MMA News

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Jake Paul hasn’t been shy on calling fighters out, and fighters haven’t been shy calling him out. On Tuesday, it was revealed Paul would be boxing Ben Askren in March in a very intriguing bout. It is the first time the 23-year-old YouTuber will be facing a real fighter but he got some backlash for fighting Askren who is considered a wrestler.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Christos Giagos thought he wouldn’t get a fight in 2020. Giagos lost a close decision to Drakkar Klose at UFC 241 and since then, he was looking to fight. He was expected to fight in April but due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Since then, he was bugging his manager for a fight, and out of blue, last Wednesday, he got a fight offer to fight on three days’ notice against Carlton Minus and took it.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has decided to take his talents over to PFL, signing with the promotion as a free agent. Pettis announced on Tuesday that he had parted ways with the UFC and was going to test free agency. Pettis recently mentioned that his brother Sergio Pettis is in Bellator, so many fans and media figured that he might sign there, too. However, Pettis has now joined the likes of former UFC champions Fabricio Werdum and Rory MacDonald in signing with PFL. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported the breaking news about Pettis on Wednesday.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz, now a city councilman in Huntington Beach, California, was recently involved in a heated confrontation with one of his constituents. It’s not entirely clear what led to this incident, but tempers flared quite quickly. While the Huntington Beach citizen in question was undoubtedly pushing Ortiz’s buttons, the former UFC champ also didn’t respond in the way you’d expect from an elected official.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after Saturday’s UFC Vegas 17 card, and there have been some interesting changes. Most notably, Rob Font has taken a huge climb of the bantamweight list after dominating former title challenger Marlon Moraes on the main card. In defeat, Moraes has tumbled down the list.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan sent a message to top-ranked contender Aljamain Sterling, telling his rival that he will see him soon. Yan and Sterling were supposed to fight at UFC 256 earlier this month but the bout fight apart and was rescheduled for early 2021. There is no confirmed date for the re-booking as of yet, but it could happen somewhere in between February and April based on the UFC’s upcoming schedule. With the fight still in the works, both Yan and Sterling continue to trade jabs with each other on social media. After seeing that Sterling had a successful wrestling match, Yan took to his Twitter to congratulate him and also send a message.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul is not shy when it comes to trash talking the stars of the mixed martial arts world. On Wednesday, Paul took to his social media channels with a video that featured impersonations of UFC stars Nick and Nate Diaz, Bellator MMA star Dillon Danis, former two division UFC champ Conor McGregor, UFC President Dana White, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, and former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ Ben Askren.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Megan Olivi, a long-time commentator and reporter for the UFC, says running for mayor in her home of Las Vegas is on her bucket list. Olivi revealed this ambition during an appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. 

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has emphatically shut down rumors that he’s been released by the promotion. The rumors began on Wednesday morning, after Woodley allegedly posted on Snapchat about being released from the UFC.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos did not appreciate a recent comment from MMA superstar Conor McGregor. Earlier this week, McGregor took to Twitter to congratulate the UFC on a successful year. In his Tweet, McGregor claimed that his January fight with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view of the year. He also gave Cerrone props for tapping Rafael dos Anjos at last Sunday’s Submission Underground 19 card.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren says to “bet the house” after opening up as the betting underdog to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Askren confirmed on Tuesday to BJPenn.com that he has accepted a boxing match with Paul that is scheduled to take place on March 28 in Los Angeles. Askren later took to his social media to release a video explaining why he accepted Paul’s callout, admitting he took the fight because he views it as easy money. Even though he’s a wrestler by trade and not a striker, Askren believes that he has the upper hand because he is a professional athlete who has competed at the highest levels of combat sports for nearly 20 years.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker believes he knows how a rumored boxing match between Ben Askren and Jake Paul will go down. Askren claims that he’s in talks to fight Paul in March. While he previously reigned as the Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder and is a decorated wrestler, he’s never been much of a striker, and is widely expected to be at a disadvantage in a boxing match against the YouTube star turned pro boxer, Paul.

Tom Taylor - December 23, 2020

Coach Duke Roufus says former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is currently attempting to rekindle his motivation to compete. Woodley is widely considered one of the greatest welterweights in MMA history, but he’s recently fallen on tough times. After defending the welterweight title against Darren Till in late 2018, he then lost the title to Kamaru Usman in 2019, before losing back-to-back decisions to Gilbert Burns and Colby Covington this year.

Harry Kettle - December 23, 2020

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has received a potential six-month suspension in the wake of his win over Geoff Neal last weekend. Thompson was able to continue building momentum in the welterweight division with what turned out to be an incredibly comprehensive victory over rising star Geoff Neal. Now, the question turns to who he will fight next as his quest for a UFC title goes on.

Harry Kettle - December 23, 2020

Tito Ortiz has been accused of making out of line comments during a recent Huntington Beach City Council meeting. After becoming an elected official, the former UFC and Bellator star has caused quite a bit of controversy due to his views on public health and COVID-19 in general. As a result, clips from his appearances in City Council meetings have spread far and wide.

Drake Riggs - December 22, 2020

Paige VanZant is no longer an MMA fighter… for the time being. And that means it’s off to the ring to prove herself in bare-knuckle boxing. VanZant signed with the Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) after becoming a free agent in Summer 2020. During her time with the UFC, the 26-year old would go 5-4 and take on several notable names such as an eventual champion in Rose Namajunas.

Adam Martin - December 22, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has announced he has parted ways with the UFC in order to explore free agency. Pettis fought out the final bout of his UFC contract this past weekend when he won a unanimous decision over Alex Morono at UFC Vegas 17. Following the bout, Pettis said that he planned on exploring free agency, but also said that his top choice would be to re-sign with the UFC and get a rematch with Tony Ferguson. Well, it appears that rematch won’t be happening anytime soon as Pettis is now officially on the free-agent market.

Adam Martin - December 22, 2020

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren posted a video to his social media explaining why he is fighting YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. On Tuesday, BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton reported that Askren was deep in talks for a boxing match with Paul that is set for March 28. A few hours later and Askren took to his social media to post a one-minute video confirming he has accepted the fight with Paul. Check out the video below that Askren posted to his Twitter explaining why he said yes.