MMA News
Sean O'Malley blames Ryan Garcia's drug use for concerning remarks: "Cocaine's a hell of a drug"
Josh Evanoff - March 6, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley believes that Ryan Garcia’s ongoing issues are drug-related. ‘Sugar’ is currently slated to return to the octagon this Saturday night in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since a knockout win over Aljamain Sterling last August, Sean O’Malley will look to defeat Marlon Vera. The bout comes four years after their first outing, where ‘Chito’ won by first-round stoppage due to injury.
WATCH | Francis Ngannou snaps on Tyson Fury at press conference: "You are nothing in front of me"
Josh Evanoff - March 6, 2024
Things got wild between Francis Ngannou and boxing champion Tyson Fury earlier today. ‘The Predator’ is currently set to collide with Anthony Joshua this Friday night in Saudi Arabia. For Francis Ngannou, the bout will be the second boxing match of his career. The PFL heavyweight famously made his debut last October, in a ten-round bout against Tyson Fury.
WATCH | Katlyn Chookagian gets emotional at UFC 299 media day revealing she had two miscarriages during time off
Cole Shelton - March 6, 2024
Katlyn Chookagian has had a rough time off, which is why she’s excited to be returning to the Octagon at UFC 299. Chookagian hasn’t fought since UFC 280 in October of 2022 when she suffered a decision loss to Manon Fiorot. After the fight, Chookagian took time off as she was a free agent, and wanted to start a family. However, during her time off, Katlyn Chookagian revealed at UFC 299 media day she had two miscarriages, and she is returning to help get her mind off of that.
UFC 299 | Pro fighters make their picks for Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - March 6, 2024
In the main event of UFC 299, the bantamweight title is on the line as Sean O’Malley defends his strap in a rematch against Marlon Vera. Heading into the fight, O’Malley is a -280 favorite while the the challenger is a +210 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the bantamweight title fight. The pros are actually going with the underdog in Vera to get his hand raised and become the bantamweight champion.
Matt Brown believes the UFC is squeezing all the juice they can out of Sean O’Malley: “Before Merab comes in and empties that cup out”
Susan Cox - March 6, 2024
Matt Brown believes that the UFC is squeezing all the juice they can out of current bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. UFC veteran welterweight Matt Brown (24-19 MMA) believes that Merab Dvalishvili (17-4 MMA) will replace Sean O’Malley on the bantamweight throne in the near future.
MMA legend Urijah Faber returns to headline A1 Combat 21
Susan Cox - March 6, 2024
MMA legend Urijah Faber is returning to headline A1 Combat 21. Faber (35-11 MMA) retired from MMA in 2016 after defeating Brad Pickett (25-14 MMA) by unanimous decision. Making a comeback in 2019, ‘The California Kid’ fought and defeated Ricky Simon (20-5 MMA) by TKO. That same year, Faber got in the cage with Petr Yan (16-5 MMA) at UFC 245 but lost by a third round TKO.
Joe Rogan set to return to the commentary booth for UFC 299 in Miami
Susan Cox - March 6, 2024
Joe Rogan is set to return to the commentary booth for UFC 299 in Miami. UFC 299 takes place this coming Saturday, March 9th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
ONE Fight Night 20: Full card and where to watch on March 8
BJPENN.COM Staff - March 6, 2024
As the world gears up to celebrate International Women’s Day, ONE Championship is taking the festivities to a whole new level with ONE Fight Night 20 on Prime Video. This U.S. primetime event emanates live from the legendary Lumpinee Bangkok Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, March 8.
Merab Dvalishvili booked as the official backup fighter for Saturday’s UFC 299 event
Harry Kettle - March 6, 2024
UFC bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili is officially stepping up as the backup fighter for Saturday’s UFC 299 event. Just a matter of weeks ago, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Henry Cejudo. In doing so, he set himself up nicely for a future shot at the UFC bantamweight championship. As we know, two men will be competing for that belt this weekend. Sean O’Malley will be defending the strap against Marlon Vera in the main event of the utterly incredible UFC 299 showcase.
Cory Sandhagen responds after being called out by Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Vegas 87
Harry Kettle - March 6, 2024
UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen has revealed that he’s open to a showdown with Umar Nurmagomedov. Last summer, Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov were set to meet in the Octagon. However, due to injury, Umar was forced to withdraw, with Rob Font taking his place. Sanhdagen was able to extend his win streak to three, whereas Nurmagomedov returned this past weekend. He was able to defeat Bekzat Almakhan, stretching his unbeaten record to 17-0 in the process.
American Muay Thai legend Janet Todd aims for storybook farewell: “I want to end my career at the top”
BJPENN.COM Staff - March 6, 2024
Janet Todd embarks on the final chapter of her illustrious career. The curtain is set to fall, but not before she steps into the ring for a historic showdown against Phetjeeja in a ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Title unification.
Sean O’Malley admits he is just a “causal fan” when it comes to UFC: “I didn’t watch one fight on the card last week”
Harry Kettle - March 6, 2024
UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has revealed that he sees himself as more of a casual fan of the promotion. This weekend, the masses will be tuning in to see Sean O’Malley defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Marlon Vera. Between his personality outside of the cage and his fun style in it, ‘Suga’ has turned himself into a real superstar in recent years.
AJ McKee says he was "always keen on" re-signing with Bellator, open to returning to featherweight for Patricio Pitbull trilogy
Cole Shelton - March 5, 2024
AJ McKee always knew he was going to re-sign with Bellator. McKee is the former Bellator featherweight champion and was recently a free agent but opted to re-sign with the promotion. McKee says he is a loyal person and wanted to continue to be the face of Bellator going forward.
Kyler Phillips expects to be "too fast" for Pedro Munhoz at UFC 299
Cole Shelton - March 5, 2024
Kyler Phillips believes his speed and striking will be too much for Pedro Munhoz to handle at UFC 299. Phillips is coming off a decision win over Raoni Barcelos back in August and after the victory, he figured a ranked opponent would be next. Phillips is on a two-fight winning streak and is 5-1 in the UFC, so he’s eager to face someone like Munhoz who has fought some of the who’s who of the bantamweight division.
Sean Strickland admits he’s “a little” mentally unstable: “I'll wake up some days wanting to strangle a puppy”
Cole Shelton - March 5, 2024
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland admits he is a little mentally unstable. Strickland has never been afraid to say what is on his mind and he often gets close or does cross the line with what he says. He has said a lot of that is due to how he was raised, explaining the situation on Theo Von’s podcast speaking about his childhood.
Kevin Holland thinks Michael Page is just focused on getting "paid" ahead of UFC debut
Cole Shelton - March 5, 2024
Kevin Holland thinks Michael Page only cares about getting paid ahead of his UFC debut. Page signed with the UFC last year and it was announced he would be making his debut at UFC 299 against Kevin Holland. It was a bit of a surprise that ‘MVP’ had signed with the UFC as he is about to turn 37 next month. Yet, Holland thinks Page finally signed with the UFC because he knows his career is coming to an end and he wanted to get paid as much as possible.
Sean O'Malley's coach takes blame for loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 252: "That was definitely a mistake"
Cole Shelton - March 5, 2024
Tim Welch, the head coach of Sean O’Malley is taking the blame for ‘Suga’s’ UFC 252 loss to Marlon Vera. O’Malley’s lone career loss came by first-round TKO to Vera in a fight that ‘Suga’ hurt his ankle in the first round. O’Malley entered the fight as a sizeable betting favorite but in the scrap, he rolled his ankle several times and ended up not being able to get back to his feet.
Conor McGregor blames UFC's "lack of action" as reason for return delay: "I need a decision"
Josh Evanoff - March 5, 2024
Former two-weight UFC world champion Conor McGregor badly wants to fight in June. ‘The Notorious’ hasn’t competed since a July 2021 trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. As the story goes, Conor McGregor broke his leg in the final seconds of the first round. As a result, he lost the bout and was forced onto the sidelines for nearly three years. However, according to McGregor, he’s ready to return.