MMA News

Josh Evanoff - June 20, 2023

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has opened as a massive favorite against The Korean Zombie. ‘Blessed’ has been out of the cage since his clash with Arnold Allen at UFC Kansas City in April. The two headlined the event, as the ‘Almighty’ entered on a lengthy winning streak. However, that momentum was halted earlier this year, as Max Holloway won by unanimous decision.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023

Jessica Andrade will be making the walk to the Octagon for the fourth time in 2023. The UFC announced in a press release on Tuesday that Andrade will face Tatiana Suarez at UFC Nashville at strawweight. Originally, Suarez was supposed to fight Virna Jandiroba, but the Brazilian has suffered an injury and will be replaced by the former champ in Andrade. The main event of UFC Nashville sees Cory Sandhagen taking on Umar Nurmagomedov.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 20, 2023

If Jake Paul is to be believed, then his boxing match with Nate Diaz has now been bumped up to 10 rounds. Much has been made about the eight rounds that had been scheduled for Paul vs. Diaz. The Stockton native expressed his belief that there should be more rounds in the fight. Jake Paul agreed, and has taken to his Twitter account to claim the bout with Nate Diaz is now 10 rounds.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 20, 2023

We now know the outcome of several PFL fighters who were flagged due to failed drug tests. Back in May, the Nevada State Athletic Commission revealed a slew of fighters who competed in the first set of PFL 2023 regular season bouts popped. At the time, some fighters received sanctions, while others were still be to determined. The punishments for those fighters have been finalized and publicly revealed.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 20, 2023

Charles Oliveira’s team certainly isn’t lacking confidence. Charles Oliveira pulled off a scintillating first-round TKO finish over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 earlier this month. This was a pivotal bout in the lightweight division. The quick finish for “do Bronx” may have earned him a rematch against Islam Makhachev. Back in October 2022, Makhachev took the previously vacant UFC Lightweight Championship via second-round submission over Oliveira.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023

The 127th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live ahead of 2023 PFL 6 and UFC Jacksonville aka UFC on ABC 5. We’re first joined by former UFC featherweight and current PFL lightweight Shane Burgos (1:38). Next, UFC welterweight Randy Brown (13:42) comes on. Closing out the program is UFC strawweight Gillian Robertson (28:26).

Harry Kettle - June 20, 2023

BRAVE CF star Khamzat Maaev scored a quick knockout last night and vowed that he could be even better than Khamzat Chimaev. Heading into his bout last night, casual MMA fans may not have heard of Khamzat Maaev. The super lightweight, who fights out of Turkey, is a big fan of Khamzat Chimaev. In addition to having a similar look and style, he also has the same nickname – ‘Borz’.

Harry Kettle - June 20, 2023

UFC commentator Michael Bisping believes Amanda Nunes retired from mixed martial arts at the perfect time. Earlier this month, Amanda Nunes announced her retirement from MMA, effective immediately. She did so after successfully defending her UFC bantamweight championship against Irene Aldana in Vancouver, Canada.

Harry Kettle - June 20, 2023

Sean O’Malley has proposed testing the waters by separating the men’s and women’s fights in the UFC. Ten years ago, the first female fight in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship took place. Ever since then, we’ve seen women compete and thrive across four different weight classes. From Amanda Nunes to Rose Namajunas and beyond, the best of the best have fought in the UFC.

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2023

In the main event of UFC Vegas 75, top-five middleweights collided as Marvin Vettori took on Jared Cannonier. Vettori entered the fight coming off a decision win over Roman Dolidze at UFC 286 back in March which got him back into the win column after he lost to Robert Whittaker. Cannonier, meanwhile, was coming off a main event decision win over Sean Strickland back in December.

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2023

Henry Cejudo will be looking to return to the win column in August. UFC president Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Cejudo is set to return at UFC 292 in Boston against Marlon Vera. The pay-per-view fight card will take place on August 19, with the main event of the card seeing bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling taking on Sean O’Malley. Zhang Weili is also set to defend her strawweight title in the co-headliner against Amanda Lemos.

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2023

Marvin Vettori has released a statement following his lopsided decision loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC Vegas 75. Vettori was headlining the card at the UFC Apex on Saturday night and entered the fight as a small betting favorite. Right out of the gates, Vettori landed a nice shot that rocked Cannonier and had him stumbling. Yet, that was one of the only bright spots for the Italian as Cannonier took over and had Vettori hurt on numerous occasions to cruise to a unanimous decision victory. The judges scored the fight, 49-45, 49-45, and 48-46, as Cannonier outstruck Vettori 257-154, with ‘The Killa Gorilla’ landing 241 significant strikes in the fight.

Josh Evanoff - June 19, 2023

Glory heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem has seemingly undergone a massive body transformation. ‘The Demolition Man’ has been out of the kickboxing ring since his trilogy bout with Badr Hari last October. The bout was his first kickboxing match in well over a decade and also marked his first since exiting the UFC. Alistair Overeem was famously cut by the promotion following a knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in February 2021.

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2023

Cory Sandhagen has explained why he decided to fight Umar Nurmagomedov. It was recently announced by UFC president Dana White that Sandhagen will headline UFC Nashville on August 5 against Nurmagomedov. It’s an intriguing matchup as it is Nurmagomedov’s first ranked opponent, and he gets to face the fourth-ranked bantamweight in Sandhagen.

Josh Evanoff - June 19, 2023

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev still doesn’t believe Charles Oliveira has a shot against him. ‘Do Bronx’ returned to the octagon earlier this month at UFC 289. There, the Brazilian faced Beneil Dariush, who was riding a lengthy winning streak. Leading into the event, both men were attempting to secure a title shot, as the bout was Charles Oliveira’s first since last October at UFC 280.

Josh Evanoff - June 19, 2023

Scott Coker crowned Vadim Nemkov as the best light-heavyweight on the planet after his win over Yoel Romero. The Russian made his return to the cage on Friday night in the main event of Bellator 297. There, he faced the ‘Soldier of God’, who entered the contest riding a two-fight winning streak. However, Yoel Romero’s recent success ended over the weekend.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 19, 2023

One boxing world champion has explained why a fight with Canelo Alvarez won’t be happening. Recently, it was revealed by ESPN MX that Jermall Charlo has emerged as the lead candidate to fight Canelo Alvarez next. Charlo is the WBC Middleweight Champion. If the fight comes to fruition, Charlo would be competing for Canelo’s undisputed super-middleweight gold. Prior to Charlo’s name being mentioned as the lone candidate, WBC Cruiserweight Champion Badou Jack was also mentioned as a strong possibility.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 19, 2023

Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov could be trying his hand at heavyweight. Nemkov went one-on-one with former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero in the main event of Bellator 297. The action was held inside the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. Vadim Nemkov put his 205-pound gold at stake.