MMA News

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier admits he feels Aljamain Sterling deserves a rematch against Sean O’Malley, but he doubts it’ll happen. Sterling is well aware that O’Malley would prefer to try to avenge his lone pro MMA defeat to Marlon “Chito” Vera rather than fight him or Merab Dvalishvili next. “Funk Master,” who lost the UFC bantamweight title via second-round TKO to O’Malley back in August, has called for “Sugar” to stop cherry picking his first title defense.

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

Robert Whittaker thinks he has an idea of why fans who attended UFC 293 in Sydney got behind Sean Strickland during his dominant performance over Israel Adesanya. Strickland turned in a stellar showing against “Izzy” last month. He was a massive underdog going into the bout, but he cracked Adesanya with a punch that dropped him in the first round. After the second stanza, Strickland took over the rest of the fight. He managed to dodge out of the way of Adesanya’s kicks, and used his Philly shell defense to pop his opponent and get out of the way of danger. Ultimately, Strickland captured the UFC Middleweight Championship via unanimous decision.

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

UFC women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili gave Shaquille O’Neal a punch he likely won’t soon forget. Shaq, an NBA legend and a well-known personality, is no stranger to the UFC. He’s attended a slew of live events from the promotion throughout the years. He even struck a deal to be featured in the UFC Undisputed 2010 video game as an unlockable character.

Fernando Quiles - October 1, 2023

Michael Bisping believes the Diaz brothers deserve to join him in the UFC Hall of Fame. There is no doubting the impact that Nick Diaz and Nate Diaz have had in the world of MMA. Their authenticity endeared them to fight fans around the world. It also helped that the Diaz brothers have been known for their exciting fighting styles. It’s led Bisping to share his belief that both Nick and Nate are worthy of the UFC Hall of Fame.

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2023

Former two-time Glory Kickboxing champion Cedric Doumbe scored a nine-second knockout in his highly anticipated PFL debut this afternoon in Paris. Doumbe (5-0 MMA) squared off with Jordan Zébo (4-1 MMA) on the main card of today’s Professional Fighters League event in France.

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2023

Francis Ngannou is a bit confused how Tyson Fury can be booked to fight Oleksandr Usyk less than two months after their showdown in Saudi Arabia. It was just yesterday when news broke that Fury (33-0-1) and Usyk (21-0) had signed contracts for an undisputed heavyweight championship fight.

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2023

NFL star Chandler Jones, the younger brother of UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, has been released by the Las Vegas Raiders following his recent arrest. Chandler was taken into Clark County Detention Center late Thursday night and remains behind bars, according to TMZ Sports. Details surrounding his arrest are unclear, but reports suggest a violation of an existing protective order.

Josh Evanoff - September 29, 2023

Chael Sonnen believes Mark Hunt might’ve had ulterior motives when suing the UFC and Brock Lesnar. Earlier this week, ‘The Super Somoan’ was handed the final loss in his court battle with the UFC. Seven years ago at UFC 200, the saga got rolling as Brock Lesnar handed Mark Hunt a loss. However, as many, including Chael Sonnen, noted in a new YouTube video, the WWE star was handed a USADA waiver to fight that night.

Cole Shelton - September 29, 2023

Conor McGregor isn’t ruling out a return this year. McGregor had been adamant he would fight this year, as he’s coming back from his broken leg he sustained in July 2021 in the trilogy match against Dustin Poirier. Since then, he has been rehabbing the leg but also withdrew from the USADA testing pool, which means he needs six months of testing in order to return.

Susan Cox - September 29, 2023

John McCarthy is speaking out after Tim Kennedy claims that his controversial loss to Yoel Romero ended his fight career. Tim Kennedy (18-6 MMA) fought Yoel Romero (15-7 MMA) way back in 2014 at UFC 178.  The result was a TKO loss for Kennedy. John McCarthy was the referee of record for that fight.

Susan Cox - September 29, 2023

UFC CEO, Dana White, has shared photos of his incredible body transformation. White, 54, took to ‘X‘ showing a before and after picture of himself with the caption:

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 29, 2023

Former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion John Lineker believes he is capable of halting second-ranked Stephen Loman’s meteoric rise. Both men are scheduled to lock horns at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video. This matchup takes place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and airs live in U.S. primetime this Friday, September 29.

Cole Shelton - September 24, 2023

Loopy Godinez had a ton of confidence heading into her Noche UFC fight against Elise Reed. Godinez felt like she was the better fighter everywhere and she proved just that. On the feet, Godinez dropped Reed, while she also was able to outwrestle her and even got a submission win. Showing off her complete game is something the Mexican-Canadian has wanted to do for quite some time, so she was thrilled with her performance.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2023

Bryan Battle is ready to prove to everyone just how good he is. Battle won TUF 30 at middleweight and is 5-1 in the UFC, but is 3-1 since dropping down to welterweight. Last time out, he returned to the win column with a 14-second knockout win over Gabe Green.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2023

Michelle Waterson-Gomez is set for the first rematch of her carer. Waterson-Gomez is set to take on Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 79, as the two fought back in May of 2021. The fight was put together on short notice and was a five-round main event at 125lbs.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2023

In the main event of UFC Vegas 79 at the UFC Apex on Saturday, a battle of top-10 lightweights goes down as Rafael Fiziev takes on Mateusz Gamrot. Heading into the fight, Fiziev is a -166 favorite while the Pole is a +130 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight. The pros lean towards Fiziev getting his hand raised, but they do believe it will be a close fight. The pros expect Fiziev will be able to piece up Gamrot on the feet and either get a late stoppage or a clear-cut decision.

Cole Shelton - September 14, 2023

In the main event of Noche UFC, the women’s flyweight title is up for grabs as Alexa Grasso rematches Valentina Shevchenko in her first title defense. Heading into the fight, Grasso is a +140 underdog while the challenger is a -180 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight. The pros are leaning towards Shevchenko reclaiming her belt at Noche UFC, as most seem to think she wins a decision.

Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023

Christos Giagos is eager to finally fight in front of fans again. All three of His last fights have come at the UFC Apex with no crowd, which has been hard for him as Giagos says he is a crowd fighter who feeds off the energy of fans. However, he will not be the crowd favorite on Saturday as he’s booked to return at Noche UFC against Mexican Daniel Zellhuber.

Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023

Kyle Nelson wanted a quick turnaround and he got his wish. Nelson returned to the win column back at UFC 289 in Vancouver as he pulled off an upset over Blake Bilder which saved his job. Just over three months later, Nelson is back as he will return at Noche UFC on Saturday against Fernando Padilla.

Cole Shelton - September 12, 2023

Jasmine Jasudavicius is no stranger to being the betting underdog and being counted out. Jasudavicius has been the underdog in three of her four UFC fights and has won all three of them. Last time out, she was a big underdog against Miranda Maverick at UFC 289 and pulled off the upset at home in Canada.

Cole Shelton - September 6, 2023

Chepe Mariscal is excited to go down to Australia at UFC 293 and fight in enemy territory. Mariscal is coming off his UFC debut back in June when he beat Trevor Peek by decision in a very fan-friendly fight. After the performance, he wasn’t sure what would be next, but he wanted a quick turnaround, which is what he got.

Cole Shelton - September 5, 2023

John Makdessi will be ending his year-long layoff at UFC 293. Makdessi hasn’t fought since the UFC’s first stop in Paris in September of last year when he dropped a decision to Nasrat Haqparast. It was disappointing result for Makdessi and since then, he dealt with a hand injury that kept him out of the Octagon for over a year.

Cole Shelton - August 31, 2023

Kurt Holobaugh was surprised to see how little Conor McGregor was truly involved with his team on The Ultimate Fighter. McGregor was coaching TUF 31 opposite Michael Chandler and it was a season of veterans vs. prospects. All the veterans ended up being coached by Chandler which Holobaugh was thrilled about.

Cole Shelton - August 31, 2023

In the main event of UFC Paris, a battle of top-seven heavyweights goes down as Ciryl Gane takes on Serghei Spivac. Heading into the fight, Gane is a -174 favorite while the Moldovan is a +136 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight. The pros are leaning towards Ciryl Gane returning to the win column at home by keeping it standing and likely getting a TKO.