MMA News

Chris Taylor - July 31, 2021

Tonight’s UFC Vegas 33 event is down to a total of ten contests, this after losing its scheduled co-headliner between Rani Yahya and Kyung Ho Kang. Yahya (27-10-1 MMA) and Kang (17-8 MMA) had been booked in a bantamweight matchup which was set to serve as the co-main attraction of tonight’s fight card in Las Vegas.

Christopher Taylor - July 30, 2021

UFC middleweight Darren Till is being investigated by Merseyside Police after sharing offensive posts on his official Instagram page. Till (18-3-1 MMA) has amassed a large social media following thanks to his erratic trash talk and brash sense of humor. However, a few days ago the Liverpool native apparently crossed the line when he shared a meme mocking transgender pregnancy.

Chris Taylor - July 30, 2021

Nate Diaz has responded after being labelled a “bitch ass fake gangster” by top UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns. Burns (20-4 MMA) returned to the win column earlier this month at UFC 264, where he defeated former welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson by way of unanimous decision. Following his victory over ‘Wonderboy’, the Brazilian proceeded to callout a number of fighters including Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards and the aforementioned Nate Diaz.

Cole Shelton - July 30, 2021

Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler will finally meet inside the Octagon. Ever since Chandler signed to the UFC, he has been linked to a fight with Gaethje. After both men lost their fights for the belt, the scrap made all the more sense. However, the former Bellator champ claimed Gaethje was turning him down. Now, according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Gaethje and Chandler have agreed to fight one another on November 6 at UFC 268. The event will likely take place at Madison Square Garden.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 33 took place on Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada, and we had a huge weight miss from Nicco Montano. Montano, who has struggled to make weight throughout her UFC career, came in at 143lbs for her women’s bantamweight bout against Wu Yanan. Montano has not fought in over two years and has had a string of fights scratched. The UFC has officially confirmed that this fight is off.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson says that rival Gilbert Burns was “scared of my striking” during their recent fight at UFC 264. Thompson lost a unanimous decision to Burns in the co-main event of UFC 264 earlier this month. It wasn’t the most exciting fight in the world, and UFC president Dana White later criticized Burns for his grappling-heavy approach to the fight. Still, the Brazilian did what he needed to do to win the fight and to nullify the striking of Thompson, widely considered one of the best standup fighters in the UFC. But if you ask Thompson, the reason why Burns was so content to holding him down is that he was scared of his striking attacks.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Pitbull sent a warning about respect to his upcoming opponent AJ McKee ahead of Bellator 263. Pitbull, the Bellator 145lbs and 155lbs champion, steps into the cage on Saturday night in Los Angeles against McKee in the finals of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix. Pitbull has won seven straight fights heading into this finale, while McKee is undefeated with a 17-0 record in Bellator and in MMA. The son of former UFC fighter Antonio McKee is confident that he can beat Pitbull, and at the press conference ahead of the fight, he told the Brazilian that he would beat him up in front of his wife and kids. Pitbull did not take kindly to the comments and they got into an altercation afterwards, which he explained.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

Uriah Hall is hoping for a future UFC title fight against Israel Adesanya, saying that “I think my style is perfectly matched up for him.” Hall takes on Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC Vegas 33 this Saturday night in a battle of top-15 ranked middleweights. Both Hall and Strickland are riding four-fight win streaks into this fight, so the winner will assuredly be in line for a top-ranked opponent should they win in an impressive fashion. For both Hall and Strickland, the goal is to keep getting their hands raised and eventually get to a title shot against the middleweight champion Adesanya. For Hall, beating Strickland would give him five straight wins at 185lbs, and after beating Anderson Silva and Chris Weidman previously, he is hoping that a big win over Strickland will springboard him to near the top of the middleweight division.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

An exciting bantamweight bout between Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz has been promoted to the new co-main event spot at UFC 265. Aldo and Munhoz were previously scheduled to meet in a main card battle, but now that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena had to be pulled from the card, this intriguing matchup between elite bantamweights has been promoted to the co-main event of UFC 265. TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter was the first to reveal the news.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes issued a statement after withdrawing from the Julianna Pena title fight at UFC 265. Nunes tested positive for COVID-19 and her 135lbs title fight against Pena — which was scheduled to take place next Saturday night at UFC 265 in Houston, Texas — had to be canceled. The UFC’s plan is to keep this title fight intact and book it for later this year once Nunes is healthy again. It’s unfortunate that Nunes and Pena had to have been taken off the card, but sadly, this is unlikely to be the only COVID-19 withdrawal coming up given how many people around the world are still dealing with the coronavirus and its variants.

Harry Kettle - July 30, 2021

Jorge Masvidal has claimed that Colby Covington has hired police for his own protection due to his rivalry with “Gamebred”. The former American Top Team friends and teammates have been throwing shots at one another for longer than most of us can remember. Covington hasn’t been afraid to throw his previous friendships from ATT well and truly under the bus, and while his Dustin Poirier feud has been nasty to watch, his encounters with Masvidal have seemingly cut even deeper.

Christopher Taylor - July 29, 2021

While the idea of a fight between UFC stars Conor McGregor and Jorge Masvidal may sound appealing, the odds of it coming to fruition are slim. Masvidal (35-15 MMA) and McGregor (22-6 MMA) have shared similar results as of late. Both men are coming off of back-to-back losses, as ‘Gamebred’ has suffered consecutive defeats to Kamaru Usman, while ‘Mystic Mac’ is coming off two stoppage losses to Dustin Poirier.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has been forced to withdraw from the Julianna Pena matchup at UFC 265 next weekend. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger broke the news on Thursday that Nunes has tested positive for COVID-19 and her upcoming title defense against Nunes has been canceled. It was scheduled to be the co-main event for UFC 265. According to UFC exec Hunter Campbell, the promotion is hoping to re-book the fight for later this year once Nunes is good to go.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

Welterweight contender Ray Cooper III blasted MMA judges ahead of the PFL semifinals, saying “they don’t know what the hell they’re doing.” The winner of the $1 million grand prize in the PFL season two welterweight tournament, Cooper takes on Rory MacDonald in the semifinals of the promotion’s third season in August. The only reason the bracket is the way it is is that MacDonald lost a controversial split decision to Gleison Tibau in his second regular-season fight. It was an extremely controversial call by the judges, and MacDonald has publicly blasted the judges himself. Now, his opponent Cooper is coming to his defense as well following the bad decision.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

UFC middleweight Sean Strickland fired back at his critics after the Orlando Sanchez incident, saying that “people are f*cking dumb, dude.” Strickland and Sanchez got involved in a viral incident last month after a video was released of Strickland hitting Sanchez after the BJJ ace tried to crank his arm. Speaking to MMA reporter James Lynch, Strickland fired back at his critics following the viral incident.

Cole Shelton - July 29, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 33, top-15 middleweights collide as Uriah Hall takes on Sean Strickland. Ahead of the fight, Hall is a +180 underdog while the 11th ranked middleweight is a -220 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe Hall will go the job done by knockout.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington shared his prediction for the upcoming Tyron Woodley vs. Jake Paul boxing match. Woodley and Paul meet on August 29 in a professional boxing match that is expected to be one of the most highly-anticipated fights of the year. Ahead of the fight, one of Woodley’s past opponents in the Octagon, Covington, spoke to MMA reporter James Lynch and offered his prediction on the fight.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

UFC heavyweight Chris Daukaus told the UFC to “pull him from the rankings” after Shamil Abdurakhimov withdrew from their upcoming fight. The heavyweight matchup pitting Daukaus vs. Abdurakhimov was expected to be the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC Vegas 33 card, but the fight was canceled when Abdurakhimov was forced out due to COVID-19 protocols with his camp. For Abdurakhimov, this was yet another canceled fight for the Russian, who hasn’t fought since a TKO loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 242: Nurmagomedov vs. Poirier in September 2019. Since then, Abdurakhimov’s last five fights have all be canceled. But despite having not fought in nearly two years, for some reason, Abdurakhimov is still ranked in the top-10.