MMA News

Chris Taylor - June 21, 2024

The Octagon invades Riyadh for today’s UFC Saudi Arabia event, an eleven-bout fight card headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov. Whittaker (26-7 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since scoring a unanimous decision win over Paulo Costa this past February at UFC 298. The victory was of course preceded by a TKO loss to reigning middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290.

Curtis Calhoun - June 21, 2024

Chael Sonnen has responded to Conor McGregor’s fiery tweet in which he verbally attacks the former UFC title challenger over claims of substance abuse. McGregor withdrew from his targeted UFC return against Michael Chandler on June 29 due to a toe injury. He and Chandler were supposed to clash at UFC 303 after months of waiting for the fight to come to fruition.

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2024

Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant has reportedly signed with Power Slap. VanZant competed in the UFC from 2014 until 2020 and in free agency, she left to sign with BKFC. She had two fights in BKFC before having one boxing fight against Elle Brooke in Misfits which was a draw.

Curtis Calhoun - June 21, 2024

Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley thinks Mike Perry needs to focus on a pair of key gameplan elements when he faces Jake Paul in the boxing ring. Paul and Perry will clash in a highly anticipated boxing match on July 20 in Tampa, Florida. Perry, a Bare Knuckle FC star, will look to hand Paul his second career boxing defeat.

Josh Evanoff - June 21, 2024

Light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith will now face Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 instead of Carlos Ulberg. The pay-per-view event now just a week away has had a massive shake-up over the last week. The card was originally set to be headlined by a welterweight bout between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. However, due to a broken toe by the Irishman, the card will now feature Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka 2 in the main event.

Curtis Calhoun - June 21, 2024

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira feels Jiří Procházka demonstrated one massive change ahead of their UFC 303 rematch. Pereira and Procházka will clash on days’ notice to headline UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas. The rematch came together after Conor McGregor, who was supposed to face Michael Chandler in the main event, withdrew from the card due to a toe injury.

Curtis Calhoun - June 21, 2024

UFC superstar Conor McGregor didn’t take long to address Chael Sonnen’s recent claims that his UFC 303 withdrawal was due to substance abuse. McGregor was supposed to face Michael Chandler in the UFC 303 main event on June 29 in Las Vegas. But, he withdrew from the fight last weekend due to injury, leading to the new UFC 303 main event between Alex Pereira and Jiří Procházka.

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2024

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has taken aim at ‘chicken’ Conor McGregor. McGregor was supposed to make his highly-anticipated return on June 29 against Michael Chandler. However, just weeks before the fight, it was revealed the Irishman was forced out of the bout due to an undisclosed reason.

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2024

Robert Whittaker could be fighting for the middleweight title next time out if he gets past Ikram Aliskerov in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday. Whittaker is coming off a decision win over Paulo Costa to return to the win column after a TKO loss to Dricus Du Plessis. If Whittaker does beat Aliskerov, he would put himself in line for a title shot, against the winner of Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya, which he thinks the South African has a good chance of winning.

Susan Cox - June 21, 2024

UFC 1 fighter and Hawaiian actor, Taylor Wily, has passed away at the age of 56. Wily was known as Teila Tuli (0-1 MMA) during his one and only fight in UFC 1 back in November of 1993.  Tuli vs. Gerard Gordeau (2-2 MMA) was the first fight to be broadcast in UFC history. The result was Tuli being knocked out by a head kick 26 seconds into the first round, making it the first KO in the promotion‘s history as well.

Susan Cox - June 21, 2024

Jake Paul is claiming that Nate Diaz is ducking him in MMA. ‘The Problem Child’ is currently preparing for his boxing bout with Mike Perry on Saturday July 20th at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Susan Cox - June 21, 2024

UFC Saudia Arabia: ‘Whittaker vs. Aliskerov’ takes place tomorrow, Saturday, June 22nd at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The weigh-ins took place today, Friday, June 21st.

Harry Kettle - June 21, 2024

Rose Namajunas has given her thoughts on the UFC Hall of Fame induction of former foe Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The careers of Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk have been intertwined for quite some time now. It dates back almost a decade, when Namajunas pulled off one of the biggest upsets in UFC title history. She claimed the UFC strawweight championship by knocking out Joanna in New York City, before successfully defending the belt against her.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 21, 2024

Kang Ji Won knows exactly what he must do to beat Kirill Grishenko in their upcoming encounter. This heavyweight MMA clash takes place at ONE Fight Night 23 on Prime Video. The U.S. primetime event airs live from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 5.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2024

Impa Kasanganay is looking to secure another first-round finish at PFL 5 to cement his spot in the playoffs. Kasanganay is coming off a first-round TKO win over Alex Polizzi back in April to earn six points. It was a solid performance from the UFC vet, which got him back into the win column after his controversial loss to Johnny Eblen.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 20, 2024

Anatoly Malykhin will defend his ONE Heavyweight MMA World Championship against “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane in his next outing. This five-round duel will headline ONE 169: Atlanta. The U.S. primetime event emanates live from the State Farm Arena on November 8.

Curtis Calhoun - June 20, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley holds three current MMA fighters in high esteem when discussing the sport’s all-time great strikers. O’Malley is expected to face Merab Dvalishvili later this year in his latest UFC bantamweight title defense. He most recently defeated Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 main event by unanimous decision after capturing the belt last August.

Josh Evanoff - June 20, 2024

While UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall wants to fight Jon Jones, he doesn’t need to. The British fighter is just a month away from defending his gold on home soil. Just a few months removed from his knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim title, Tom Aspinall will meet Curtis Blaydes. ‘Razor’ is coming off a second-round knockout victory over Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 in March.