MMA News
UFC 276 | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier title fight
Cole Shelton - June 29, 2022
In the main event of UFC 276, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Israel Adesanya looks to defend his belt as he faces Jared Cannonier. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -480 favorite while the challenger is a +330 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Adesanya defends his belt with ease and will likely score a stoppage win at UFC 276.
Kevin Holland accepts callout from Stephen Thompson after Nate Diaz “did the Stockton sprint”
Susan Cox - June 29, 2022
Kevin Holland has accepted the callout from Stephen Thompson after Nate Diaz ‘did the Stockton sprint’. Diaz (21-13 MMA), for all his crying, complaining and pleading for the UFC to make him a fight, doesn’t seem to want to get in the cage with Kevin Holland (23-7 MMA).
Former UFC champion Bas Rutten offers to train Tommy Fury for Jake Paul: “I think we can do some damage”
Harry Kettle - June 29, 2022
Former UFC champion Bas Rutten has offered to help train Tommy Fury heading into his fight against Jake Paul. While he may have been denied entry into the United States ahead of their scheduled press conference, it does seem as if Tommy Fury is still hellbent on trying to end the rise of Jake Paul. The pair have been going back and forth at one another for months now and on August 6, they’re scheduled to finally put an end to their rivalry one way or the other at Madison Square Garden.
Demetrious Johnson weighs in on Henry Cejudo’s callouts of current UFC champions Aljamain Sterling and Alex Volkanovski
Harry Kettle - June 29, 2022
Demetrious Johnson has given his thoughts on Henry Cejudo’s chances against Aljamain Sterling and Alex Volkanovski. After re-entering the USADA testing pool a few months ago, it probably isn’t going to take long for Henry Cejudo to get back into a UFC title fight. After all, when he first retired in 2020, he was a two-weight world champion who had successfully defended the strap at both bantamweight and flyweight.
Carla Esparza not surprised by Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s retirement, says she “would’ve loved” a rematch
Harry Kettle - June 29, 2022
UFC strawweight champion Carla Esparza has admitted she would’ve liked the chance to have a rematch against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. While the way in which Carla Esparza became a two-time UFC champion was somewhat strange, there was nothing odd about how she submitted Rose Namajunas in 2014 to win the gold the first time around. Alas, her joy didn’t last long as just three months later, she was beaten by Joanna Jedrzejczyk as the Polish sensation went on to become one of the all-time greats in the division.
Jorge Masvidal tells McGregor, 'my mom loves you man' after Irishman responds to cocaine comments
Andrew Whitelaw - June 28, 2022
Jorge Masvidal and Conor McGregor have been going back and forth on twitter, with ‘Gamebred’ suggesting that his mother supports a money fight with the Irishman. The pair are two of the biggest stars in the UFC, so fans could be witnessing the build-up to one if the most lucrative fights in the history of the sport. Masvidal certainly sees the potential in the match-up but believes that ‘Notorious’ is not up for it.
Gina Carano tells Joe Rogan how close she got to fighting Ronda Rousey for $1 million
Andrew Whitelaw - June 28, 2022
Gina Carano has been linked to fighting Ronda Rousey for years. Both women are Mixed Martial Arts icons and pioneers of the sport. Talk of a potential match-up has been stirred once again after ‘Rowdy’ said that the fighter-turned-actress was ‘the one person’ she would consider returning to MMA for. Gina Carano responds to Ronda Rousey about potential fight: ‘It could happen’ (@DamonMartin) https://t.co/RvveMuj86q pic.twitter.com/VVIVjDPaOs
Conor McGregor claps back at Jorge Masvidal following accusations of cocaine use and ducking fights: “Me and your mom get along”
Cole Shelton - June 28, 2022
Conor McGregor has fired back at Jorge Masvidal for his recent comments. Masvidal has been vocal in taking shots at McGregor as he hopes that will lead to them fighting. The Irishman is getting close to returning and may return at welterweight given the size he has added on during the time off, which is why Masvidal is interested in the bout, but he claims McGregor doesn’t want it.
Chael Sonnen believes Max Holloway's comments about Conor McGregor may be to set up possible rematch: "I don't think he is a fool"
Josh Evanoff - June 28, 2022
Chael Sonnen believes Max Holloway might have underlying motives for discussing Conor McGregor. ‘Blessed’ is set to face Alexander Volkanovski this Saturday at UFC 276. Ahead of his return, Holloway had an interview where he discussed Conor McGregor. The Hawaiian stated that the Irishman might be retired, saying:
Luke Rockhold reveals abortion and relationship issues led to UFC return: "It just f*cked me up"
Josh Evanoff - June 28, 2022
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has opened up on his UFC return. The 37-year-old has been out of action since his fight with Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239 in July 2019. That bout was a second-round knockout defeat for Rockhold, his third defeat in his last four contests.
Jalin Turner expects to turn Brad Riddell into a wrestler at UFC 276 but plans to "test" his durability: "I'm coming to finish the fight"
Cole Shelton - June 28, 2022
Jalin Turner wanted Brad Riddell next and was excited when he found out that was the fight. After Turner scored a second-round TKO of Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 272 in March, he wanted a ranked opponent next and thought Riddell made sense. Sure enough, the UFC booked the fight as the two will meet on Saturday at UFC 276.
Brendan Schaub opines Jared Cannonier is the perfect fight for Israel Adesanya: "He can light him up like a Christmas tree"
Josh Evanoff - June 28, 2022
Brendan Schaub believes that Jared Cannonier is outmatched against Israel Adesanya at UFC 276. ‘The Last Stylebender’ is set to make another defense of his middleweight strap this weekend in Las Vegas. The 32-year-old is back for the first time since his decision victory over Robert Whittaker in February at UFC 271.
Israel Adesanya claims Alex Pereira is the most overhyped fighter in the UFC: "I'll make him look easy"
Cole Shelton - June 28, 2022
Israel Adesanya believes Alex Pereira is overhyped and he hopes he can expose that. When Pereira signed with the UFC it was highly anticipated due to the fact he is the former GLORY kickboxing champ and has two wins over Adesanya including one by KO. In his debut, he scored a highlight-reel KO win over Andreas Michailidis and then beat Bruno Silva by decision in his sophmore appearance. Yet, for Adesanya, he believes those were handpicked opponents and because of that, he thinks Pereira is the most overhyped fighter in the UFC.
Indian promotion MFN bans all Afghan fighters - accused athlete allegedly trying to flee with false documents
Andrew Whitelaw - June 28, 2022
Indian promotion Matrix Fight Night has issued a lifetime ban on Afghan fighters in what’s become arguably the wildest MMA news story of the week. MFN issued a statement saying that fighters from Afghanistan will no longer feature on their cards following unsavoury scenes at Matrix Fight Night 9 on June 24th. The final fight of the night was between New Delhi-based Puerto Rican Seth Rosario and Afghanistan’s Zahoor Shah.
Israel Adesanya shares his pick for the “biggest pretender” in the UFC
Susan Cox - June 28, 2022
Israel Adesanya has shared his pick for the ‘biggest pretender’ in the UFC. UFC champion Israel Adesanya (22-1 MMA) has recently named middleweight rival Martin Vettori (18-5 MMA) as the biggest pretender in the UFC.
Julianna Pena believes Taila Santos should’ve got the nod over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 275: “She beat her with one eye, and she still lost. It was horrible”
Susan Cox - June 28, 2022
Julianna Pena believes Taila Santos should have got the nod over Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 275. It was Santos (19-2 MMA) vs Shevchenko (23-3 MMA) on Saturday June 11th, 2022 in the women’s flyweight co-main event. ‘Bullet’ was awarded the win over Santos via split decision, giving her a record 9 victories in a row and her seventh title defense.
Chito Vera believes “total destruction” of Dominick Cruz could lead to title shot: “I really feel whoever gets the best win is going to jump all of them”
Susan Cox - June 28, 2022
Chito Vera believes ‘total destruction’ of Dominick Cruz could lead to a title shot. It will be Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera (19-7 MMA) vs Dominick Cruz (24-3 MMA) on Saturday, August 13th at the UFC Fight Night bantamweight main event in San Diego, California.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 84 with Jim Miller, Jalin Turner, and Gabe Green
Cole Shelton - June 28, 2022
The 84th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live ahead of UFC 276.