MMA News

Chris Taylor - September 7, 2023

Dan Hardy has a theory as to why UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones isn’t “gonna stick around” after fighting Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. Jones (27-1 MMA) is scheduled to defend his heavyweight title Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA) on November 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York. ‘Bones’ of course captured the promotion’s heavyweight crown earlier this year when he submitted Ciryl Gane in the first round of their fight at UFC 285.

Cole Shelton - September 7, 2023

Tai Tuivasa doesn’t think Alexander Volkov’s chin will be able to take his punches at UFC 293. Tuivasa and Volkov are set to throw down in the co-headliner of Saturday’s UFC 293 event in Sydney, Australia. It’s a hometown fight for Tuivasa and he’s looking for redemption as he’s on a two-fight losing streak and will be making the walk to the Octagon for the first time in 2023.

Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2023

UFC president Dana White has confirmed that Mark Zuckerberg vs. Elon Musk is off the table. Earlier this summer, the two billionaires began teasing that they would indeed fight. To his credit, Mark Zuckerberg has been a longtime fan of the sport, even training with names such as Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski. Meanwhile, Elon Musk isn’t as versed in combat but reportedly trained Judo as a teen.

Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2023

The saga between PFL star Jake Paul and former UFC title challenger Nate Diaz continues. ‘The Problem Child’ returned to the ring last month on DAZN pay-per-view. Back for the first time since a loss to Tommy Fury in February, he faced Nate Diaz. The Stockton slugger last defeated Tony Ferguson at UFC 279 last year, fighting out his deal with the promotion.

Josh Evanoff - September 7, 2023

Things got heated between Manel Kape and Israel Adesanya at the UFC 293 presser earlier today. ‘The Last Stylebender’ is currently slated to return this Saturday night against Sean Strickland. For his part, Israel Adesanya enters the matchup fresh off his championship rematch with Alex Pereira at UFC 287. In April, he scored a second-round knockout win over ‘Poatan’ to win the gold.

Cole Shelton - September 7, 2023

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou had a faceoff ahead of their highly-anticipated boxing match on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia. With the fight still over a month away, the two held a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to help promote the fight. Although Fury is a sizeable betting favorite, the fight is still intriguing as Ngannou has legit one-punch KO power.

Cole Shelton - September 7, 2023

In the main event of UFC 293, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Israel Adesanya looks to defend his belt against Sean Strickland. Heading into the scrap, Adesanya is a massive -720 favorite while the American is a +450 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the majority of the pros are picking Adesanya to defend his belt with ease, although some are rooting for Strickland to pull off the upset.

Susan Cox - September 7, 2023

Merab Dvalishvili is reacting after Sean O’Malley claims he knocked him out at UFC 292. It was in fact Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA) vs Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA) this past August at UFC 292. The main event title fight saw O’Malley defeat ‘Funk Master’ by TKO at 0:51 of round 2 to claim the bantamweight belt.

Susan Cox - September 7, 2023

Former UFC champion Michael Bisping is sharing his thoughts on the middleweight GOAT debate. It was during a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel that former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, articulated who he feels is deserving of GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) status in the middleweight division:

Susan Cox - September 7, 2023

Dricus Du Plessis is being advised that he better ‘show up’ at UFC 293 or he’ll risk losing a shot at the title. UFC 293 takes place this coming weekend, on Saturday, September 9th at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 7, 2023

ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Champion Xiong Jing Nan is gearing up for a unique challenge. She faces Muay Thai phenom Nat “Wondergirl” Jaroonsak in a special rules striking match at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video. The bout airs live in U.S. primetime from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on September 29.

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 7, 2023

ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Di Bella can’t wait for his next assignment. The Canadian-Italian striker defends his belt against Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video. The matchup goes down at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 6, and airs live in U.S. primetime.

Harry Kettle - September 7, 2023

Marlon Vera has given his thoughts on Sean O’Malley once again calling out Gervonta Davis for a superfight. Last month, Sean O’Malley shocked the world by knocking out Aljamain Sterling to become the new UFC bantamweight champion. While some weren’t too surprised by the result, the manner of his victory was certainly memorable.

Harry Kettle - September 7, 2023

Chan Sung Jung aka The Korean Zombie has admitted that there’s a chance he could test the waters in boxing following his MMA retirement. Last month, Korean Zombie went head to head with Max Holloway in what would prove to be his final fight in the UFC. He gave it his all and certainly went down swinging but in the end, he couldn’t get the job done, and wound up suffering a knockout loss at the hands of ‘Blessed’.

Harry Kettle - September 7, 2023

Israel Adesanya doesn’t believe that Sean Strickland will do the “man dance” with him when they collide at UFC 293. This Saturday night, Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight championship when he goes head to head with Sean Strickland. It will serve as the first time he’s defended the strap in his second reign, following his knockout win over Alex Pereira earlier this year.

Zain Bando - September 6, 2023

“UFC Noche” is nearly a week away, and the promotion is pulling out all the stops to ensure the event captures the essence of Mexican Independence Day. Dana White admitted the UFC missed the boat on bringing the Mexican fanbase the best event possible. Still, it’s a near-perfect alternative with Alexa Grasso as the headliner in the highly-anticipated flyweight title rematch against Valentina Shevchenko. White posted a newly minted surprise for Alexa Grasso, who upset then-champion Shevchenko in March at UFC 285. A UFC champion is getting a custom-made country-themed belt for the first time in promotional history. Not to be confused with the lineal title; however, White revealed Alexa Grasso will get to keep the custom belt, win or lose.

Josh Evanoff - September 6, 2023

Jorge Masvidal has announced that Roy Nelson vs. Alan Belcher is slated for Gamebred FC 6 next month. ‘Gamebred’ started his high-profile promotion company last year. At the time, he stated his plans to hold boxing, MMA, bare-knuckle, and even bare-knuckle MMA events. Shortly, he signed on legends such as Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Roy Nelson, and more. ‘Big Country’ scored a first-round knockout win over Dillon Cleckler in May in his promotional debut.

Josh Evanoff - September 6, 2023

Jorge Masvidal wasn’t impressed by Jake Paul and Nate Diaz’s boxing match last month. On DAZN pay-per-view from Texas, ‘The Problem Child’ returned in August. The boxing match was his first since suffering a defeat to Tommy Fury in February and was also the first ten-rounder of his career. Meanwhile, Nate Diaz made his boxing debut that night but was no stranger to combat. In his UFC stint, he faced names such as Jorge Masvidal, Conor McGregor, and more.