MMA News
Maycee Barber returns at UFC 269 against Montana De La Rosa
Cole Shelton - September 1, 2021
Maycee Barber will face another rising prospect in her next fight. Barber will return to the Octagon on December 11 at UFC 269 against Montana De La Rosa. De La Rosa announced the fight on an Instagram Live with MMAJunkie on Wednesday. UFC 269 is currently without a location but the plan is to have it at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Darren Stewart released by the UFC
Adam D Martin - September 1, 2021
UFC light heavyweight fighter Darren Stewart was released by the world’s leading MMA promotion following his latest loss in the Octagon. Stewart was brutally finished with strikes by Dustin Jacoby in the first round of their light heavyweight bout at UFC Vegas 35 this past weekend. It was Stewart’s second straight loss following a unanimous decision defeat to Eryk Anders in June, and overall he is winless in his last four fights with a No Contest against Anders earlier this year and a split decision defeat to Kevin Holland last year. Overall in the UFC dating back to his debut in the promotion in 2016, Stewart holds just a 5-7, 2 NC record while fighting inside the Octagon.
Anderson Silva praises Jake Paul, open to boxing Logan Paul in the future
Adam D Martin - September 1, 2021
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva praised YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and says he’s open to boxing Logan Paul in the future. Silva returned to boxing earlier this year when he fought and defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. via split decision in Mexico. He next returns to the ring against Tito Ortiz on September 11, and should he win that fight, there will be lots more opportunities for Silva in the boxing ring. Right now, there are no bigger names in boxing than the Paul brothers, Jake and Logan, and speaking to Submission Radio, Silva praised them for what they are doing.
Mario Yamasaki says he finally might be done with MMA: "I don't know if I'll still referee again"
Adam D Martin - September 1, 2021
Former UFC official Mario Yamasaki says that he finally might be done with MMA, suggesting that “I don’t know if I’ll still referee again.” Yamasaki was one of the most-used referees by the UFC for 20 years before UFC president Dana White banned him from officiating events his company promoted following a controversial late stoppage in the Valentina Shevchenko vs. Priscila Cachoeira fight in February 2018. Since then, Yamasaki has not refereed at any UFC events. Last year, however, he announced that he was going to make a comeback and was in the process of re-training to become an MMA official. However, it looks like the ref has changed his mind.
Sean O’Malley accuses TJ Dillashaw of turning down SUG fight
Harry Kettle - September 1, 2021
UFC prospect Sean O’Malley has accused TJ Dillashaw of turning down a fight against him in Submission Underground. It’s no secret that O’Malley is one of the most intriguing rising stars the UFC has right now and in equal measure, it’s also not a surprise that many of his fellow bantamweights aren’t big fans of him.
Dana White praises Laura Sanko after first night on Contender Series commentary team
Drake Riggs - August 31, 2021
UFC President Dana White isn’t always the easiest critic to satisfy. Season 5 of Dana White’s Contender Series officially got underway on Tuesday night and it made history in multiple ways. Concluding with five UFC contracts handed out despite there only being four fights, fan-favorite broadcaster Laura Sanko also made her commentary debut on a UFC program.
Sean O'Malley shares reason for declining a fight with Frankie Edgar
Drake Riggs - August 31, 2021
Sean O’Malley was recently offered his biggest fight yet. This past weekend the UFC revealed the first batch of fights set to take place at UFC 268 on Nov. 6 in Madison Square Garden. Among the bunch was a bantamweight tilt between Frankie Edgar and Marlon “Chito” Vera.
Justin Gaethje says the lightweight division became 'the laughingstock of the UFC' after Oliveira and Chandler fought for the belt
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021
Justin Gaethje wasn’t a fan of the Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fighting for the vacant lightweight title. When Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov were lightweight champions, the division was never hotter as it was considered the best division in the UFC. However, when Nurmagomedov announced his retirement and vacated his belt, the promotion booked Oliveira vs. Chandler, which Gaethje thinks was a big mistake.
Nate Diaz claims Khabib and Poirier are scared to fight, spawns online feud with Conor McGregor
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021
Nate Diaz has taken shots at Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor on social media on Tuesday. Diaz took to Twitter and blasted Nurmagomedov and Poirier for being scared to fight him. Of course, he and Poirier were supposed to fight at UFC 230, but the fight never came to fruition, and both men claim the other pulled off the bout first.
Nate Diaz seemingly accepts Vicente Luque's callout
Cole Shelton - August 31, 2021
Nate Diaz appears to have accepted Vicente Luque’s callout. After Luque’s past couple of wins, he has said he wanted to fight Diaz next but the Stockton, native has yet to respond. However, the Brazilian continues to call his shot as he says it’s a fight that makes sense and a scrap he wants.
Dustin Poirier anoints himself the "undisputed world champion"
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
Although Charles Oliveira is the current UFC lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier anointed himself the “undisputed world champion.” Poirier is coming off of back-to-back knockout wins over Conor McGregor and is considered by many to be the No. 1 lightweight in the world right now. The problem is, he’s not the champion, it’s Oliveira, who defeated Michael Chandler back at UFC 262 to claim the vacant 155lbs title. Remember, Poirier was offered the title fight at UFC 262 against Oliveira but he turned it down to take a trilogy money fight against McGregor. While that decision paid off for Poirier financially as he made a lot more money fighting against McGregor than he would have to fight Oliveira, it still wasn’t the win he needed to earn the UFC 155lbs title.
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.
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.
Conor McGregor confirms he has two fights left on his UFC contract
Adam D Martin - August 31, 2021
Mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor took to his social media where he confirmed that he has only two fights left on his UFC contract. Holding an impromptu Q&A session with fans on his social media on Monday evening, McGregor dropped a slew of knowledge about himself. When a fan asked McGregor about being a big-time PPV seller, McGregor gave out the information that he has only two UFC fights left on his deal. For the Irishman, he says he holds eight of the top-10 UFC PPV records right now, and he wants to use his last two fights to claim the entire top-10.
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.
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).