MMA News

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling trolled his rival Petr Yan with his latest injury news, joking that “doc says back in 2023.” Sterling defeated Yan at UFC 259 earlier this year via fourth-round DQ after the Russian was disqualified for throwing an illegal knee to the head of a grounded opponent. It was the first time in UFC history that a belt changed hands following a disqualification, with Sterling being crowned the new UFC bantamweight champion after Yan lost his belt. The two were then supposed to fight at UFC 267 in October in a rematch, but Sterling was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury. Instead of Yan vs. Sterling, the UFC called upon top contender Cory Sandhagen to step up on short notice. Yan ended up beating Sandhagen via unanimous decision in what was the “Fight of the Night” at UFC 267.

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

Dustin Poirier says he will “probably go to 170” if he defeats UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the 155lbs strap at UFC 269. Poirier is set to return to the Octagon next month when he takes on Oliveira for the UFC’s 155lbs belt. Despite being the challenger, Poirier is actually the betting favorite on paper heading into the fight to win the title. Should that happen, then there is speculation that Poirier might decide to walk away from the sport just because he would have accomplished so much at that point. But according to Poirier, he has no plans on hanging up his gloves. If anything, Poirier says, he would want to challenge himself by moving up to 170lbs instead.

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

MMA coach John Kavanagh says that he wants to see top welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev fight against his pupil Gunnar Nelson next. Kavanagh, who is of course the longtime head coach of UFC superstar Conor McGregor, took to his social media on Tuesday to make a matchmaking suggestion to the UFC. As far as the coach goes, he believes that a fight between Chimaev and Nelson would make a lot of sense. With the UFC rumored to be holding an event in London in March, Kavanagh believes this would be the ideal situation to hold this potential fight between Chimaev and Nelson. Take a look below at what the coach said about this potential welterweight fight.

Adam D Martin - November 24, 2021

Longtime UFC welterweight veteran Matt Brown has been forced to pull out of his upcoming UFC Vegas 44 bout with Bryan Barberena. Brown revealed on his social media on Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 and his fight against Barberena, which was set to take place at UFC Vegas 44, has been scratched. The event is set to take place on December 4 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event features bantamweight contenders Rob Font and Jose Aldo.

Drake Riggs - November 24, 2021

Kyoji Horiguchi is a man on a mission. The current RIZIN FF 135-pound bantamweight king recaptured the title he never officially lost on New Year’s Eve 2020 and hasn’t fought since. Now, Horiguchi has signed with Bellator in a rare deal that sees him remain the RIZIN champ and seeks the other title he relinquished when sidelined in all of 2020 recovering from an ACL tear.

Drake Riggs - November 23, 2021

Aoriqileng may not have come out on top at UFC Vegas 43 this past Saturday, but his opponent in Cody Durden did himself no favors following the victory. When speaking to Daniel Cormier for his post-fight interview Durden finished off by saying, “I knew he was gonna be tough, but I had to send him back to China where he came from.”

Drake Riggs - November 23, 2021

Donovan Salvato will have to learn that biting isn’t okay in or out of the cage. The same goes with attacks to the groin… combine those two things and you truly have a recipe for disaster. A Nashville police report recently revealed that 3-1 amateur MMA fighter Donovan Salvato was arrested for an alleged testicle biting incident as a result of an argument with his roommate, Abel Sosa. Salvato was held in the Metro Nashville Jail for 12 hours as police claimed Sosa suffered a 2.5-inch laceration on his scrotum along with multiple bruises, swelling on his head, and a busted lip. Salvato’s charge is for “domestic assault with bodily injury.”

Cole Shelton - November 23, 2021

Jake Paul has reportedly declined to have drug testing ahead of his upcoming fight against Tommy Fury. Fury’s dad, John Fury, recently revealed in an interview with Marca that Paul and his team declined drug testing for the fight. Fury’s team was pushing for VADA (voluntarily anti-doping association) to handle the drug testing which was shot down.

Cole Shelton - November 23, 2021

UFC 268, headlined by a welterweight title fight at Madison Square Garden, did fairly well on pay-per-view. According to the Sports Business Journal, UFC 268 sold 700,000 pay-per-view buys in the United States. Those numbers are from ESPN+ buys only and do not reflect buys from other countries like Canada. UFC 268 is the fourth highest-selling PPV of the year behind UFC 257 (1.6 million), UFC 264 (1.5 million), and UFC 269 (800,000). UFC 261, which Usman also headlined also came in at 700,000 showing he is a PPV draw.

Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021

Bellator women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg says Kayla Harrison reminds her of Ronda Rousey, saying she would fight her at 155lbs. Harrison is currently a free agent find is looking for her next home in the world of MMA. Harrison was last with PFL, who could still re-sign her to a new contract, but she is also being courted by the UFC, Bellator, and even the WWE. Regardless of where she ends up, Harrison is expected to get a big-money deal as she appears to be one of the best women’s MMA fighters in the world. Those are in high demand right now, and Harrison knows that.

Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021

Former UFC welterweight Ben Askren called out Nate Diaz for a UFC fight, saying he “would be happy to be the last fight on his contract.” Askren retired from the UFC after losing to Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia citing lingering injury issues. Following his retirement, Askren returned to combat sports in boxing, having been knocked out by Jake Paul earlier this year. Since then, we have not heard much from Askren in regards to fighting again. But it appears as though “Funky” is interested in a return to combat sports, only this time in the UFC, and he has a specific opponent in mind.

Cole Shelton - November 23, 2021

Rob Font is eager to be able to share the Octagon with an MMA legend in Jose Aldo. Font and Aldo are set to headline UFC Vegas 44 on December 4 and when Font got the call for the fight, he immediately accepted as it is a massive opportunity for him.

Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight contender Miesha Tate issued a statement following her loss to Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 43, saying “I am not sad.” Tate lost a unanimous decision to Vieira in what was mostly a standup fight between two fighters who generally prefer to grapple with their opponents. Taking to her social media in the days following the loss, Tate issued a statement after her defeat to Vieira. In the statement, Tate admitted that she lost fair and square, but said she was happy with the improvements that she showed in the fight. Take a look at the full statement Tate shared.

Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021

Colby Covington still believes he beat UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 268, and he is calling for a trilogy match. Covington and Usman met earlier this month in the main event of UFC 268 and the fight turned out to be a back-and-forth war, much like their first meeting back at UFC 245. In the first fight, Usman won the fight via fifth-round TKO. This time around, the fight was closer, but it was still Usman who ended up winning via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards. But if you ask Covington, he should have been named as the fight’s winner.

Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021

UFC welterweight superstar Nate Diaz took a shot at Jake Paul, telling the YouTuber-turned-boxer that “you can’t really fight.” Diaz and Paul have been going back-and-forth on social media and in interviews for the last little while, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they continued to take shots this week. It all came after Diaz responded to an article about Paul, where his former opponent Ben Askren gave him credit for being a good boxer. Diaz saw the comments and replied right away, telling him that these comments are coming from a retired wrestler who can’t box, and therefore they don’t mean anything. That led to Paul then returning fire by telling Diaz that he has a bunch of losses on his resume, and then Diaz took a shot at Paul.

Cole Shelton - November 23, 2021

The 60th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 44 on December 4. We’re first joined by the fourth-ranked bantamweight and one-half of the main event in Rob Font (2:10). Next, UFC welterweight, Matt Brown (14:30) joins the program. UFC bantamweight, Louis Smolka (27:32) then comes on. UFC bantamweight, Vince Morales (40:02) closes out the show.

Adam D Martin - November 23, 2021

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen called a fourth fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier “a tough sell” for his return fight to the Octagon. McGregor and Poirier fought twice this year, with McGregor losing via TKO both times. Their fight at UFC 257 resulted in Poirier winning by second-round knockout with punches, but at UFC 264, the fight ended with McGregor breaking his leg. Since then, the Irishman has been out on the sidelines with his injury, but he is hoping that he gets the fourth fight when he returns to the Octagon. However, Sonnen believes that is going to be “a tough sell,” as he explained in a new video. As far as Sonnen goes, there is no reason to book this fight.

Harry Kettle - November 23, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has questioned the debate between fighters choosing money fights over title opportunities. Cormier, a former two-weight UFC champion, is one of many to pose this question in the mixed martial arts sphere. While some understand the allure behind fighters wanting to chase big paydays, others believe the championship is what everyone on the roster should be pushing for.