MMA News

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2021

Israel Adesanya is confident he will hear “And New” on Saturday night. In the main event of UFC 259, Adesanya is moving up to light heavyweight to face Jan Blachowicz in search of becoming a champ-champ. It’s a very intriguing matchup with many believing “The Last Stylebender” gets the job done. However, the Kiwi is not only confident he gets his hand raised but says he won’t get hit in the process.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2021

Jon Jones has responded after Israel Adesanya pushed back their proposed super-fight until December. For quite some time, Jones and Adesanya have been taking shots at one another and many wanted to see the fight take place.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2021

Alistair Overeem is no longer a UFC fighter. On Wednesday, it was revealed both Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem were removed from the rankings. Now, according to Combate, the UFC has parted ways with Overeem.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos issued a statement confirming that he was released by the world’s leading MMA promotion. Dos Santos and his former rival Alistair Overeem were both removed from the UFC rankings on Wednesday, which indicated they were released by the promotion. Not long after word broke on social media that “Cigano” and “Ubereem” were cut, the Brazilian took to his social media to confirm the news. Check out the statement JDS posted on Instagram.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2021

Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos have been removed from the UFC heavyweight ranks. With the rankings being updated every Tuesday, fans were waiting to see if any major changes would take place. Although UFC Vegas 20 shouldn’t have changed up much of the ranks, the heavyweight division saw some notable change as Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos were removed from the rankings.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2021

A featherweight bout between strikers Cub Swanson and Giga Chikadze is set to take place on the UFC Fight Night card set for May 1. Swanson was originally set to fight Gavin Tucker on the May 1 card, but Tucker was removed from that event and re-booked against Dan Ige on the March 13 card. With Swanson in need of an opponent, the UFC matchmakers were able to secure Chikadze to step in and fight him two months from now. Swanson himself confirmed the fight on his Instagram, following an initial report from Adjara Sport. The UFC Fight Night card on May 1 is targeted to be headlined by light heavyweights Jiri Prochazka and Dominick Reyes.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2021

Israel Adesanya is days out from the toughest fight of his career, according to his head coach, Eugene Bareman. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, is slated to move up to light heavyweight to challenge Jan Blachowicz in a bid for a second-title at UFC 259 this Saturday.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC 259 PPV card featuring Jan Blachowicz vs. Israel Adesanya in the main event. The stacked card features three title fights, with the marquee headliner featuring UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya moving up to 205lbs in an attempt to challenge light heavyweight kingpin Jan Blachowicz. Adesanya is a perfect 20-0 in MMA and 9-0 in the UFC alone, so he’s a big favorite here at the sportsbooks to win a second UFC title. Blachowicz, meanwhile, is the underdog yet again, a role he has played in 12 UFC fights thus far in his career. Incredibly, he’s won eight fights as an underdog in the Octagon. Can he pull off his ninth underdog win at UFC 259 this weekend? We’ll find out on Saturday.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson is looking seriously slimmed-down ahead of his upcoming debut with Bellator MMA. Johnson retired after a loss to Daniel Cormier in 2017, but has since teased a comeback on numerous occasions. That comeback finally became official earlier this year, when he signed with Bellator to much fanfare.

Cole Shelton - March 3, 2021

In the first of three title fights on the stacked UFC 259 pay-per-view, Petr Yan is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time. Heading into the fight, Yan is a -120 favorite with the comeback on the American at -110. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are actually split on this one just like the odds have it as a pick’em fight.

Adam Martin - March 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz says he expects to weigh between 215lbs and 220lbs when he fights Israel Adesanya at UFC 259. Adesanya is moving up to the UFC light heavyweight division for the first time in an attempt to become a rare double champion. “The Last Stylebender” has said that he plans on weighing around 193lbs come fight night, which would obviously make him one of the lightest light heavyweights in the division. Standing across from him on Saturday night will be Blachowicz, the reigning and defending UFC light heavyweight champion. And while Adesanya is two inches taller than him, there is going to be a major difference in weight.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2021

Joe Rogan will be back at the commentary desk for UFC 259, alongside play-by-play man Jon Anik and former two-division champion Daniel Cormier. UFC 259 goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jan Blachowicz and challenger Israel Adesanya, who is the promotion’s middleweight champion. The card will also feature a featherweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson, a bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling, and a host of other high-profile matchups.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos says he was not in a good head space ahead of his recent loss to Glover Teixeira. Santos met Teixeira in November. After sustaining some significant damage in rounds one and two, he was submitted by his fellow Brazilian in round three.

Tom Taylor - March 3, 2021

Rising UFC bantamweight contender Ricky Simon wants to fight Sean O’Malley, and would even be willing to do so on short-notice. Simon is currently riding a trio of impressive victories over Ray Borg, Gaetano Pirrello and Brian Kelleher, which separated him from a hype-deflating loss to Urijah Faber.

Harry Kettle - March 3, 2021

MMA fan favorites Jim Miller and Roxanne Modafferi are both booked in for their next UFC appearances, as per MMA Junkie and Combate. Both of these veterans are coming off the back of defeats with Miller losing to Vinc Pichel via unanimous decision last August. Modafferi, on the other hand, was defeated by Viviane Araújo back in January.

Harry Kettle - March 3, 2021

A recent press release has indicated Conor McGregor could be on the verge of being bought out of his Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey brand. It’s been a few years now since McGregor introduced the world to his new whiskey and ever since then, it’s taken off in more ways than one in countries all across the globe. However, a recent press release from Becle stated: “On February 23, 2021, the Company provided notice of the exercise of its call option to acquire 51% of the equity interests of EBS.”

Christopher Taylor - March 2, 2021

Petr Yan is hoping for a “big fight” in the form of former champ TJ Dillashaw after he defeats Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259. The UFC’s reigning bantamweight champion, Yan (15-1 MMA), will square off with Sterling (19-3 MMA) on the main card of this Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

Cole Shelton - March 2, 2021

Paulo Costa has jokingly responded after all the backlash he received for saying he fought Israel Adesanya with a hangover. Costa had entered the Adesanya fight sporting an undefeated record, but something appeared to be off in the scrap. With that said, it was “The Last Stylebender” who emerged victorious by way of second-round TKO.