MMA News
Danielle Kelly targets emphatic win over Mayssa Bastos at ONE Fight Night 24
BJPENN.COM Staff - July 31, 2024
Danielle Kelly plans to give Mayssa Bastos a dose of her own medicine when they clash at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video. There, the American standout defends her ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Title against the Brazilian challenger. This U.S. primetime event airs live from the fabled Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, August 2.
Jake Hadley sounds off on “clown” Muhammad Mokaev for UFC 304 shenanigans: “He sucker punched Manel Kape and all these geezers”
Harry Kettle - July 31, 2024
UFC fighter Jake Hadley has called out Muhammad Mokaev for his actions during UFC 304 fight week. As we know, Muhammad Mokaev has had an interesting week. He got involved in a brawl with Manel Kape and his team, defeated Kape at UFC 304, and was then released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. There are allegations that he had been negotiating with PFL while still being signed to UFC, but this has been rejected by Mokaev’s camp.
Umar Nurmagomedov says he’s been promised a title shot with a win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi
Harry Kettle - July 31, 2024
Umar Nurmagomedov has reportedly been promised a title shot if he can defeat Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi. This weekend, Umar Nurmagomedov faces the biggest test of his career thus far. In a bout that has been in the works for a long time now, he’ll go head to head with Cory Sandhagen at bantamweight. As we know, Sandhagen has been a top contender at 135 pounds for years – and Umar is looking to make his mark.
Sean O’Malley and Brian Ortega open as betting underdogs for September’s Noche UFC event at the Sphere
Harry Kettle - July 31, 2024
Sean O’Malley and Brian Ortega have opened as betting underdogs for September’s blockbuster Noche UFC event at the Sphere. As we know, the UFC is preparing for a blockbuster show on September 14. They’ll be putting on a card at the Sphere in Las Vegas, becoming the first major sporting organization to do so. In the main event, Sean O’Malley will defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Merab Dvalishvili. In addition, we’ll see Alexa Grasso vs Valentina Shevchenko, as well as Brian Ortega vs Diego Lopes.
Gustavo Balart determined to give family “the life they deserved”
BJPENN.COM Staff - July 31, 2024
Gustavo Balart isn’t just pursuing his dreams at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video – he’s doing it for his family. There, “El Gladiador” battles former ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Jarred Brooks for the interim crown. This scheduled five-rounder emanates live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, August 2.
UFC Sphere ticket prices reach near-unaffordable levels
Zain Bando - July 30, 2024
UFC Sphere tickets will be a hot commodity come September, and it didn’t help when the pre-sale ticket release commenced on Monday when it was next to impossible to purchase a seat for the Sept. 14 card in Las Vegas. The price ranges for the UFC event from the Sphere, also known as Riyadh Season Noche UFC, range from USD $ $2,157 to upwards of USD $17,757. For context, UFC 264, headlined by the trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in July 2021, was under $1,000 for nosebleed-level seats for just one ticket.
UFC CEO Dana White calls himself ‘not political’ in CNN interview
Zain Bando - July 30, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White continues to make the rounds, including several interviews about his friendship with former President Donald Trump. White, 55, has made his stance clear that he doesn’t care about politics despite endorsing Trump at the 2024 RNC just days after Trump was nearly assassinated in Butler, Pa.
Tony Ferguson reveals he's sparring again ahead of his return at UFC Abu Dhabi
Cole Shelton - July 30, 2024
Tony Ferguson is back sparring as he’s set to return to the Octagon on Saturday against Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi. Ferguson enters the bout on a seven-fight losing streak and is moving back up to welterweight to take on Chiesa in what could be his final UFC fight. Although Ferguson is on a losing skid, he still has confidence in himself, and ahead of his return, he says he started to spar again and feels like he’s in a good spot in his career.
Muhammad Mokaev denies rumor that PFL negotiations led to UFC release: "Journalists that make this s*it up"
Josh Evanoff - July 30, 2024
No, former UFC flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev hasn’t spoken with the PFL. ‘The Punisher’ returned to the cage over the weekend on the UFC 304 prelims. Back for the first time since a unanimous decision victory over Alex Perez in March, the flyweight was set for a grudge match with Manel Kape. Muhammad Mokaev and ‘Starboy’ had verbally attacked each other in the build-up to the fight, and even brawled during fight week.
Paddy Pimblett reveals former UFC lightweight champion could be next: "I'll punch his head in"
Josh Evanoff - July 30, 2024
Paddy Pimblett believes a fight with former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos could be next. ‘The Baddy’ returned to the octagon on the UFC 304 main card Saturday night in Manchester. Back for the first time since a decision victory over Tony Ferguson in December, Paddy Pimblett faced King Green. The longtime veteran was coming off a victory over Jim Miller in April and was considered the Brit’s biggest test to date.
Kamaru Usman believes Leon Edwards should move to middleweight after UFC 304 loss: "Not a lot of them are grappling"
Josh Evanoff - July 30, 2024
Kamaru Usman believes that Leon Edwards should consider a move up in weight following his UFC 304 loss. ‘Rocky’ returned to the octagon in Manchester over the weekend. Back for the first time since a dominant decision victory over Colby Covington in December, Leon Edwards faced Belal Muhammad. The UFC welterweight champion entered the contest a heavy favorite, having dominated their first encounter in March 2021 until an eye poke caused a no-contest.
VIDEO | Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili get into heated back-and-forth during promo shoot: "You wanna die?"
Curtis Calhoun - July 30, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley and top contender Merab Dvalishvili are ramping up the trash talk ahead of their title bout. O’Malley and Dvalishvili will headline UFC 306 on September 14th at the Las Vegas Sphere. The event will serve as a one-off as the first major sporting event to take place at the venue.
Leon Edwards's coach reveals he entered UFC 304 with a significant back injury: "He couldn't wrestle"
Curtis Calhoun - July 30, 2024
Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards wasn’t at his physical best entering the fight with Belal Muhammad at UFC 304. Edwards lost the UFC welterweight title to Muhammad in the UFC 304 main event on Saturday in Manchester. It was the first fight he’s lost since a 2015 defeat to Kamaru Usman.
Colby Covington reacts after Belal Muhammad dethrones Leon Edwards at UFC 304: “He just doesn’t have that hunger anymore”
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
Former interim welterweight title holder Colby Covington is reacting after Belal Muhammad dethroned Leon Edwards at UFC 304. The main event at UFC 304 last Saturday night saw Belal Muhammad (24-3 MMA) defeat Leon Edwards (22-4 MMA) by unanimous decision to become the new UFC welterweight champion.
The updated UFC pound-for-pound rankings see Belal Muhammad debut at #6, with Tom Aspinall moving up to #9
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
The updated UFC pound-for-pound rankings have been released with Belal Muhammad debuting at #6 and Tom Aspinall moving up to #9. Following UFC 304 this past weekend, Saturday July 27th, the P4P rankings have been adjusted.
Robelis Despaigne booked for October UFC return against former NFL player Austen Lane
Susan Cox - July 30, 2024
Robelis Despaigne is booked to return to the UFC this October against form NFL player Austen Lane. According to MMAJunkie, the former taekwondo Olympian, Despaigne (5-1 MMA) will return to the Octagon on Saturday, October 19th to face former NFL player Austen Lane (12-5 MMA) in a three-round heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dana White reacts to the potential outcome that both Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will retire at UFC 309: “I don’t know what we’ll do if that happens”
Harry Kettle - July 30, 2024
UFC president Dana White has given his thoughts on the idea that Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic could both retire following UFC 309. As we know, the current plan is for Jon Jones to defend his UFC heavyweight championship against Stipe Miocic. It appears set to take place at UFC 309 in New York City, but that has yet to be confirmed by the promotion.
Khabib Nurmagomedov says he only had a minor role in Belal Muhammad’s title win at UFC 304: “I just helped him in small things”
Harry Kettle - July 30, 2024
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov has insisted that he only had a minor role in Belal Muhammad’s triumph at UFC 304. Last Saturday, Belal Muhammad became the new UFC welterweight champion. He did so by dominating Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304. While some felt as if Belal’s grappling would give him an advantage, few could’ve imagined that the contest would be quite as one-sided as it turned out to be.