MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - February 8, 2024

In the aftermath of ONE 165 on January 28, Yuya Wakamatsu and Gustavo Balart made a significant leap in ONE Championship’s athlete rankings. While the majority of divisions maintained their status quo, the flyweight and strawweight MMA brackets witnessed notable shake-ups.

BJPENN.COM Staff - February 8, 2024

Rivalries often add an extra layer of intensity to matchups. And the upcoming ONE Fight Night 19 on Prime Video headliner promises to deliver just that. Beyond the pursuit of glory, Felipe Lobo seeks to settle a personal beef with Jonathan Haggerty. The bout will be an emphatic clash for the latter’s ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title.

Cole Shelton - February 7, 2024

Dana White has revealed the opening fight for UFC 300. White has promised to make UFC 300 stacked from top-to-bottom and before UFC 296 he said the first fight of the night would blow people’s minds.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2024

Bellator light-heavyweight Corey Anderson has again taken aim at former UFC champion Jamahal Hill. ‘Overtime’ recently booked a return to the cage for March against Karl Moore. At Bellator 302 in Ireland, Corey Anderson will look to finally become world champion. Fresh off a split-decision win over Phil Davis last summer, the longtime light-heavyweight contender is confident that he can get the job done.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2024

Despite talk of retirement, Tyson Fury is still eyeing boxing matches with Oleksandr Usyk, Francis Ngannou, and Anthony Joshua. ‘The Gypsy King’ recently pulled out of his scheduled February 17th clash with ‘The Cat’. The Brit pulled out of the fight, due to a brutal cut he sustained last week in sparring. That boxing match was set to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis, who accomplished the feat two decades ago.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2024

More information about the UFC’s antitrust lawsuit and Dana White continues to come to light. On April 13th, the UFC will hold its milestone 300th pay-per-view event. The fight card doesn’t have a main event as of now but is still a stellar card. As of now, billed matchups include Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway, Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan, and the promotional debut of Kayla Harrison. The former PFL tournament winner is expected to face former champion Holly Holm at the event.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2024

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee has a few names in mind for his impending return. Earlier this month, ‘The Motown Phenom’ announced plans to return to the cage. Last summer, Kevin Lee retired following a first-round submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov. For the former UFC title challenger, the bout was his first back in the Dana White-led company after being released in 2021.

Cole Shelton - February 7, 2024

Dana White is excited for the UFC to have an event at The Sphere in Las Vegas in September. White revealed he wanted to host an event at The Sphere ever since it opened and has it booked to host the Mexican Independence Day card in September. It will be a highly-anticipated event and White says seeing U2 there made him want to do an event at The Sphere.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2024

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington has called for a showdown with Julianna Pena. Last month, Raquel Pennington finally reached the top of the mountain. She defeated Mayra Bueno Silva to win the championship, completing her sensational journey to become the new face of the division. Of course, soon after, many were questioning what would be next – and the most popular answer was Julianna Pena.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White has appeared in a Bud Light commercial that is set to air during Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday. A few months ago, it was announced that the Ultimate Fighting Championship had signed a sponsorship deal with Bud Light. The multi-year partnership is believed to be worth in excess of $100 million, highlighting the commitment that both parties have made.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2024

UFC star Colby Covington has given fans an insight into what he may have planned next in his mixed martial arts career. At UFC 296, Colby Covington suffered a pretty humbling loss to Leon Edwards. He was beaten in pretty much every department, failing to make any real impact on ‘Rocky’ throughout the bout.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2024

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has revealed the nature of his drinking habits prior to his rematch against Islam Makhachev. At UFC 298, Alexander Volkanovski returns to defend his belt against rising star Ilia Topuria. It comes just months after his short notice rematch against Islam Makhachev, which he lost via brutal head kick KO.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2024

Robert Whittaker won’t comment on the rumors he was dealing with a significant injury going into his UFC 290 fight against Dricus Du Plessis. Ben Askren and Daniel Cormier recently spoke on ‘DC’s’ YouTube channel and both mentioned they heard Whittaker had a serious ankle injury going into that fight. However, Whittaker says he won’t comment on if that was true, but does admit the training camp for his fight against Du Plessis wasn’t one he was happy with.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2024

Kevin Lee regrets fighting Rinat Fakhretdinov last year. After Lee scored a decision win over Diego Sanchez in Eagle FC, he was re-signed to the UFC. In his debut fight, he was booked to face Fakhretdinov. Entering the scrap, Lee was a sizeable underdog and it was Fakhretdinov who won the fight as he recorded a submission victory in just 55 seconds.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2024

Former MMA fighter Gina Carano is looking to get back her role in ‘The Mandalorian’. In terms of fighter-turned-stars, there are few more high-profile than Gina Carano. From 2006 to 2009, the former Strikeforce title challenger accumulated a 7-1 record and wins over the likes of Tonya Evinger and Julie Kedzie. However, following a knockout loss to Cris Cyborg, she retired from the sport of MMA.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2024

Former UFC champion Rampage Jackson has had many fighters on his podcast, but Ian Garry won’t be one of them. Starting last year, the former champion decided to start his ‘Jaxxon‘ podcast. Along the way, Rampage Jackson has interviewed many fighters, including names such as Gilbert Burns, Cain Velasquez, and more. One name that the former UFC champion wanted to speak to, is one Ian Garry.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2024

UFC announcer Bruce Buffer had a little bit of a different announcing job earlier this week. The longtime MMA announcer has worked for the company for decades now. However, Bruce Buffer is known beyond combat sports circles these days. His iconic UFC introductions have seemingly now made their way to the world of American Football and the NFL.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2024

Sean O’Malley has his eyes set on becoming a champ-champ. O’Malley is set to defend his bantamweight title for the first time in the main event of UFC 299 against Marlon Vera. Heading into the fight, ‘Suga’ has been oozing with confidence and believes he will KO Vera to defend his belt with ease.