MMA News
Jonathan Di Bella expects "a bloody war" with Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 15
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.
Sean O’Malley claims he knocked out Merab Dvalishvili the same night he finished Aljamain Sterling: “They’re the same person”
Harry Kettle - September 7, 2023
Sean O’Malley has teased Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling as he continues to enjoy life as champion. Last month, Sean O’Malley knocked out Aljamain Sterling to claim the UFC bantamweight championship. As you can imagine, this represented a seismic shift in the division, with ‘Suga’ taking over as the new king. Naturally, many other fighters in the top 10 have been calling for a showdown against the champ.
Marlon Vera reacts after UFC champion Sean O’Malley calls out boxing star Gervonta Davis
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.
The Korean Zombie expresses interest in Boxing after announcing his UFC retirement: “Boxing would be fun for me”
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’.
Alexa Grasso presented with custom belt from UFC President Dana White: "This will be her championship belt"
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.
Israel Adesanya explains why he believes Alexander Volkanovski is "the greatest fighter of all time"
Cole Shelton - September 6, 2023
Israel Adesanya believes Alexander Volkanovski has cemented himself as the GOAT. Volkanovski is the UFC’s current featherweight champion and is undefeated in the weight class. He has only two career losses on his record, one which came on the regional scene at welterweight and the other at 155lbs to Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title. However, that fight was close and some thought Volkanovski did enough to get the win.
Roy Nelson vs. Alan Belcher announced for Gamebred bare-knuckle MMA heavyweight title in October
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.
Jorge Masvidal unimpressed by Jake Paul's win over Nate Diaz: "I'd hurt them dudes"
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.
WATCH | Sean Strickland spars a fan at UFC 293 open workouts as promised
Josh Evanoff - September 6, 2023
Ahead of his title shot on Saturday, Sean Strickland got work in with a fan at UFC 293 open workouts. ‘Tarzan’ is slated to face Israel Adesanya this weekend in the biggest fight of his career. For his part, Sean Strickland enters the first title fight of his career riding a two-fight winning streak. Earlier this year, he captured lopsided wins over Abus Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov.
Logan Paul's fiancee Nina Agdal sues Dillon Danis over social media trolling ahead of fight
Josh Evanoff - September 6, 2023
It appears that the boxing match between Logan Paul and Dillon Danis is now in jeopardy. ‘The Maverick’ and ‘El Jefe’ are slated to fight in October in the co-main event of KSI vs. Tommy Fury. For Logan Paul, the boxing match will be his first since a June 2021 exhibition with Floyd Mayweather. Meanwhile, the fight will be Dillon Danis’ boxing debut and first combat sports appearance since 2019.
Mike Perry says he never considered going back to the UFC in free agency because "the pay cut would have been too massive"
Cole Shelton - September 6, 2023
Mike Perry says he never thought about going back to the UFC during his free agency. After Perry scored a TKO win over Luke Rockhold at BKFC 41 in April of this year, he had fought out his deal with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Immediately, many fans were curious to see if he would go back to the UFC or if he would stay with BKFC.
Stephen Loman confident about potential stand-up war with John Lineker: ‘I match up with his striking well’
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 6, 2023
Stephen Loman is gearing up for a fight that could alter the trajectory of his career forever. Loman, ONE Championship’s No. 2-ranked bantamweight MMA contender, is set to face top-ranked John Lineker. The match goes down at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video, which airs live in U.S. primetime on September 29.
Dana White responds to Donn Davis' fighter pay comments: “I do see them waste unbelievable amounts of money”
Zain Bando - September 6, 2023
Regarding fighter pay, Dana White and the UFC’s stance has not changed in recent years. During a 2022 GQ video in which White, UFC president since 2001, went undercover to answer fan questions across social media, he reiterated that his roster gets compensated fairly and money is “spread out” among the roster pool.
Israel Adesanya says he'd "love to headline" UFC 300: "That's one I'm going to be a part of"
Cole Shelton - September 6, 2023
Israel Adesanya is hoping he will get the chance to headline UFC 300. UFC 300 is expected to happen in March or April of next year and will likely be one of the biggest events in the promotion’s history. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see multiple title fights on the card, while the headliner would be uncertain, it could be Conor McGregor or Jon Jones (if they choose to fight again), but Adesanya says he wants to be the main attraction for the marquee event.
Dana White uncertain if Dricus Du Plessis will get the next middleweight title shot: "I don’t love when guys turn down fights"
Cole Shelton - September 6, 2023
UFC president Dana White has taken aim at Dricus Du Plessis. After Du Plessis beat Robert Whittaker in July, all signs pointed to the South African getting the next title shot as Israel Adesanya even went in the cage to faceoff with him. However, Dricus Du Plessis revealed he had an injury and wasn’t able to make the quick turnaround to face Adesanya in Sydney, Australia this weekend at UFC 293.
Eddie Alvarez expresses interest in trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier following recent Twitter exchange: “I out dogged you the first match”
Susan Cox - September 6, 2023
Eddie Alvarez is expressing an interest in a trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier following a recent exchange on Twitter. Alvarez (30-8 MMA) left the UFC in July of 2018 after being defeated by Dustin Poirier (29-8 MMA) via TKO in round 2. ‘The Underground King’ went on to sign with ONE Championship later that year.
Sean O’Malley willing to “teach” Henry Cejudo whatever he wants to know after outwrestling Aljamain Sterling: “I’m above Henry, statistically speaking”
Susan Cox - September 6, 2023
Sean O’Malley is willing to ‘teach’ Henry Cejudo whatever he wants to know after outwrestling Aljamain Sterling. UFC 292 saw Aljamain Sterling (23-4 MMA) and Sean O’Malley (17-1 MMA) in a bantamweight title fight. The outcome was a TKO victory for ‘Suga’ at 0:51 of round 2.
Dana White reacts to news that Sean Strickland punched a fan ahead of UFC 293: “He won’t be punching people in the stomach anymore”
Susan Cox - September 6, 2023
Dana White is reacting to the news that Sean Strickland punched a fan ahead of UFC 293. UFC 293 takes place this coming Saturday, September 9th at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.