MMA News

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

An ex-Monster Energy photographer echoed the comments made by UFC’s Dominick Cruz with allegations of being “blackballed” by Hans Molenkamp. Cruz made news headlines when he recently called out Molenkamp for a charity MMA fight following his split decision win over Casey Kenney at UFC 259. That has led to plenty of chatter about the Monster executive, with other UFC fighters such as Angela Hill coming to the defense of Cruz. Now, we have another person speaking up about Molenkamp.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC analyst Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on a redesign of the current UFC gloves, saying that “there’s always gonna be issues.” Cormier was in the booth during the recent UFC Vegas 21 card, which saw the main event end in controversy when Leon Edwards poked Belal Muhammad in the eye, leaving him unable to compete. The fight was called off by referee Herb Dean on the advice of the cage-side doctor, who declared the bout a “No Contest” due to an accidental eye poke.

Harry Kettle - March 17, 2021

Paulo Costa‘s coach & brother has provided some more details on the current health of the UFC middleweight contender. It was recently reported that Costa has been forced out of his highly anticipated April 17 fight against Robert Whittaker, a fight many saw as a potential No. 1 contender bout at 185lbs. At the time, it was said Costa had been suffering from a severe case of the flu.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had a meeting with Lorenzo Fertitta, later telling Dana White to “send me location.” Nurmagomedov is currently in a state of quasi-retirement. Following his submission over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, “The Eagle” said that he was going to hang up his gloves after promising his family that he wouldn’t fight anymore. However, UFC president Dana White has been trying for the last six months to get Nurmagomedov to fight again, but to no avail. However, Nurmagomedov hasn’t given up his lightweight belt yet and he continues to make hints that he could fight again, such as meeting up with White in Las Vegas, though most signs are still pointing to him soon hanging up his gloves for good.

Drake Riggs - March 16, 2021

As Jake Paul’s boxing match against Ben Askren draws near, he continues to get help from MMA fighters in preparation – add Mike Perry to the list. After catching wind of the million-dollar bet UFC President Dana White laid down in favor of Askren, Perry shared his thoughts on Tuesday.

Andrew Whitelaw - March 16, 2021

Rizin favourite, Jake Heun has reportedly got himself into some serious trouble Down Under. According to a report from Jack Wannan in Knockdown News, the 33 year old Heun is facing a slew of drug charges in Melbourne, Australia.

Andrew Whitelaw - March 16, 2021

Rafael Fiziev is arguably one of the best strikers in the UFC and the in-form lightweight just raised his hand for a fight with The Korean Zombie. Currently riding an impressive three-fight winning streak, Fiziev is on the cusp of breaking into the top 15 at 155lb. The former policeman was last in action at UFC 256, where he knocked out Renato Moicano with a savage left hook back in December.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Colby Covington wasn’t impressed with Leon Edwards. In the main event of UFC Vegas 21, Edwards made his long-awaited return to the Octagon against Belal Muhammad who took the fight on short notice. Early on, Edwards was having success and landed a head kick that appeared to rock Muhammad. The Englishman clearly won the first round, but in the second round, Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye and the fight was over.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Antonio Carlos Junior didn’t think he was fighting for his job at UFC 257. Carlos Junior was making his return to the Octagon after over a year away against Brad Tavares. In the fight, the Brazilian was looking to get the fight to the ground but Tavares managed to keep the contest on the feet and outstrike him to win a decision. After the fight, it was revealed Carlos Junior was released which caught him by surprise.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Robert Whittaker will still headline the April 17 card after all. Late Monday night, it was revealed Paulo Costa was out of his fight against Whittaker due to ongoing complications from COVID-19. The hope for the Brazilian was to push the fight back a couple of weeks. However, that will not be the case. According to Contreas Legaspi and later confirmed by ESPN, Gastelum has agreed to step up on short notice to fight Whittaker.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

The UFC rankings have been updated following UFC Vegas 21, with featherweight Dan Ige and light heavyweight Ryan Spann moving up the ladder. Ige knocked out Gavin Tucker in 22 seconds, while Spann finished Misha Cirkunov in the first round for his biggest UFC victory to date. Both Ige and Spann not only earned $50,000 bonuses for their incredible knockouts, but they have also moved up the UFC rankings in the latest update. Check out the latest changes to the UFC rankings (via Jed I. Goodman).

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo said that he wants to fight Max Holloway, saying he loves the “challenge.” Cejudo retired from the UFC following a TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. However, despite being retired he has maintained an active social media profile and has called out a number of fighters over the past year or so, most notably Alexander Volkanovski. Considering Cejudo is just 34 years old, most fans and media believe he will fight again. If he does, then you can now add another potential opponent to the mix.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC executive Marc Ratner said that referee Herb Dean felt that middleweight Darren Stewart baited Eryk Anders into throwing an illegal knee. Anders was hurting Stewart up against the fence with punches and looked to be on his way to a win, but when Stewart went to the mat and took a knee, Anders nailed him in the head with an illegal knee and the fight was stopped. Dean declared the foul unintentional and thus the fight was ruled a No Contest. The fact Dean called it a No Contest instead of a DQ, which Petr Yan was hit with by referee Mark Smith when he nailed Aljamain Sterling in the head, left some fans who were watching take to social media to share their confusion on why one of these fights was a No Contest and why the other was a disqualification.

Harry Kettle - March 16, 2021

Marlon Vera has responded after Sean O’Malley claimed that he will be putting his “unbeaten” record on the line when he fights at UFC 260. O’Malley is set to fight Thomas Almeida at this month’s PPV event, but he’ll be doing so with a 12-1 professional MMA record after he was beaten by “Chito” at UFC 252 last summer.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes that he “outstruck” Petr Yan in their title fight at UFC 259, one that ended via DQ. Sterling won the 135lbs title after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that rendered Sterling unable to continue fighting. Referee Mark Smith called the fight off on the advice of the cage-side doctor, and Sterling was named the new UFC bantamweight champion. For many fans, it’s been hard to accept Sterling as a champion because many people felt he was losing the fight to Yan. At the time of the stoppage, Yan was up 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 on the three judges’ scorecards, and he was winning the fourth round.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Team Robert Whittaker has requested a title rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after the Paulo Costa fight fell apart. Whittaker was set to fight Costa in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on April 17, with the winner of that fight likely set to fight Adesanya for the belt. However, Costa was forced to pull out of the fight due to illness, which leaves Whittaker without an opponent. But if the Aussie’s team has their way, then they’ll be next for Adesanya either way.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

The 32nd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com is here ahead of UFC Vegas 22. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_50564923", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"741163"} });