MMA News

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

An excellent matchup between two of the best welterweights in the UFC is booked as Geoff Neal vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio was added to UFC 269. ESPN first revealed the news that Neal vs. Ponzinibbio is set for UFC 269, which takes place on December 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 269 is a stacked pay-per-view card that is headlined by UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier vs. Charles Oliveira. As well, the co-main event features UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes against Julianna Pena. Additionally, there is a welterweight grudge match between Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards also on the card. And now we have Neal vs. Ponzinibbio, too.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021

The 54th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is here ahead of Bellator 268 and ONE X in December. We’re first joined by former UFC flyweight champion and current ONE Championship fighter, Demetrious Johnson (2:23). Next, 14th-ranked UFC flyweight, Casey O’Neill (15:10) comes on. Bellator lightweight, Brent Primus (25:26) then joins the program. Closing out the show is ONE Championship bantamweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes (40:56).

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

Top-ranked UFC welterweight contenders Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards reacted to their upcoming fight booking at UFC 269. It was revealed on Monday that the grudge match between Masvidal and Edwards will finally be happening at UFC 269, which takes place on December 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a grudge match nearly three years in the making, ever since the “three-piece and a soda” incident at UFC London back in March 2019. Both Masvidal and Edwards do not like each other and this should be one of the most exciting fights of the year when it finally goes down in December. Now that the fight is official, both men took to their social media to react to the fight booking. Take a look at what both men said below.

Adam D Martin - October 12, 2021

Former UFC middleweight title challenger Patrick Cote ripped fan-favorite Sam Alvey following his latest UFC fight announcement. On Monday, word broke that Alvey would be getting another fight in the UFC against Ian Heinisch in early 2022. For Alvey, he is very fortunate to be getting another fight in the UFC considering he is 0-6-1 over his last seven fights. In his last matchup, Alvey lost a split decision to Wellington Turman, and following the fight, UFC president Dana White hinted he would get one more fight in the Octagon. However, there are a lot of other fighters who are not pleased that Alvey is getting another chance. Although he is an exciting fighter and a fan favorite, the fact is he hasn’t won a fight in three years. There are other fighters who have not been given as much rope as Alvey has, and Cote wanted to point it out.

Harry Kettle - October 12, 2021

UFC middleweight Sean Strickland has reacted to the news that Luke Rockhold has pulled out of UFC 268. It’s public knowledge that UFC 268 is shaping up to be one of the most stacked cards of the year for the UFC but unfortunately, a grudge match at 185 pounds has been lost after Luke Rockhold revealed a herniated disk will ensure he does not fight Sean Strickland at Madison Square Garden.

Andrew Whitelaw - October 11, 2021

Luke Rockhold’s return to action will have to wait after the middleweight star announced that injury has ruled im out of his UFC 268 clash wish Sean Strickland. “There’s no easy way to really say it, but the fight is off in New York,” Rockhold said on his Instagram story. “I ended up herniating a disc in my back. L4, L5. The docs say it’s nothing I can play with. I need to do some treatment and recovery time.”

Drake Riggs - October 11, 2021

Lauren Murphy has high praise for Valentina Shevchenko after challenging for the UFC flyweight crown at UFC 266. The former Invicta FC bantamweight champion in Murphy rode her best winning streak since her days as a titleholder heading into UFC 266’s co-main event on Sept. 25. Unfortunately for her, “The Bullet” continued her dominant ways by outperforming “Lucky” en route to a fourth-round TKO victory – her first time being finished.

Drake Riggs - October 11, 2021

Carla Esparza believes she should be the one rematching Rose Namajunas next – even more so after Mackenzie Dern’s recent loss. This past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39 main event saw No. 6 ranked strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez score a stout unanimous decision over Dern – leaving the 15-1-2 Brazilian with her lone loss coming to Esparza.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

Justin Gaethje doesn’t think Charles Oliveira is the best lightweight in the UFC, despite being the champion. Oliveira won the vacant lightweight title at UFC 262 as he knocked out Michael Chandler in the second round. However, for Gaethje, despite the Brazilian being the champ, “The Highlight” says Oliveira is not the best lightweight.

Adam Martin - October 11, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming welterweight bout featuring Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269. The news that Edwards would be fighting Masvidal at UFC 269 on December 11 came out Monday. The two welterweight rivals have not liked each other ever since the “three-piece and a soda” incident in London in March 2019. In the two-and-a-half years since then, they have talked a lot of smack to each other. Finally, they will meet inside the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

Jorge Masvidal and Leon Edwards will finally share the Octagon with one another. According to MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, Masvidal and Edwards have agreed to fight one another at UFC 269 on December 11 in a three-round welterweight fight. The event will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. With the fight being added to the pay-per-view, Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 3 has been moved to UFC 270 in January. That event is targeted to happen in Las Vegas or Anaheim, according to Helwani.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

Longtime UFC flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez admits that he already had one foot out the door before his final UFC fight. Benavidez fought Askar Askarov earlier this year at UFC 259 and suffered a unanimous decision defeat in what marked the final fight of his UFC career. For a fighter who was for years one of the best in the world in his weight class, he just didn’t look like the same fighter against Askarov. Six months later, and Benavidez announced that he is done with MMA. After so many years in the sport, he finally made the decision to hang up his gloves.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

UFC light heavyweight fighter Dominick Reyes is not planning on a UFC return until 2022, saying “I gotta take care of my brain a little bit.” Reyes is one of the best light heavyweights in the UFC but he is coming off of three straight losses to Jiri Prochazka, Jan Blachowicz, and Jon Jones. The fight against Prochazka, in particular, was a brutal war that left Reyes knocked out cold. It was a very difficult fight for Reyes and he has taken off the past four months since then. In fact, Reyes says that he wants to take even more time off in order to heal his brain from that fight. He recognizes how much damage he took and he wants to make sure he does his comeback right.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze reacted to the news that he is fighting Calvin Kattar in his next fight in early 2022. Chikadze has been pushing for a big-name opponent, and he was calling out the likes of UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and former champ Max Holloway. In the end, Chikadze has been booked to fight a top-five opponent in Kattar next. The two featherweights are being targeted to meet in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on January 15, 2022. With a win, Chikadze could be in line to earn a title shot at 185lbs.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 39, top-six strawweights collided as Mackenzie Dern was looking to extend her winning streak as she took on Marina Rodriguez. Dern entered the fight coming off an impressive submission win over Nina Nunes which was her fourth win in a row. Rodriguez, meanwhile, was combining off her first UFC main event where she beat Michelle Waterson by decision, and before that, she scored a vicious KO over Amanda Ribas.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

Derek Brunson explains how he underestimated UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya the first time they fought inside the Octagon. Brunson is coming off of five straight wins in the UFC middleweight division, and his next test is a matchup against Jared Cannonier in early 2022. It’s expected that the winner of that fight will take on the winner of Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 for the 185lbs belt. If Brunson does get by Cannonier and fight Adesanya again, it would be a rematch for him. The first time he fought Adesanya, Brunson was knocked out at UFC 230 back in 2018.

Adam D Martin - October 11, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell was reportedly arrested for domestic violence and he is currently sitting in a Los Angeles jail. TMZ Sports reported that Liddell was arrested on Monday morning. According to TMZ, the “L.A. Sherriff’s Department received a call about a fight at a Liddell’s San Fernando Valley home. When cops arrived, they investigated, and determined the 51-year-old former fighter was involved in a verbal argument that turned physical.”

Harry Kettle - October 11, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier believes Daniel Cormier could replace Dana White as UFC president one day. It’s a task that many folks probably wouldn’t want, given the stress that comes with it, but for many years now Dana White has held the position of being UFC president. It doesn’t appear as if he’s going to step down anytime soon but when he does, the company needs to be ready to replace him.