MMA News
Carla Esparza gives injury update, confirms she'll fight by end of 2022
Josh Evanoff - July 8, 2022
UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza will be in the octagon by the end of the year. ‘Cookie Monster’ faced off against Rose Namajunas at UFC 274 in May. It was a rematch of their showdown in December 2014, where Esparza won via submission. At UFC 274, the latter moved to 2-0 in the series, as she defeated ‘Thug Rose’ by a split decision.
Cody Brundage believes Tresean Gore is "a regional level fighter," confident he will find the finish at UFC Vegas 58
Cole Shelton - July 8, 2022
Cody Brundage is looking to extend his win streak to two when he faces Tresean Gore at UFC Vegas 58. Gore was supposed to face Josh Fremd who is Brundage’s teammate, but Fremd got hurt and was forced out of the bout. Once that happened, Brundage offered to step up and the promotion quickly made the fight.
Islam Makhachev accepts “easy money” fight with Michael Chandler
Susan Cox - July 8, 2022
Islam Makhachev is accepting an ‘easy money’ fight with Michael Chandler. Makhachev (22-1 MMA) has a stellar record of 10 wins in a row, the latest being against Bobby Green (29-13 MMA) in February of this year.
Michael Chandler performs “Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears on The Masked Singer (Video)
Susan Cox - July 8, 2022
Michael Chandler has performed ‘Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears on ‘The Masked Singer’. Chandler is in the top five of the UFC lightweight rankings and is looking forward to another title shot.
Alexander Volkanovksi set for surgery after suffering a broken thumb in trilogy fight with Max Holloway (Photo)
Susan Cox - July 8, 2022
Alexander Volkanovski is set to have surgery after suffering a broken thumb in the trilogy fight with Max Holloway. Volkanovski (25-1 MMA) vs Holloway (23-7 MMA) took place last Saturday, July 2nd at UFC 276. It was to be a victory for ‘The Great’ by unanimous decision. Although Volkanovski retained his featherweight title, he did suffer an injury during the bout.
Islam Makhachev responds to Michael Chandler callout: "Easy money"
Josh Evanoff - July 7, 2022
UFC lightweight Islam Makhachev seems interested in a showdown with Michael Chandler. Earlier this week, ‘Iron’ called out the Russian earlier this week. With the UFC lightweight title being vacant, Chandler called for the fight to be a championship bout. The main reasoning is that former champion Charles Oliveira wants to fight Conor McGregor.
Tony Kelley removed from UFC roster following knockout loss to Adrian Yanez
Josh Evanoff - July 7, 2022
UFC bantamweight Tony Kelley is officially out of the UFC. The 35-year-old is fresh off his knockout loss to Adrian Yanez last month at UFC Austin. Prior to the bout, he missed weight. The defeat ended his two-fight winning streak heading into the bout. Furthermore, the loss was apparently enough for the UFC to cut ties with Kelley.
Rafael dos Anjos excited for possible Charles Oliveira matchup: "We all know he's been knocked out in his fights"
Josh Evanoff - July 7, 2022
UFC lightweight Rafael dos Anjos is intrigued by a fight with Charles Oliveira. The 37-year-old is set for a matchup with Rafael Fiziev in the main event of UFC Vegas 58 this Saturday. The lightweight headliner is an exciting matchup no doubt. The winner of the main event will be thrust into the title conversation at 155-pounds.
Chris Pratt apologizes to Israel Adesanya following comments made after UFC 276 fight: "It makes me a hypocrite to do exactly that to you"
Cole Shelton - July 7, 2022
Actors Chris Pratt has apologized to Israel Adesanya following his comments after UFC 276. In the main event of the International Fight Week card, Adesanya was defending his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier. In the lead-up to the fight, Adesanya vowed to do something spectacular but it was far from that. Instead, Adesanya won a lackluster decision and after the fight, Pratt was on the post-fight show and was critical of the champ’s performance.
Henry Cejudo tells the UFC to “stop pushing” middleweight champion Israel Adesanya: “It was lame, dude. You gotta start giving, main events are special”
Susan Cox - July 7, 2022
Henry Cejudo is telling the UFC to ‘stop pushing’ middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Adesanya (23-1 MMA) is just fresh off a win against Jared Cannonier (15-6 MMA) at UFC 276 last Saturday night. The victory was via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45), resulting in ‘Izzy’ retaining his middleweight title.
Chris Curtis replaces Darren Till against Jack Hermansson at UFC London
Susan Cox - July 7, 2022
Chris Curtis is replacing Darren Till against Jack Hermansson at UFC London. UFC London takes place on Saturday, July 23rd at the O2 Arena in Peninsula Square, London, England.
Joe Rogan reveals he has rejected interview requests from Donald Trump multiple times: “He is an existential threat to democracy itself”
Susan Cox - July 7, 2022
Joe Rogan has revealed that he rejected interview requests from Donald Trump multiple times. The host of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ podcast on Spotify has a huge following with an estimated audience of 11 million people per episode. Rogan is no stranger to having controversial guests on his podcasts as well as covering a variety of topics including conspiracy theories. But apparently there is one person Joe will not be inviting to his podcast and that is no other than former reality star, turned former President, Donald Trump.
XMMA 5 showcases seven former UFC fighters including Jesse Taylor
Cole Shelton - July 7, 2022
XMMA is set for its fifth show and has a plethora of former UFC fighters. XMMA 5 is set to take place at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, and streams free on YouTube on July 23. The promotion has been known to have former UFC fighters as the previous four main events were Andre Fialho vs. James Vick at XMMA 1. XMMA 2 took place in July 2021 with a Ben Saunders vs. Ramsey Nijem main event. Their third event took place in October as XMMA 3 headlined by Cody Gibson vs. John Dodson. XMMA 4 took place on April 2, headlined by John Dodson vs. Francisco Rivera.
Henry Cejudo details UFC 276 confrontation with Sean O’Malley: “I should start calling him stuttering Sean how he tripped over his own damn words”
Cole Shelton - July 7, 2022
Henry Cejudo has opened up on his UFC 276 confrontation with Sean O’Malley after his fight. Cejudo was backstage at UFC 276 and after O’Malley’s fight against Pedro Munhoz was ruled a No Contest, ‘Triple C’ crashed his interview and had some words for O’Malley. The video then went viral and now Cejudo has opened up on the verbal altercation and ripped O’Malley.
Pro fighters make their picks for Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
Cole Shelton - July 7, 2022
In the main event of UFC Vegas 58, top-10 lightweights collide as Rafael dos Anjos takes on Rafael Fiziev. Heading into the fight, dos Anjos is a +186 underdog while Fiziev is a -245 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are leaning towards Fiziev getting the job done as many think his striking will be too much.
Conor McGregor blasts Rafael Fiziev after online argument: "You are yet to do anything significant in this sport"
Cole Shelton - July 6, 2022
Conor McGregor and Rafael Fiziev went back and forth on social media about axe kicking and how to defend kicks. With Fiziev set to headline this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 58, a highlight reel of his defense on kicks was shared online. McGregor then saw and offered his thoughts on how he would go about landing the kicks on Fiziev.
Darren Till out of UFC London fight with Jack Hermansson
Josh Evanoff - July 6, 2022
UFC middleweight contender Darren Till is officially out of UFC London. ‘The Gorilla’ was set to return later this month for the first time since his defeat to Derek Brunson last September. The loss was a derailing one, as Till hoped to secure a title shot with a victory.
Anthony Pettis pockets $750k, Kayla Harrison makes second most as PFL salaries from Atlanta events revealed
Cole Shelton - July 6, 2022
Anthony Pettis and Kayla Harrison led the salaries from the recent PFL event in Atlanta. For the longest time, many fans have wondered how much PFL is paying their key fighters as salaries have not been revealed. However, when the promotion went to Atlanta, the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission revealed the purses to MMAJunkie and Pettis led the way making $750K with Kayla Harrison coming up the rear in second at $500K.