MMA News
Alex Morono eyes third-round knockout of David Zawada at UFC Vegas 36: 'I'm looking to do as much damage as possible'
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021
Alex Morono was hoping he would get a quick turnaround after he knocked out Donald Cerrone in the first round, but that wasn’t the case. In May, Morono stepped up on short notice to face Cerrone and he scored a first-round TKO. After that, he was hoping to return in June or July but that didn’t happen. He has now jumped at the chance to face David Zawada on Saturday at UFC Vegas 36, despite it being on short notice.
Paddy Pimblett will be 'very disappointed' if he doesn't finish Luigi Vendramini in the first, plans to 'steal the show'
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021
Paddy Pimblett is ready to finally make his UFC debut. Pimblett was offered UFC contracts when he was 21 and 23 but he turned them down as he didn’t feel he was ready. Now, he believes he is ready to compete and make a run to the top of the lightweight division. The fan-favorite will make his Octagon debut at UFC Vegas 36 on Saturday against Luigi Vendramini. Although Vendramini has fought a couple of times in the UFC, Pimblett says he didn’t know who he was.
UFC Vegas 35 rankings update: Daniel Rodriguez breaks into the welterweight top-15
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
The UFC’s official rankings have been updated following this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 35 event, and Daniel Rodriguez broke into the top-15. Rodriguez defeated Kevin Lee this past weekend at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada in an impressive performance that announced “DRod” as a top contender at 170lbs. Since joining the UFC in February 2020, Rodriguez is 6-1 overall in the Octagon and he is currently riding a three-fight winning streak. He deserved to be ranked after beating Lee, though it comes at the expense of longtime veteran Robbie Lawler falling out of the ranks.
Conor McGregor still believes he can become a three-division champion in the UFC
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
Mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor still believes that he can accomplish his goal and become a three-division champion in the UFC. McGregor is the former UFC featherweight and UFC lightweight champion. In addition to competing at 145lbs and 155lbs during his career, he has also competed at 170lbs, where he holds a 2-1 record with wins over Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone and a loss to Diaz. Despite the fact that McGregor is now getting a bit older and coming off of a horrendous leg break injury against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, the Irishman remains convinced that he has what it takes to become a UFC champion still and in a third division this time around.
Rafael dos Anjos believes Daniel Cormier is hyping up Islam Makhachev too much
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Rafael dos Anjos believes that UFC analyst Daniel Cormier is hyping up his teammate Islam Makhachev too much. Dos Anjos meets Makhachev at UFC 267 in October in what could be a No. 1 contender fight in the UFC lightweight division. For RDA, he’s been scheduled to fight Makhachev twice previously, so he’s looking forward to finally getting the chance to fight his rival and prove that he’s hyped up too much. Speaking to AG Fight ahead of their matchup, dos Anjos explained why he believes Makhachev is getting too much hype. As far as dos Anjos is concerned, his teammate at Kings MMA in Beneil Dariush isn’t getting the respect that he deserves because he doesn’t have AKA’s Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov hyping him.
Jake Paul, Tyron Woodley bank $2 million each for boxing match
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley banked $2 million each for their recent pro boxing match. MMAjunkie.com first reported the official salaries for the recent Paul vs. Woodley card, getting the numbers from the Ohio Athletic Commission. Check out the purses for the card below. Some of the numbers might surprise you, but some of them won’t. See below.
MMA community mourns after veteran fighter Kyle Reyes dies at age 30
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
The MMA community is in mourning after veteran fighter Kyle Reyes, who was a member of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, died at age 30. According to MMAjunkie.com’s report based on the GoFundMe for the fighter, “Reyes had reconstructive surgery on Aug. 27 to repair a torn left bicep. Over the span of the next 24 hours, ‘his health went downhill’ after was found unresponsive after an infection caused one of his lungs to collapse. At the time of the fundraiser kickoff, the infection spread to other organs but Reyes was in stable condition in an intensive care unit.” Unfortunately for Reyes, he ultimately did not make it, and he shockingly passed away at the age of 30.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 49 with Paddy Pimblett, Alex Morono, Modestas Bukauskas, Julian Erosa, and Chidi Njokuani
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021
The 49th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 36 and Week 2 of the Contender Series. We’re first joined by UFC lightweight, Paddy Pimblett (2:57). Next, UFC welterweight, Alex Morono (14:04) comes on. UFC light heavyweight, Modestas Bukauskas (30:07) joins the show. Then, UFC featherweight, Julian Erosa (43:52) comes on. Closing out the program is Bellator vet and now Contender Series middleweight, Chidi Njokuani (59:21).
Video | MMA fighter KOs opponent with flying knee at weigh-ins
Harry Kettle - August 31, 2021
In one of the most insane weigh-in moments you’re ever likely to see, an MMA fighter knocked his opponent out cold with a flying knee. It’s become pretty common for weigh-ins to get heated throughout the mainstream history of mixed martial arts and while bigger promotions may have a better handle on things, there are still instances in which things can go wrong at any given moment. After all, these are professionally trained fighters we’re talking about here.
Lilya Shakirova handed two-year suspension from USADA
Drake Riggs - August 30, 2021
UFC fans won’t be seeing Lilya Shakirova on their screens until 2022. USADA announced on Monday that the UFC flyweight prospect had received a suspension for past usage of a banned substance.
Jake Paul claims he's 'retired' after defeating Tyron Woodley
Cole Shelton - August 30, 2021
Jake Paul has claimed he is now a retired boxer. Paul won his fourth professional bout on Sunday as he defeated former UFC welterweight champ, Tyron Woodley by split decision. Although it was ruled a split, most media members thought it was a clear win for Paul who threw more volume and landed more shots than Woodley. However, “The Chosen One” did rock Paul in the fourth and nearly dropped him but it wasn’t enough.
Conor McGregor praises legend Jose Aldo for his recent success: "I would have loved to do it again. He deserved more, I thought"
Joe McDonagh - August 30, 2021
Conor McGregor has nothing but praise for former rival Jose Aldo, this after the Brazilian has strung together back-to-back wins at bantamweight. Aldo was on an insane 18 fight winning streak before meeting the Irishman in December of 2015.
Kevin Lee says he's 'proud of what I was able to do' against Daniel Rodriguez and says his 'best performances are ahead of me'
Cole Shelton - August 30, 2021
Kevin Lee has broken down his loss to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 35. Lee was moving up to welterweight and was set to fight Sean Brady, but Brady was forced out of the bout and replaced by Rodriguez. Early on, Lee had success using his wrestling but Rodriguez started to find success on the feet and even rocked “The Motown Phenom” at one point and ended up winning a decision.
Tyron Woodley continues to go after Jake Paul, claims he's his 'daddy'
Cole Shelton - August 30, 2021
Tyron Woodley claims he is Jake Paul’s daddy after their boxing match on Sunday. Woodley lost a split decision to Paul in the main event of Showtime boxing in a very close fight. Both men didn’t throw much volume but Woodley landed the more powerful blows as he rocked Paul and many think had the rope not been there, it would’ve been a knockdown.
Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena rebooked for UFC 269
Cole Shelton - August 30, 2021
Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena will now fight at UFC 269 with the bantamweight title up for grabs. Nunes and Pena were supposed to fight at UFC 265 in August but the champ-champ got COVID-19 and the fight was postponed. Now, the UFC announced on Monday that the bantamweight title fight will take place on December 11 at UFC 269 at a location TBD. It’s also uncertain what the main event of the year-end pay-per-view will be.
BJ Penn trashes Jake Paul for licking his gloves during Tyron Woodley fight: “Don’t even copy me again you f*cking pussy”
Adam D Martin - August 30, 2021
Legend BJ Penn trashed Jake Paul for licking his gloves during the Tyron Woodley fight, saying “Don’t even copy me again you f*cking pussy.” One of the most infamous images of Penn during his legendary career in the UFC was seeing him lick the blood off of his gloves following his wins over Joe Stevenson and Sean Sherk inside the Octagon. “The Prodigy” beat down both men in the Octagon and after vanquishing them, he licked his gloves, which has become a meme all to itself in MMA.
Tommy Fury blasts Jake Paul, doubts he fights again: 'I don’t think Jake Paul has got a lot of balls'
Cole Shelton - August 30, 2021
Tommy Fury has blasted Jake Paul after both of them picked up wins on Sunday night in Cleveland. Fury and Paul have taken shots at one another for months now and many expected if both of them won they would fight next. Yet, for Fury, he says after Paul getting rocked and being gassed, he doesn’t believe the brash YouTuber-turned-boxer will box again.
Jake Paul believes he is the new face of combat sports following boxing win over Tyron Woodley
Adam D Martin - August 30, 2021
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul believes that he is the new face of combat sports following his boxing win over Tyron Woodley. Paul defeated Woodley via split decision in his native Cleveland, Ohio to improve to a perfect 4-0 as a professional boxer. Not only has Paul been winning his fights, but he has also been selling out arenas and doing huge numbers of pay-per-view. For a guy who most people thought was just a Disney star and a YouTuber two years ago, to see what he has done in the fight game since then has been pretty astonishing to watch, and Paul knows it.