MMA News
UFC Owner calls Zhang Weili 'Li Na' when discussing promotion going public
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2021
China’s first-ever UFC champion was the strawweight division’s Zhang Weili (21-2). After performing in the UFC 261 co-main event, the promotion’s owner, Ari Emanuel, didn’t appear to know who she was. On Thursday, the UFC went public as an organization. To discuss the news, Emanuel got in front of the cameras for a change just days removed from the huge UFC 261 event in Jacksonville, Florida.
Yoel Romero fails pre-fight medical, forced out of Anthony Johnson fight
Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021
Yoel Romero is out of his fight against Anthony Johnson on May 7. Romero and Johnson were set to make their Bellator debuts in the quarterfinals of the light heavyweight grand prix. It was a highly-anticipated fight but on Thursday evening, the promotion revealed to CBS Sports that Romero is out of the scrap and the tournament after he failed his pre-fight medical. The nature of Romero’s issue of why he failed the medical was not disclosed.
PFL 2 Results: Rory MacDonald submits Curtis Millender in round one (Highlights)
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2021
The PFL’s 2021 season is officially underway. After a wild first event, it was on to the next as Rory MacDonald made his long-awaited debut. Standing in his way was fellow UFC and Bellator veteran, “Courteous” Curtis Millender. MacDonald was last in action in October 2019 when rematching Douglas Lima. After a successful Bellator debut in May 2017 against Paul Daley, MacDonald went on to defeat Lima and become the welterweight champion.
Diego Sanchez posts video of Joshua Fabia fighter meeting altercation
Drake Riggs - April 29, 2021
Diego Sanchez’s run in the UFC has seemingly come to an abrupt ending just a week before his matchup against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. On Tuesday it was revealed that Sanchez was out of his fight next weekend at UFC Vegas 26. However, no reason was given upon the initial report. As of today, MiddleEasy came out reporting that Sanchez had been released by the promotion due to his recent “trash-talking” of the company.
Robert Whittaker reveals he fought Kelvin Gastelum with torn ligaments in his hand
Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021
Robert Whittaker put on a dominant performance over Kelvin Gastelum on April 17 and did so while fighting with an injury. Whittaker was supposed to face Paulo Costa on the card but the Brazilian was forced out of the bout and Gastelum stepped up on short notice. However, when Whittaker arrived in Las Vegas and began training he tore ligaments in his hand. Even though he had torn ligaments in his hand, he still earned a dominant decision over Gastelum.
Gleison Tibau reveals he won unsanctioned four-man tournament while filming rap music video
Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021
Former UFC lightweight Gleison Tibau revealed that he recently won an unsanctioned four-man tournament while filming a rap music video. Tibau, who fought in the UFC between 2006 and 2018, recently signed a contract to fight with the PFL as part of the promotion’s third season. He will take on Joao Zeferino on Thursday night at PFL 2. Ahead of his return to the cage, Tibau revealed that his fight record needs updating. Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz, Tibau explained how he recently was involved in a four-man, one-night tournament in Germany that was unsanctioned. He won both of the fights, and get this, it’s all part of a rap music video.
Glover Teixeira explains how he overcame obstacles to earn UFC title shot at age 41
Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021
UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira explained how he overcame obstacles in his career to earn a title shot at age 41. Teixeira is 41 years old which makes him one of the oldest fighters on the UFC roster in 2021. However, despite his age, he has been absolutely destroying everyone in his path, winning his last five fights in a row en route to getting a title shot against UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz in September at UFC 266. It’s incredible that Teixeira has now been in the UFC for nearly 10 years and yet remains fighting at such a high level despite many of his contemporaries falling off the map in recent years.
Israel Adesanya explains why he is fighting Marvin Vettori next
Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya explained why he is fighting Marvin Vettori next and not Robert Whittaker as many expected him to. Adesanya was widely expected to fight Whittaker in a rematch after the Aussie had a stellar performance at UFC Vegas 24 recently to pick up his third straight win. However, the UFC instead chose to go with Vettori for the title shot, which surprised a lot of people. According to the champ himself, it was a matter of timing as to why Vettori is getting the title shot.
Jeff Molina admits he "was f****d up" after getting rocked in final 10 seconds: "I was hurt for like 10 minutes after the fight"
Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021
Jeff Molina promised he would put on a show at UFC 261 and he did just that. Molina made his UFC debut against Aoriqileng in the second fight of the night. In the lead-up to the scrap, the Contender Series winner thought he would be able to finish Aoriqileng. The game plan was to use leg kicks to eventually get his hands down and land something up top. Yet, Molina knew after the first round he had to make some big adjustments.
UFC Vegas 25: Reyes vs. Prochazka full betting odds
Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021
Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 25 card featuring a pivotal light heavyweight fight between Dominick Reyes and Jiri Prochazka. The UFC Vegas 25 main event features Reyes looking to get back into the win column after two straight losses as he faces Prochazka. Reyes is coming off a TKO loss to Jan Blachowicz for the vacant belt after dropping a close decision to Jon Jones for the belt. Prochazka, meanwhile, is the former RIZIN champ and made good of his UFC debut as he KO’d Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 251.
Jimmy Crute provides update on injured leg in Anthony Smith fight at UFC 261
Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021
UFC light heavyweight contender Jimmy Crute provided an update on his injured leg from the Anthony Smith fight at UFC 261. Crute appeared to be in serious pain due to a leg injury and unable to walk properly at the end of the first round with Smith. After attempting to put pressure on the leg, his knee buckled and the cage-side doctor called a stop to the fight as Crute lost via injury TKO. A few days after the fight and Crute has now provided an update on the injury he suffered. According to the Aussie, there is the belief he suffered a knee injury in the fight.
Pro fighters make their picks for Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka
Cole Shelton - April 29, 2021
In the main event of UFC Vegas 25 on May 1, Dominick Reyes is looking to snap his two-fight losing streak as he battles Jiri Prochazka. Entering the fight, Reyes is a +110 underdog while the former RIZIN champ is a -130 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are split on this one but the slight majority lean towards Prochazka picking up his second UFC win.
MMA legend Shinya Aoki takes a shot at Sage Northcutt
Harry Kettle - April 29, 2021
ONE Championship’s Shinya Aoki left a short and sweet message for Sage Northcutt after calling him out on the ONE on TNT 4 broadcast. The controversial Aoki has long since been viewed as one of the most unpredictable men in mixed martial arts, whether that be with ONE Championship or elsewhere.
Beneil Dariush ready to step up in case anything happens to Michael Chandler or Charles Oliveira at UFC 262
Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021
UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush says he is willing to step up to fight if anything happens to Charles Oliveira or Michael Chandler at UFC 262. Dariush steps back into the Octagon on May 15 at UFC 262 when he takes on Tony Ferguson in the biggest fight of his career to date. And while Dariush is absolutely not looking past Ferguson by any means, he is aware that he could step in and fight for the belt should anything happen to Oliveira or Chandler before their fight. If anything does happen to Oliveira or Chandler, Dariush is preparing to fight for five rounds or less.
Emil Weber Meek calls out Donald Cerrone for "Cowboy vs. Viking" matchup
Adam D Martin - April 29, 2021
UFC welterweight Emil Weber Meek called out veteran Donald Cerrone after he recently lost Diego Sanchez as his next opponent. Cerrone was set to fight Diego Sanchez in a battle of two of the sport’s most-respected veterans next Saturday at UFC Vegas 26. Unfortuantely for Cerrone, he lost Sanchez as an opponent and now he is without a dance partner for May 8. Well, it looks like Cerrone now has interest from another welterweight in taking the fight, as Meek has called him out.
ONE on TNT 4 Results: Reinier de Ridder becomes double champ, Eddie Alvarez suffers defeat
Harry Kettle - April 29, 2021
Another hectic night of ONE on TNT action saw Reinier de Ridder win another belt and Eddie Alvarez lose an incredibly close fight. It marked the end of ONE Championship’s first run of events on the TNT platform at ONE on TNT 4, with the show taking place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.
Reug Reug suffers first career loss in bizarre fashion at ONE on TNT 4
Drake Riggs - April 28, 2021
Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane has fallen for the first time in his MMA career… but it wasn’t the most traditional of bout endings. Opening up the ONE on TNT 4 main card, Reug Reug took on Kirill Grishenko. At the end of the second round, the unbeaten Senegalese wrestling sensation absorbed a punch to the throat that forced him unable to continue. Thus resulting in a TKO loss.
Tyson Fury sends message to Francis Ngannou and 'UFC guys'
Drake Riggs - April 28, 2021
Francis Ngannou’s original intentions in combat sports were driven towards boxing. Now as UFC heavyweight champion, he’s gained Tyson Fury’s attention. As he’s progressed in MMA, Ngannou has remained interested in potential boxing matches. With Fury atop the throne as arguably the best heavyweight boxer in the world, it would only make sense for the best of the best to square off… in theory, of course.