went down to the mat right away. Weidman was rushed to hospital and had surgery on his leg and is expected to make a full recovery. However, he is unable to walk at the moment and won’t be able to start training hard for 6-12 months.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochazka says it would be his “pleasure” to fight the UFC’s 205lbs champion, Jan Blachowicz. Prochazka knocked out former title challenger Dominick Reyes this past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 25. It was another incredible knockout win for Prochazka, who also finished Volkan Oezdemir with strikes to win his UFC debut last summer on Fight Island. Overall, the Czech Republic native is now riding a 12-fight win streak. He has been absolutely destroying everyone in his path at 205lbs and a title shot can’t be far away now.