MMA News
Alexander Volkanovski says UFC contacted him "late last night" about his weight: "Someone was struggling"
Ryan Harkness - October 21, 2022
Alexander Volkanovski came all the way to Abu Dhabi to serve as a backup for the UFC 280 lightweight fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. And while in the end both fighters made weight and his services don’t look like they’ll be needed, it sounds like there was a moment the night before weigh-ins that the UFC thought they might need him. Charles Oliveira weighed in at 154.5 pounds, as did Islam Makhachev. Alexander Volkanovski stepped on the scales at 155 with no problem as he’s used to getting down to 145 pounds. Immediately after weighing in he spoke to BT Sport and revealed there had been concerns someone wasn’t going to make weight.
UFC 280: 'Oliveira vs. Makhachev' Weigh-in Results: Two title fights official, one fight scrapped
Chris Taylor - October 20, 2022
The Octagon returns to Abu Dhabi for Saturday’s UFC 280 event, a thirteen-bout fight card headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev. Oliveira (33-8 MMA) will be looking to reclaim the UFC’s lightweight title when he takes to the Octagon on Saturday evening. ‘Do Bronx’ was most recently seen in action at May’s UFC 274 event, where he extended his current win streak to eleven in a row with a first-round submission victory over Justin Gaethje (see that here). However, because he missed weight by half a pound, Oliveira was forced to vacate the title and was ineligible to take it home that evening in Phoenix.
Petr Yan roasts Sean O’Malley over his physical appearance at UFC 280 press conference: “Just look at him, he's like a whore on the side of the road”
Zain Bando - October 20, 2022
Petr Yan hasn’t taken too kindly to “Suga” Sean O’Malley ahead of their fight at UFC 280 Saturday in Abu Dhabi. Yan, the former UFC bantamweight champion, is looking to move one step closer toward regaining his belt, while O’Malley faces his toughest Octagon test to-date starring across from the Russian superstar. Yan is coming off a close, controversial split decision loss to the current titleholder, Aljamain Sterling, this past spring at UFC 273.
Conor McGregor trolls Petr Yan ahead of UFC 280
Christopher Taylor - October 20, 2022
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has decided to troll Petr Yan ahead of Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi. Yan (16-3 MMA), the promotions former bantamweight champion, is set to return to the Octagon on the main card of UFC 280 against Sean O’Malley. ‘No Mercy’ will enter the contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a split decision setback to Aljamain Sterling in his most previous effort at UFC 273.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk argues against UFC Hall of Fame induction anytime soon: "I don't think I'm ready to be a grandma"
Josh Evanoff - October 20, 2022
Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk wants to go into the Hall of Fame, but not yet. The Polish fighter has been out of action since her rematch with Weili Zhang in June. In their first outing two years prior, it was a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender. In March 2020, it was Zhang who won the five-round war by a split decision.
Beneil Dariush opens up about losing title shot to Alexander Volkanovski, top lightweights avoiding him: "It’s all as crappy as it gets"
Josh Evanoff - October 20, 2022
UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush has opened up about losing his possible title shot to Alexander Volkanovski. UFC 280 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Well, that’s the hope anyway. In the event that anything goes wrong with the headliners, the promotion has enlisted a backup fighter.
Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa added to UFC 284 in Australia
Josh Evanoff - October 20, 2022
Ranked middleweights will collide during the UFC’s return to Australia. UFC 284 is currently set to head back to Australia next February. The pay-per-view card is set to take place at the RAC Arena in Perth, and it’ll be the promotion’s first trip back to the country in three years. The last card was headlined by Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya in October 2019.
T.J. Dillashaw says Aljamain Sterling is going to get his "ass whupped by a cheater": "Test deez nuts"
Ryan Harkness - October 20, 2022
The UFC 280 press conference went down this morning from Abu Dhabi and there was a lot of heat between the fighters as you’d expect. Petr Yan got physical with Sean O’Malley, and T.J. Dillashaw got in a pretty good burn on Aljamain Sterling. Sterling has been doing most of the talking leading up to his fight with Dillashaw, who has admitted he’s not much of an internet guy. He hasn’t always fared the best when it comes to in-person smack talk, either. Older fans may remember him getting verbally dismantled by Dominick Cruz during the build-up to their 2016 fight.
Petr Yan shoves Sean O'Malley during UFC 280 press conference, 'Suga' responds
Ryan Harkness - October 20, 2022
Things got physical at the big public UFC 280 press conference this morning when Petr Yan laid his hands on Sean O’Malley during a faceoff, shoving ‘Suga’ across the stage. Yan had been doing his best to get under O’Malley’s skin through the entire press conference, hitting him with savage zingers. At one point he said Sean “looked like a whore on the side of the road.”
Beneil Dariush believes Charles Oliveira is "definitely" the champion ahead of UFC 280
Andrew Whitelaw - October 20, 2022
Beneil Dariush has shed light on Charles Oliveira’s infamous weight miss at UFC 274. The Brazilian was over by half a pound and was stripped of his lightweight title despite putting Justin Gaethje to the sword with a first round submission. ‘Do Bronx’ will fight Islam Makhachev for the vacant belt in the main event at UFC 280 this weekend.
UFC 280 | Pro fighters make their picks for Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev title fight
Cole Shelton - October 20, 2022
In the main event of UFC 280, the vacant lightweight title is up for grabs as Charles Oliveira takes on Islam Makhachev. Heading into the fight, Oliveira is a +128 underdog while the Dagestani native is a -164 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros believe Oliveira and his experience fighting top competition will be the difference as they expect the Brazilian to get the win.
Volkan Oezdemir plans to KO Nikita Krylov in the first round at UFC 280 to "get one back" for Alexander Gustafsson
Cole Shelton - October 20, 2022
Volkan Oezdemir knew he was going to face Nikita Krylov next time out right after UFC London. Oezdemir and Krylov both picked up wins at UFC London in July and shortly after the event, the two light heavyweight finishers were matched up. It’s also a scrap that Oezdemir thought was inevitable after they were booked to fight one another in 2020.
Khabib Nurmagomedov says he doesn't miss fighting, shoots down the idea of a comeback: "It was never inside my heart"
Andrew Whitelaw - October 20, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov has quashed any hope that he might make a surprise return to the Octagon one day. Ever since he retired in 2020 there have been rumours that he would return. But, since laying his gloves down after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in Abu Dhabi, ‘The Eagle’ has gone onto numerous other ventures in the sport.
Sean O'Malley believes Petr Yan was "bullied” into accepting fight at UFC 280: "He turned down Chito, so I don't think he really had an option"
Andrew Whitelaw - October 19, 2022
The mental warfare between Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan is in full tilt ahead of their blockbuster bantamweight clash at UFC 280. In his latest jibe, ‘Sugar’ has claimed that his opponent was bulled into taking the fight.
The UFC parts ways with three more fighters
Christopher Taylor - October 19, 2022
The UFC has parted ways with another three 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.
Former UFC champion Dominick Cruz not a fan of self-appointing himself as the bantamweight GOAT: "My results speak for themselves"
Josh Evanoff - October 19, 2022
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz isn’t a fan of calling himself the GOAT. This Saturday at UFC 280, the bantamweight title will be on the line in the co-main event. While the reigning champion Aljamain Sterling is on his road to creating a great legacy, he’s not yet in the greatest of all-time discussion. The other half of the title fight certainly is.
Ben Askren believes "journeyman bum" Jorge Masvidal should appreciate him for stardom: "He needs to send me a Christmas card"
Josh Evanoff - October 19, 2022
Years after their fight, Ben Askren and Jorge Masvidal still appear to not be on good terms. At UFC 239 in July 2019, ‘Funky’ and ‘Gamebred’ met in a key welterweight clash. At the time, Askren was 1-0 in the UFC and was undefeated in his career. It was just months after his trade to the promotion, and he was looking to make a splash against the resurging Masvidal.
Video | Charles Oliveira booed mercilessly in Abu Dhabi during UFC 280 open workouts
Ryan Harkness - October 19, 2022
Charles Oliveira knew he was coming into enemy territory when he agreed to fight Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi. Now he’s getting some real-world experience in what that’s all about during the UFC 280 open workouts. Oliveira arrived at Yas Mall with his teammates to run through some Brazilian jiu jitsu training for the crowd of assembled fans. But from the moment the champion without a belt stepped onto the stage, the crowd erupted in boos. And not just a few. A solid portion of the crowd jeered at ‘Do Bronx’ for several sustained minutes, which seemed to throw off Oliveira’s typically cheerful vibes.