MMA News
Jim Miller believes he could "kimura" Brock Lesnar after Anthony Smith says that hypothetical fight is 50-50
Cole Shelton - January 10, 2024
Jim Miller is confident he would beat Brock Lesnar in a potential fight. On Wednesday on the Believe You Me podcast, Anthony Smith and Michael Bisping were talking about Jim Miller and potential UFC 300 opponents. Out of the blue, Lesnar’s name got brought up and Smith claimed that the fight would be 50/50 despite the massive size difference. Smith argued that Miller could catch Lesnar with a submission, but avoiding the power shots on the feet would be questionable.
Paulo Costa calls for longshot middleweight bout with 'Exceptional' Conor McGregor: "He's huge"
Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024
UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa believes that he will fight Conor McGregor one day, possibly as early as this year. ‘The Notorious’ is currently on the comeback trail. Having not competed in over two years, Conor McGregor recently announced plans to return on June 29th at International Fight Week. For his first fight back, the Irishman wants to face Michael Chandler at 185 pounds. ‘Iron’ quickly confirmed his intention to fight McGregor this summer.
Israel Adesanya avoids conviction for drunk driving charge, but receives fine among other penalties
Cole Shelton - January 10, 2024
Israel Adesanya avoided conviction for his drunk driving charge in New Zealand. Adesanya was charged on August 19 for drunk driving as he was operating a car with 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, which is over the legal limit of 50 milligrams. The maximum penalty for the drunk driving charge is a term of imprisonment of three months or a fine of $4500. The incident happened just weeks before his title defense against Sean Strickland which he lost by decision.
Former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas added to UFC Vegas 88 in March
Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will face Amanda Ribas in March. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of the cage since a move to flyweight in September. For her first bout up at 125 pounds, Rose Namajunas faced the rising Manon Fiorot. The former champion hoped to hand the contender her first loss on home soil, at UFC Paris. Instead, she suffered yet another setback.
Mark Hunt interested in bare-knuckle boxing after brief retirement: "God has put me to be a fighter"
Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024
Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Mark Hunt will be returning to combat sports. ‘The Super Samoan’ has had an odd last few years. Following a 2018 loss to Justin Willis, Mark Hunt parted ways with the UFC. The defeat was his third in a row, and his exit from the Dana White-led promotion was far from shocking. That partially has to deal with his lengthy lawsuit against them.
Paulo Costa reveals he still hasn't signed a contract to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 298, claims the bout is still on
Cole Shelton - January 10, 2024
Paulo Costa is still waiting to sign his contract for his UFC 298 fight against Robert Whittaker. The UFC announced that Costa will finally return to the Octagon against Whittaker on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California. It’s an intriguing matchup but when the fight was announced, many fans were worried it wouldn’t happen.
Michael Bisping confident Alex Pereira will be defending his light heavyweight title at UFC 300: “You know who it’s gonna be”
Susan Cox - January 10, 2024
Michael Bisping is confident Alex Pereira will be defending his light heavyweight title at UFC 300. Bisping, a former UFC middleweight champion, is making a big prediction for UFC 300.
Dana White books Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in $100k challenge against his bull Twisted Steel
Susan Cox - January 10, 2024
Dana White has booked UFC legend Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in a $100K challenge against his bull ‘Twisted Steel’. The UFC CEO Dana White has a passion that perhaps is not all that well known.
Daniel Cormier explains why he’s not interested in seeing Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal 2: “I don’t anticipate it going well for my boy”
Susan Cox - January 10, 2024
Daniel Cormier is explaining why he’s not interested in seeing Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal 2. Masvidal, who retired from the UFC in April of last year, recently announced that he was ‘unretired’ and fight fans wanted to know what the 39-year-old would do next.
Conor McGregor once again takes aim at the Nurmagomedov family: “That's 4 now out of your family caught on steroids”
Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024
UFC star Conor McGregor has taken another shot at the Nurmagomedov family in a recent social media exchange. It’s been well-documented over the years that Conor McGregor isn’t a big fan of the Nurmagomedov family. From his feud with Khabib to his interactions with some of his siblings, the Irishman has built up quite the rivalry with the clan. Unfortunately, in the cage, it didn’t do him much good, with his one meeting against ‘The Eagle’ ending in a comprehensive defeat.
Aljamain Sterling shuts down talk of having future UFC fights at bantamweight: “There’s no more 135”
Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024
Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling has confirmed that he will never return to the bantamweight division. Over the course of the last few years, Aljamain Sterling has cemented his legacy at 135 pounds. He became a household name and held the championship high, successfully defending it on three occasions. Unfortunately, his run came to an end last summer when he was beaten via TKO by Sean O’Malley.
Jorge Masvidal opens as large favorite for rumored Nate Diaz rematch in boxing
Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024
Jorge Masvidal has opened as a large favorite over rival Nate Diaz ahead of a potential rematch in boxing. Back in late 2019 at UFC 244, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz headlined Madison Square Garden for the UFC’s annual NYC show. They fought for the inaugural BMF championship, in what proved to be a strange matchup as Masvidal got the victory via doctor stoppage. It felt as if there was another chapter still to be written in this story, with the majority of fans wanting to see a rematch down the line.
ONE Fight Night 18: Where to watch ONE Championship’s U.S. primetime return on January 12
BJPENN.COM Staff - January 10, 2024
This Friday, January 12, ONE Championships makes its grand return to North American primetime with ONE Fight Night 18 on Prime Video. The promotion’s first premium live event of the year features an incredible lineup of action-packed bouts. It airs from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Dana White says Irish boxer engrained his love for fighting: "I started through working for Peter Welch for free”
Zain Bando - January 9, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White is a man of humble beginnings. MMA’s main head-honcho, White grew up in South Boston and worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and support his family.
Israel Adesanya admits he's on “the back end" of his career, focused on "quality" fights not quantity in 2024
Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024
Israel Adesanya knows he’s on the back nine of his fighting career. Adesanya is currently 34 years old and has been a pro-MMA fighter since 2012, but has competed in kickboxing for much longer. With over a decade as a pro fighter, Adesanya has put his body through a ton, and after his lopsided decision loss to Sean Strickland to lose his middleweight title, he said he would be taking a breaak from fighting.
Cain Velasquez reportedly set to corner Gabriel Benitez at UFC Vegas 84
Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024
Cain Velasquez will be back at a UFC event and in the corner this coming Saturday. Velasquez is the former UFC heavyweight champion and currently remains free on bail after facing 10 charges, to which he has pled not guilty, which include attempted murder; shooting at an occupied motor vehicle or aircraft; three counts of assault with a firearm; three counts of assault with a deadly weapon; willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony.
Michael Page highly doubts Kevin Holland will make the same mistake he did against Stephen Thompson at UFC 299
Josh Evanoff - January 9, 2024
UFC welterweight contender Michael Page doubts that Kevin Holland will have a kickboxing match with him later this year. ‘Venom’ recently ended his high-profile free agency. In March, Michael Page competed in his last fight in the Bellator cage, scoring a stoppage win over Goiti Yamaguchi. Following that bout, he became a free agent. After months of speculation, he signed with the UFC last month and was booked against Kevin Holland.
Dricus du Plessis reveals insane fine for jumping the fence to meet Donald Trump at UFC 290: "Too cool of a moment for me to let by"
Josh Evanoff - January 9, 2024
UFC middleweight contender Dricus du Plessis was handed quite a fine for meeting Donald Trump last year. ‘Stillknocks’ is currently slated to face Sean Strickland later this month in the main event of UFC 297. The bout will be the first title shot of Dricus du Plessis’ career, as he faces the newly crowned champion. ‘Tarzan’ famously won middleweight gold back in September, with an upset decision win over Israel Adesanya.