MMA News

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2020

Peter Sobotta is back. The 33-year-old German welterweight has not fought since March of 2018 where he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Leon Edwards. Since then, he was supposed to fight Alessio Di Chirico last September, but he was forced to pull out.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2020

If American Top Team owner, Dan Lambert had his way, Jorge Masvidal wouldn’t have stepped in on short notice to fight Kamaru Usman. At UFC 251 on Fight Island, Usman was expected to defend his welterweight title against Gilbert Burns. Yet, Burns tested positive for COVID-19 and Masvidal ended up coming to terms to fight the champ on six days’ notice.

Adam Martin - July 21, 2020

The full betting odds have been released for this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 card, featuring a main event between middleweights Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. The five-round headliner sees Whittaker and Till fight with a potential middleweight title shot on the line. Whittaker is coming off of a KO loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 last October that saw him lose the UFC middleweight title, while Till defeated Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 in November in what was a successful 185lbs debut for the former welterweight title challenger. With so much on the line, this should be a great fight for the fans.

Tom Taylor - July 21, 2020

Darren Till and Robert Whittaker, who will meet in the main event of UFC on ESPN 14 this Saturday, disagree on who holds the edge in the striking department. Till, who recently debuted in the middleweight division with a win over Kelvin Gastelum, believes he’s levels above Whittaker in terms of striking.

Adam Martin - July 21, 2020

UFC legend Shogun Rua has confirmed he only has two or three fights left in his legendary MMA career before he finally hangs up his gloves. Rua, the former UFC light heavyweight champion and the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix champion, takes on long-time rival Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event of this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 14 event. Little Nog has already confirmed that at age 44, this will be the final fight of his own legendary career. As for Rua, at age 38 he isn’t planning on hanging his up gloves just yet, but at this point only has a few fights left to give fans.

Tom Taylor - July 21, 2020

Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre says Khabib Nurmagomedov, the reigning lightweight champion, is the perfect fighter. St-Pierre, who is currently retired, has long expressed interest in a possible super fight with Nurmagomedov. Speaking on the MMA TRUFAN podcast, the Canadian MMA legend explained the allure of this potential matchup.

Tom Taylor - July 21, 2020

UFC President Dana White is not happy about the recent reports that Israel Adesanya will defend the UFC middleweight title against Paulo Costa at UFC 253. News of this UFC 253 middleweight title fight was first reported by Brazilian publication Combate, and subsequently confirmed by MMA Fighting.

Harry Kettle - July 21, 2020

Former two-weight UFC champion Henry Cejudo has taken yet another shot at former bantamweight rivals Aljamain Sterling and Marlon Moraes. While Cejudo may have “retired” from mixed martial arts, the man known as “Triple C” clearly isn’t planning on letting his guard down anytime soon. The expectation from many fans and pundits alike is that he’ll get back into the Octagon one day, and based on some of his recent remarks on social media, that day may not be too far away.

Tom Taylor - July 21, 2020

As Sean O’Malley closes in on a title fight with bantamweight champion Petr Yan, he’s keen to avoid a mistake made by MMA superstar Conor McGregor. O’Malley is easily one of the most promising prospects in MMA right now, and he’s already on the radar of many of his division’s top fighters, including former champions Henry Cejudo and Cody Garbrandt, and the reigning champion Yan.

Tom Taylor - July 21, 2020

After a long stint with the UFC, Paige VanZant is now a free agent, but her mixed martial arts career is far from over. VanZant fulfilled the final obligation of her latest UFC contract at UFC 251, when she was submitted by Amanda Ribas. While it’s possible she will re-sign with the UFC, she can now field offers from other promotions.

Tom Taylor - July 21, 2020

Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier says he “fumbled” his 2019 rematch with Stipe Miocic. Cormier and Miocic first met in 2018, when Cormier, then the light heavyweight champion, challenged Miocic for the heavyweight strap. In a historic feat, Cormier won this fight by first-round knockout.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2020

The third episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Fight Island 3 and Bellator 242. Host Cole Shelton is first joined by American Top Team owner Dan Lambert (1:56). Then, UFC welterweight Peter Sobotta (24:29) comes on and the final guest is Bellator bantamweight, Ricky Bandejas (41:26).

Natasha Hooper - July 21, 2020

According to his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, Khabib Nurmagomedov encouraged Justin Gaethje to go fight Conor McGregor next. UFC president Dana White recently revealed that “The Eagle” is taking some time away from the Octagon due to the tragic death off his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. He was expected to return to fighting at UFC 253 on September 19 and defend his belt against the lightweight interim titleholder, Justin Gaethje. White hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the fight but is still waiting for a callback from Nurmagomedov to see where his head is at.

Adam Martin - July 20, 2020

UFC president Dana White praised women’s flyweight contender Amanda Ribas and said she will return to the Octagon this fall. Ribas is coming off of a first-round armbar submission win over Paige VanZant in the main card pay-per-view opener at UFC 251. The win upped Ribas’ record in the UFC to 4-0 with wins over VanZant, Randa Markos, Mackenzie Dern, and Emily Whitmire. White and the UFC are always looking for the next big thing, especially in the women’s weight divisions, and Ribas appears like she could break out and become a massive star for the promotion.

Cole Shelton - July 20, 2020

Joanne Calderwood may not be getting the next title shot after all. Calderwood was set to take on Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 251 when it was supposed to take place in Perth, Australia. Yet, an injury to champion and the COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans. But, all signs still pointed to her fighting Shevchenko until now.

Cole Shelton - July 20, 2020

Dana White is expecting to be on Fight Island for a while and is already looking at three title fights to take place there. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, White has been adamant he will keep on holding events. He even said he’d be hosting them on an island. Well, on July 11 at UFC 251 he did just that as Fight Island was born in Abu Dhabi, which the UFC boss says is the new fight capital of the world.

Cole Shelton - July 20, 2020

Daniel Cormier does not believe Khabib Nurmagomedov will be fighting in 2020. He also doesn’t know if his teammate will even fight again. Nurmagomedov was expected to face Justin Gaethje at UFC 253 on September 19. Yet, his father recently passed away due to complications of COVID-19. Since then, the undefeated champion has been mourning his father, while many have wondered when may he fight again.

Tom Taylor - July 20, 2020

On Monday afternoon, surging UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns announced that he has tested negative for COVID-19. Burns was expected to challenge Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. Regrettably, he tested positive for COVID-19, and was promptly removed from the matchup as a result. He was then replaced by Jorge Masvidal, who Usman defeated by unanimous decision.