MMA News

Josh Evanoff - October 10, 2024

Khalil Rountree has nothing but respect for Alex Pereira after their war at UFC 307. ‘The War Horse’ and ‘Poatan’ faced off in Salt Lake City over the weekend. For Khalil Rountree, the title fight was his first appearance in the cage since knocking out Anthony Smith last December. Meanwhile, Alex Pereira was fresh off a second-round stoppage win over Jiri Prochazka in their June rematch in Las Vegas.

Josh Evanoff - October 10, 2024

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is discussing retirement ahead of his PFL debut. ‘The Predator’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since defeating Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision in early 2022. That fight wound up being Francis Ngannou’s last in the UFC, as he left the company soon afterward. In early 2023, the former heavyweight champion shockingly signed with Donn Davis and the PFL.

Curtis Calhoun - October 10, 2024

Jake Paul is supremely confident in his chances if he comes face-to-face with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the boxing ring. Pereira successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight for the third time in 2024 by finishing Khalil Rountree Jr. last Saturday. After falling behind in the early rounds, Pereira badly battered Rountree in Round 4 to eventually finish the title challenger.

Josh Evanoff - October 10, 2024

Fresh off a UFC flyweight title win, Valentina Shevchenko won’t rule out a move to bantamweight. ‘Bullet’ recently appeared in the cage in the co-main event of Noche UFC last month in Las Vegas. There, Valentina Shevchenko faced Alexa Grasso for the third, and likely final time. Over a year and a half after losing the gold to the Mexican fighter, the former champion avenged her defeat.

Cole Shelton - October 10, 2024

Josh Fremd wasn’t sure if he was going to get another fight in the UFC. Fremd suffered a lackluster decision loss to Andre Petroski back at UFC Denver in a fight that he thought was super boring. He was frustrated with how the fight played out and after the scrap, he wasn’t sure what would be next. Luckily, the UFC quickly offered him Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Vegas 98 and he jumped at the offer.

Cole Shelton - October 10, 2024

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira is interested in ending his retirement. Teixeira announced his retirement from MMA back in January of 2023 after he lost to Jamahal Hill for the vacant light heavyweight title. Since then, Teixeira has gone into a coaching role, as he helps train Alex Pereira. Yet, as he the success the Brazilian is having, Teixeira says he’s getting the itch to compete and is contemplating a return.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 10, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White appears to be on board with the idea of a BMF tournament. Dustin Poirier recently appeared on SiriusXM’s “MMA Today” and suggested the tourney. He threw his name in the hat along with Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje, and Dan Hooker.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 10, 2024

UFC fighter Antonio Trocoli was arrested for allegedly assaulting Mackenzie Dern’s ex-husband. Huntington Beach police told MMAFighting.com that the arrest for misdemeanor battery took place on October 4th at 8:30 a.m. It was noted that the Orange County District Attorney’s Officer is reviewing the case.

Chris Taylor - October 10, 2024

With recent rumor of Nick Diaz returning at UFC 310, BJPENN.com caught up with Nick’s Academy Recovery Coach and Team cut man Jose Garcia (BBJ) for an update on The General! We must say, after speaking with Jose, we were left quite concerned. According to Garcia, Cesar Gracie continues to be the antagonist in this update as we previously reported in our last article (see that here). Nick Diaz’s removal from August’s UFC Abu Dhabi event was apparently due in major part to Gracie attempting to get the Stockton General back under contract so that he can financially benefit from Nick returning to the Octagon.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2024

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland isn’t a fan of Merab Dvalishvili’s growing social media presence since winning the bantamweight belt. Dvalishvili and Strickland are two of the UFC’s biggest fan favorites after their recent successes in the Octagon. Dvalishvili, in particular, surged in popularity after defeating Sean O’Malley at UFC 306.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2024

Two-time PFL champion Larissa Pacheco didn’t appreciate the league’s treatment of Kayla Harrison in a questionably timed fight promo ahead of her return. Pacheco will face Bellator Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg in the Battle of the Giants co-main event on October 19th. She returns to the cage for the first time since winning the 2023 PFL women’s featherweight title over Marina Mokhnatkina.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2024

Ilia Topuria wants Max Holloway to meet in the middle and throw down in the first 10 seconds of their fight as he did in the last 10 seconds against Justin Gaethje. Topuria is set to defend his featherweight title in the main event of UFC 308 on October 26 against Holloway in a highly-anticipated bout. Topuria enters the bout as a -260 favorite while the Hawaiian is a +196 underdog on FanDuel.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2024

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has sent Umar Nurmagomedov a warning. Nurmagomedov appears to be next in line for the bantamweight title shot against Merab Dvalishvili. However, O’Malley has been calling for a rematch and Dvalishvili has also expressed interest in it.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2024

Chael Sonnen discussed one of the year’s most talked-about films while simultaneously attacking Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal wants to return to the UFC Octagon after retiring from MMA after a loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287. Since then, he’s focused on promoting his fight organizations and fought in a professional boxing match against Nate Diaz earlier this year.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White remains focused on making UFC Africa happen, but the promotion’s first event on the continent has hit several speed bumps in recent months. UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis is the promotion’s lone African-born titleholder at present, after defeating Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. After dismantling Adesanya, he called for his next title defense to take place in Africa, likely against Sean Strickland.

Josh Evanoff - October 9, 2024

Nate Diaz doesn’t want to see UFC lightweights Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in a ‘BMF’ tournament. ‘The Diamond’ has been out of the cage since a fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev in June. Following that defeat, Dustin Poirier admitted that the fight could’ve been his last. However, he’s since reversed course. In fact, Poirier has a wild idea in mind, involving himself, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, and Dan Hooker.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2024

Dustin Poirier is hopeful the UFC heads to Louisiana in 2025 so he can have his retirement fight at home. Poirier has said he will fight at least one more time after contemplating his future following his submission loss to Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. After taking some time to contemplate his future, Poirier is now calling for the UFC to go back to Louisiana so he can fight at home for his final fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 9, 2024

Conor McGregor believes Alex Pereira would give Jon Jones some issues inside the Octagon. Pereira has proved to be a big problem for the UFC middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. “Poatan” was a former 185-pound titleholder before capturing gold at light heavyweight.