MMA News

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny says that Khamzat Chimaev is “all talk” and he is open to fighting him when he returns to the Octagon. Magny returns to the Octagon on May 8 when he takes on fellow top-15 ranked welterweight Geoff Neal. Before the Magny vs. Neal fight was booked, Magny was linked to a fight against Khamzat Chimaev, but the fight wasn’t booked as the Swede is stilll not cleared to fight again after a vicious battle with COVID-19. Still, should Magny get by Neal in a few weeks’ time, he is interested in stepping into the Octagon with Chimaev as well.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that promotional superstar Jon Jones is hoping to make $30 million to fight heavyweight Francis Ngannou. After Ngannou defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 to become the new UFC heavyweight champion, White mentioned that Derrick Lewis would likely be next in line to fight for the belt. That confused a lot of fans who assumed that Jones would be the next man in line to fight the winner of Jones vs. Miocic for the title. Jones later took to his social media to say that the UFC was lowballing him and that their offer of $10 million was not enough to take the fight. Now we have a better idea of the number that Jones is looking at.

Andrew Whitelaw - April 23, 2021

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson knows exactly what it takes to beat Jorge Masvidal – He did just that when he scored the unanimous decision over ‘Gamebred’ at UFC 217. Masvidal (35-14) is a different beast nowadays, and will have his second crack at winning the UFC welterweight title when he takes on Kamaru Usman (18-1) in the rematch at UFC 261 this weekend.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC president Dana White confirmed that Marvin Vettori could be next in line to fight UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. After beating Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Vegas 24 last weekend for his third straight win, it was widely assumed that Robert Whittaker, the No. 1 contender at 185lbs, would be the next in line to fight Adesanya. However, while speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, White said that the UFC is now looking at Vettori for the next title shot. The reason that’s the case is becuase the UFC is hoping Adesanya returns on June 12 at UFC 263. Right now, that event is headlined by UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno, so another title fight taking place on the card could be beneficial for PPV sales.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

The UFC 261 weigh-ins took place on Friday and all of the fighters on the card made weight, including Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. The main event of UFC 261 features Usman and Masvidal going at it for the second time with the UFC welterweight strap on the line. These two met last July at UFC 251 with Usman winning a unanimous decision that night. A year later and they meet again for all the marbles. Both men successfully weighed in on Friday morning and this fight is official.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington reacted to the news that he will fight the winner of Jorge Masvidal vs. Kamaru Usman 2 next. Covington has not fought since last September when he defeated Tyron Woodley via fifth-round TKO to re-emerge as one of the top title contenders at 170lbs. When the UFC booked Usman agianst Masvidal in a rematch at UFC 261, many were surprised that Covington didn’t get the title shot first. But UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that Covington will be next in line for the belt against the winner of Usman vs. Masvidal 2, and so he will be watching very intently when the title is defended this Saturday at UFC 261.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman blasted Jorge Masvidal for bringing BMF belt to the UFC 261 pre-fight press conference on Friday. Usman takes on Masvidal in the main event on Saturday’s UFC 261 event. For Usman, it’s a chance to get another win over “Gamebred” after the two first met last summer at UFC 251 on Fight Island, while for Masvidal it’s a chance to get revenge. Almost a year later and they meet again on this weekend’s stacked pay-per-view card, one that features three title fights. In addition to Usman defending his belt against Masvidal, we also have UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang defending her belt against Rose Namajunas, and UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko takes on Jessica Andrade.

Christopher Taylor - April 22, 2021

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has apologized after his commentary during last Saturday’s Triller: Askren vs. Paul event in Atlanta. De La Hoya joined the Triller commentary booth during Saturday’s pay-per-view and appeared to be under the influence. Oscar’s commentary was actually so outlandish that it began to overshadow the actually boxing matches.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021

Jorge Masvidal was not surprised to see Jake Paul KO Ben Askren in their recent boxing match. In the lead-up to the highly-anticipated fight, Jorge and Jake were training together. Paul even called “Gamebred” at the press conference to try and troll Askren. It was interesting to see Masvidal backing Paul given the fact the majority of the MMA community were behind Askren.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021

Conor McGregor has bought the Marble Arch Pub in Dublin 12. Although to many, the name of the pub might not sound familiar, it’s the spot where McGregor notoriously punched the elderly man in 2019. The Irishman was then charged for the incident and according to The Currency, McGregor bought the pub for €1.5 million and €2 million.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev believes he can compete at light heavyweight and beat the current champ in Jan Blachowicz. Chimaev took the MMA world by storm in 2020 as he fought twice in 10 days and earned wins at welterweight and middleweight. He followed that up with a one-punch KO over Gerald Meerschaert and was then booked to face Leon Edwards. Unfortunately, he has been dealing with lingering effects of COVID-19 but is eyeing a July or August return.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021

Jorge Masvidal is going back to his roots as he’s launching a bare-knuckle MMA promotion. Recently, Masvidal teased the news as he said he would be trying to find the best bare-knuckle fighters, just like Kimbo Slice did for him. Although many weren’t expecting a full-on promotion, “Gamebred” took to Instagram to announce the launch of Gamebred Fighting Championship. The first event will on June 25 in Miami.

Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev issued a hilarious callout of fellow divisional contender Kevin Lee with a video posted on his social media. In the video that Fiziev shared on his social media, the striker is seen walking around in a forest while calling out Lee’s name. Take a look at the video that “Ataman” posted below.

Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021

UFC president Dana White says that UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is now the greatest fighter ever to compete at 170lbs. Up until now, most people would have same that Georges St-Pierre was the greatest welterweight ever. But in his last fight, Usman broke GSP’s record of most consecutive wins at 170lbs with his knockout win over Gilbert Burns to improve to 13-0. Usman hasn’t lost since entering the UFC in 2015 following a stint on TUF. He has fought and defeated many of the division’s best, including Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, and Leon Edwards. Not many opponents have been able to do anything to him as he’s been utterly dominant.

Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021

UFC commentator Joe Rogan will be back in the booth for this weekend’s UFC 261 pay-per-view card alongside Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik. Rogan, Cormier, and Anik have been the UFC’s go-to commentary team for its pay-per-view events in recent years. Rogan has been, of course, the UFC’s A-team color commentator for well over a decade and has been part of the UFC team for over 20 years. As for Cormier, he is the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion. As far as Anik goes, he has been the A-team play-by-play announcer ever since Mike Goldberg left. Betwen Rogan, Cormier, and Anik, they bring an incredible amount of knowledge and experience to the booth, so it’s not a surprise the UFC loves to use this set-up for PPVs.

Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021

Kickboxing legend John Wayne Parr reacted after getting knocked out by a head kick against Nieky Holzken in a Muay Thai bout at ONE on TNT 3. The 44-year-old Parr and the 37-year-old Holzken put on four-ounce MMA gloves as they stepped into the ONE Championship cage with each other for a Muay Thai fight. Unfortuantely for Parr, it was not a night to remember as he suffered a vicious knockout when Holzken knocked him out with a high kick. You can see the highlights below.

Adam D Martin - April 22, 2021

Rose Namajunas explained the problems she possesses for UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang when they meet at UFC 261. Namajunas steps back into the Octagon for the first time since defeating Jessica Andrade last summer on Fight Island to earn this title shot against Zhang, who fights for the first time since her war with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 last year. Namajunas enters this fight againt the champion Zhang as the underdog, but she is confident that she has the skillset to get the job done. Namajunas is a former champion herself so she knows what it takes to get the belt and hold it, and she promises to give Zhang a tough fight at UFC 261.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021

In the first of three title fights at UFC 261, Valentina Shevchenko looks to defend her flyweight belt against Jessica Andrade. Heading into the fight, Shevchenko is a -455 favorite with the challenger being a +340 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Valentina Shevchenko gets it done, with most thinking she gets the TKO win.