MMA News

Cole Shelton - November 16, 2021

Terrance McKinney is looking forward to following up on his successful UFC debut. McKinney stepped up on short notice against Matt Frevola at UFC 263 and scored a seven-second KO win. After the win, however, during his celebration, he injured his knee but he finally is ready to return on Saturday at UFC Vegas 43 against Fares Ziam.

Adam D Martin - November 16, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier shared his take on who is the “best boxer in the UFC”, and then bantamweight champ Petr Yan reacted. Poirier was a guest on The MMA Hour and he was asked who he thinks the best boxer in the sport is. Right now, there are a lot of people who believe that Max Holloway is the best boxer in the sport of MMA. But as far as Poirier goes, the best boxer in the game is Yan.

Adam D Martin - November 16, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber says that welterweight Colby Covington is “actually not a bad guy, he’s trying to get himself noticed.” Covington recently lost a unanimous decision to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 268. It was a great fight by both men, but ultimately Usman got the job done. Speaking to Helen Yee in a recent interview, Faber shared his thoughts on the fight. He said that he enjoyed watching it and then he defended Covington’s personality, suggesting that he is just plating a character inside the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - November 16, 2021

UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski sent a daunting message to Max Holloway, saying “stop playing the games and all the bullsh*t.” Volkanovski was watching intently last Saturday at UFC Vegas 42 when Holloway and Yair Rodriguez met in the five-round headliner. It was an absolute war, but at the end of the 25 minutes, it was Holloway who got his hand raised by unanimous decision. Fans and media were expecting Holloway to call out Volkanovski given that he had a close loss to him last year on Fight Island, but “Blessed” instead listed several opponents. He mentioned Volkanovski as an option, but he also brought up Conor McGregor and Charles Oliveira.

Cole Shelton - November 16, 2021

The 59th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 43. We’re first joined by UFC bantamweight, Adrian Yanez (2:19). Next, UFC lightweight, Terrance McKinney (21:39) joins the show. UFC strawweight, Loopy Godinez (34:16) comes on. UFC flyweight, Cody Durden (42:20) then joins the program. Closing out the show is UFC flyweight, Aoriqileng (53:05).

Harry Kettle - November 16, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contenders Thiago Santos and Magomed Ankalaev are set to battle in a UFC Fight Night main event on March 12. The news comes from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and will serve as the biggest test for Ankalaev thus far in the UFC. Both men are coming off the back of nice wins with Santos bouncing back from three straight losses with a victory over Johnny Walker.

Harry Kettle - November 16, 2021

Miesha Tate has defended her fierce criticism of Aspen Ladd following their feud over the last few weeks. Tate, who faces Ketlen Vieira in a bantamweight main event this weekend, voiced her criticism of Ladd earlier this year. The comments came as a result of Ladd missing weight for her contest with Macy Chiasson, forcing the bout to be cancelled due to concerns for Ladd’s health.

Christopher Taylor - November 15, 2021

The UFC continued to trim its roster on Monday as five more fighters have parted ways with the worlds leading mixed martial arts organization. The latest roster moves are not necessarily considered “releases”, but the promotion opted against renewing the contracts of the following fighters (via MMAJunkie).

Drake Riggs - November 15, 2021

Cris Cyborg is happy to no longer be with her old home of the UFC. Reports from MMA Fighting were released on Monday regarding a historically profitable year for the UFC and Endeavor. Having had a less than pleasant experience from a behind the scenes perspective, according to her, Cyborg chimed in with a response to the news.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

Justin Gaethje believes Conor McGregor is chasing his sloppy seconds. Gaethje has fought the who’s who of the lightweight division, but he has noticed McGregor is fighting or calling out people he just beat. It started with Donald Cerrone, and now after he beat Michael Chandler at UFC 268, Chandler and the Irishman have gone back-and-forth about fighting one another. For Gaethje, he isn’t a fan of McGregor going after his sloppy seconds.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

Leon Edwards says he isn’t surprised Jorge Masvidal pulled out of their fight at UFC 269. Edwards and Masvidal were set to have their highly-anticipated grudge match on December 11. The fight was years in the making after the three-piece and a soda, but it was revealed last week “Gamebred” was out of the fight which the Brit isn’t surprised about.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

Will Brooks, who fought and beat Michael Chandler twice in Bellator, believes “Iron” quit against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268. Although Gaethje and Chandler went toe-to-toe for three rounds and it was “The Highlight” winning a decision. Despite the fact the fight went to the scorecards, Brooks believes Chandler quit in a sense he didn’t try to win in the third round. Instead, he thinks Chandler tried to make it entertaining so people didn’t care that he lost.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

Former UFC lightweight fighter Khama Worthy issued a statement on his social media following his official release from the UFC roster. Worthy was knocked out by Jai Herbert last month at UFC Vegas 41: Costa vs. Vettori for what was his third straight loss by knockout. Following that defeat, it appears as though the UFC has cut Worthy from the fighter roster. “The Death Star” took to his social media this past weekend to confirm that he has indeed been released by the world’s leading MMA promotion. Take a look at the message that Worthy shared with his fans on his Instagram.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones fired back at his critics on social media, saying “your priorities are in the wrong place.” Jones was arrested on domestic battery charges back in September following the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony. Since then, Jones has been kicked out of Team Jackson-Wink and has been seen training at Fight Ready in Arizona. Jones is one of the best fighters in MMA history, but he has come under fire following this latest incident and his reaction to it.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 42, top-three featherweights collided as Max Holloway took on Yair Rodriguez in a highly-anticipated fight. Holloway entered the fight coming off a five-round dominant decision win over Calvin Kattar where he landed 445 significant strikes. Prior to that, he suffered back-to-back decision losses to Alexander Volkanovski to lose his featherweight title. Yair Rodriguez, meanwhile, hadn’t fought since 2019 due to a USADA suspension and injures but was coming off a decision win over Jeremy Stephens.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is open to fighting anyone, but he says that Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev top the list. Burns is the No. 2 ranked welterweight in the UFC, so it’s natural that he is connected to fights with the other top fighters in the division. On Sunday, reports emerged that Burns could be matched up against Chimaev sometime in 2022, though that fight is far from a done deal. Speaking to MMAjunkie.com in a recent interview, Burns was asked what he wants next. As far as Burns goes, he is down to fight anyone that the UFC offers him, but if he had to choose someone, in particular, it would be either Covington or Chimaev next.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao has got his first fight booked since being given his release from the UFC a couple of years ago. Barao was cut by the UFC in 2019 after losing five straight fights. It was a remarkable fall from grace from the former UFC bantamweight kingpin, who at one point in his career was considered one of the top pound-for-pound MMA fighters in the sport. In fact, UFC commentator Joe Rogan even once famously called him a “monster” at the height of his career in the UFC. Of course, all of that came to a dashing halt when he got knocked out by TJ Dillashaw, as he was never the same after that. Although Barao won a few fights in the UFC after the loss to Dillashaw, he was clearly never the same fighter and never experienced the same success, and it ultimately led to him being released by the company.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal questioned why Nick Diaz is still fighting, bringing up the IRS as a potential reason as to why. Diaz returned from a six-year layoff at UFC 266 in September, losing in the third round via TKO to longtime rival Robbie Lawler. For Diaz, it was a losing effort, and Masvidal is questioning why he even came back in the first place. Not only did Diaz not win the fight, but he also showed up fight week too heavy to make welterweight, forcing the fight to be moved up to middleweight. That has led to speculation among fans, fighters, and media as to why Diaz returned to the cage, and Masvidal believes it could be financially related.