MMA News

Adam D Martin - November 4, 2021

Alex Pereira is focused on becoming UFC champion, not Israel Adesanya, saying “maybe if I had lost to him it would annoy me a little bit.” Pereira is a former GLORY kickboxing standout who will be making his UFC debut this Saturday when he takes on Andreas Michailidis at UFC 268. In his kickboxing past, Pereira actually defeated Adesanya, the current UFC middleweight champion. Although Pereira is fighting against Michailidis this weekend, he can’t help but think ahead to a potential fight with Adesanya, especially when asked by the media. But Pereira also wants to make it perfectly clear that his focus is 100 percent on becoming the UFC champ, not Adesanya.

Harry Kettle - November 4, 2021

Justin Gaethje has explained why Edson Barboza was the UFC opponent he was the most terrified of fighting. This Saturday night, Justin Gaethje is set to return to the Octagon for the first time since being submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254. He’ll be doing so at Madison Square Garden, and he’ll be competing against fellow top contender Michael Chandler.

Harry Kettle - November 4, 2021

Colby Covington has laughed off Kamaru Usman’s recent talk of potentially fighting boxing star Canelo Alvarez. Covington and Usman, who will square off for the second time this weekend with the UFC welterweight title on the line, are set to go up against Canelo Alvarez vs Caleb Plant on the same night. Based on what went down when it was Canelo vs UFC in 2019, we’d say there’s going to be some talk about comparisons.

Cole Shelton - November 3, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov FaceTimed Kamaru Usman to wish him luck ahead of his UFC 268 title defense against Colby Covington. Nurmagomedov and Usman are both managed by Ali Abdelaziz and they have spoken to one another and have a relationship. Yet, when Usman was in a car with Abdelaziz he got a FaceTime call from “The Eagle” who told him to smash Covington.

Cole Shelton - November 3, 2021

Kamaru Usman believes he’ll finish Colby Covington again at UFC 268. In the main event of the stacked pay-per-view card, Usman is set to have his highly-anticipated rematch against Covington. The two fought at UFC 245 in one of the best fights of 2019 as they went back-and-forth before Usman got the fifth-round TKO.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

Colby Covington trashed Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 268, saying “let’s not forget that he was put down by the common cold.” Covington is set to take on UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 268 this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. It is a rematch between the two bitter rivals after they previously met at UFC 245 in December 2019. That night, it was Usman who defeated Covington via fifth-round knockout. This weekend, Covington will finally get the chance to exact revenge on his bitter rival.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Thiago Santos hopes that former rival Jon Jones comes back better than ever, saying “Jones is a legend of the sport.” Santos and Jones met in the main event of UFC 239 in July 2019. In what was one of the toughest fights of Jones’ UFC light heavyweight title run, he edged out a split decision to get past Santos in what was an incredible fight. Of course, that fight was over two years ago, and so much else has happened in the years since then. Santos is still fighting and just beat Johnny Walker in his last fight, but Jones hasn’t fought since February 2020. Since then, he has mentioned moving up to heavyweight, but that move has since been delayed for numerous issues including Jones’ recent arrest for domestic battery.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Vicente Luque reiterated his callout of Nate Diaz for an upcoming December UFC card, saying “I want the challenge.” Luque called out Diaz following his submission win over Michael Chiesa at UFC 265 back in August, and Luque and Diaz have gone back-and-forth on social media over the last few months. Right now, it seems like the UFC is more interested in booking Diaz against Khamzat Chimaev, but if you ask Luque, this is still the fight that he hopes the UFC books.

Cole Shelton - November 3, 2021

Jordan Williams is ecstatic to fight in Madison Square Garden and do so against Ian Garry who has a ton of hype. Garry is a undefeated Irish prospect who many have called him the next Conor McGregor. The Irishman is a big favorite at UFC 268 but for Williams, he knows he has already fought top guys so the level of competiton will be the difference here.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

Emerging UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev sent a message to promotional superstar Nate Diaz, simply stating “let’s go bro.” Chimaev smashed Li Jingliang in the first round and tapped him out with a tight rear-naked choke at this past Saturday’s UFC 267 event. It was another phenomenal victory for Chimaev, who improved to 4-0 in the UFC with four finishes. He has been so utterly dominant that he has actually only been hit with one significant strike, by John Phillips in his UFC debut on Fight Island last year. Since then, all three of Rhys McKee, Gerald Meerschaert, and now Jingliang were not able to mount any sort of offense against him.

Cole Shelton - November 3, 2021

In the co-main event of UFC 268, Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang are running it back just seven months after Namajunas scored a 78-second TKO win. Heading into the fight, the champ is a +100 underdog while Zhang is the -120 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Namajunas defends her belt again and likely does it by stoppage again.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

Veteran mixed martial arts official John McCarthy criticized referee Vyacheslav Kiselev for his controversial non-stoppage at UFC 267. In one of the most prolonged beatings we have ever seen inside the Octagon, Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos emptied the clip against Benoit Saint Denis over the course of a brutal 25-minute battle between the two welterweights at UFC 267. There were numerous points where the referee could have stepped in and stopped the contest, but he refused to do so, which led the fight to go the full distance. It was an incredible show of heart and toughness by Saint Denis, but he also took unnecessary punishment and damage during this bout.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

Islam Makhachev ripped Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler ahead of UFC 268, saying “everybody is tired about these guys because they’re old.” Makhachev put on arguably the best performance of his MMA career last Saturday at UFC 268 when he submitted Dan Hooker in the first round. Considering how tough and durable Hooker is — this was his first submission loss in nearly a decade — it was absolutely incredible to see Makhachev go through him like a knife through hot butter. It was the kind of win that the Russian needs in order to really cement himself as one of the top lightweights in the UFC. With a 10-1 record now in the promotion, including the nine-fight win streak that he currently rides, it’s clear that Makhachev is closing in on a title shot.

Harry Kettle - November 3, 2021

UFC president Dana White has said the “first death in MMA” would happen if Amanda Nunes fought one of Kayla Harrison’s opponents. Harrison, who is now a two-time PFL champion, moved to 12-0 recently and captured her second consecutive title in the process. Many believe she has what it takes to kick on and eventually challenge Amanda Nunes in the UFC but as per Dana White, it doesn’t appear as if that’s going to happen anytime soon.

Harry Kettle - November 3, 2021

New BKFC signing Mike Perry has issued a strange response to Julian Lane after the famous “let me bang bro” fighter called him out. It was confirmed recently that Perry, who was formerly with the UFC, would be making his way over to BKFC in order to begin a new chapter of his career in bare-knuckle boxing. There are many folks who want to be his first opponent in the promotion, and that includes Julian Lane.

Cole Shelton - November 2, 2021

Jonas Bilharinho got a highlight-reel KO right in front of Dana White on the final episode of Season 5 of the Contender Series on Tuesday. Bilharino was fighting Canaan Kawaihae in a featherweight bout. Early on, not much action was going on as the two were clinching one another. A rare double low blow happened which caused a pause in the action but when they continued it was much of the same.

Cole Shelton - November 2, 2021

Glover Teixeira returned to his adopted home of Connecticut and got a hero’s welcome after becoming the new UFC light heavyweight champion. In the main event of the card from Abu Dhabi, Teixeira, who turned 42 during fight week, was a sizeable underdog against Jan Blachowicz. Many expected Blachowicz to win the fight, but Teixeira dominated the first round and then got the submission win in the second to become the new champion.

Cole Shelton - November 2, 2021

Junior dos Santos will be off to boxing. The former UFC heavyweight champion in dos Santos signed with S-Jam BOXING a boxing management company. They will be co-managing him and fight news will be coming soon.