MMA News
Henry Cejudo explains why Alex Volkanovski is making a “mistake” by taking on backup fighter role for UFC 280 main event
Ryan Harkness - October 13, 2022
Alexander Volkanovski recently revealed that he will be the official back-up for UFC 280’s lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. Should either fighter be unable to compete in Abu Dhabi come October 22nd, the featherweight champ will step up to lightweight and compete for a second title. Speaking as a former double champ himself, Henry Cejudo thinks that’s a bad idea. He’s convinced it’s such a mistake that he’s made an eight minute video detailing all the reasons why Volkanovski is shooting himself in the foot with the move.
Khabib Nurmagomedov names the three UFC fights he's bothered to wake up and watch this year
Ryan Harkness - October 13, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov is enjoying life as a retired former UFC champion, and mainly puts his combat sports energy towards coaching and training with his stable of Dagestani fighters. According to ‘The Eagle,’ he no longer watches a whole lot of mixed martial arts. That’s partly because UFC events regularly air at five AM in his country, and party because he no longer has the same passion he once did. “Maybe it’s because the flame inside of me went out, but I think there’s been a dip in MMA,” he said in a recent forty minute interview with UFC Russia. “That’s what I think, I can be wrong. Everyone has their viewpoint. I think the flame went out a little, that there was a decline. There will always be stars, UFC’s PR machine is strong. Say what you will but they created a powerful machine in the last 30 years. They’ll ignite the flame. But I don’t wake up early to watch fights any more.”
Da Un Jung vs. Devin Clark targeted for February Fight Night card in Korea
Cole Shelton - October 13, 2022
The UFC will be heading to Korea in February and local fighter Da Un Jung will be on the card. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that Jung will face Devin Clark on February 4, with the event likely taking place in Seoul, South Korea. The location has not been finalized as of yet but is trending in the right direction, while the bout is also only verbally agreed to. It will be the first time the UFC is in Korea since UFC Busan in December of 2019 which saw Korean Zombie vs. Frankie Edgar in the main event.
UFC and Facebook parent company Meta announce partnership to bring MMA to virtual reality
Ryan Harkness - October 13, 2022
The UFC and Facebook’s parent company Meta have officially announced a partnership that will bring UFC and MMA events to the Metaverse in virtual reality. Speculation abounded when UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Yan on October 1st was closed to the press and public. In the end, a small handful of Meta employees including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were on hand to see Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan battle it out for five rounds in the UFC APEX.
TJ Dillashaw believes Aljamain Sterling is trying “to play mental warfare” with continuous PED accusations: “It ain’t gonna work with me”
Harry Kettle - October 13, 2022
TJ Dillashaw believes Aljamain Sterling is trying to play mental warfare with him ahead of their UFC 280 title fight. After getting back to winning ways against Cory Sandhagen last year following his two-year suspension from mixed martial arts, TJ Dillashaw will now get the chance to become a three-time UFC bantamweight champion when he goes head to head with current king of the mountain Aljamain Sterling next weekend.
Daniel Cormier believes Kevin Holland’s upcoming fight with 'Wonderboy' is payback: “I think you've got to be very careful with using the word retirement”
Harry Kettle - October 13, 2022
Daniel Cormier has given his thoughts on the UFC booking Kevin Holland against Stephen Thompson on December 3. In the wake of his loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279, Kevin Holland appeared to be toying with the idea of retirement – or, at the very least, he was all too happy to wind the fans up about the prospect.
Sean O'Malley says he's "surprised" Petr Yan took the fight against him at UFC 280
Cole Shelton - October 12, 2022
Sean O’Malley didn’t think the Petr Yan fight would actually happen. After O’Malley had a No Contest due to an accidental eye poke against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 276, it was uncertain what was going to be next for him. That fight was ‘Suga’s’ opportunity to face a top-10 opponent but it never ended with a win or a loss.
VIDEO | Cub Swanson doesn't speak, has teammate answer questions for him at UFC Vegas 62 media day
Cole Shelton - October 12, 2022
Cub Swanson had an interesting media day, to say the least. Swanson is set to make his bantamweight debut on Saturday against Jonathan Martinez in a move that surprised many. Swanson has been a perennial contender at featherweight but after his last fight, he hinted at possibly moving down to 135lbs.
Alexa Grasso believes impressive win over Viviane Araujo at UFC Vegas 62 could earn a title shot: "I think the champion is going to look at the one who does the best"
Josh Evanoff - October 12, 2022
UFC women’s flyweight contender Alexa Grasso believes she’s on the verge of a title shot. The Mexican fighter has been out of action since her clash with Joanne Wood in March. In that outing, Grasso scored a first-round submission win, moving her win streak to three. She had previously captured victories over Ji Yeon Kim and Maycee Barber.
WWE star Matt Riddle reflects on wrestling victories over Jon Jones: "He’s always been a top-tier competitor"
Josh Evanoff - October 12, 2022
Matt Riddle has shared his stories about wrestling former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones. These days, the Las Vegas native stars on WWE Raw as a high-flying athletic wrestler. Riddle has taken so well to the world of professional wrestling that many fans might not know that he used to be a fighter. In fact, he was a very good one.
Aspen Ladd announces clash with Julia Budd for PFL debut on November 25th: "It's a fighter's dream to fight in Madison Square Garden"
Josh Evanoff - October 12, 2022
PFL featherweight Aspen Ladd is now set for her promotional debut. The 29-year-old has been out of action since her loss to Raquel Pennington in April. That bout wound up being the last in the promotion for Ladd. Following that, she had two failed bookings with former title challenger Sara McMann.
Charles Oliveira vows to "shock the world" against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280
Cole Shelton - October 12, 2022
Charles Oliveira is confident he will become the UFC lightweight champion again at UFC 280. Oliveira is set to face Islam Makhachev in the main event of the pay-per-view card in Abu Dhabi. It’s an intriguing matchup but in the lead-up to the scrap, Makhachev is the betting favorite and his team has said they believe Makhachev will dominate the Brazilian.
Jonathan Martinez "surprised" Cub Swanson is dropping down down to bantamweight but honored to welcome him to the division: "It should be a good fight"
Cole Shelton - October 12, 2022
Jonathan Martinez is pumped to be welcoming Cub Swanson to the bantamweight division at UFC Vegas 62. After Martinez picked up his third win in a row, he wasn’t sure what would be next for him, but did want a legend like Frankie Edgar. Although he didn’t get the Edgar fight he did get another legend as he will face Swanson on Saturday.
Brandon Royval says it's "hard to watch video" on Askar Askarov due to his style, confident he'll finish him to set up UFC 283 rematch with Alexandre Pantoja
Cole Shelton - October 12, 2022
Brandon Royval isn’t a fan of Askar Askarov and his style. Royval has taken shots at Askarov in the past saying the Russian is boring and all he does is hold people up against the fence and win decisions. After the comments, the UFC booked Royval vs. Askarov at UFC Vegas 62 which is a fight he thought would happen.
Khabib Nurmagomedov confident that Islam Makhachev is “more skilled” than Charles Oliveira: “Islam should roll over him”
Susan Cox - October 12, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov is confident that Islam Makhachev is ‘more skilled’ than Charles Oliveira. It will be Charles Oliveira (33-8 MMA) vs Islam Makhachev (22-1 MMA) on Saturday, October 22nd at UFC 280 which takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Daniel Cormier explains why he’s against the UFC booking an immediate trilogy fight between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena
Susan Cox - October 12, 2022
Daniel Cormier is explaining why he’s against the UFC booking an immediate trilogy fight between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña. Peña (12-5 MMA) dethroned bantamweight champion Nunes (22-5 MMA) at UFC 269 in December of 2021, in what is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
Aljamain Sterling trashes USADA for failing to catch T.J. Dillashaw: "I thought they tested for everything"
Ryan Harkness - October 12, 2022
Aljamain Sterling is set to defend his bantamweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 280 on October 22nd. And while both men are extensively tested by USADA under a program designed to weed out performance enhancing drug users, Sterling believes Dillashaw is still cheating. Dillashaw was famously stripped of his 135 pound title after testing positive for EPO, an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent that increases the amount of red blood cells in your body, improving stamina and performance. T.J. was suspended for two years over his EPO use, but Aljamain Sterling recently pointed out it wasn’t USADA that caught him.
Conor McGregor looks insanely lean as he spars at UFC gym
Harry Kettle - October 12, 2022
UFC star Conor McGregor looks to be in great shape as he posts training footage of him sparring at a UFC gym. Ever since breaking his leg last summer against Dustin Poirier, fans have been watching and waiting to see when Conor McGregor would finally make his mixed martial arts comeback. The Irishman has slowly been working his way back to full fitness and in recent weeks, he’s been teasing the masses by posting frequent training footage as he gears up, potentially, for another appearance inside the Octagon.