MMA News

Harry Kettle - July 26, 2023

Former UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal has reacted to Ben Askren calling for a rematch with him in the future. Four years ago, Jorge Masvidal became a superstar. While his wins over Darren Till and Nate Diaz were notable, it was his vicious knockout of Ben Askren that really put him on the map. Just five seconds into their highly anticipated grudge match, ‘Gamebred’ was able to knock Askren out cold with a nasty knee to the head.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

Jan Blachowicz wanted some time off after his last fight. Blachowicz last competed back in December and fought Magomed Ankalaev to a draw for the vacant lightweight title. After the fight ended, Blachowicz wanted some time off to heal for some injuries, and he said the plan was to return in the summer.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

Alex Pereira believes Jan Blachowicz is the perfect opponent for him to make his light heavyweight debut against. Pereira is set to move up to light heavyweight in the co-main event of UFC 291 against Blachowicz in an intriguing matchup. The Brazilian has always been a bigger middleweight and he said even before his KO loss to Israel Adesanya he was thinking about making the move to light heavyweight.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

Paulo Costa expects to beat Khamzat Chimaev with relative ease. Costa and Chimaev are set to fight at UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi in a very intriguing middleweight matchup. The winner of the fight could very well earn a title shot, and the oddsmakers have Chimaev as a sizeable betting favorite.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

Donald Trump isn’t a fan of Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington feuding. Both Masvidal and Covington have been vocal about their support for Trump while he was in office and since his departure. However, the two became enemies and even fought at UFC 272, where it was Covington who won a lopsided decision, which was a tough spot for Trump as he likes both of them.

Josh Evanoff - July 25, 2023

UFC welterweight Vicente Luque had to undergo additional testing to face Rafael dos Anjos in August. ‘The Silent Assassin’ is currently slated to return opposite the former UFC champion next month. For his part, Rafael dos Anjos last submitted Bryan Barberena last December in his most recent appearance. As of now, the two are expected to headline UFC Vegas 79, in an important one for Vicente Luque.

Josh Evanoff - July 25, 2023

Almost four years on from his UFC 245 loss to Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington still blames Marc Goddard. ‘Chaos’ is currently on the sidelines, waiting for his fight with Leon Edwards to be booked. Last defeating Jorge Masvidal at UFC 272 last March, the potential title shot has been controversial. However, Dana White has been steadfast in booking Colby Covington vs. ‘Rocky’ later this year.

Josh Evanoff - July 25, 2023

Former UFC title challenger Nate Diaz has named his toughest opponent to date. The Stockton slugger is currently slated to face Jake Paul next month on DAZN pay-per-view. The bout will be Nate Diaz’s boxing debut, but he feels confident. Having spent years sparring names such as Andre Ward, the former UFC star feels that he’s the perfect MMA fighter to finally beat ‘The Problem Child’.

Zain Bando - July 25, 2023

Let’s face it — the UFC is popular with males age 18-34. With the rise in streaming capability becoming easier by the day, so is the access to other Internet mediums, including illegal streaming. Over two years after UFC president Dana White proclaimed he was “watching” an anonymous person’s house ahead of UFC 257, then headlined by Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier in their second fight, another incident arose just one week ago. This is the second known story related to pay-per-view access in 2023.

Susan Cox - July 25, 2023

Ben Askren has shared direct messages with Dana White regarding a potential UFC rematch with Jorge Masvidal. Jorge Masvidal (35-17 MMA) and Ben Askren (19-2 MMA) met in the Octagon in July of 2019 at UFC 239. The result was a knockout victory for Masvidal at 0:05 of Round 1. It was to be the fastest KO in UFC history.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

Tony Ferguson says he is now fighting for himself and no one else. Ferguson is set to return to the lightweight division at UFC 291 as he faces Bobby Green. It’s an intriguing matchup as ‘El Cucuy’ has struggled as of late. Ferguson has lost five in a row, but outside of Nate Diaz in his last fight, he has only lost to top-five fighters. Before losing to Diaz, he suffered losses to Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, and Michael Chandler.

Susan Cox - July 25, 2023

Tom Aspinall has taken over the No. 4 spot in the official UFC Heavyweight Rankings. It was just this past Saturday, July 22nd, that Tom Aspinall (13-3 MMA) defeated Marcin Tybura (24-8 MMA) in the heavyweight main event. In front of a hometown crowd at the O2 Arena in London, England, Aspinall KO’d Tybura at 1:13 of Round 1.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

The 132nd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live ahead of UFC 291 this Saturday. We’re first joined by third-ranked UFC light heavyweight Jan Blachowicz (1:42). Next, seventh-ranked UFC welterweight Stephen Thompson (16:22) stops by. Closing out the program is UFC welterweight Trevin Giles (29:18).

Harry Kettle - July 25, 2023

Zabit Magomedsharipov has claimed that the Ultimate Fighting Championship offered him a title shot to try and get him out of retirement. In recent years, Zabit Magomedsharipov has been one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in mixed martial arts. Beyond that, you could argue that claim extends to the entire history of the sport. With an 18-1 pro record and a 6-0 record in the UFC, it always felt as if Zabit was destined for a world title. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen him in the Octagon since November 2019 when he beat Calvin Kattar.

Harry Kettle - July 25, 2023

According to a recent report from Giorgi Kokiashvili, Derek Brunson and Roman Dolidze will collide at UFC 295. The middleweight division is certainly looking interesting right now. While Israel Adesanya may still be running the show as champion, there are plenty of hungry contenders hoping to make a push for a title shot.

Harry Kettle - July 25, 2023

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen believes Israel Adesanya has been able to surpass fellow UFC champion Jon Jones. When it comes to Israel Adesanya and Jon Jones, their legacies have largely already been written. Both have been successful world champions in the UFC, and both have been through some real adversity along the way. Many see Jones as the greatest of all time, and Adesanya is certainly working hard to reach that point.

Cole Shelton - July 24, 2023

Justin Gaethje wants the chance to prove Islam Makhachev is not as good as Khabib Nurmagomedov. Gaethje fought Nurmagomedov back at UFC 254 in October 2020 and it was Nurmagomedov winning by second-round submission. After the win, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from MMA which did catch many by surprise.

Cole Shelton - July 24, 2023

In the main event of UFC London, ranked heavyweights took center stage as Tom Aspinall was taking on Marcin Tybura. Aspinall entered the fight coming off a year away after tearing his MCL just seconds into his fight against Curtis Blaydes last July. Prior to that, the Brit was 5-0 in the UFC and had beaten the likes of Alexander Volkov and Andrei Arlovski by stoppage. Tybura, meanwhile, was on a two-fight winning streak and was 7-1 in his last eight entering his main event spot.