MMA News

Chris Taylor - June 26, 2021

The pros were quick to react following today’s heavyweight contest between Ovince Saint Preux and Tanner Boser at UFC Vegas 30. OSP (25-16 MMA) was returning to heavyweight for the first time since suffering a split-decision loss to Ben Rothwell in May of 2020 this evening. The former interim light heavyweight title challenger had gone 1-2 over his past three bouts, with his lone win in that time coming over Michel Oleksiejczuk by way of submission.

Chris Taylor - June 26, 2021

Today’s UFC Vegas 30 event is co-headlined by a heavyweight contest featuring Ovince Saint Preux taking on Tanner Boser. OSP (25-15 MMA) will be returning to heavyweight for the first time since suffering a split-decision loss to Ben Rothwell in May of 2020 this evening. The former interim light heavyweight title challenger has gone 1-2 over his past three bouts, with his lone win in that time coming over Michel Oleksiejczuk by way of submission.

Chris Taylor - June 26, 2021

UFC legend Jon Jones Facetimed fellow mixed martial arts great Fedor Emelianenko following news that the Russian will be returning to action this Fall. Yesterday it was announced that Emelianenko will headline the first Bellator event in Moscow, which is set to take place on October 23 at VTB Arena. Although Fedor’s participation at the event is official, an opponent for the MMA legend has yet to be confirmed by the promotion.

Chris Taylor - June 26, 2021

The Octagon remains in Nevada for today’s UFC Vegas 30 event, a 13-bout fight card headlined by heavyweights Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov. Gane (8-0 MMA) will be looking to keep his perfect record intact when he takes to the Octagon this afternoon. The Frenchman is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in his most recent effort, which was preceded by a TKO victory over former UFC champion Junior dos Santos.

Chris Taylor - June 25, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will need to finish Raush Manfio this evening at PFL 6 if he hopes to advance to the 155lbs playoffs. Pettis (24-11 MMA) made his PFL debut this past April where he was upset by Clay Collard via unanimous decision. The loss, which snapped a two-fight winning streak for ‘Showtime‘, has forced Anthony into a must-win and must-finish situation this evening in Atlantic City.

Cole Shelton - June 25, 2021

Julian Lane was up to his usual tricks on Friday night. Lane, who might best be known for his famous line of ‘let me bang, bro’ on The Ultimate Fighter is now competing in BKFC. The 33-year-old has been competing in sans gloves promotions since 2018. On Friday, however, after he weighed in, he confronted his opponent, Jake Bostwick. He got right into his face which Bostwick didn’t like so he slapped the TUF veteran. The two then had to be separated but Lane continued to slap himself in the face.

Adam D Martin - June 25, 2021

Fedor Emelianenko headlines the first Bellator event in Moscow, boasting that “the Russian fans are excited for Bellator to come to Russia.” It was revealed earlier this week that the legendary MMA heavyweight would be returning to the Bellator cage this fall, and now we have a date and location for the fight. On Friday, Bellator officially announced its inaugural event in Russia. The card takes place on October 23 in Moscow, Russia, and Emelianenko will be the headliner of the event, though his opponent has yet to be determined. The event will take place at the VTB Arena.

Adam D Martin - June 25, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans says his heart is with Tyron Woodley, but he expects Jake Paul to put up a “tough fight.” Woodley and Paul meet on August 28 on Showtime PPV in what marks the former UFC welterweight champion Woodley’s first professional boxing match. Coming off of a TKO win over Woodley’s longtime friend and training partner Ben Askren, Paul is about as hot of a commodity as there is in combat sports right now, and both he and Woodley are expected to make monster paydays for their boxing match. However, for Woodley, it’s not just about the money, but also proving to all the doubters that he can still win fights at age 39.

Adam D Martin - June 25, 2021

Jake Paul says Anderson Silva looked “amazing” in his boxing match, saying “this just goes to show that MMA strikers are also great boxers.” Silva made his return to the boxing ring this past weekend when he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by split decision in a sizeable upset. At age 46 and having not boxed professionally in over 15 years, it was easy to see where there were so many doubters of “The Spider” leading into his boxing match with Chavez Jr. However, Silva shut up the doubters by going in there and beating a pro boxer with way more experience than him.

Adam D Martin - June 25, 2021

Giga Chikadze blasted his fellow UFC featherweight rivals for refusing to fight him, saying that “everybody is not picking up the phone.” Chikadze is currently the No. 10 ranked featherweight in the UFC. The 32-year-old Georgia native is a perfect 6-0 in the UFC and the last time we saw him, he picked up the biggest win of his career when he stopped Cub Swanson with a body kick in May. Since that fight, Chikadze has made it clear that he wants to get back into the Octagon as soon as possible. He’s spent essentially the last two months calling out nearly every top-10 fighter in the UFC featherweight division, but thus far, no one has picked up the phone to accept the fight.

Adam D Martin - June 25, 2021

Former UFC fighter Jason Miller shares his thoughts on Nate Diaz’s fighting future, suggesting the route he could take towards a title shot. Miller has been back in the MMA news as of late and during a recent interview, he spoke about the UFC welterweight division and what Diaz has to do in order to get a title shot. Despite the fact that Diaz lost a unanimous decision to Leon Edwards at UFC 263 earlier this month, his star power has never been higher as he nearly came back in the fifth round of that fight, and that’s what all the fans are remembering. So despite the fact that Diaz is currently on a two-fight losing skid to Jorge Masvidal and to Edwards, the fact that he is such a popular fighter is keeping his name in the UFC welterweight title conversation.

Adam D Martin - June 25, 2021

UFC featherweight Justin Jaynes said he is betting his entire $25,000 purse on himself against Charles Rosa this weekend at UFC Vegas 30. Jaynes and Rosa meet in the second fight of the night at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 30 event. For Jaynes, this is absolutely a must-win fight for the man known as “The Guitar Hero.” Jaynes kicked off his UFC career last summer with an incredible knockout victory over Frank Camacho in a fantastic short-notice debut for himself, but since then, Jaynes has lost three fights by stoppage. The UFC is giving him one more fight against Rosa and Jaynes knows that he has to go out there and get his hand raised. In fact, he’s so confident that he is going to get the job done that he says he is betting his entire fight purse on himself.

Harry Kettle - June 25, 2021

Henry Cejudo has issued an amusing response after Khabib Nurmagomedov jokingly suggested Hasbulla Magomedov was going to kill him. For those of you who don’t know, Hasbulla, also known as “Mini Khabib”, went viral after as staredown between him and Adbu Rozik went viral over social media. The video gained worldwide recognition both for good and bad reasons with some finding it entertaining, and others insisting that such a fight shouldn’t be allowed to go ahead.

Harry Kettle - June 25, 2021

Israel Adesanya has lashed out at internet trolls after Megan Anderson revealed she was recently threatened with rape. Adesanya has always been a fighter who stands up for what he believes in and, in this instance, he’s one of many who has recognized the magnitude of these disgraceful comments by keyboard warriors online.

Drake Riggs - June 24, 2021

Amanda Ribas has always been one of the nicest fighters in the UFC. The rising Brazilian superstar has been out of action since January but it hasn’t been without a lack of effort. Now, Ribas has a name in mind for a return, and let it be known on Thursday.

Drake Riggs - June 24, 2021

Miesha Tate is ready to return to MMA action and her hard work looks to be paying off. The former UFC bantamweight champ took to social media to share her progress this week. As Tate puts it, expect “Cupcake” 2.0 on July 17.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2021

Dana White says Fight Island is still a big part of the UFC. Last summer, White revealed Fight Island in Abu Dhabi that caught the attention of the sports world. They held several events there including pay-per-views in July, September, and October. However, since returning for three events in January, they haven’t gone back and there has been no talk of returning. Many have wondered if they will go back but according to White, Fight Island is only getting bigger and remains a big part of the UFC plans.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2021

Kevin Lee is disappointed he won’t be making the walk to the Octagon on July 10 at UFC 264. Lee was set to move back up to welterweight to face Sean Brady in a highly-anticipated bout. Yet, on Thursday, Brady revealed Lee was out of the fight due to an injury which Lee confirmed to BJPENN.com.