MMA News
Geoff Neal hopes for main event fight against Gilbert Burns in a title eliminator bout: "I match up really well against him"
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
Geoff Neal is hoping to headline a Fight Night card his next time out with Gilbert Burns standing across the Octagon from him. Neal is coming off a third-round TKO over Vicente Luque back at UFC Vegas 59 and after the win, he called out Gilbert Burns. The Fortis MMA fighter believes the scrap makes sense and it’s also a contest he thinks will favor him as well.
Khamzat Chimaev claims Kamaru Usman is "scared" to fight him, believes he will "retire" instead of facing him
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t think Kamaru Usman will ever fight him. In the main event of UFC 278, Usman will be defending his welterweight title against Leon Edwards. Meanwhile, next month’s UFC 279 pay-per-view event is headlined by Khamzat Chimaev taking on Nate Diaz.
Nate Quarry says Luke Rockhold's comments about the UFC using 'mafioso tactics' are spot on: "We found emails from managers to the UFC brass saying their fighters will actually take LESS money than offered"
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
Nate Quarry says Luke Rockhold’s comments about the UFC using ‘mafioso tactics’ are spot on. The 50 year old former UFC fighter, Quarry, has responded to recent comments Luke Rockhold made on fighter pay in the organization.
Carla Esparza set to defend her strawweight title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
Carla Esparza in set to defend her strawweight title against Weili Zhang at UFC 281. Esparaza took to ‘Twitter‘ this morning announcing the bout:
UFC President Dana White responds to Luke Rockhold's title talk: “I mean, this is normal Rockhold babble”
Susan Cox - August 18, 2022
UFC President, Dana White, is responding to Luke Rockhold’s title talk. It will be this coming Saturday, August 20th, that Luke Rockhold (16-5 MMA) will meet Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA) at UFC 278 in the co-main middleweight event.
UFC 278 | Pro fighters make their picks for Paulo Costa vs. Luke Rockhold
Cole Shelton - August 18, 2022
In the co-main event of UFC 278, an intriguing middleweight bout goes down as Paulo Costa takes on the returning Luke Rockhold. Heading into the fight, Costa is a sizeable -340 favorite while the former UFC middleweight champ is a +250 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe Costa will eventually land something big and KO Rockhold.
Demetrious Johnson applauds Khabib Nurmagomedov for getting out “unscathed” at 29-0: “If Khabib had of continued to keep on fighting, he would have lost”
Harry Kettle - August 18, 2022
Demetrious Johnson has applauded Khabib Nurmagomedov for managing to retire undefeated from mixed martial arts. Just under two years ago at UFC 254, Khabib Nurmagomedov walked away from MMA following his submission win over Justin Gaethje. ‘The Eagle’ was able to leave the sport with an unbeaten 29-0 record, serving as one of the only elite champions to ever do so.
TJ Dillashaw says Sean O’Malley is “good for the sport” but expects Petr Yan will be able to “run through him” at UFC 280
Harry Kettle - August 18, 2022
TJ Dillashaw has explained why he thinks Petr Yan will be able to defeat Sean O’Malley when they clash at UFC 280. Later this year in Abu Dhabi, Petr Yan and Sean O’Malley will meet in a huge grudge match at bantamweight. The two have been going back and forth at one another for quite some time and despite how far apart they are in the rankings, the UFC has decided to strike while the iron is hot by booking them against one another.
Max Holloway reveals the Navy Blue Angels have ended his streak: “Sadly my ‘never been KO’d’ streak came to an end”
Harry Kettle - August 18, 2022
UFC star Max Holloway has finally experienced his first knockout defeat – but not in the way you might have imagined. While things may not have gone his way at UFC 276 as he fell to a third loss against Alex Volkanovski, it’s safe to say that Max Holloway still serves as one of the most upbeat and entertaining guys in mixed martial arts. Many aren’t sure what his next move in the sport is going to be, but one thing we know to be true is that ‘Blessed’ isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Jay Perrin is expecting a "war" against Aoriqileng, but plans to "make a statement” and make sure everyone knows he’s here to stay
Cole Shelton - August 17, 2022
Jay Perrin is expecting to look like a completely new fighter at UFC 278. Perrin is coming off a loss to Mario Bautista in his Octagon debut, a fight which he took on short notice. Although he lost the fight, Perrin says he learned a lot from it and believes he proved he belongs with his performance.
Francis Ngannou echoes Luke Rockhold's fighter pay complaints: "Fighters are ripped off"
Cole Shelton - August 17, 2022
Francis Ngannou agrees with Luke Rockhold that fighters need to be paid more. Ngannou has been vocal about his displeasure with his UFC contract and it has been reported that he has just one fight left on his current deal. He has been disappointed with the promotion’s pay, as well as their refusal to let him take boxing fights.
Paulo Costa reveals he's fighting out his contract at UFC 278, unsure what the future holds: “We’ll see”
Cole Shelton - August 17, 2022
Paulo Costa will be fighting out his UFC contract on Saturday night at UFC 278. Costa is set to serve as the co-main event of the pay-per-view card from Salt Lake City, Utah against Luke Rockhold. The Brazilian enters the fight on a two-fight losing skid and he revealed at media day that he is fighting out his contract on Saturday night.
Luke Rockhold confronts Full Send reporter over Marlon Vera interview: 'Do your f*cking homework"
Josh Evanoff - August 17, 2022
UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold has come to the defense of his friend Marlon Vera. Last Saturday night at UFC San Diego, ‘Chito’ scored the biggest win of his career. In the fourth round of the main event, Vera scored a massive knockout over Dominick Cruz. The bout was only the second time the former UFC champion was stopped by strikes.
Leon Edwards doesn't believe Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best ahead of UFC 278: "I don’t see it"
Cole Shelton - August 17, 2022
Leon Edwards doesn’t think Kamaru Usman is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC. Edwards is set to rematch Usman in the main event of UFC 278 as he looks to end the championship reign of ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’. Although Usman has been dominant in the UFC, Edwards doesn’t think the champ is the pound-for-pound best.
Stephen Thompson calls for a rematch with Jorge Masvidal: "The NMF versus the BMF"
Josh Evanoff - August 17, 2022
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson wants to face Jorge Masvidal next. ‘Wonderboy’ has been out of action since his decision loss to Belal Muhammad in December 2021. The defeat was the second in a row for the former UFC title challenger. Thompson previously lost to Gilbert Burns by decision at UFC 264 last July.
Rory MacDonald admits retirement was a long time coming: "It's not who I am anymore"
Josh Evanoff - August 17, 2022
PFL welterweight Rory MacDonald has admitted that his retirement has been brewing for a while. ‘Red King’ is fresh off his knockout loss to Dilano Taylor at PFL 8 last weekend. The defeat was MacDonald’s fourth in his last five contests. Following the defeat, the 33-year-old decided to hang up the gloves and call it a career.
John Dodson explains why he signed with BKFC, confident he will KO Ryan Benoit at BKFC 28: "He will want to quit in the first 10 seconds"
Cole Shelton - August 17, 2022
John Dodson never expected to sign with BKFC but when they gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Dodson went to a BKFC open tryout near his hometown solely for his brother as his brother has wanted to do bare-knuckle for quite some time. Yet, at the tryout, BKFC was talking to him about signing and when he got an offer, it was something he couldn’t turn down.
Luke Rockhold slams the UFC for allowing 'degenerate' Nelk Boys to be associated with the company
Susan Cox - August 17, 2022
Luke Rockhold is slamming the UFC for it’s association with the popular online group the Nelk Boys. Rockhold (16-5 MMA) is preparing for his upcoming middleweight fight with Paulo Costa (13-2 MMA) this coming Saturday, August 20th at UFC 278 which is being held at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.