MMA News
Dana White praises newly crowned UFC champion Sean Strickland: "He's as hot as can be"
Zain Bando - September 13, 2023
Sean Strickland’s increased Instagram following post-UFC 293 has the world buzzing Less than a week after winning the UFC middleweight title in a one-sided unanimous decision against Israel Adesanya, Sean Strickland’s popularity has risen in droves, which drew the attention of UFC president and newly-minted CEO Dana White. 100,000 Instagram followers later, Strickland, who won 49-46 on all three judges scorecards, had White reflect upon the current state of the middleweight division, a potential immediate rematch for Strickland with Adesanya, and the unpredictable nature of MMA and upset-centric title fights.
UFC champion Sean Strickland shares his thoughts on Andrew Tate: “Here’s the thing…”
Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland has taken aim at Andrew Tate. Tate is a former kickboxer who became super famous on social media and claimed that he conquered the internet. However, he also has been in trouble with the law, as he is currently under investigation for human trafficking and rape, which he has denied.
Dana White praises Laura Sanko as being "the Ronda Rousey of commentating" after UFC 293
Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023
Dana White has heaped praise on Laura Sanko for her performance in the commentary booth at UFC 293. Sanko became the first female in the modern UFC era to commentate an event earlier this year. She made history once again this past weekend at UFC 293 in Australia, becoming the first female to be a lead commentator of a UFC pay-per-view.
Valentina Shevchenko vows to be the most "dangerous" version of herself at Noche UFC to reclaim her belt: "It's going to be no mercy"
Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023
Valentina Shevchenko is confident she will reclaim her flyweight title on Saturday at Noche UFC. Shevchenko is set to rematch Alexa Grasso on Saturday night in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which is the same place she lost the belt to the Mexican back in March in a massive upset. Heading into the rematch, Shevchenko is still the betting favorite and she has plenty of confidence that she will reclaim her belt.
Ilya Freymanov embraces World Title fight with Thanh Le: "I am the better man"
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 13, 2023
Third-ranked featherweight MMA contender Ilya Freymanov is ready for the most high-profile bout of his ONE Championship career. On October 6, he battles former divisional king and current #1 contender Thanh Le for the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title. The bout takes place at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video, which airs live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bellator 301 set to take place November 17 in Chicago, will feature two title fights
Josh Evanoff - September 13, 2023
Bellator 301 has been announced, headlined by a pair of massive title fights. The Scott Coker-led company is currently in a bit of a weird spot. For the better part of 2023, there have been rumors that Bellator will be sold to the PFL. As of now, the two appear to still be in discussions over a nearly $900 million dollar deal, which would see the Viacom company sold.
WATCH | Jorge Masvidal makes debut as runway model in New York City
Josh Evanoff - September 13, 2023
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal was recently spotted in New York City. ‘Gamebred’ famously retired earlier this year after suffering his fourth loss in a row to Gilbert Burns. Prior to that defeat, Jorge Masvidal had suffered lopsided losses to names such as Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman. With that in mind, it was an easy answer for the Miami native to hang it up after UFC 287.
Kamaru Usman believes in Francis Ngannou's chances against Tyson Fury: "There's something about him"
Josh Evanoff - September 13, 2023
Kamaru Usman believes that Francis Ngannou will be competitive against Tyson Fury in his boxing debut. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ and ‘The Predator’ have been friends for years now. While Kamaru Usman has previously even helped coach Francis Ngannou, one has to imagine that he’s been replaced by Mike Tyson for this one. In October, the former heavyweight champion will face Tyson Fury.
Eric Nicksick reveals the UFC was close to pulling Sean Strickland from Israel Adesanya due to him punching the fan on the street
Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023
Sean Strickland was close to not fighting at UFC 293, according to his coach Eric Nicksick. Strickland was headlining UFC 293 in Australia against Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title, in a fight he got due to Dricus Du Plessis not being healthy enough to take the scrap.
Dana White clarifies UFC middleweight title picture: "Never once did I say we're going to do this f*cking rematch"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 13, 2023
The UFC middleweight division isn’t short on contenders, and Dana White is well aware of it. At the conclusion of UFC 293, the 185-pound division was turned upside down with one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. Sean Strickland defeated Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision to become the new UFC middleweight champion. With how dominant Strickland looked in the fight, it left many to wonder if the UFC would forgo an immediate rematch in favor of a fresh matchup.
Kyle Nelson expects to put on a striking "clinic" against Fernando Padilla at Noche UFC, eyes Cub Swanson in rumored Toronto card next
Cole Shelton - September 13, 2023
Kyle Nelson wanted a quick turnaround and he got his wish. Nelson returned to the win column back at UFC 289 in Vancouver as he pulled off an upset over Blake Bilder which saved his job. Just over three months later, Nelson is back as he will return at Noche UFC on Saturday against Fernando Padilla.
Kamaru Usman on Leon Edwards trilogy fight: "I probably should have taken a little bit more time off"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 13, 2023
Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman believes he shouldn’t have rushed fighting Leon Edwards a third time. Usman looked dominant during his run as the 170-pound kingpin. He defeated the likes of Tyron Woodley, Gilbert Burns, Colby Covington (twice), and Jorge Masvidal (twice). On August 20, 2022, Usman was well on his way to securing his sixth successful UFC welterweight title defense when a late head kick from Leon Edwards ended the championship run.
UFC CEO Dana White has "no clue" what's next for Conor McGregor
Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 13, 2023
If UFC CEO Dana White truly knows what’s going on with Conor McGregor, he isn’t letting the public know. McGregor has been out of action since fracturing his tibia and fibula in a July 2021 trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. Since that time, McGregor has exited the USADA testing pool. The “Notorious” one bulked up considerably during his recovery time, and many have wondered if he’ll ever return to the lightweight division.
Danial Williams believes he has advantages over undefeated kickboxing champ Jonathan Di Bella: “I’m going to have more power”
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 13, 2023
When it comes to confidence, Danial Williams is not short of it. That’s a good thing, too. “Mini T” will need every ounce of self-belief when he challenges Jonathan Di Bella for the latter’s ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title.
Sean O’Malley weighs in on Sean Strickland’s title win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 293: “It didn't look like the Izzy that fought Alex Pereira”
Harry Kettle - September 13, 2023
UFC star Sean O’Malley has given his thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. Last weekend, Sean Strickland shocked the world. He did so by defeating Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision to capture the UFC middleweight championship. While Strickland’s performance was incredible, it’s also worth noting that ‘Stylebender’ looked particularly poor on the night. In the eyes of many pundits, of course, this was due to the great work done by Strickland, but Adesanya’s shortcomings also need to be acknowledged.
Dana White opens up on the new UFC-WWE merger: “We're so much more powerful than we were yesterday”
Harry Kettle - September 13, 2023
Dana White has given his thoughts on the merger between UFC and WWE, which became official yesterday. After the initial announcement back in April, the merger between UFC and WWE finally went through yesterday with all of the big players being present for the unveiling at the New York Stock Exchange. Dana White was also there, proudly standing alongside the likes of Vince McMahon, Triple H and his fellow UFC representatives.
Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington will take place at either UFC 295 or UFC 296: “It’ll be before the end of the year”
Harry Kettle - September 13, 2023
Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington will reportedly take place before the end of 2023, as per Edwards’ manager Tim Simpson. Right now, the king of the UFC’s welterweight division is none other than Leon Edwards. ‘Rocky’ captured the belt from Kamaru Usman via knockout last year, before retaining it against the same man in London. At this point, he’s an established star in the Ultimate Fighting Championship – but he wants more.
Thanh Le battles Ilya Freymanov for ONE's Interim Featherweight MMA World Title at ONE Fight Night 15
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 13, 2023
Thanh Le and Ilya Freymanov will go head-to-head for the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Championship. The bout takes place at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video, which airs in U.S. primetime live from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, October 6.