MMA News

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.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 30, Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov meet in a battle of top-five heavyweights. Gane is the -157 favorite while the Russian is a +130 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe Volkov will pull off the upset as his striking and range will be too much for Gane.

Adam D Martin - June 24, 2021

MMA play-by-play color commentator Mike Goldberg revealed his “awkward” encounter with UFC president Dana White after being fired by UFC. Goldberg, who most recently worked for Bellator MMA as its lead play-by-play announcer, worked for the UFC for 20 years between 1997 and 2017 before he was released by the organization and replaced by Jon Anik as the promotion’s top commentator. For Goldberg, being let go by the UFC came as a big shock since the company was doing so well and he was one of the people who were there since the early days. But the UFC and White decided that they needed to make a change and they let Goldberg go back in 2017. According to the longtime mic man, White didn’t bother telling Goldberg why the company let him go.

Adam D Martin - June 24, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Don Frye says he wants to make a comeback in MMA, and he wants to fight UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next. Frye, who is now 55 years old, has not competed in MMA since a KO loss to Ruben “Warpath” Villareal in December 2011. For the past decade, Frye has mostly spent it out of the limelight, but after taking 10 years away from the fighting, “The Predator” is now hoping to make a comeback in 2021, and he already has his next opponent in mind.

Adam D Martin - June 24, 2021

One of the greatest MMA fighters of all time will fight once again this fall when Fedor Emelianenko makes his return to the Bellator cage. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reports that Emelianenko will officially announce his return to the Bellator cage on Friday against an opponent that is still to be determined. The fight will take place in October at a location and venue that has yet to be revealed. It will be the first fight for the Russian legend since he defeated Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at Bellator 237.

Adam D Martin - June 24, 2021

Welterweight veteran Demian Maia wants one more UFC fight, and he told UFC president Dana White that he wants Donald Cerrone or Nate Diaz. Maia lost a unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad at UFC 263 and, following the event, White hinted that it could be the last time we saw the Brazilian inside the Octagon. However, the 43-year-old Maia has made it clear since the fight with Muhammad that he is still interested in fighting one more time, and he’s hoping the UFC gives him the chance.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 30 card featuring a battle of top-five heavyweights as Ciryl Gane takes on Alexander Volkov. The UFC Vegas 30 main event sees Ciryl Gane looking to remain undefeated as he battles perennial contender, Alexander Volkov. Gane is coming off a lackluster decision win over Jairzinho Rozenstruik last time out in his first main event. Prior to that, he scored a TKO win over Junior dos Santos. Volkov, meanwhile, is riding a two-fight winning streak after scoring TKO wins over Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris.

Cole Shelton - June 24, 2021

Ike Villanueva is glad to be fighting back at the UFC Apex as he’s looking for some redemption in Las Vegas. The last time Villanueva fought in Vegas was when he suffered a TKO loss to Jordan Wright which was stopped by cut. Now, he’ll return on Saturday at UFC Vegas 30 against Marcin Prachnio where Villanueva likes the style matchup.

Adam D Martin - June 24, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman admitted that having a leg amputation is still a possibility as he recovers from his injury. Weidman broke his leg in a devastating fashion when he threw a low kick that Uriah Hall checked in their middleweight bout at UFC 261, an injury that left “The All-American” writhing in pain on the Octagon canvas. It was one of the worst injuries we have ever seen in the UFC, but Weidman has been making an incredibly fast recovery since then as he’s already gotten back into the gym to do some sparring and even went golfing.