MMA News

Adam D Martin - October 22, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Nate Diaz conveyed his interest in fighting Tony Ferguson by sharing a photo of him on his social media. Ferguson this week conveyed his own interest in fighting the UFC superstar Conor McGregor, but it appears as though Diaz wants in on the action instead. Diaz has made it clear over the last few months that he wants to get back into the Octagon very soon after his decision loss to Leon Edwards back in June at UFC 263. Diaz has been connected to a welterweight contest against Vicente Luque in recent weeks but the fight has not been booked yet. With the Luque fight not getting done, it appears as though Diaz could be ready to move on and fight someone else, and that potentially could be against Ferguson.

Cole Shelton - October 22, 2021

Jeff Molina is eager to step back into the Octagon, despite not knowing much about his UFC Vegas 41 opponent, Daniel Da Silva. Molina is coming off his UFC debut where he beat Aoriqileng by decision. It was also the Fight of the Night at UFC 261. After the win, Molina wasn’t sure what would be next but he now gets to welcome Da Silva to the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - October 22, 2021

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz believes that middleweight contender Paulo Costa missed weight in order to get cut by the UFC. Costa was scheduled to meet Marvin Vettori in a middleweight bout that headlines Saturday’s UFC Vegas 41 card, but the fight will no longer be taking place at 185lbs. Costa showed up to fight week off weight and the UFC was forced to move the fight up to 205lbs instead. The fight between Vettori and Costa will now take place on Saturday, with Costa being fined 20% of his purse due to the fight having to take place at 205lbs now.

Adam D Martin - October 22, 2021

Ahead of his main event fight at UFC Vegas 41, UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa explained why he has not gotten vaccinated yet. Costa takes on Marvin Vettori in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 41 card. Ahead of the event, Costa spoke to the media, and one of the questions he was asked about is his thoughts on the new policy that means UFC fighters will have to be vaccinated to fight in the United States. When asked if he would be getting the COVID-19 vaccine, Costa said that isn’t on the table for him right now. According to Costa, since he already got COVID-19 twice, he believes that right now he doesn’t need to get the vaccine, and therefore, he won’t be able to fight in the United States anytime soon. While Costa admits he might have to eventually get the vaccine, at this current, time, he has no plans of getting it.

Adam D Martin - October 22, 2021

UFC middleweight title contender Marvin Vettori explains how this Saturday’s Paulo Costa fight ended up taking place at 205lbs. Vettori and Costa were scheduled to fight in a five-round middleweight bout that headlines UFC Vegas 41, but Costa showed up to fight week heavy and not on track to make weight. With Costa unable to miss the 185lbs middleweight limit, the UFC shifted the fight up to 205lbs instead. Taking to his social media following the announcement of the weight class change, Vettori explained why the fight is taking place at light heavyweight. According to “The Italian Dream,” the weight issues are solely from Costa’s side, but he was still willing to take the fight.

Harry Kettle - October 22, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz has spoken about what he believes has gone wrong with Johnny Walker. For a while it seemed as if Walker was going to be the next big thing at 205 pounds but after losing three of his last four, many fans and pundits are having to reassess where he stands in the division.

Harry Kettle - October 22, 2021

Dan Hooker has sensationally offered to take his fight against Islam Makhachev up to five rounds at UFC 267. MMA fans were quick to praise Dan Hooker when, on short notice, he decided to take on the challenge of facing Islam Makhachev at UFC 267. It’s a risky move for “Hangman” but in many ways, it’s a win-win. If he gets his hand raised then he’s one step closer to the belt and if he loses, that’s what was expected to happen anyway.

Drake Riggs - October 21, 2021

It’s been a wild ride for Paulo Costa since his loss to Israel Adesanya in September 2020. Midway through UFC Vegas 41 fight week, the 30-year old Brazilian made it clear that he wasn’t going to make the 185-pound middleweight limit for Saturday’s main event opposite Marvin Vettori. Thus leading to the bout’s move to a 195-pound catchweight.

Andrew Whitelaw - October 21, 2021

Jon Jones has never been shy about giving his opinion on social media. The former UFC light heavyweight champion was embroiled in more controversy earlier this month after getting arrested in Las Vegas. Jones was subsequently told he couldn’t train at Jackson Wink MMA. The setbacks have not stopped Jones from getting the work in, and the 34 year old appears to be hitting the weights hard as he continues his journey towards a potential heavyweight fight. But after posting a video of himself doing pulldowns with a full stack on instagram, one commenter called with the handle ‘bsack1’ wrote,

Cole Shelton - October 21, 2021

A featherweight banger has been added to UFC 269 as Josh Emmett will return to the Octagon against Dan Ige. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that Emmett and Ige have been agreed to for UFC 269 on December 11 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event of the card will see Charles Oliveira defending his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier. Amanda Nunes also defends her bantamweight title against Julianna Pena in the co-main.

Andrew Whitelaw - October 21, 2021

Henry Cejudo believes that Conor McGregor should see what happens if he tried to sucker punch someone like Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor has been back in the headlines this past week for allegedly punching an Italian DJ on a recent visit to Rome. As yet, UFC president Dana White has not shared his full thoughts on the situation. When asked about it during the Contender Series press conference, White said “I honestly don’t know enough about it to comment on it.”

Cole Shelton - October 21, 2021

Kamaru Usman shared the reason why Leon Edwards didn’t get the next title shot. After Edwards beat Diaz at UFC 263, he said his next fight would be for the belt. Yet, Usman will instead defend his title against Colby Covington at UFC 268 and Edwards will fight Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269. For Usman, he says Edwards getting rocked in the final minute against Diaz cost him the title shot.

Adam D Martin - October 21, 2021

Light heavyweight fighter Modestas Bukauskas promised that he will fight in the UFC again after being released, saying that “I’ll be back.” Bukauskas was released by the UFC this week after going 1-3 in the promotion through his first four fights with the company. Following his latest loss, a TKO defeat to Khalil Rountree Jr. where he saw his knee get damaged, the UFC decided to cut Bukauskas from its roster. Taking to his social media to react to the news, Bukauskas sent a message to UFC matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard that he will work hard and be back one day.

Adam D Martin - October 21, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos revealed how the UFC was “really unprofessional” during his final two fights with the promotion. Dos Santos is the former UFC heavyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters to ever compete at that weight class in the UFC. However, following four straight losses in the Octagon, including a TKO loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 256, the promotion decided to let him go. Considering dos Santos was a former champion and is universally regarded as one of the best people in the business, it was surprising to see the UFC let him go when he made it clear that he wanted to stick around longer. Since being cut by the UFC, dos Santos has joined AEW Wrestling and he is happy there, but he still has qualms with the UFC.

Adam D Martin - October 21, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan has no plans to retire by age 30, confirmed his agent Sayat Abdrakhmanov. Yan returns to the Octagon next weekend at UFC 267 when he takes on Cory Sandhagen for the interim UFC bantamweight title. Yan was originally set to fight rival Aljamain Sterling in a rematch, but after Sterling was forced out of the fight due to a neck injury, it was Sandhagen who got the call on short notice. For Yan, it’s a tremendous opportunity to win back the interim 135lbs belt and set himself up for a rematch with Sterling next year.

Adam D Martin - October 21, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker believes a win over Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 will put him one win away from a lightweight title shot. Hooker took the fight against Makhachev on short notice after former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was forced to withdraw due to an injury. It’s a risky fight for Hooker, who will have to go to Abu Dhabi and fight one of the best lightweights in the world with less notice than ideal. But for Hooker, it’s a risk that is well worth the reward, because he knows that if he beats Makhachev, he would inch one step closer to the title shot at 155.

Cole Shelton - October 21, 2021

Ike Villanueva wanted to fight again this year and he gets his wish as he will face Nick Negumereanu at UFC Vegas 41 on Saturday. Villanueva is coming off a TKO loss to Marcin Prachnio back in June. He will now face Negumereanu who picked up his first UFC win last time out. For Villanueva, he’s eager to get back in there and show off his improvements.

Adam D Martin - October 21, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz trashed “coward and quitter” Corey Anderson following the recent comments that he made. Anderson knocked out Ryan Bader at Bellator 268 last weekend and, following his win, he said that he’s the best light heavyweight in the world right now. Blachowicz, however, vehemently disagrees with that assertion. The Pole is the UFC light heavyweight champion and just last February he knocked out Anderson in a devastating fashion. Although Anderson does have a previous win over Blachowicz from UFC 191 in 2015, the recent KO win by Blachowicz seems to indicate that, right now, he is the superior light heavyweight.