MMA News
Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simon slated for UFC Vegas 72 main event on April 29th
Josh Evanoff - April 18, 2023
Following the cancelation of Arman Tsarukyan vs. Renato Moicano, UFC Vegas 72 has a new main event. The two lightweight contenders were expected to headline the event, which takes place later this month. However, due to an injury to the Brazilian, he was forced to withdraw. While Beneil Dariush reportedly agreed to fight Tsarukyan after having his UFC 288 fight with Charles Oliveira fall apart, the promotion is reportedly going in a different direction.
Vitor Belfort calls to face Logan Paul on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz: "I promise I won't hurt you"
Josh Evanoff - April 18, 2023
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort wants to return to the boxing ring soon. ‘The Phenom’ has been out of the ring since his clash with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza at Gamebred Boxing 4 earlier this month. The bout was a rematch of sorts, as the two had previously fought in MMA under the UFC banner. In May 2016, Souza defeated the former champion by first-round stoppage.
Anderson Silva expresses interest in fighting the winner of Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz
Cole Shelton - April 18, 2023
Anderson Silva is hoping to face the winner of the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz boxing match. Silva and Paul fought back in October of last year, with ‘The Problem Child’ winning by decision. It was a highly anticipated bout as it served as the toughest test of Paul’s career, and one that he ended up passing. Yet, in his next fight, Paul suffered a decision loss to Tommy Fury, marking his first career loss.
Curtis Blaydes names himself Jon Jones' biggest challenge at heavyweight: "The odds are in my favor"
Josh Evanoff - April 18, 2023
UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes believes he’s Jon Jones’ biggest challenge. ‘Razor’ has been out of the octagon since his UFC London showdown with Tom Aspinall last July. In that outing, the British star suffered a knee injury in the first round, giving Blaydes the victory by stoppage. The win was his third in a row, having already earned lopsided wins over Chris Daukaus and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Bobby Green clarifies retirement talk, reveals he'll just go by 'King' after UFC Vegas 71: "I'm going to be changing my name"
Cole Shelton - April 18, 2023
Bobby Green won’t actually be retiring after UFC Vegas 71 after all. After Green suffered a knockout loss to Drew Dober, he revealed his next fight would serve as his retirement bout. The veteran has been fighting as a pro since 2008 and has fought 44 times as a pro, including 20 times in the UFC. Shortly after announcing his next fight would be his last, Green was booked to face Jared Gordon at UFC Vegas 71.
Gilbert Burns believes two fighters could lure Jorge Masvidal back out of retirement
Susan Cox - April 18, 2023
Gilbert Burns believes two fighters could lure Jorge Masvidal back out of retirement. It was earlier this month that Gilbert Burns (22-5 MMA) took on Jorge Masvidal (35-17 MMA) at the co-main welterweight event at UFC 287 in Miami, Florida. The result was a unanimous decision win for ‘Durinho’.
Alexander Volkanovski believes Max Holloway is in a “tricky situation” following win over Arnold Allen at UFC Kansas City
Susan Cox - April 18, 2023
Alexander Volkanovski believes Max Holloway is in a ‘tricky situation’ following his win over Arnold Allen at UFC Kansas City. It was just last Saturday, April 15th at UFC Kansas City that Max Holloway (24-7 MMA) defeated Arnold Allen (19-2 MMA) in the featherweight main event. It was a unanimous decision win for ‘Blessed‘, which put him back in the win column.
Max Holloway jumps two spots in official UFC P4P rankings following his win over Arnold Allen
Susan Cox - April 18, 2023
Max Holloway has jumped two spots in the official UFC P4P rankings following his win over Arnold Allen. UFC Kansas City saw Max Holloway (24-7 MMA) defeat Arnold Allen (19-2 MMA) via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in the featherweight main event which took place last Saturday, April 15th.
Chad Mendes expects Eddie Alvarez fight to be his last - not interested in BKFC title
Andrew Whitelaw - April 18, 2023
Chad Mendes is gearing up for a barnburner against Eddie Alvarez at BKFC 41, but believes the clash with his fellow UFC veteran is likely to be his last dance. Speaking in an interview with War Sports, the Team Alpha Male star said,
Robert Whittaker not keen to fight Khamzat Chimaev, 'the rankings are there for a reason!'
Andrew Whitelaw - April 18, 2023
Robert Whittaker has ruled out an imminent fight with Khamzat Chimaev. ‘The Reaper’ is very much in the title conversation at middleweight and sits at #2 in the division following his unanimous decision win over Marvin Vettori in September.
What's next for Max Holloway and Arnold Allen after UFC Kansas City?
Cole Shelton - April 18, 2023
In the main event of UFC Kansas City, a battle of top-five featherweights went down as former champion Max Holloway took on Arnold Allen. Holloway was coming off a decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski which was his third defeat to the Aussie for the belt. Before that, he had back-to-back wins over Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar. Allen, meanwhile, was a perfect 10-0 in the UFC and on a 12-fight win streak with notable wins over Kattar and Dan Hooker.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 119 with Rani Yahya, Ricky Glenn, and Christos Giagos
Cole Shelton - April 18, 2023
The 119th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live ahead of UFC Vegas 71. We’re first joined by UFC bantamweight Rani Yahya (1:44). Next, UFC lightweight Ricky Glenn (13:52) comes on. Closing out the program is UFC lightweight Christos Giagos (25:48).
Sean O’Malley responds after being trolled by former UFC opponent Marlon Vera: “Thought about it as in you are interested in transitioning?”
Harry Kettle - April 18, 2023
Sean O’Malley has responded to a recent troll job by Marlon Vera as the two continue their feud over social media. It’s not exactly news that Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera don’t like one another. Even after Vera was able to defeat O’Malley when they fought, the two have still been going back and forth with one another.
Kelvin Gastelum calls out Dricus du Plessis for title-eliminator bout at UFC 290: “What do you say”
Harry Kettle - April 18, 2023
Kelvin Gastelum has called out Dricus du Plessis for a middleweight title eliminator fight this summer at UFC 290. Following a poor 1-5 run, Kelvin Gastelum got back to winning ways earlier this month. He did so by defeating Chris Curtis in an absolute war, although some felt as if Curtis should’ve been the one to get the nod. Either way, Kelvin is back in the win column, and that’s all he could’ve asked for.
Robert Whittaker ready to “ruin a lot of other people's days” to get a third fight with Israel Adesanya
Harry Kettle - April 18, 2023
UFC fighter Robert Whittaker is ready to run through the middleweight division in order to get another fight with Israel Adesanya. Earlier this month, Israel Adesanya regained his UFC middleweight championship by knocking out Alex Pereira. In doing so, he avenged the defeat the suffered at the hands of the Brazilian back at UFC 281.
Gilbert Burns calls out Dustin Poirier for UFC 288, 'The Diamond' responds
Cole Shelton - April 17, 2023
Gilbert Burns is looking to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 288. After Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush was postponed, Dana White announced they would be making a new fight to serve as the co-main event of UFC 288. He also revealed the scrap would likely feature Gilbert Burns, and after that, ‘Durinho’ and Belal Muhammad began taking shots at each other on social media.
Dana White reveals Alex Pereira won't receive an immediate title shot at light heavyweight: "He's got to beat a real guy"
Cole Shelton - April 17, 2023
Alex Pereira won’t be fighting for UFC light heavyweight gold his next time out. After Pereira lost his middleweight title by second-round KO at UFC 287 to Israel Adesanya, he announced he would be moving up to light heavyweight.
Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad go back and forth over potential UFC 288 co-main event: "Guy cannot make weight?"
Josh Evanoff - April 17, 2023
UFC 288 might have a co-main event, but that’s still far from official. The card is slated for next month and will be headlined by Aljamain Sterling’s title defense against the returning Henry Cejudo. While the main event is still slated for May, last week, the event took a big hit. Charles Oliveira was originally slated to face Beneil Dariush in the co-main event, but ‘Do Bronx’ pulled out due to injury.