MMA News

Adam Martin - March 2, 2021

Former rivals Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold hugged it out at the RVCA gym in Costa Mesa, California, run by boxing coach Jason Parillo. Bisping and Rockhold fought twice in the UFC and for many years their rivalry was one of the UFC’s most heated. In November 2014, Rockhold submitted Bisping with a guillotine choke at a UFC Fight Night card in Australia. Two fights later, Rockhold defeated Chris Weidman via TKO to become the new UFC middleweight champion. At UFC 199 in June 2016, Rockhold was set to take on Weidman in a rematch. However, Weidman pulled out of the fight and Bisping got the rematch with Rockhold. Despite taking the fight on short notice, Bisping pulled off one of the most incredible upsets in UFC history when he knocked Rockhold out as a massive underdog to take home the middleweight title.

Cole Shelton - March 2, 2021

Israel Adesanya still wants to fight Jon Jones. When Adesanya first became UFC champion, he and Jones started to call each other out. Many fans wanted to see it take place and “The Last Stylebender” initially said the bout would happen in Las Vegas in the summer of 2021 at the new Raiders stadium. However, due to the pandemic, the timeframe has changed but Adesanya still wants the fight to happen.

Cole Shelton - March 2, 2021

Jan Blachowicz knew Israel Adesanya would be his next opponent. After Blachowicz TKO’d Dominick Reyes at UFC 253 to become the new light heavyweight champion, and Adesanya beat Paulo Costa on the same card, the promotion was quick to offer the fight. Not even a full day went past and Dana White and company were suggesting that the fight could headline UFC 256. But, with a baby on the way, Blachowicz asked for the contest to take place in March.

Adam Martin - March 2, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Uriah Hall is confident he would “f*ck up” Israel Adesanya if the two ever step into the Octagon together. Hall is currently the No. 9 ranked middleweight in the UFC and is one of the many contenders vying for a title fight against the champion Adesanya. So far in his MMA career, Adesanya is a perfect 20-0 and 9-0 in the UFC alone. He has been destroying pretty much everyone in his path, with knockout wins over the likes of Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa. This weekend, Adesanya moves up to 205lbs in an attempt to become a double UFC champion against Israel Adesanya. Win or lose, however, “The Last Stylebender” said he still plans on moving back down to middleweight after the fight.

Adam Martin - March 2, 2021

Chael Sonnen blasted the “fake tough guys” atop the UFC welterweight division, suggesting that “none of the top-five guys want to fight.” Sonnen was a guest on the “Victory Loves Company” podcast with Jim West and James Lynch, and was asked his thoughts on the UFC welterweight division. Kamaru Usman currently is the champion and seems likely to rematch Jorge Masvidal in his next fight, but nothing has been put to paper yet. Meanwhile, Colby Covington continues to sit out in hopes for a big fight, while Leon Edwards hasn’t fought in almost two years. It’s been frustrating for fans to watch, as the UFC 170lbs division is one of the marquee weight classes in the promotion. Yet for whatever reason, there doesn’t seem to be much urgency for the top fighters in the weight class to step into the cage, and Sonnen finds that very frustrating.

Tom Taylor - March 2, 2021

Daniel Cormier has responded to the latest diss from his long-time rival, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jones and Cormier, widely regarded as two of the best fighters of all time, have met twice previously. They first met in January, 2015, with Jones winning by decision. In their second meeting, which occurred in 2017, Jones knocked Cormier out, but the result was overturned when he failed a drug test.

Adam Martin - March 2, 2021

Former UFC title contender Rory MacDonald is set to soon make his PFL welterweight debut against David Michaud when they square off in April. PFL is set to return this spring for its third season after missing all of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The promotion has brought in a number of new fighters to improve its roster, with six divisions of 10 fighters each, including tournament fighters and alternates. One of those fighters is MacDonald, the former Bellator welterweight champion. “The Red King” signed with PFL in late 2019 and was expected to fight in 2020, but his promotional debut was delayed until now as we now have a date for his next fight.

Tom Taylor - March 2, 2021

Dustin Poirier is haunted by a crucial error he made in his 2019 lightweight title fight with unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov. Poirier challenged Nurmagomedov for the lightweight belt in the main event of UFC 242, and ultimately came up short via submission. However, at one point in the early phases of the match, he threatened the champion with a tight guillotine choke.

Cole Shelton - March 2, 2021

In the main event of UFC 259, Jan Blachowicz is set to defend his light heavyweight title against middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Heading into the fight, Blachowicz is a +190 underdog while “The Last Stylebender” is a -240 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Adesanya’s striking is too good and will beat Blachowicz to become a champ-champ.

Cole Shelton - March 2, 2021

The 30th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 259. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_50564985", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"730545"} });

Tom Taylor - March 2, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is hoping to return to action in the summer—ideally for a “sexy” fight with Darren Till or Marvin Vettori. Rockhold has not fought since July, 2019, when he was knocked out by Jan Blachowicz in his first fight in the light heavyweight division.

Tom Taylor - March 2, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov has opened up on how his life will change now that he’s retired from mixed martial arts competition. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement after he defended the UFC lightweight title with a second-round submission of Justin Gaethje in October. UFC President Dana White has expressed optimism that the champ will end up fighting again, but from the sounds of it, he’s already easing into post-fighting life.

Harry Kettle - March 2, 2021

MMA veterans Matt Brown and Dhiego Lima are set to face each other in the Octagon on June 19, MMA Fighting reports. Both of these men have already competed in 2021 with both coming up short. Brown lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Condit at UFC on ABC 1, whereas Lima fell to a decision defeat of his own at the hands of Belal Muhammad back at UFC 258.

Harry Kettle - March 2, 2021

UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya has issued a reaction to Paulo Costa’s claim he was hungover for the UFC 253 showdown. Adesanya put on a real show when he defended his UFC Middleweight Championship against Costa, dominating and finishing the Brazilian star to successfully retain his title. Now, this Saturday at UFC 259, he’ll attempt to become a two-weight world champion when he challenges Jan Blachowicz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.

Christopher Taylor - March 1, 2021

Dana White has weighed in after budding UFC star Khamzat Chimaev announced his sudden retirement from mixed martial arts. Chimaev (9-0 MMA) has been one of many unfortunate victims of the global pandemic and due to lingering symptoms he has been unable to compete since last fall.

Christopher Taylor - March 1, 2021

Daniel Cormier did not hold back while addressing Paulo Costa’s recent claim that he fought Israel Adesanya with a hangover at UFC 253. On Sunday, ‘The Eraser’ shocked fight fans when he suggested that the night before UFC 253, he downed an entire bottle of wine.

Christopher Taylor - March 1, 2021

Jon Jones has fired back at his longtime rival Daniel Cormier, this after ‘DC’ suggested that he will not be able to “knockout anybody” at heavyweight. The UFC’s longtime light heavyweight kingpin, Jones (26-1 MMA), vacated the promotions 205lbs title in August of 2020, following failed negotiations for a proposed heavyweight fight with Francis Ngannou.

Cole Shelton - March 1, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev has apparently retired from MMA. Chimaev, who became a superstar in the UFC in 2020, was set to challenge Leon Edwards in December. However, the fight was postponed due to Edwards testing positive for COVID-19. The fight was rebooked for January but the Swede got COVID-19 and it was pushed back to March. However, due to the lingering effects of the virus, the fight was canceled again and now, it appears it has resulted in Chimaev announcing his retirement from MMA.