MMA News

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

Tim Johnson says it is still surreal to think he is fighting Fedor Emelianenko in Russia, in what could be the Russian’s final fight. When Bellator announced Emelianenko would be fighting back home in Russia, many thought he would be fighting a fellow legend. Yet, that wasn’t the case as instead, he will be fighting Johnson at Bellator 269, who has a theory as to why Emelianenko picked him.

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

Grant Dawson was supposed to get his shot to enter the lightweight rankings back on October 2 against Diego Ferreira, but Ferreira was forced out of the fight. After Dawson heard the news that Ferreira was out of the fight, he admits it was frustrating and disappointing. However, he made it clear to the UFC he still wanted to fight in October and he got his wish as he will face Ricky Glenn at UFC Vegas 41.

Adam D Martin - October 19, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori plans on having face-to-face chat with “puppet” Paul Felder over his UFC commentary. Vettori recently took to social media to put Felder on blast following his commentary in the Dan Hooker vs. Nasrat Haqparst fight at UFC 266 last month. According to the Italian, he was not being fair to Haqparast during his commentary for the fight, and he took to Twitter to put Felder on blast. As far as “The Italian Dream” goes, Felder was being biased during his commentary and he felt like he had no choice but to call him out for his analysis.

Adam D Martin - October 19, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor sent a message to his longtime rival Nate Diaz on social media, reminding him to “know who made you.” McGregor and Diaz fought twice back in 2016. In their first meeting at UFC 196 in March 2016, Diaz pulled off an incredible upset when he submitted McGregor in the second round. In the rematch at UFC 202 in August 2016, McGregor got revenge when he won a majority decision in what was an all-out war between the two rivals. In the five years since then, we have been rumored to get a trilogy fight at points, but so far we haven’t seen it. That being said, both McGregor and Diaz still continue to take shots at each other on social media.

Adam D Martin - October 19, 2021

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate turned down a Holly Holm rematch, says Holm’s coach Mike Winkeljohn. Tate and Holm first met back at UFC 196 in March 2016. In what was one of the most incredible comebacks of all time, Tate came back in the fifth round and choked Holm out to win the women’s 135lbs title. It was a night of upsets, as Nate Diaz submitted Conor McGregor that same night. Of course, it was also over five years ago now, and so much has changed in the three years since then. For Tate, she was retired for the majority of that time before recently returning to active competition. Holm, meanwhile, has never been able to recapture her belt at 135lbs, though she has remained active in the weight class.

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

The 55th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 41 and Bellator 269. We’re first joined by one-half of the Bellator 269 headliner in heavyweight, Tim Johnson (2:10). Next, UFC lightweight Grant Dawson (15:14) joins the show. UFC lightweight, Ricky Glenn (36:20) also joins the show. UFC heavyweight, Ike Villanueva (48:06) then comes on. Closing out the program is UFC flyweight, Jeff Molina (59:01).

Harry Kettle - October 19, 2021

Bellator fighter Dillon Danis has opened up on his recent arrest and provided his account of what went down. Last month, footage emerged of Danis being choked on the ground and restrained by a security guard at a bar in New Jersey. Many fans took the opportunity to openly mock and tease Danis, highlighting his confidence on social media as well as the fact that he hasn’t fought inside the cage for two years.

Harry Kettle - October 19, 2021

Italian DJ Francesco Facchinetti has spoken out about his recent altercation with UFC star Conor McGregor. The last few days have seen Conor McGregor become embroiled in yet another issue in his personal life after it was reported that he lashed out at the aforementioned Francesco Facchinetti and attacked him whilst the two were together in Rome.

Cole Shelton - October 18, 2021

Israel Adesanya knows quite a bit about the UFC Vegas 41 main event on Saturday. Headlining the card is a middleweight fight between Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. Both men are coming off title fight losses to Adesanya and Vettori has lost twice to the champ. Although Adesanya beat both of them, he still says people need to know both Costa and Vettori have failed drug tests in their past.

Drake Riggs - October 18, 2021

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office won’t be charging former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell for a recent domestic violence incident involving his wife. Liddell and his estranged partner, Heidi, got into an argument that led to the once-UFC poster boy’s arrest this past week after things allegedly got physical. Prosecutors have now decided not to charge either Chuck or Heidi for the incident, confirms MMA Fighting.

Cole Shelton - October 18, 2021

Jorge Masvidal is looking to inflict damage on Leon Edwards at UFC 269 on December 11. On the main card of the year-end pay-per-view, Masvidal and Edwards are set to have their highly-anticipated grudge match. Back in March of 2019, Masvidal gave Edwards the three-piece and a soda and many thought they would end up fighting. Yet, the scrap never came to fruition until now and that is because Masvidal decided now was the time,

Cole Shelton - October 18, 2021

Dillon Danis has three names in mind for his return fight. Danis has not fought since June of 2019 where he submitted Max Humphrey in the first round at Bellator 222. Since then, the pandemic happened and Danis had to have two knee surgeries which has kept him out of action. However, he is getting closer to a return which he says will be in about four months and when he returns, he says he wants Jake Shields or Diego Sanchez.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2021

Former Bellator light heavyweight champion Ryan Bader issued a statement following his knockout loss to Corey Anderson at Bellator 268. Bader suffered a first-round knockout loss when he was caught with an Anderson punch early on in their fight and then finished with ground and pound. For Bader, it was a disappointing loss after beating up Lyoto Machida in his last outing to advance to the tournament semifinals. The former Ultimate Fighter winner is still the Bellator heavyweight champion, but he has struggled as a light heavyweight as he’s lost two of his last three fights in the weight class by knockout to Anderson and to champ Vadim Nemkov before.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz says that he is still open to a charity fight against Monster Energy’s Hans Molenkamp. Following his win over Casey Kenney at UFC 259 earlier this year, Cruz challenged Molenkamp — a top executive at Monster Energy — to a charity fight. It’s been over six months since then and we haven’t heard much about their feud, so it appears as though the rift is over between the two. However, Cruz says he’s still open to fighting Molenkamp.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz destroyed Corey Anderson after he claimed that he’s the world’s best light heavyweight. Blachowicz knocked out Anderson last February at UFC Rio Rancho in a title eliminator for former champion Jon Jones’ title. Following that fight, Jones gave up his belt and Blachowicz ended up fighting Dominick Reyes for the vacant title and won the belt with a TKO victory. Anderson, meanwhile, left the UFC to sign with Bellator and join the promotion’s 205lbs division. So far, Anderson has gone 3-0 in Bellator, and he is now one win away from winning the Bellator light heavyweight title and the $1 million for winning the Grand Prix. He has tons of confidence and believes he’s the best in the world now.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2021

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou says he is not as excited about fighting interim champ Ciryl Gane over superstar Jon Jones. Ngannou knocked out former champ Stipe Miocic back at UFC 260 in March to win the heavyweight title. He was then expected to fight Jones in what would have been one of the biggest fights the UFC could make, but the fight fell apart. Jones and the UFC were not able to come to an agreement on a contract and then Ngannou was supposed to fight Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 in August. However, that fight also fell apart when Ngannou and the UFC couldn’t come to an agreement on a new deal, and Gane ended up fighting Lewis on the card and knocked him out to win the interim belt. With Gane now as the interim champ, the plan is for him to fight Ngannou for the belt when the two meet at UFC 270.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2021

UFC legend and former welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre shared what his favorite UFC memory was during his career. St-Pierre is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and there are so many memorable moments during his incredible career. From beating Matt Hughes for the UFC welterweight title to losing it to Matt Serra to winning it again, defending it many times, and then returning as a middleweight late in his career, GSP has seen and done it all. But for “Rush,” there is one moment that stands out above the rest when it comes to his HOF career.

Adam D Martin - October 18, 2021

UFC analyst Michael Bisping ripped “bully” Conor McGregor following his latest incident, telling him to “go pick on someone your own size.” Over the weekend, McGregor allegedly attacked Italian DJ Francesco Facchinetti in Rome, where he reportedly broke his nose at a party. This is far from the first time that McGregor has gotten into a fight with someone outside of the Octagon, and as far as Bisping goes, it’s showing that the walls are starting to cave in. Following this latest incident where McGregor got into trouble, outside the Octagon, Bisping took to YouTube to share a video criticizing him for picking fights with people who can’t defend themselves against him.