MMA News

Adam Martin - September 29, 2021

Giga Chikadze met with UFC president Dana White and he called for the next featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. Chikadze has won seven straight fights in the Octagon and most recently defeated Edson Barboza via knockout to emerge as a serious title threat at 145lbs. This past Saturday night, Volkanovski defended his 145lbs title once again with a unanimous decision win over Brian Ortega in the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 266. While Volkanovski is fully expected to face the winner of November’s Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez for the belt sometime next year, Chikadze is doing his best to complicate things by calling for the title shot himself.

Adam Martin - September 29, 2021

Former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima is promising another knockout victory over rival Michael Page at Bellator 267. Lima and Page rematch in the headliner of this Friday’s Bellator 267 card. The two first met in May 2019, with Lima knocking Page out in brutal fashion as part of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix, which Lima won over Rory MacDonald in the finals. Since then, Lima has lost both of his fights to Gegard Mousasi and Yaroslav Amosov, while Page has won his last five fights over lower-ranked opponents. Bellator decided that now is the time to book the rematch, and the two rivals will square off this Friday night in London.

Cole Shelton - September 29, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 38, Thiago Santos looks to snap his losing streak when he battles Johnny Walker. Ahead of the fight, Santos is a -160 favorite while the comeback on the Brazilian is +140. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Santos will get back into the win column in a big way as he will KO Walker.

Adam D Martin - September 29, 2021

UFC superstar Nate Diaz is hinting at a December return to the Octagon, though UFC president Dana White wouldn’t confirm he is fighting. Diaz last competed at UFC 263 in June when he went five rounds with Leon Edwards in a welterweight contest. After dropping the first four rounds of the fight, Diaz came on strong in the fifth and final round and nearly knocked Edwards out with strikes. In the end, it was Edwards who won the decision and Diaz dropped another fight on his record, but as far as the fans go, Diaz was a winner that night just for the way that he ended the fight strong.

Harry Kettle - September 29, 2021

UFC president Dana White believes Brian Ortega’s corner should’ve stopped the fight with Alexander Volkanovski after the fourth round. Last Saturday night at UFC 266, fans saw one of the best featherweight title fights of all time as Alexander Volkanovski dug deep to secure a huge win over Brian Ortega – ensuring he remains the king of the mountain at 145 pounds.

Harry Kettle - September 29, 2021

UFC president Dana White has questioned Jon Jones and his recent vow to quit drinking after his recent domestic arrest. After yet another incident last week involving the authorities, Jon Jones has seemingly decided to move forward in a new direction in his life. It’s not yet known what sentence he’ll be giving for seemingly pulling his partner’s hair and headbutting a police car, but given his priors, we can’t imagine he’s going to get away with it.

Christopher Taylor - September 28, 2021

Brian Ortega suffered multiple injuries including a fractured orbital during his UFC 266 loss to featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. Ortega and Volkanovski squared off in the headliner of Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. The featherweight title fight proved to be a thrilling five-round affair. Alex Volkanovski was able to get the better of Brian Ortega in rounds one and two. However, in round three, ‘T-City’ stormed back and nearly finished the fight with a pair of submission attempts. ‘The Great’ would ultimately escape both of Ortega’s choke hold threats and went on to score a dominant decision victory.

Christopher Taylor - September 28, 2021

UFC President Dana White shared his thoughts on the performance of Nick Diaz at UFC 266 during a media scrum on Tuesday afternoon. Diaz (26-10 MMA) returned from a six year hiatus on Saturday night when he returned to the Octagon for a middleweight bout with former opponent Robbie Lawler. The pair had initially collided 17 years ago in a welterweight bout at UFC 47, with the Stockton Slugger emerging victorious by way of second round knockout.

Cole Shelton - September 28, 2021

Jake Paul has released a cringy video responding to Tyron Woodley finally getting the I love Jake Paul tattoo. In the lead-up to their boxing match, they agreed that the loser of the fight would get a tattoo. Yet, in the ring, Paul said if Woodley got the tattoo he would get the rematch, but time passed. Yet, finally, the former UFC welterweight champ got it, and the YouTuber mocked him in a YouTube video.

Cole Shelton - September 28, 2021

Israel Adesanya has taken a shot at Jon Jones after his recent arrest. On Friday morning in Las Vegas, just hours after he was being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his fight against Alexander Gustafsson, Jones was arrested. The news surprised many, due to the fact just hours before, Jones said he’s staying out of trouble and was preparing for his move to heavyweight. However, he was charged with misdemeanor battery domestic violence and felony injuring and tampering with a vehicle. For Adesanya, he says he wasn’t surprised to hear the news of “Bones” being arrested.

Cole Shelton - September 28, 2021

Petr Yan will be remaining on UFC 267 and he will still be fighting for UFC gold. Yan was supposed to rematch Aljamain Sterling in a highly-anticipated fight, however, on Saturday it was revealed the champ was out of the fight due to lingering issues with his neck. To no surprise, the Russian blasted Sterling for pulling out of the fight.

Adam D Martin - September 28, 2021

UFC legend Jon Jones reportedly pulled his fiancée’s hair and head-butted a cop car during his Las Vegas arrest last week. TMZ Sports has the full details of Jones’ arrest last week. According to TMZ, who cited a Vegas Metro PD arrest report, “cops were called to Caesars Palace around 5:08 AM for a ‘domestic disturbance’ in a hotel room involving a white female who was “bleeding from her nose/mouth” and a ‘black male adult who is a professional MMA fighter.’ When police arrived, they spotted Jon walking near the hotel, where they stopped and detained him. Cops say 34-year-old Jones became ‘irate and smashed his head onto the front hood of the LVMPD patrol vehicle,’ leaving a medium-sized dent, as well as chips in the paint. While handcuffed, police say Jones experienced a wide range of emotions. At one point, cops say he threatened to sue the department for handcuffing him on the biggest night of his life.”

Adam D Martin - September 28, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight title contender Mark Hunt reacted after scoring a court win against the UFC and its president Dana White. Hunt alleged that the UFC and White knew that Brock Lesnar took performance-enhancing drugs before his return to the Octagon at UFC 200 in July 2016, a fight that Lesnar won via unanimous decision. Following the fight, Lesnar tested positive for PEDs and the result of the fight was overturned to a No Contest. Hunt, however, continued to go after the UFC legally for putting him in the cage with a fighter who he says the UFC knew was using PEDs. Hunt filed a lawsuit against the UFC soon after, but the majority of his claims were thrown out in court in 2019. However, the appeals court reopened the case last week.

Cole Shelton - September 28, 2021

Johnny Walker is glad to finally be headlining a UFC show. Walker is a fan-favorite and many have thought he would be a top-five contender for years to come. He knows gets his opportunity in the main event of UFC Vegas 38 against Thiago Santos, and for Walker, he’s ecstatic to be heading a card.

Adam D Martin - September 28, 2021

Henry Cejudo is confident he can finish UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, and he asked Dana White for a 145lbs title shot. Volkanovski defended his 145lbs belt against Brian Ortega this past weekend at UFC 266, and Cejudo has been going after the champ ever since on social media. In the past, Cejudo has made it known that he would be willing to move up to featherweight in a bid to become the first three-division champ in UFC history, but up until this point, he hasn’t moved up in weight. However, now that Volkanovski has defended his belt, Cejudo is now begging White to give him the opportunity to move up to featherweight and make history vs. the champ.

Adam D Martin - September 28, 2021

UFC president Dana White and boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya went at it on Instagram over the recent Alexander Volkanovski comments. De La Hoya made a comment following UFC 266 last weekend to Volkanovski, suggesting that the UFC featherweight champion is underpaid. White did not like that De La Hoya made the comments that he did about a fighter he has under contract, and the UFC president shot back, suggesting that De La Hoya faked getting COVID-19 in order to get out of his Triller Fight Club boxing match against Vitor Belfort earlier this month. We all know that White and De La Hoya do not see eye-to-eye and this is just another example.

Adam D Martin - September 28, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva says he is saddened following his ‘little brother Jon Jones’s recent arrest in Las Vegas. Jones was arrested last week in Las Vegas, hours after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame “Fight Wing” for his 2013 “Fight of the Year” war against Alexander Gustafsson. Not long after Jones was inducted into the HOF, it was revealed that the MMA legend had been arrested and charged with several offenses, including battery domestic violence. This is far from the first time that Jones has gotten in trouble with the law and, sadly, likely not the last time either. This latest arrest has generated all sorts of reactions from the MMA community, and Silva was one of the fighters who had something to say about Jones.

Cole Shelton - September 28, 2021

The 52nd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 38. We’re first joined by one-half of the main event and the current 10th-ranked light heavyweight, Johnny Walker (1:34). Next, UFC lightweight, Jared Gordon (12:06) joins the program. Closing out the show is UFC lightweight, Joe Solecki (28:53).