MMA News
Max Holloway hoping for longshot fourth fight with Alexander Volkanovski: "Watching Izzy last week was inspiring"
Josh Evanoff - April 12, 2023
Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway still has his target on Alexander Volkanovski. ‘Blessed’ is set to return this Saturday in the main event of UFC Kansas City against Arnold Allen. Heading into the contest, ‘Almighty’ is riding a 12-fight losing streak, with some massive wins in that stretch. In recent octagon appearances, the Brit captured victories over names such as Calvin Kattar, Dan Hooker, and Gilbert Melendez.
Kelvin Gastelum eyeing a future rematch with Israel Adesanya: "I want to be champion"
Josh Evanoff - April 12, 2023
UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum is trying to get back to the gold. The former title challenger returned over the weekend at UFC 287. On the prelims, Gastelum faced Chris Curtis, and the two put on a show. The two exchanged massive shots for all three rounds, even getting ‘Fight of the Night’ honors for their performance.
Julianna Pena believes Amanda Nunes was "forced" into UFC 289 trilogy match: "She had no choice but to fight me"
Josh Evanoff - April 12, 2023
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Julianna Pena is happy to finally have her return booked. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has been out of action since her UFC 277 main event with Amanda Nunes. The bout happened just a few short months after Pena shocked the world against ‘The Lioness’. At UFC 269 in December 2021, the Brazilian shockingly suffered a second-round submission loss to lose her bantamweight title.
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals his top 15 GOAT list
Josh Evanoff - April 12, 2023
Former UFC lightweight titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov has chimed in on the GOAT debate. ‘The Eagle’ has been out of the cage since his submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. Following the victory, the then-lightweight champion announced his retirement in the center of the cage. To his credit, Nurmagomedov has stood firm in his decision to hang up the gloves and hasn’t shown interest in competing.
Report | Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic heavyweight title fight pushed back from UFC 290
Lewis Simpson - April 12, 2023
Originally rumored to headline UFC 290 in Las Vegas during International Fight Week in the Summer, current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic’s blockbuster bout is now pushed back from the event scheduled for July 8. Despite both Jones and Miocic entertaining the heavyweight title fight next, per a report from ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, the bout won’t occur at UFC 290 and will most likely be pushed back to the fall.
Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja flyweight title fight set for UFC 290 on July 8
Lewis Simpson - April 12, 2023
A new flyweight title fight has been added to UFC’s July 8 International Fight Week event. As speculated, Brandon Moreno will clash with No.2 ranked contender Alexandre Pantoja for the first time as a two-time flyweight champion. Pantoja was originally expected to face Moreno at the end of 2021, but an injury forced the Brazilian out, allowing his native counterpart, Deiveson Figueiredo, to continue the rivalry with Moreno.
Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul is set for August 5
Susan Cox - April 12, 2023
This just is – Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul is set for Saturday, August 5, 2023. “The Problem Child” will enter the boxing ring with combat sports icon Nate Diaz this coming August in Dallas, Texas.
Video | Kevin Holland tells fan to “f**k off” for allegedly grabbing his ass during photo request
Susan Cox - April 12, 2023
Kevin Holland apparently told a fan to ‘f**k off’ after he allegedly grabbed his ass during a photo request. It was ‘Trailblazer’ who was awarded a KO victory, at 3:16 of round 3, over the ‘Argentine Dagger’ this past weekend.
Pro fighters make their picks for Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen
Cole Shelton - April 12, 2023
In the main event of UFC Kansas City, a featherweight fight headlines the card as former champ Max Holloway takes on Arnold Allen. Heading into the scrap, Holloway is the -196 favorite while the Brit is a +152 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe Holloway is the better striker and he will get his hand raised, likely by decision.
Chris Curtis reveals he is “filing an appeal” over his UFC 287 loss to Kelvin Gastelum: “That headbutt cost me the fight”
Susan Cox - April 12, 2023
Chris Curtis has revealed that he is ‘filing an appeal’ over his UFC 287 loss to Kelvin Gastelum. It was last Saturday, April 8th at UFC 287 that saw Chris Curtis (30-10 MMA) in a middleweight bout with Kelvin Gastelum (18-8 MMA) at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Jon Anik believes Israel Adesanya cemented his status as the “greatest middleweight of all time” with his highlight reel KO at UFC 287
Harry Kettle - April 12, 2023
UFC commentator Jon Anik believes Israel Adesanya is the greatest middleweight of all time following UFC 287. Last Saturday night at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya proved his doubters wrong in style by knocking out Alex Pereira. In doing so, he was able to reclaim his UFC middleweight championship.
Henry Cejudo believes Alex Pereira should take Israel Adesanya taunting his son “extremely personal”
Harry Kettle - April 12, 2023
Henry Cejudo believes Alex Pereira should be taking Israel Adesanya’s taunt to his son very personally. Last weekend at UFC 287, Israel Adesanya finally got the better of Alex Pereira. In their blockbuster main event, Adesanya knocked out the Brazilian in a vicious fashion to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship.
UFC Kansas City: ‘Holloway vs. Allen’ Fight Card and Start Times
Harry Kettle - April 12, 2023
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Kansas City this weekend with a blockbuster main event between Max Holloway and Arnold Allen. Event: UFC on ESPN 44: Holloway vs Allen Date: Saturday, 15th April 2022 Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri Broadcast: ESPN+ – 5.30pm/8.30pm EST
Alex Pereira reveals how he stopped his son from mocking Israel Adesanya a second time following UFC 281 knockout
Andrew Whitelaw - April 11, 2023
The goading between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira’s 12-year-old son has been a fascinating subplot in the historic rivalry between ‘Poatan’ and ‘The Last Stylebender.’ In the wake of his incredible finish against the Brazilian at UFC 287, Adesanya wasted no time in pointing to Alex Pereira’s son, and mimicking his Father falling to the canvas. The move was payback for 2017 when the youngster had done the same to the Kiwi-Nigerian after has Dad had sparked him out in Glory.
Former two-time Glory Kickboxing champion Cedric Doumbe refutes rumors he has signed with UFC
Susan Cox - April 11, 2023
Former two-time GLORY Kickboxing champion Cedric Doumbe is refuting a report from ‘Spinnin Backfist’ that he has signed with UFC. ‘Spinnin Backfist’ took to ‘Twitter’ with a picture of Doumbe and the following notice:
Anatoly Malykhin's coach hints at Francis Ngannou clash in ONE Championship
Andrew Whitelaw - April 11, 2023
Is Francis Ngannou heading to ONE Championship? The former UFC Heavyweight champion is currently a free agent having departed the Las Vegas-based promotion after failing to agree new terms with Dana White.
The UFC parts ways with four more fighters
Jeffrey Walter - April 11, 2023
The UFC has parted ways with another four fighters according to recent reports from @UFCRosterWatch on ‘Twitter’. It should also be noted that it has not been confirmed if all of these moves were outright releases or simply contracts which were not renewed. In one case, the fighter was removed due to retirement.
Brandon Royval expects to "drown" Matheus Nicolau at UFC Kansas City, hopes to serve as backup for flyweight title fight
Cole Shelton - April 11, 2023
Brandon Royval was confident he would be fighting Matheus Nicolau next. After Royval was cleared from his hand injury, he called out both Nicolau and Kai Kara-France as he wanted a top-five opponent. But, once Kara-France told him he was still injured, he turned all of his focus to Nicolau.