MMA News
Dominick Cruz believes he should be talked about as a 'title contender' after UFC 269
Cole Shelton - December 10, 2021
Dominick Cruz believes he deserves to be in the title picture at bantamweight. Cruz is set for his second fight of 2021 as he battles Pedro Munhoz on the prelims in an intriguing matchup. The former champ is coming off a split decision win over Casey Kenney and should he beat Munhoz, Cruz believes he deserves to be in the title conversation.
Mehdi Dakaev KO's opponent with unbelievable diving left hook (Video)
Christopher Taylor - December 10, 2021
Mehdi Dakaev (13-2 MMA) scored an unbelievable knockout victory over Makkasharip Zaynukov (11-3 MMA) at today’s Eagle FC 43 event. EFC 43 took place in Moscow, Russia earlier today and the lightweight bout between Dakaev vs. Zaynukov served as the event headliner.
Chael Sonnen believes Conor McGregor’s title aspirations are doomed if Dustin Poirier wins at UFC 269
Susan Cox - December 10, 2021
Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen believes Conor McGregor’s title aspirations will be doomed if Dustin Poirier wins at UFC 269. Poirier (28-6 MMA) is set to challenge reigning UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (31-8 MMA) in the headliner of tomorrow night’s pay-per-view event in Las Vegas. ‘The Diamond’ earned his title shot by scoring back-to-back TKO victories over Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA) in his most recent efforts.
Chris Curtis knew he had to beat Brendan Allen or he 'wouldn't hear the end of it from Sean Strickland'
Cole Shelton - December 10, 2021
Chris Curtis knew he had pressure to beat Brendan Allen due to his teammate and cornerman, Sean Strickland. After Curtis shocked many with a knockout win over Phil Hawes at UFC 268 he said he was going to fight in December. According to Curtis, that fight was against Andre Muniz at UFC 269, but it never came to fruition, but days later he got the fight offer to face Allen.
Coach: 'I wouldn't be mad' if Dustin Poirier retired after UFC 269 win: 'He doesn't have anything more to prove'
Cole Shelton - December 10, 2021
In the lead-up to UFC 269, there has been talk of Dustin Poirier retiring should he win the belt, and his coach, Phil Daru says that could happen. Daru, Poirier’s strength and conditioning coach, says any decision “The Diamond” has made hasn’t been talked about. Instead, everyone in the camp knows Poirier could very well retire after UFC 269 but he hopes he decides to defend the belt or move up to welterweight. However, if he decides to retire, Daru says he won’t be mad at Poirier at all.
Dana White reacts to Dominick Cruz’s comments about muting Daniel Cormier’s UFC commentary
Susan Cox - December 10, 2021
UFC President Dana White has reacted to Dominick Cruz suggesting that he mutes fellow colleague Daniel Cormier’s commentary work. Cruz (23-3 MMA), who is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 269 against Pedro Munhoz (19-6 MMA), took a shot at his broadcast partner Daniel Cormier during Thursday’s media day session.
UFC 269: ‘Oliveira vs. Poirier’ Weigh-in Results
Susan Cox - December 10, 2021
A total of thirty fighters will take to the scale this morning to weigh-in for this Saturday’s highly anticipated UFC 269 event. The pay-per-view fight card is headlined by a lightweight title fight featuring reigning champion Charles Oliveira taking on challenger Dustin Poirier.
Dana White urges fans not to believe the ‘BS’ about fighter pay: “Most UFC fighters make more than boxers”
Susan Cox - December 10, 2021
The issue of fighter pay has been a hot topic the past two years with Dana White and the UFC being subject to much criticism. Fans have bared witness to numerous fighters pleading with UFC officials for a performance bonus following their respective wins over the years.
Dana White says Sean O’Malley isn’t ready to be fast tracked like Khamzat Chimaev: “He’s not ready. You guys want me to throw him to the wolves”
Harry Kettle - December 10, 2021
UFC president Dana White has admitted that he doesn’t believe Sean O’Malley is ready to be fast-tracked in the same way as Khamzat Chimaev. This Saturday night at UFC 269, Sean O’Malley will attempt to add another highlight to his reel when he squares off against Raulian Paiva. While many are excited to see him get back inside the Octagon, others wonder whether or not it’s time for him to take a step up in competition. After all, he’s now seven fights into his UFC career with his most notable opponent being Marlon “Chito” Vera – the man who finished him inside one round.
Dana White explains why he doesn’t “see much point” in booking a trilogy fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko
Harry Kettle - December 10, 2021
UFC president Dana White has revealed that he doesn’t see much point in booking a trilogy fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. This Saturday night, Amanda Nunes will once again defend her UFC bantamweight title when she goes head to head with Julianna Pena. The majority of fans are backing her to secure the win, but some are already looking ahead to a potential third fight between the champion and Valentina Shevchenko.
Henry Cejudo roasts Dominick Cruz over his criticism of Daniel Cormier: “Even Keith Peterson can't save you from your boring ass commentary”
Harry Kettle - December 10, 2021
Henry Cejudo has come to the defence of Daniel Cormier after Dominick Cruz criticized the latter’s commentary work. While the focus for Dominick Cruz should be on his fight against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269 this weekend, he seems to have been sidetracked after comments he made regarding the commentary of Daniel Cormier. Cruz said that he “mutes” Cormier whenever he’s in the booth, prompting DC to confront Cruz about his remarks.
Chael Sonnen on Conor McGregor's new 190lbs frame: "How did you get this big? Why? The answer to me seems redundantly obvious."
Christopher Taylor - December 9, 2021
Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor’s new 190lbs frame during his latest YouTube video. McGregor (22-6 MMA) recently took to social media where he shared some photos flaunting his new “190lbs of granite” physique (see those here). Those images created quite the buzz amongst the MMA community, drawing mixed reactions from fans and fellow fighters.
Jordan Nash suffers horrific eye injury at BKFC Tampa (Photo)
Cole Shelton - December 9, 2021
Jordan Nash had his BKFC fight stopped due to a gruesome eye injury. Nash, who is 2-0 in bare-knuckle, was fighting Noah Cutter on the BKFC Tampa card on Thursday night. It was his second fight in BKFC as his first bare-knuckle fight took place on the Toe the Line promotion. Following that showing he was quickly elevated to BKFC. However, his fight against Cutter did not go his way as he suffered an eye injury that stopped the fight and is hard to look at it.
Sean O'Malley and Cody Garbrandt get heated at press conference, faceoff afterwards (Video)
Cole Shelton - December 9, 2021
Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt took shots at one another at the UFC 269 press conference. O’Malley is set to open the card against Raulian Paiva while the fight right after is Garbrandt’s flyweight debut against Kai Kara-France. Although they aren’t fighting each other, they have a history with one another and to no surprise, they took shots at one another.
Sean O'Malley believes he is the only person who can defeat Petr Yan: 'I'm just a different animal'
Cole Shelton - December 9, 2021
Sean O’Malley has made it clear he wants to fight Petr Yan even if there isn’t a belt on the line. After Aljamain Sterling wasn’t medically cleared to fight Yan at UFC 267, O’Malley called out the Russian to step up on short notice. The fight ultimately went to Cory Sandhagen but for O’Malley, it’s still a scrap he wants. He knows it would be a fun fight for the fans and the way their styles collide makes it that more intriguing for him.
Dustin Poirier plans to test if Charles Oliveira quits: 'If it’s in there, we’ll find out'
Cole Shelton - December 9, 2021
Dustin Poirier doesn’t know if Charles Oliveira does quit in fights but he plans to test it out. Poirier is set to fight for the undisputed UFC lightweight title for the second time in his career against Oliveira in the main event of UFC 269. It’s an intriguing matchup and even though Oliveira is the champ many still question his heart, but for Poirier, he isn’t banking on that.
UFC 269 | Pro fighters make their picks for Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena title fight
Cole Shelton - December 9, 2021
In the co-main event of UFC 269, Amanda Nunes is dropping back down to bantamweight to defend her strap against Julianna Pena. Entering the fight, Nunes is a massive -900 favorite while the challenger is a +600 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The big surprise is not all the pros are picking Nunes as one is going with the upset in thinking Pena can pull it off.
Randy Costa excited for Tony Kelley matchup at UFC 269: 'I expect us to meet in the middle and throw'
Cole Shelton - December 9, 2021
Randy Costa knows his UFC 269 fight against Tony Kelley is a fan-friendly one. After Costa suffered a TKO loss to Adrian Yanez in July, he wanted to fight one more time this year. Although he wasn’t sure what would be next when he got the fighter offer to face Kelley at UFC 269 it was an immediate yes for Costa.