MMA News

Harry Kettle - August 21, 2020

According to a report from MMA Junkie, Ryan Hall has been forced to pull out of his fight with Ricardo Lamas on August 29. The unique featherweight contender’s reason for withdrawing has not yet been disclosed, with the UFC not yet making an announcement regarding the change to the card. Lamas is still interested in fighting someone else at the UFC APEX event, but due to COVID-19 and the short notice drop out, that could prove to be quite difficult.

Cole Shelton - August 21, 2020

In the main event of UFC Vegas 7, a key bantamweight bout headlines the card as Pedro Munhoz welcomes Frankie Edgar to the division. Heading into the fight, Munhoz is a -265 favorite while the former UFC lightweight champion is a +205 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe bantamweight is where Frankie Edgar should’ve been his entire career as he will pull off the upset and beat Pedro Munhoz.

Natasha Hooper - August 21, 2020

Michael Chandler what he views as his perfect matchup. The lightweight champion has teased the possibility of a move over to the UFC after completing his current contract with the Bellator. He criticized the organization’s CEO Scott Coker for not placing an extension on his contract, and wants to fight wherever he is valued.

Harry Kettle - August 21, 2020

Former UFC two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo continues to troll Alexander Volkanovski and campaign for a shot at the Featherweight Championship. While Cejudo may have retired in the wake of his win over Dominick Cruz earlier this summer, it’s clear to see that “Triple C” is still very much interested in the prospect of becoming the first fighter in UFC history to win a title in three different weight classes.

Cole Shelton - August 20, 2020

Sean O’Malley believes he avoided any major damage to his ankle. O’Malley was entering his co-main event fight against Marlon Vera with a lot of hype behind him. Most pundits were picking him to win, but he fell short, losing by first-round TKO. Yet, he did hurt his ankle in the fight, and according to “Sugar” he says he was complaining about the ankle brace before walking out.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

The numbers are in and last weekend’s UFC 252 event drew the fourth-largest pay-per-view buy rate of any UFC event in 2020. According to Sports Business Journal reporter John Ourand (via TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter), UFC 252 ranked just behind UFC 251, UFC 249, and UFC 246 when it comes to the most-bought UFC pay-per-views in 2020. The report says that UFC 252 sold 500,000 pay-per-views worldwide and also had 400,000 viewers watch the event on ESPN+ in the United States. Overall, these are solid numbers for the UFC.

Cole Shelton - August 20, 2020

Sean O’Malley has broken his silence on his UFC 252 loss to Marlon Vera. In the co-main event of the card, O’Malley was looking to remain undefeated when he took on Vera. It was an intriguing matchup with “Sugar” telling BJPENN.com before the fight he expected to get another first-round knockout.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker has gone on record saying he believes Bellator has a superior light heavyweight division to the UFC. Coker and Bellator recently signed top-five light heavyweight Corey Anderson to a big-money free-agent deal, strengthening the division. Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader fights this Friday at Bellator 244 against top contender Vadim Nemkov, in what is an excellent matchup for the belt. Other light heavyweights in the promotion include Lyoto Machida and Phil Davis, who face each other in a rematch in September.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

Fedor Emelianenko wants a rematch with Fabricio Werdum, and Bellator President Scott Coker is ready to “go make it happen” for the Russian legend. Emelianenko and Werdum first met in 2010, under the Strikeforce banner, with Werdum winning by submission in a shocking upset. Today, when Emelianenko is under contract with Bellator, and Werdum is a free agent, the timing for a rematch between the two heavyweight legends seems perfect.

Adam Martin - August 20, 2020

UFC middleweight Trevin Giles will return to the Octagon in November, his first fight back since recently fainting at a UFC Las Vegas event. Giles was set to fight Kevin Holland at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan earlier this month. However, while making the walk to the Octagon, Giles fainted and the fight was called off on the advice of doctors. It was a scary incident and Giles was sent to the hospital for further tests on his heart. He recently posted videos of himself training so it appears that Giles is now OK despite the recent health scare.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

Patricky Freire says he has a surprise in store for former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor at the upcoming Bellator Dublin card. Freire is scheduled to take on McGregor’s teammate Peter Queally at the Bellator Dublin event, which is scheduled for October 3. The card will feature several other members of Freire’s team taking on fighters from SBG Ireland, where McGregor and Queally both train.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

Patricio Freire, who holds the Bellator featherweight and lightweight titles, expects his former foe Michael Chandler to sign with ONE Championship. Chandler, the former Bellator lightweight champ, recently concluded his current Bellator contract with a knockout win over former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

On Friday night, Bellator MMA will return to our screens with the stacked Bellator 244 card. The event, which will air on the Paramount Network and DAZN, will be topped by a light heavyweight title fight between the champ Ryan Bader, who also holds the promotion’s heavyweight strap, and challenger Vadim Nemkov.

Natasha Hooper - August 20, 2020

Marvin Vettori believes Anderson Silva and Uriah Hall should have to forfeit their positions in the UFC rankings after avoiding a possible matchup with him. Anderson Silva will return to the Octagon on October 31 for a middleweight clash against Uriah Hall in the main event.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, who is gearing up for a title defense against Vadim Nemkov at Bellator 244, believes he could be the best light heavyweight competing right now. Bader, who was previously a top-5 UFC light heavyweight, believes that with Daniel Cormier retired, and Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight, he has legitimate claim to that lofty label.

Tom Taylor - August 20, 2020

Jon Jones has responded to accusations that he’s ducking fights with light heavyweight contenders Dominick Reyes and Jan Blachowicz. Jones, the long-time UFC light heavyweight champion, vacated the division’s throne earlier this week, and immediately began teasing a move up to the heavyweight division. As Jones prepares to transition to his new weight class, Reyes and Blachowicz will collide for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 253 in September.

Natasha Hooper - August 20, 2020

Israel Adesanya has accused his upcoming opponent Paulo Costa of using steroids and being “juiced up to the gills” ahead of their UFC 253 fight. In the main event of UFC 253 on August 26, the middleweight champion will face-off against his rival, Costa.

Harry Kettle - August 20, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has shown interest in potentially fighting Tony Ferguson or Nate Diaz in his next bout. While Poirier may have come up short in his attempt to capture the UFC Lightweight Championship against Khabib Nurmagomedov last year, he was able to bounce back in a big way back in June when he scored a unanimous decision victory over one of the division’s rising stars Dan Hooker.