MMA News

Adam D Martin - September 22, 2021

UFC president Dana White explained why the UFC booked Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 3 instead of Alexandre Pantoja instead. After Pantoja submitted Brandon Royval last month, he was fully expected to get the next title shot against Moreno. After all, Pantoja has two previous wins over Moreno — one in TUF, and one in the UFC — and after submitting Royval in devastating fashion, he deserved the chance to fight for the belt. However, the UFC chose to go a different route as the promotion recently announced that Moreno will not be fighting Pantoja next. Instead, Moreno will be fighting Figueiredo, and the two will meet at UFC 269 in a trilogy fight.

Adam D Martin - September 22, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Modestas Bukauskas provided a positive health update following the recent knee injury he suffered inside the Octagon. Bukauskas was the victim of one of the most brutal side kicks that we have ever seen in MMA after Khalil Rountree Jr. finished him with an oblique kick. It was initially feared that Bukauskas could have broken his leg, but ultimately it was determined that it was a knee injury. Still, it was a tough thing to watch, and for Bukauskas, he know that he will now be on the sidelines for at least several months recovering from the devastating injury. However, he is optimistic that he will be able to return and make a spectacular comeback.

Adam D Martin - September 22, 2021

Heavyweight MMA legend Alistair Overeem admitted that he wanted to finish his career in the UFC, but he won’t be getting that opportunity. Following a knockout loss to Alexander Volkov earlier this year, the UFC decided to release Overeem from its roster. At age 41, he is getting up there in age, and with a big salary as well, the UFC decided to let him go. Overeem ended up signing with GLORY kickboxing and he will fight Rico Verhoeven next. However, he wishes that he was still in the UFC.

Harry Kettle - September 22, 2021

Anthony Smith has jumped up two spots in the UFC’s light heavyweight rankings after his win over Ryan Spann last weekend. Despite being seen as the favourite by many heading into Saturday night, Anthony Smith still managed to exceed expectations with a nasty submission win over Ryan Spann – followed by one of the best UFC promos of the year.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2021

Conor McGregor threw out the first pitch at the Chicago Cubs game on Tuesday and didn’t have much success. McGregor was at the Dallas Cowboys game on Sunday in Los Angeles as he is rehabbing his knee but took a trip to Chicago on Tuesday as the Cubs hosted the Minnesota Twins. He threw out the first pitch and given he is a professional athlete many expected him to have success throwing the ball but that is far from the case.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2021

Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler 2 will now be a middleweight fight. According to MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani, the rematch at UFC 266 on Saturday between the two fan favorites has been changed from a welterweight scrap to a middleweight bout. The specific reason for the late change wasn’t revealed but the fight will still be a five-round non-title fight. Although there has been no reason for the move, both Diaz and Lawler have expressed a desire to cut less weight these days.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2021

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant had their first press conference for their fight on November 6 and it ended with the two throwing punches at one another. After the press conference, the two had a faceoff where they were exchanging words and Alvarez pushed Plant. When they got close to each other the two then threw punches which Alvarez says was due to Plant saying stuff about his mom.

Adam D Martin - September 21, 2021

Veteran UFC welterweight fan-favorite Matt Brown returns to the Octagon against Bryan Barberena in a fan-friendly matchup later this year. MMADNA’s Marcel Dorff was the first to break the news of Brown vs. Barberena. The fight is set to take place on December 4. There is no location or venue currently set for this event, though the UFC has held most of its events at the Apex in Las Vegas since the COVID-19 pandemic started, so there seems to be a good chance the event takes place in Vegas. Also on the card is a light heavyweight bout between Jamahal Hill and Jimmy Crute as well as a lightweight bout between Brad Riddell and Rafael Fiziev, in addition to several other bouts.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2021

Jairzinho Rozenstruik had a feeling he would be fighting Curtis Blaydes. After Rozenzstruik knocked out Augusto Sakai, he looked at the heavyweight division and saw Blaydes didn’t have an opponent. He began game-planning for the fight and shortly thereafter, the UFC offered him the fight which he accepted right away.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2021

Dan Hooker finally has a fight after months of pleading with the UFC to get him one. Due to how New Zealand is doing their quarantine, Hooker says if he didn’t fight at UFC 266 he likely wouldn’t have been able to fight for another six months to a year. With that, he knew UFC 266 was his last shot to fight this year. So, after months of asking for a fight, he finally got one as he will face Nasrat Haqparast on the prelims of the card which surprised many. Yet, for “The Hangman” he has no problem with it.

Adam D Martin - September 21, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards believes that the UFC is trying to get him beat, but the Brit says that he won’t lose. Edwards is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz at UFC 263 and he is unbeaten over his last 10 fights overall. Despite that impressive unbeaten streak, the UFC decided not to give Edwards the next title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Instead, Colby Covington was given the rematch and he will fight Usman at UFC 266, a decision that Edwards does not agree with as he believes he deserved it instead.

Adam D Martin - September 21, 2021

UFC welterweight superstar Nick Diaz revealed why he was freaked out by Robbie Lawler before their first fight at UFC 47 back in 2004. 17 years ago, Diaz and Lawler met inside the Octagon at UFC 47, and Diaz scored a first-round KO on his rival. All these years later and now these two are set to rematch at UFC 266 this Saturday night in Las Vegas. It’s a rivalry almost 20 years in the making and the rematch is one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the rest of the year for MMA fans.

Adam D Martin - September 21, 2021

Justin Gaethje took aim at “b*tch” Kevin Lee, saying “that knockout against Gillespie was the worst thing that could’ve happened to him.” Gaethje was recently a guest of UFC Unfiltered and he was asked his thoughts on the rest of the lightweight division. When asked about UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira’s current win streak, Geathje criticized the Brazilian for what he perceives to be a soft schedule of competition. Outside of Tony Ferguson, according to Gaethje, Oliveira didn’t have any good wins during his win streak before he fought Michael Chandler for the vacant title at UFC 262. Well, he says, Lee was a pretty good win too — with a caveat.

Harry Kettle - September 21, 2021

Triller’s Ryan Kavanaugh has confirmed that they are in talks to rebook Oscar De La Hoya vs Vitor Belfort for Thanksgiving weekend. De La Hoya was initially supposed to take on Belfort earlier this month instead of Evander Holyfield, but was forced to pull out of the contest after coming down with a serious case of COVID-19. Belfort went on to demolish Holyfield inside the first round in what many called a “sideshow” fight that never should’ve taken place.

Harry Kettle - September 21, 2021

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson has given his thoughts, in no uncertain terms, on what would happen if he fought Jake Paul. It’s another day in the workroom and another mixed martial artist has opted to call out Jake Paul. It’s become a pretty regular occurrence in the last few months after Paul managed to beat both Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley, two former UFC welterweights, in his last two outings.

Andrew Whitelaw - September 20, 2021

 At 32 years-old, James Yang has experienced a storied lead-up to his professional debut. The talented featherweight has amassed an impressive 7-0 amateur MMA record and will have Demetrious Johnson in his corner when he makes his bow against Roel Rosauro at ONE: Revolution. He may be a little late to the party, but Yang is fully intent on making a splash in ONE’s featherweight division. Speaking exclusively to BJPenn.com, he said,

Christopher Taylor - September 20, 2021

Dillon Danis has issued a cryptic message after video emerged of him being detained by police officers in New Jersey. On Monday afternoon a video surfaced on social media (see that here) showing ‘El Jefe’ struggling with security and police before eventually being handcuffed and taken into custody.

Andrew Whitelaw - September 20, 2021

Giga Chikadze has suggested that former featherweight champion Max Holloway would be an easier fight for him than the current champ, Alexander Volkanovski. Currently ranked at #8 in the featherweight division, Chikadze is a rising star at 145lb and is arguably one of the most in-form fighters in the UFC. The Georgian hasn’t lost since getting submitted on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018.