MMA News
Dan Hooker blasts Paulo Costa over giant weight miss: "That is just a massive 'F you' to the fans"
Adam D Martin - October 26, 2021
UFC lightweight Dan Hooker blasted middleweight Paulo Costa over his giant weight miss, saying “that is just a massive ‘F you’ to the fans.” Costa was set to fight Marvin Vettori in a middleweight bout that served as the main event of UFC Vegas 41, but Costa showed up heavy to fight week. Because he couldn’t make the 185lbs limit, the fight was then moved to a 195lbs catchweight, and then to the 205lbs light heavyweight limit. Costa was fined 30% of his purse and the fight went on at 205, with Vettori winning a unanimous decision in a back-and-forth fight.
Kevin Lee "less embarrassed" now after being suspended for Adderall
Adam D Martin - October 26, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Kevin Lee admitted that he is “less embarrassed” now after being suspended for using Adderall. Lee recently revealed that he had failed his post-fight drug test following his fight this summer against Daniel Rodriguez. The reason he failed was due to testing positive for Adderall without having a therapeutic use exemption. The Nevada Athletic Commission then flagged Lee and he is currently in the process of figuring out the length of his suspension. But while Lee is still overall embarrassed by how the whole situation has played out, there is one thing that is making him feel better, and that’s seeing fans reaching out to him and actually giving him support rather than kicking him down.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 56 with Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, Volkan Oezdemir, and Marcin Tybura
Cole Shelton - October 26, 2021
The 56th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 267. We’re first joined by one-half of the main event and current UFC light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz (2:11). Next, second-ranked light heavyweight and the backup fighter for the main event, Jiri Prochazka (17:59) stops by. Eighth-ranked light heavyweight, Volkan Oezdemir (30:28) then comes on. Closing out the program is ninth-ranked heavyweight, Marcin Tybura (43:32).
Derek Brunson continues to troll Paulo Costa over his UFC Vegas 41 weight debacle
Harry Kettle - October 26, 2021
Derek Brunson is one of many UFC fighters who continues to tease Paulo Costa over his weight issues at UFC Vegas 41. In one of the most bizarre weight cut situations in the recent history of the UFC, Paulo Costa announced during a fight week interview that he wouldn’t be able to make it down to the middleweight limit. Instead, he wound up fighting Marvin Vettori at light heavyweight – 20 pounds higher.
Rich Franklin prefers more permissive ONE Championship ruleset
Andrew Whitelaw - October 25, 2021
When it comes to the various rulesets in MMA, Rich Franklin is a man whose opinion should carry plenty of weight. The former UFC middleweight champion and Hall-of-Famer has fought under the unified rules, competed in Japan, and since 2014 – he’s been the vice president at ONE Championship. Rulesets have been a hot topic in MMA recently, particularly after Petr Yan lost the UFC bantamweight title via DQ for kneeing Aljamain Sterling when he was grounded. In contrast, Adriano Moraes retained his ONE flyweight title in April by knocking out Demetrious Johnson with a knee when DJ was grounded.
Daniel Cormier responds to backlash from Fedor Emelianenko comments: "I don’t understand how this ruffled so many people’s feathers"
Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier has responded after receiving a ton of backlash for his comments about Fedor Emelianenko. Prior to ‘The Last Emperor’ earning a stunning knockout over Tim Johnson at last weekend’s Bellator 268 event, Cormier had suggested that Fedor would have been “average at best” in the UFC.
Josh Thomson claims Nate Diaz is leaving the UFC: "I want you guys all to know this, Nate is leaving"
Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2021
Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson claims MMA superstar Nate Diaz is leaving the UFC after his next fight. Diaz (20-13 MMA) was last seen in action at June’s UFC 263 event, where despite mounting a late comeback, he ultimately suffered a unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards. The setback marked Nate’s second in a row and put him on the final fight of his current contract with the UFC.
John McCarthy rips Daniel Cormier for his comments on Fedor Emelianenko: 'You’re sounding like you're being a homer for the UFC'
Cole Shelton - October 25, 2021
John McCarthy has ripped Daniel Cormier over his comments about Fedor Emelianenko. The former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion, Cormier, recently said on his YouTube channel that he thought had Emelianenko signed with the UFC, he would’ve been average at best. Those comments took many by surprise, including John McCarthy, who proceeded to rip ‘DC’ for for his controversial take.
Chase Sherman returns in January on Fight Night card opposite Jake Collier
Cole Shelton - October 25, 2021
Chase Sherman and Jake Collier will be looking to get back into the win column in January. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that Sherman and Collier have been agreed to for the first card of 2022 on January 15 at a location TBD. Contracts have also been issued for the fight, with one side having already signed, the sources said. The main event of the card will see Calvin Kattar take on Giga Chikadze at featherweight.
Bellator 268 salaries: Corey Anderson nets $200k but Vadim Nemkov leads payroll
Cole Shelton - October 25, 2021
Bellator 268 went down on October 16 in Arizona and the salaries for the fight card have now been released. In the main event of Bellator 268, Vadim Nemkov defended his light heavyweight title against Julius Anglickas with a submission win. The co-main event saw Corey Anderson TKO Ryan Bader in under a minute as Nemkov and Anderson will now fight one another in the grand prix finals. The date of the finals has not been announced by Bellator but will likely happen sometime early in 2022.
Dana White responds to criticism from former UFC champ Junior dos Santos: "Move on to these other promotions and make crazy money"
Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2021
Dana White has responded after former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos slammed the promotion for their lack of “professionalism”. Dos Santos (21-9 MMA) was cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship shortly following his TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 256. That setback had marked the Brazilians fourth in a row, with all four losses coming by way of technical knockout.
PFL Founder Donn Davis fires back at Dana White for comments about Kayla Harrison
Drake Riggs - October 25, 2021
FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison will be a free agent after this Wednesday’s PFL 2021 Championship. Appearing during the fight week’s media day, Harrison answered the usual round of questions – lastly focusing on comments from Dana White earlier in the day.
Oron Kahlon calls Afghani fighter Javid Basharat a 'terrorist' during faceoff for Contender Series fight
Cole Shelton - October 25, 2021
Oron Kahlon is set to fight Javid Basharat for a UFC contract on Tuesday night in Week 9 of the Contender Series and the faceoff had an ugly scene. After Kahlon missed weight by three pounds for his bantamweight fight and was fined 20 percent of his purse. After the weigh-ins, the two had their faceoff where Basharat had some words for him and declined his handshake. After that, Kahlon turned to the Afghani fighter and called him a terrorist and a p***y in an ugly moment.
Dana White says UFC 271 pay-per-view targeted for Seattle or major Canadian city
Adam D Martin - October 25, 2021
UFC president Dana White says that the upcoming UFC 271 pay-per-view is being targeted for Seattle or a major Canadian city. TSN reporter Aaron Bronsteter spoke to White on Monday, and the UFC president confirmed that UFC 271 is being considered for either Seattle or somewhere in Canada. The event is scheduled to take place on February 12, 2022, and is set to be headlined by the rematch between UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk officially removed from UFC rankings
Adam D Martin - October 25, 2021
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has officially been removed from the latest set of UFC rankings. Fans started to notice on Monday morning that Jedrzejczyk was removed from both the UFC women’s strawweight rankings as well as the promotion’s pound-for-pound women’s rankings, as well. Not long afterward, MMAjunkie.com reporter Mike Bohn confirmed with the UFC that Jedrzejczyk was removed from the rankings due to inactivity.
Petr Yan plans to show he's 'the champion for a reason' against Cory Sandhagen: 'There's nothing interim about this belt'
Cole Shelton - October 25, 2021
Petr Yan believes his UFC 267 co-main event fight against Cory Sandhagen should be for the vacant bantamweight title. Yan was supposed to rematch Aljamain Sterling on the card, after their controversial fight at UFC 259 where Sterling became the new champ due to Yan being DQ’d. However, it was recently revealed the champ was out of the fight as he wasn’t medically cleared. Once that happened, Sandhagen agreed to step up on short notice. The two will now fight for the interim title, but for Yan, he wasn’t surprised to see Sterling pull out of the fight.
Marvin Vettori does not believe Paulo Costa missed weight due to a bicep injury
Adam D Martin - October 25, 2021
UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori does not believe that his rival Paulo Costa missed weight at UFC Vegas 41 due to a bicep injury. Vettori defeated Costa via unanimous decision in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 41 card. For Vettori, he was forced to fight up a weight class at 205lbs after Costa showed up to fight week heavy. Although Costa did not reveal the reasons for his weight troubles during the week, following the fight on Saturday night, the Brazilian admitted that he had a bicep injury during his training camp that caused him to have trouble making weight. But if you ask Vettori, he doesn’t believe Costa’s excuses.
Johnny Walker fires back at critics of Thiago Santos fight: "People that called it boring are the ones that sit on the couch to drink beer"
Adam D Martin - October 25, 2021
Johnny Walker fired back at critics of the Thiago Santos fight, saying his critics are the “ones that sit on the couch to drink beer.” Walker and Santos met earlier this month in the main event of UFC Vegas 38. In a light heavyweight battle between two knockout artists, fans were expecting both men to go for broke and for someone to get brutally knocked out. But the fight was anything but, as both men showed an incredible amount of respect for each other. The two Brazilians went the full 25 minutes, with Santos edging out a close decision on the judges’ scorecards.