MMA News
Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t think Charles Oliveira will show up for UFC 280 title fight with Islam Makhachev: “The UFC will replace Charles with Beneil Dariush”
Harry Kettle - September 16, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov has predicted that Charles Oliveira will not end up fighting Islam Makhachev at UFC 280. Next month at UFC 280, Islam Makhachev will attempt to finally follow in the footsteps of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov by capturing the UFC lightweight championship. It’s an opportunity he’s been desperately waiting for and now, we’re just a matter of weeks away from seeing whether or not he can climb that last mountain.
Cory Sandhagen explains why he doesn't mind fighting down in the ranks to face Song Yadong: "He brings a danger that it’s easy for me to wake up for"
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2022
Cory Sandhagen didn’t expect to be fighting Song Yadong but he is excited about the matchup. Sandhagen has not fought since last October when he suffered a decision loss to Petr Yan for the interim bantamweight title. After the loss, he wanted some time off and will now headline UFC Vegas 60 on Saturday against Song Yadong. Although it’s not the fight he expected, Sandhagen believes Yadong is a tough challenge and that is why he’s so excited about the fight.
Marlon Moraes ends retirement, set to sign with PFL
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2022
Marlon Moraes will be ending his retirement less than six months after announcing it. In April, Moraes announced he was retiring from MMA following a KO loss to Song Yadong back in March. It was his fourth straight loss and in March, he released a statement through his manager that he would be retiring from MMA.
Mike Perry reacts to news BKFC president wants him to fight Nate Diaz: "Now is my time to make noise"
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2022
Mike Perry is hoping to fight Nate Diaz in BKFC. David Feldman, the president of BKFC, recently came out and said he is interested in signing Nate Diaz. The Stockton, native, of course, recently fought out his Ultimate Fighting Championship deal at UFC 279 when he submitted Tony Ferguson. The goal for Feldman is to sign Diaz and have him fight Mike Perry.
Yoel Romero reveals plans to defeat Melvin Manhoef, then search for Bellator champ-champ status: "My goals are still the same"
Josh Evanoff - September 15, 2022
Bellator light-heavyweight contender Yoel Romero has some big plans for 2023. ‘Soldier of God’ has been out of action since his knockout win over Alex Polizzi in May. The victory was an important one for the Cuban, as it was his first win in the Bellator cage. Romero had previously lost by decision to Phil Davis in his September 2021 debut.
Beneil Dariush reveals he's the likely backup for UFC 280 lightweight title fight: "If something goes wrong, they'd put me in"
Josh Evanoff - September 15, 2022
UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush could fight for gold sooner than expected. The 33-year-old has been out of action since his decision victory over Tony Ferguson last May. Since that time, Dariush has had a failed booking with Islam Makhachev. The matchup was viewed as a title-eliminator but was canceled after the Iranian fighter suffered an injury.
Randy Couture shares appreciation for old-school "martial artist" Charles Oliveira: "He’s not about being famous or publicity stunts"
Josh Evanoff - September 15, 2022
Former UFC champion Randy Couture believes that Charles Oliveira is an old-school fighter. ‘Do Bronx’ is set to face Islam Makhachev in October at UFC 280. The bout will be for the vacant lightweight title that Oliveira famously lost on the scale in May. Despite missing weight, the Brazilian later defeated Justin Gaethje after losing his championship.
UFC parts ways with two more fighters including Mickey Gall
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2022
The UFC is continuing to trim its roster as two more fighters have been let go including Mickey Gall. On Thursday, the Twitter account UFC Roster Watch which tracks the UFC roster and who has been added and removed revealed Gall and Mason Jones were removed from the roster.
Terrance McKinney pleads with The Rock to “get in our corner” with new UFC shoe deal
Susan Cox - September 15, 2022
Terrance McKinney is pleading with The Rock to ‘get in our corner’ with the new UFC shoe deal. It was recently announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had secured a shoe deal between his Project Rock line and the UFC.
Dan Hooker explains why Nate Diaz entering free agency is a “dangerous” situation for the UFC
Susan Cox - September 15, 2022
Dan Hooker is explaining why Nate Diaz entering free agency is a ‘dangerous’ situation for the UFC. It was just this past weekend, on Saturday, September 10th that Nate Diaz competed in the final fight of his current UFC contract. The fan favorite Diaz (22-13 MMA) defeated Tony Ferguson (26-8 MMA) by fourth round submission in the welterweight main event.
Pro fighters make their picks for Cory Sandhagen vs. Song Yadong
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2022
In the main event of UFC Vegas 60 on Saturday at the UFC Apex, Cory Sandhagen looks to return to the win column against Song Yadong. Heading into the fight, Sandhagen is a -215 favorite while the 10th-ranked bantamweight is a +164 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. Most of the pros believe this is too much of a step-up for Yadong and expect Sandhagen to get back into the win column in a big way.
Rani Yahya forced out of his scheduled UFC bout with Cody Garbrandt
Susan Cox - September 15, 2022
Rani Yahya is forced out of his scheduled UFC bout with Cory Garbrandt. It was to be Rani Yahya (28-10 MMA) vs Cody Garbrandt (12-5 MMA) in the bantamweight co-main event on October 1st in Las Vegas.
Video | YouTube critic gets sucker-punch KO'd by Polish fighter during interview
Ryan Harkness - September 15, 2022
The MMA world gets a little weirder and a lot wilder the further east you happen to go, as this recent video from a Polish press event proves. A YouTube critic by the name of Sadek learned you have to protect yourself at all times if a fighter you’ve criticized is present. In America, the worst reporters and influencers have to worry about is a Diaz brothers slap or a ‘Rampage’ Jackson hump. In this clip, Polish fighter Amadeusz ‘Ferrari’ Roslik goes full send, blitzing into an interview between Sadek and reporter Monika Laskowska to knock Sadek out cold.
Johnny Walker wasn't even allowed a post-fight shower before getting kicked out of UFC 279 arena: "They said I needed tickets"
Ryan Harkness - September 15, 2022
Lost in the shuffle of a wild night of fights at UFC 279 is the strange story of Johnny Walker getting kicked out of the T-Mobile Arena after his first round submission win over Ion Cutelaba. Walker’s coach John Kavanagh shared footage of Walker standing on the Las Vegas strip in his Venum fight shorts, no shoes, and his gloves still on. Now Walker and Kavanagh are sharing their stories of what exactly happened. Neither seem particularly bothered by the situation, but they do recognize how bizarre it was.
Islam Makhachev details how he plans to finish Charles Oliveira in Round 3 at UFC 280
Harry Kettle - September 15, 2022
Islam Makhachev has explained how he plans to finish Charles Oliveira in their UFC lightweight title fight at UFC 280. For the longest time now fans have been waiting to see Islam Makhachev get a crack at the UFC lightweight championship and next month in Abu Dhabi, he’ll finally get the opportunity to wear gold for the first time.
Eddie Hearn reacts to Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva fight booking: “I just think that Jake’s been a bit unlucky”
Harry Kettle - September 15, 2022
Eddie Hearn has given his thoughts on Jake Paul’s next boxing match coming against UFC legend Anderson Silva. While he may be 5-0 in the world of professional boxing, many feel as if Jake Paul hasn’t quite proven himself as a talented practitioner of the sport just yet – at least, not on the appropriate level.
Calvin Kattar vs. Arnold Allen to headline October UFC Fight Night card
Cole Shelton - September 14, 2022
A featherweight banger between Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen has been booked for October. According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who was told by Dana White, Kattar and Allen will meet in the main event of a Fight Night card on October 29. The event is set to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Darren Till expects Khamzat Chimaev to move up to middleweight but confident he "can make welterweight comfortably"
Cole Shelton - September 14, 2022
Darren Till still believes his training partner Khamzat Chimaev can make welterweight. At UFC 279, Chimaev missed weight by 7.5lbs for his welterweight fight against Nate Diaz. That forced the UFC to change the entire card around and Chimaev ended up fighting and beating Kevin Holland. However, after the event, Dana White said the Swede will now likely go up to middleweight, and for Till he believes that is the right move but believes Chimaev can still make welterweight.