MMA News

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2021

Kris Moutinho is planning to prove he is not just a punching bag in his second UFC fight. Moutinho stepped up on short notice against Sean O’Malley at UFC 264 and lost by third-round TKO. It was a total beatdown as O’Malley landed 230 significant strikes including 177 of those to the head. Although he was praised for his toughness, it still was a tough fight for Moutinho.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has been deemed out of the Vitor Belfort boxing match, and Evander Holyfield is expected to step in instead. TMZ Sports first reported the news that De La Hoya is out of the Belfort fight, which was scheduled to take place on September 11. Instead, Belfort will fight Holyfield now, although the fight has not been officially sanctioned yet. Either way, De La Hoya is out of the fight and on Friday afternoon he announced to his fans he the reason he is out is due to COVID-19. According to De La Hoya, he is fully vaccinated but still contracted the coronavirus.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

Former longtime UFC veteran Diego Sanchez is expected to sign with BKFC and have some “really exciting matchups” with the promotion. Sanchez was released by the UFC a few months ago after his former coach and mentor, Joshua Fabia, got into a dispute with the promotion regarding Sanchez’s medicals. Sanchez has since left Fabia to be on his own, but it doesn’t appear a return to the UFC is in the cards. Instead, it appears as though BKFC will likely be the next promotion for Sanchez.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 36 took place on Friday in Las Vegas, and 19 of the 20 fighters scheduled to compete made weight. In the headliner, both Derek Brunson and Darren Till successfully made weight for their middleweight clash. Both Brunson and Till are top-10 ranked fighters in the UFC middleweight division and the winner of this fight should be close to getting a title shot at 185lbs. Brunson successfully made weight at 186lbs, while Till made weight at 185.5lbs.

Cole Shelton - September 3, 2021

Chidi Njokuani knows he has all the skills to hang in the UFC and all that is left to prove it. Njokuani signed to Bellator in 2015 and went 5-3 and has notable wins over Melvin Guillard and Ricky Rainey. His losses, meanwhile, were to the best of the best in Andrey Koreshkov, John Salter, and Rafael Carvalho. The 32-year-old also beat Max Griffin on the regional scene in 2015 and now he will get a shot to enter the UFC.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes opened up as a massive betting favorite for the Julianna Pena title fight at UFC 269. The UFC officially announced that Nunes vs. Pena will fight at UFC 269, which is set to take place on December 11. The fight was originally supposed to take place back at UFC 265 in August but Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was postponed until December. With the fight now rescheduled, the betting odds have been opened back up.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson thanked former UFC champions Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo for their recent praise of him. Steveson won the gold medal in Tokyo this summer in men’s freestyle wrestling (125kgs division). Not only did Steveson dominate the tournament with his powerful wrestling skills, but he also became a bit of a media sensation because of his look and personality. There are a lot of people who now believe that Steveson should make the move to either MMA or to WWE. Both of them would be natural transitions for Steveson, who would be following in the footsteps of other former Olympians such as Cejudo and Cormier, among others.

Adam D Martin - September 3, 2021

UFC middleweight Darren Till explained why “you need to have thick skin in the sport” when it comes to trash-talking in MMA. Till is one of the better trash-talkers in the game, but he himself has also been the victim of trash-talking from his past and future opponents. Speaking to the media ahead of his UFC Vegas 36 main event against Derek Brunson, Till explained why he believes fighters should know what they are getting themselves into when it comes to trash talk in this sport. As far as Till goes, there is absolutely nothing off-limits when it comes to that.

Harry Kettle - September 3, 2021

UFC featherweight Giga Chikadze has given his thoughts on the latest UFC rankings update – and he isn’t happy. The Georgian sensation put on a real show last weekend with an emphatic stoppage win over UFC veteran Edson Barboza. Many expected it to be far more even than it was but in the end, Chikadze proved that there’s every chance he could be a future champion in this division.

Alfredo Zullino - September 3, 2021

The only man who has been able to knock out current Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya is about to make his promotional debut, as former kickboxing star Alex Pereira locks horns with Andreas Michailidis in a 185-pound clash. The fight will take place at PPV event UFC 268, on November 6, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation informed BJPENN.com. The sources asked for anonymity since the news hasn’t been officially announced. The fight will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Harry Kettle - September 3, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Derek Brunson believes Darren Till has earned the hype he receives in comparison to the likes of Sean O’Malley. This Saturday night in Las Vegas, both Brunson and Till will hope to move a step closer to a UFC middleweight title shot against Israel Adesanya. Brunson is riding a nice four-fight win streak whereas Till, even though he’s coming off the back of a loss to Robert Whittaker, could vault himself right back into contention with an impressive win at the weekend.

Drake Riggs - September 2, 2021

Aljamain Sterling isn’t putting up with the B.S. from MMA fans anymore. The current UFC bantamweight champion won his title at UFC 259 in March when challenging Russia’s Petr Yan. However, Sterling’s win came uniquely as he became the first fighter to become champion off of a disqualification.

Joe McDonagh - September 2, 2021

It is rare at times we get to see a title contender meet a fast rising prospect in the division. We have exactly that with Michael Chiesa Vs. Sean Brady, which was confirmed earlier today by MMA Junkie. The UFC has yet to officially announce the fight, but according to reports both sides are in agreement. Chiesa is coming off a rough loss to Vicente Luque, via 1st round submission. ‘Maverick’ previously was on a 4 fight win streak, including wins over Diego Sanchez, Carlos Condit, Rafeal Dos Anjos and Neil Magny. The welterweight contender was noticeably upset with himself, via a social media post, and it is not surprising he finds himself back in the cage soon after the defeat.

Joe McDonagh - September 2, 2021

The “Suga Show” Sean O’Malley has shared a prediction for the upcoming fan delight of Marlon Vera Vs. former champion Frankie Edgar. The Madison Square Garden return is set, headlined by welterweight phenom, Kamaru Usman Vs. the outspoken American Colby Covington. In addition, Vera vs Edgar is slated to take place at the event.

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2021

Anderson Silva thinks Israel Adesanya will be the UFC’s middleweight champion for the foreseeable future. Adesanya is coming off a decision victory over Marvin Vettori to defend his middleweight title for the third time. However, in the fight before he did lose to Jan Blachowicz by decision for the light heavyweight belt. Yet, for Silva, he says Adesanya is too skilled and doesn’t see anyone beating him in the weight class.

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2021

Darren Till is confident he will beat Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC Vegas 36 and he has violent plans for him. Till is coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker last July and since then he has been recovering from an injury. With a win, the Englishman says he’s going to get a title shot and not just plans to win, but win in style against Brunson.

Cole Shelton - September 2, 2021

Justin Gaethje wanted to fight Max Holloway and had hoped he would move up to lightweight again. After Gaethje was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight strap last October, he said he wanted to return ASAP. That didn’t come to fruition and he has been on the sidelines for over a year by the time he returns. When he was sitting on the sidelines and he saw the featherweight title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega get delayed, he said he asked for a fight with Holloway.

Adam D Martin - September 2, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor thanked former middleweight kingpin, Anderson Silva, for his advice on dealing with his broken leg. McGregor broke his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 and he is expected to be out for the next year as he recovers from the broken limb. Silva, of course, famously broke his leg against Chris Weidman at UFC 168 in December 2013. So if there is anyone who knows how to come back from a broken leg in order to have a successful career, it’s Silva.