MMA News

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva called his fellow legend BJ Penn one of the four greatest MMA fighters of all time. Silva is considered by many fans to be one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time himself, so his opinion truly matters when it comes to the MMA GOAT discussion. Speaking to GiveMeSport, Silva was asked who would be on his Mt. Rushmore for the four greatest mixed martial artists of all time. According to “The Spider,” he would put the aforementioned Penn, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Royce Gracie, and Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira in his top-four of all time.

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier slammed “mentally weak” rival Conor McGregor for his injury excuses following UFC 264. Poirier defeated McGregor via first-round TKO at UFC 264 earlier this month to claim the pair’s trilogy by a score of 2-1. However, the ending of the fight was controversial as McGregor broke his leg which directly led to the finish. Since the fight has gone down, McGregor has come out publicly and stated that he had an injury heading into the Poirier fight. But as far as “The Diamond” goes, he doesn’t care for McGregor’s excuses.

Cole Shelton - July 22, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 32, Cory Sandhagen welcomes back former bantamweight champ, TJ Dillashaw from his two-year USADA suspension in a highly-anticipated bout. Entering the fight, Sandhagen is a -195 favorite while the former champ is a +165 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in the thinking Sandhagen gets the win with many thinking he stops Dillashaw in the process.

Cole Shelton - July 22, 2021

Adrian Yanez sees a lot of similarities between his UFC Vegas 32 fight against Randy Costa and the first time Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor fought. Yanez and Costa are both coming off back-to-back highlight-reel KO wins. They also both have a lot of hype behind them. Yet, many have said this fight is happening too soon. Yanez, however, disagrees with it as he thinks they will eventually meet again years down the line in a much bigger fight similar to Poirier and McGregor.

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen explained why EPO was his preferred drug of choice, saying that “it’s going to give you more endurance.” Sonnen was a big star for the UFC in the early part of the 2010s but his career went downhill after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs on three occasions, which eventually led to the end of his career in the UFC. He finished off his career with a stint in Bellator, and ever since retiring in 2019, Sonnen has been incredibly open about his previous use of performance-enhancing drugs during his mixed martial arts career.

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

Rafael dos Anjos says he wants to beat Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 and then get the rematch with his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov. Dos Anjos and Nurmagomedov fought back in 2014, with Nurmagomedov winning the fight via unanimous decision. However, in a twist of fate, Nurmagomedov suffered an injury following that fight, and dos Anjos actually got the chance to fight for the UFC lightweight belt before him, defeating Anthony Pettis to take home the title in 2015. Dos Anjos would lose the belt in 2016 to Eddie Alvarez, and Nurmagomedov finally claimed it himself in 2018 when he defeated Al Iaquinta. Although Nurmagomedov is now retired from MMA, dos Anjos still wants this rematch one day in order to avenge his earlier career defeat.

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

Sean Strickland believes that a win over Uriah Hall at UFC Vegas 33 and then one more after that could earn him a middleweight title shot. Strickland returns to the Octagon next Saturday in his first five-round UFC main event when he takes on Hall in the headliner of UFC Vegas 33. For Strickland, he has looked quite exceptional since returning to the Octagon last year following a motorcycle accident in 2018 that left his career in question. Since making his comeback, “Tarzan” has looked absolutely phenomenal inside the Octagon with wins over Jack Marshman and Brendan Allen. Since moving up to 185lbs, Strickland appears to be a serious contender, especially now that he is not forced to cut a ton of weight in order to make welterweight.

Adam D Martin - July 22, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington explained why TJ Dillashaw will lose against Cory Sandhagen at this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 32 event. Dillashaw returns from a 30-month layoff this weekend when he takes on his former training partner Sandhagen in a potential No. 1 contender bout at 135lbs. Remember, Dillashaw never lost his belt in a fight, but rather gave it up when he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Dillashaw has been open about why he used PEDs before his fight with Henry Cejudo, but Covington doesn’t stand for anyone that cheats in MMA.

Harry Kettle - July 22, 2021

Conor McGregor’s close friend and training partner Artem Lobov believes the Irishman’s recent post-fight interview shouldn’t have happened. Back at UFC 264, McGregor was once again beaten by Dustin Poirier – this time as a result of a doctor stoppage due to a broken leg. After Poirier was interviewed by Joe Rogan, the UFC production team seemingly thought it’d be a good idea to go over and also speak with Conor, which didn’t end well.

Harry Kettle - July 22, 2021

Former UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich has explained her decision to take on former foe Paige VanZant in BKFC. While VanZant has already made an appearance in the promotion, Ostovich is set to step into the ring for the first time tomorrow night when she takes on PVZ in a rematch of their January 2019 bout in the UFC. It’ll mark the first combat appearance for Ostovich since losing to Gina Mazany back in November 2020, after which she was released from her UFC contract.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2021

Gilbert Burns and Jake Shields got into a heated argument on social media after the Brazilian called out Nate Diaz. Burns, who returned to the win column with a decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 is looking to find his next opponent. He called out several welterweights like Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. Yet, Shields, who is a longtime teammate of Diaz didn’t think kindly of Burns’ callout.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2021

Justin Gaethje has responded to Michael Chandler’s recent comments. On Tuesday, Chandler spoke on an Instagram Live where he made it clear that he wanted to fight Gaethje next. He said one of them would add the other to their highlight reel, but the former Bellator champ claimed “The Highlight” had turned him down a couple of times already.

Adam D Martin - July 21, 2021

A welterweight matchup pitting Rory MacDonald vs. Ray Cooper III is among the newly-announced PFL season three playoff semifinal matchups. PFL announced the complete list of its season three semifinal bouts this week on its social media, with three events scheduled to take place on August 13, August 19, and August 27.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2021

Maycee Barber has been training at a new camp for her UFC Vegas 32 fight against Miranda Maverick. After Barber lost her second fight in a row to Alexa Grasso at UFC 258, she decided to change camps and had to California to train at Team Alpha Male. “The Future” has already been at several gyms like Factory X, Roufusport, JacksonWink, and in Chicago under Mike Valle among others. However, the reason why she made the switch to Team Alpha Male for this fight was due to COVID-19 restrictions among other reasons.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2021

Randy Costa and Adrian Yanez have one of the weirder fight bookings in recent memory. After Yanez picked up his second UFC win, many on MMA Twitter called for him to face Costa. After the Massachusetts native didn’t respond to fans asking if he’d take the fight, some said he was scared. However, “Zohan” quickly responded saying he’s not scared and he likes Adrian but took a shot at Dr. Pepper which is Yanez’s drink of choice. The Texan dumped on Reese’s which Costa likes and the fight was born.

Adam D Martin - July 21, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight Miesha Tate praised the “awesome and inspiring” Marion Reneau following her retirement fight at UFC Vegas 31. Tate finished Reneau in the third round of their women’s 135lbs bout at last weekend’s UFC Vegas 31 card. For Tate, it was her comeback to MMA after a five-year layoff where she started a family, while for Reneau, she had announced before the fight that it would be the final walk of her MMA career. Following the loss, which was Reneau’s fifth straight defeat in the Octagon, she lived up to her word and left her gloves in the center of the Octagon.

Adam D Martin - July 21, 2021

Former Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa says he wants a welterweight title shot with a win over Vicente Luque at UFC 265. Chiesa and Luque lock horns on the UFC 265 pay-per-view card on August 7 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. This is a big fight in the stacked UFC welterweight division as Chiesa is the No. 5 ranked fighter in the weight class and Luque is at No. 6. With Chiesa coming off of four straight wins at 170lbs over Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, Rafael dos Anjos, and Neil Magny, he believes that a fifth consecutive win over a top-ranked contender such as Luque could be enough to earn him a title shot in a stacked division.

Adam D Martin - July 21, 2021

Billy Quarantillo plans on celebrating his recent “Fight of the Night” award at UFC Vegas 31 by making a ‘Billy Junior’ on his honeymoon. In one of the best fights of the year, Quarantillo and Gabriel Benitez went back-and-forth for nearly the full three rounds before Quarantillo was able to get the TKO late in the final stanza. For Quarantillo, this was a very important win because he recently had a long winning streak snapped in his last fight with a loss to Gavin Tucker. By beating Benitez in impressive fashion, not only is Quarantillo now back into the win column, but he is also $50,000 richer thanks to earning the event’s coveted “Fight of the Night” bonus award.