MMA News

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2021

Dustin Poirier believes Max Holloway is the most skilled opponent he has ever beat. Poirier and Holloway first met at UFC 143 which was Holloway’s UFC debut. Poirier ended up winning by first-round submission but they then rematched in 2019 at UFC 236 for the interim lightweight title. Holloway was the reigning featherweight champ and Poirier was a top contender and it was “The Diamond” who won a decision.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong promised fans the “biggest card by far” in ONE Championship history this winter. ONE Championship turns 10 years old later this year, and as part of the organization’s plan to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Sityodtong is promising fans that he will deliver a massive card. Speaking to Tom Taylor of Bleacher Report, Sityodtong hinted that the December ONE card is going to be absolutely massive, though he was unable to announce any fights as of yet. Still, it’s a hint for fans that they should expect a terrific night of MMA.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping says that “you can’t hate on Jake Paul” ahead of the Tyron Woodley boxing match. Paul takes on Woodley this Sunday night in his native Cleveland, Ohio in what is expected to be one of the biggest boxing matches of the summer. For Paul, he’s already a perfect 3-0 in boxing and is looking to collect the biggest name on his resume yet when he takes on Woodley, who will be making his professional boxing debut. It should be a very intriguing fight to see how it plays out, with Paul being the favorite according to the oddsmakers.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2021

Bryan Battle is one win away from becoming the next Ultimate Fighter. Battle was set to face Tresean Gore in the finale but last week, Dana White announced Gore was out of the fight with a knee injury. According to Battle, he only found out one day prior and he believes the fight with Gore is one of those cursed matchups in MMA as it has been canceled a couple of times in the past.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

Charles Oliveira expects his first UFC lightweight title defense in December, but he is unsure if it will come against Dustin Poirier. Oliveira defeated Michael Chandler via second-round KO back at UFC 262 in May to win the vacant UFC lightweight title. Next in line to face “Do Bronx” appears to be the No. 1 lightweight contender in Poirier, but “The Diamond” seems to be more interested in a money fight against Nate Diaz at this time rather than stepping into the cage with Oliveira.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier says he is “living rent free” in rival Conor McGregor’s head following their recent Twitter spat. Poirier defeated McGregor via first-round TKO at UFC 264 in July for his second straight win over his rival. While his second-round TKO win at UFC 257 earlier this year was a clean stoppage with no controversy, the trilogy fight saw McGregor break his leg, which led to the doctor stoppage. Even though Poirier is 2-1 all-time in their series and McGregor is out for the next year with his injury, it hasn’t stopped the Irishman from taking to his social media as of late to take shots at Poirier and his family. But Poirier says he doesn’t care.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 35, top-10 featherweights and two of the best strikers in the division collide as Edson Barboza takes on Giga Chikadze. Ahead of the fight, Barboza is a -115 favorite while the Georgian is the -105 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are split on this one but the slight majority lean towards Giga Chikadze getting it done and likely by stoppage.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

Top bantamweight contender Jose Aldo shared a motivational quote following his UFC career revival, saying “don’t give up on your dreams.” Aldo’s career appeared to be coming to a screeching halt just last year following a brutal fifth-round TKO defeat to Petr Yan at UFC 251. It was a devastating loss for Aldo, who had lost to Alexander Volkanovski and Marlon Moraes before that for a three-fight losing skid. You could forgive fans for thinking that Aldo’s career was on a huge decline given his losing skid between 2019 and 2020, but the Brazilian proved that he is a legend once again by bouncing back in his last two outings with wins over Pedro Munhoz and Marlon Vera at 135.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

UFC featherweight contender Edson Barboza appears to be absolutely shredded ahead of his fight against Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 35. Barboza, the longtime UFC lightweight contender, moved down to 145lbs last year for the first time in his UFC career. Although he lost a controversial split decision to Dan Ige in his featherweight debut, “Junior” bounced back with a decision win over Makwan Amirkhani, before knocking out Shane Burgos at UFC 262 in one of the best fights of 2021. With Barboza on a two-fight win streak and entrenched as one of the top-10 featherweights in the UFC, the promotion booked him against the red-hot Chikadze for the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 35 event, in what should be an entertaining fight between strikers.

Adam D Martin - August 25, 2021

Heavyweight great Alistair Overeem says that fellow legend Fedor Emelianenko declined to fight him in Bellator not to mention in Strikeforce. Overeem became a free agent following a knockout loss to Alexander Volkov earlier this year in the UFC. “The Demolition Man” was open to signing with different promotions and had talks with Bellator about potentially fighting Emelianenko, but the fight didn’t end up getting booked, and Emelianenko instead chose Tim Johnson to fight. For his part, Overeem decided that he will take a break from MMA for now and re-joined GLORY.

Drake Riggs - August 24, 2021

Dustin Poirier is in the perfect position to get his second career undisputed UFC title shot. “The Diamond” is fresh off of back-to-back finishes of former lightweight and featherweight titleholder Conor McGregor with a fight of 2020 opposite Dan Hooker preceding.

Joe McDonagh - August 24, 2021

Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee had plenty to say about the legacy of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Lee spoke to Ariel Helwani of the MMA Hour, showcasing his distain of the fact the always rumored battles between Lee and Nurmagomedov never became a reality. Lee puts blame on Dominance MMA head hancho, and Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

Cole Shelton - August 24, 2021

Tyron Woodley is eager to spoil all Jake Paul’s plans on Sunday in Cleveland. Paul, the former Disney and YouTube star turned boxer, is 3-0 as a pro but will get his toughest test on Sunday when he faces Woodley. It’s an intriguing matchup but for “The Chosen One” he has some violent plans for Paul.

Cole Shelton - August 24, 2021

Jacare Souza admits he made one big mistake during his UFC run. After Souza suffered a submission loss to Andre Muniz at UFC 262, the Brazilian was released from the promotion. He ended his UFC tenure on a four-fight losing skid and during that run, he dropped a split decision to Jan Blachowicz. Despite his losing streak, Souza was also a top middleweight contender and the former Strikeforce middleweight champion admits he should’ve waited for a title shot.

Adam D Martin - August 24, 2021

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is convinced that he is in UFC president Dana White’s head over the fighter pay remarks he recently made. Paul has been at the forefront of the fighter pay movement for UFC fighters. The boxing star wants White to pay his fighters more, and with Paul being so vocal about the low fighter pay in the UFC, it’s led to a number of MMA fighters speaking out recently about their pay, including middleweight contender Jared Cannonier, and women’s strawweight Cheyanne Buys. However, despite the increased talk about fighter pay, there haven’t been any changes to the way UFC fighters are paid in regards to giving them a bump in pay.

Adam D Martin - August 24, 2021

Following his war with Sean O’Malley at UFC 264, UFC bantamweight Kris Moutinho is set to return to the UFC this fall against Aaron Phillips. Moutinho vs. Phillips will take place on a UFC Fight Night card that is set for October 23. Nolan King of MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the news on Mountinho’s next fight.

Cole Shelton - August 24, 2021

Kevin Lee just wanted to fight at UFC Vegas 35 on August 28 and he got his wish. Lee was supposed to face Sean Brady but the ranked welterweight was forced out of the fight with a foot injury. After that, “The Motown Phenom” began calling out several welterweights but it was Daniel Rodriguez who accepted the fight.

Adam D Martin - August 24, 2021

Despite being removed from the rankings after his contract with the UFC recently expired, Demian Maia wants one more fight in the Octagon. Maia lost a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 in June, and after the fight, UFC president Dana White hinted it would likely be the 43-year-old Brazilian’s last fight in the UFC. However, Maia said that he was hoping the UFC would give him one more fight, and he called upon fellow legends such as Nate Diaz for his final farewell fight. Ultimately, it appears as though the UFC has made the decision to sever ties with Maia following his recent contract expiration. However, Maia tells MMAFighting.com he is still hopeful that he will get one last fight in the Octagon, and ideally that fight would take place in Brazil.