MMA News
UFC 277 Fan Bonus of the Night Winners: Brandon Moreno earns top payout
Harry Kettle - August 2, 2022
Brandon Moreno won the top Fan Bonus of the Night award via Crypto.com thanks to his performance at UFC 277. Last Saturday night at UFC 277, we saw a whole host of strong performances in Texas as the Lone Star State helped put on one of the most entertaining UFC pay-per-views of the year so far.
UFC welterweight Colby Covington makes final table of record-setting poker tournament in Florida
Harry Kettle - August 2, 2022
UFC star Colby Covington performed well during a large poker tournament down in Florida over the weekend. While he certainly isn’t always going to win over mixed martial arts fans, it does appear as if Colby Covington is slowly but surely but surely getting himself over with critics who once didn’t have the time of day for him. The win over Jorge Masvidal would’ve helped that, as would the fact that Masvidal opted to sucker punch ‘Chaos’ down in Miami despite Colby being the one to pick up the W.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 89 with Vicente Luque, Anthony Pettis, Geoff Neal, Sam Alvey, Bryan Battle, Terrance McKinney, and Jason Witt
Cole Shelton - August 2, 2022
The 89th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live ahead of UFC Vegas 59 and PFL 7. We’re first joined by sixth-ranked UFC welterweight Vicente Luque (2:18). Next, PFL lightweight Anthony Pettis (18:25) comes on. 13th-ranked UFC welterweight Geoff Neal (30:56) then stops by. UFC middleweight Sam Alvey (43:50) joins the show. UFC welterweight Bryan Battle (58:20) comes on. We are then joined by UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney (1:14:29). Closing out the program is UFC welterweight Jason Witt (1:24:21).
UFC President Dana White shares his two biggest fighter pet peeves
Zain Bando - August 1, 2022
Dana White did an exclusive interview with Barstool Sports and Robbie Fox, the site’s main MMA blogger, ahead of UFC 277. The pair discussed a variety of topics, including the fights themselves, the retirement of WWE’s Vince McMahon, and White’s biggest pet peeves when it comes to accepting major fights that could influence the rankings and MMA. Dana White has been adamant on fighters waiting for title shots or fighting fellow teammates and friends. And the UFC President continues to make his presence felt to this day and didn’t hold back when asked about it.
Anthony Smith reveals he suffered a broken ankle in UFC 277 loss to Magomed Ankalaev, surgery required
Cole Shelton - August 1, 2022
Anthony Smith broke his ankle in his UFC 277 fight against Magomed Ankalaev. In the lead-up to UFC 277, Smith was vocal that he didn’t understand the hype with Ankalaev and was going to prove that. However, in the first round it appeared Smith hurt his ankle, and to begin the second round, he could barely stand and Ankalaev got the second-round TKO.
Brandon Moreno accepts Deiveson Figueiredo's challenge to fight in Brazil: "I'm ready, let's go"
Josh Evanoff - August 1, 2022
UFC interim flyweight champion Brandon Moreno is willing to fight Deiveson Figueiredo on his home soil. ‘The Assassin Baby’ captured the gold with a stoppage win over Kai Kara-France on Saturday at UFC 277. The bout was a rematch of their previous encounter at UFC 245 in December 2019. That outing saw Moreno win a unanimous decision.
Former Bellator champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane reveals plans to retire after contract expires: "I’ve already accomplished a lot in my career"
Josh Evanoff - August 1, 2022
Former Bellator flyweight champion Ilima-Lei MacFarlane is getting close to hanging the gloves up. ‘The Ilimanator’ has been out of the ring since her decision defeat to Justine Kish in April. The bout was a massive upset and was the second defeat in a row for MacFarlane. She had previously lost her flyweight title to Julianna Velasquez in December 2020.
Chael Sonnen defends Jake Paul, claims boxers are "scared" to fight him
Cole Shelton - August 1, 2022
Chael Sonnen has defended Jake Paul after his fight against Hasim Rahman Jr. was canceled on Saturday. After Tommy Fury was forced out of the fight, Paul replaced him with Rahman Jr., but unfortunately, the pro boxer will also not make the walk to the ring due to weight issues.
Deiveson Figueiredo reveals Brandon Moreno's demeanor calmed him down in UFC 277 face-off: "He was so sweet, it was contagious"
Josh Evanoff - August 1, 2022
UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo has given his side of his confrontation with Brandon Moreno last Saturday. At UFC 277, ‘The Assassin Baby’ faced Kai Kara-France in the co-main event. It was a rematch of their previous encounter at UFC 245 in December 2019. That outing saw Moreno win by unanimous decision after a wild 15 minutes.
Coach James Krause announces MMA retirement: "You're never going to see me fight again"
Josh Evanoff - August 1, 2022
UFC welterweight James Krause is officially done as an active competitor. The 36-year-old has been out of the cage since a win over Claudio Silva in October 2020. The win was his seventh, in his last eight contests. The sole defeat was a controversial decision loss to Trevin Giles at UFC 247, where Krause stepped up on one-day notice.
What's next for the stars of UFC 277?
Cole Shelton - August 1, 2022
The UFC returned to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas for UFC 277 which saw two titles on the line – although one was an interim belt. In the main event, Amanda Nunes was looking to reclaim her bantamweight title against Julianna Pena as the two had an immediate rematch after Pena’s upset win back in December. In the co-main event, Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France had their rematch as this time they were fighting for the interim flyweight belt.
Conor McGregor says he can relate to Amanda Nunes’ redemption win at UFC 277
Harry Kettle - August 1, 2022
Conor McGregor has drawn comparisons between his rematch with Nate Diaz’s and Amanda Nunes’ with Julianna Pena. The journey of Conor McGregor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been a fascinating one, and a big part of the story has been his two-fight series with Nate Diaz. After losing to the Stockton king at UFC 196 in a shock upset, he came back a few months later at UFC 202 and exacted his revenge with a strong decision win in a Fight of the Year contender.
Deiveson Figueiredo sounds off after Joe Rogan dubs UFC 277 interim title bout “the real world title” fight: “I’m basically going to tell him what’s up, and what’s really going to happen”
Susan Cox - August 1, 2022
Deiveson Figueiredo has sounded off after Joe Rogan dubbed the UFC 277 interim flyweight title bout ‘the real world title’ fight. It was during the preliminary broadcast of UFC 277 that Joe Rogan called the co-main event between Brandon Moreno (20-6 MMA) and Kai Kara-France (24-10 MMA) for the interim flyweight championship ‘the real title fight’.
Julianna Peña provides update following UFC 277 loss to Amanda Nunes: “No chunks missing, no surgery necessary”
Susan Cox - August 1, 2022
Julianna Peña has provided an update following her loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 277. It was Peña (12-5 MMA) vs Nunes (22-5 MMA) II this past Saturday, July 30th, 2022 in the women’s bantamweight main event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Kevin Holland explains what Kamaru Usman must do in order to obtain true GOAT status
Susan Cox - August 1, 2022
Kevin Holland has explained what Kamaru Usman must do in order to obtain true GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) status. Holland, 29, (23-7 MMA) believes young athletes should be paired up with veteran fighters, with the potential of creating new stars for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare‘ to defend his title against.
Jonathan Pearce says he "really wanted to hurt" Makwan Amirkhani at UFC London after he "disrespected” him before the fight: "All week this guy was bullying me and pushing me around"
Cole Shelton - August 1, 2022
Jonathan Pearce couldn’t wait to fight and beat up Makwan Amirkhani at UFC London. Throughout fight week, Pearce says he saw Amirkhani multiple times and when he did, the Fin would bully Pearce and not let him pass or size him up. After Amirkhani did it over and over again, Pearce says he couldn’t wait to share the Octagon with him and really hurt him.
Dana White reacts to allowing Deiveson Figueiredo to confront Brandon Moreno at UFC 277: "Well, that was f*cking rude"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 31, 2022
UFC President Dana White second-guessed allowing Deiveson Figueiredo to enter the Octagon after Brandon Moreno’s UFC 277 victory. Moreno shared the Octagon with Kai Kara-France for the interim UFC Flyweight Championship. Moreno ended up winning the match after he landed a body kick and followed up with punches in the third round.
Amanda Nunes fires back at Valentina Shevchenko's comments following UFC 277: "She lost her last fight"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 31, 2022
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes caught wind of Valentina Shevchenko’s comments following UFC 277. Nunes took back the 135-pound gold in her rematch with Julianna Pena inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX on July 30. Pena shocked the world back in late 2021 by submitting Nunes to capture the gold.