MMA News

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2021

Vitor Belfort has two big boxing bouts coming up. The former UFC light heavyweight champion is set to face De La Hoya in an exhibition bout on September 11. It should be a big fight but that won’t even be it for Belfort, who revealed he has already agreed to box former heavyweight champ, Evander Holyfield in December.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz says that Jiri Prochazka should fight Aleksandar Rakic in No. 1 contender fight at 205lbs. Blachowicz takes on Glover Teixeira this fall at UFC 266 in his second light heavyweight title defense after getting the best of Israel Adesanya earlier this year at UFC 259. While we know that Teixeira is the next man in line to fight for the belt, after that, it’s hard to say who is next in line for the title. The smart money is on Prochazka, who has knocked out Volkan Oezdemir and Dominick Reyes in his first two UFC fights, but Rakic is 6-1 overall in the UFC and isn’t far back from the belt. Then there’s also Magomed Ankalaev, who is 6-1 overall in the Octagon, as well. Any of these three men could be a future Blachowicz foe.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

The official weigh-ins for UFC Vegas 29 took place on Friday in Las Vegas and all 24 of the fighters scheduled to compete have made weight. In the headliner, The Korean Zombie squares off against Dan Ige in a battle of top-10 ranked featherweights looking to make a run for the title. The last time we saw The Korean Zombie fight was last fall on Fight Island when he dropped a unanimous decision to Brian Ortega, while the last time we saw Ige he was knocking out Gavin Tucker in just 22 seconds earlier this year. Both men officially made weight for this fight, with each fighter tipping the scales at 146lbs.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2021

Anderson Silva has accomplished a ton in his MMA career, but there is one moment that sticks out the most for him. Throughout Silva’s legendary MMA career, he won titles in Shooto, Cage Rage, and the UFC, including defending his middleweight title 10 times and holding the belt for 2457 days. He’s considered one of the best ever but his favorite memory from his career is when he earned a decision win over Hayato Sakurai at Shooto 7 on August 26, 2001, to win the Shooto middleweight title, which was the first title the Brazilian won in MMA.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker is hoping to fight again this fall and he wants to scrap either Nate Diaz or Tony Ferguson at UFC 266. UFC 266 is set to take place on September 25 and features a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira. In addition, a TUF coaches battle between UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega is also expected to take place on the card. Hooker, a longtime teammate of Volkanovski at City Kickboxing, is hoping to fight at UFC 266 and he recently said that he wants to fight Diaz. Now he is also adding Ferguson to his list of potential opponents.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort called his upcoming exhibition boxing match with Oscar De La Hoya “the biggest fight ever.” It was announced on Thursday that Belfort will return to the boxing ring for the first time in 15 years when he takes on the legend De La Hoya, who himself will be making his boxing comeback after 13 years away from the sport. The fight will take place on September 11 and it is expected to be another big money-making fight for Triller Fight Club as it features one of the most famous boxers of all time in De La Hoya against an MMA legend in Belfort.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

Leon Edwards says he will wait for the title shot against the winner of Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington: “I’m not fighting no one else.” Edwards is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz at UFC 263 and overall he is unbeaten over his last 10 fights, with nine wins and one No Contest during that stretch. Edwards believes that he has done enough to fight Usman for the UFC welterweight title, but UFC president Dana White has already confirmed that Covington will be getting the next crack at the belt. That means that Edwards either will have to wait for the winner of the Usman vs. Covington fight or take another fight in the meantime.

Adam D Martin - June 18, 2021

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman sympathized with Conor McGregor, saying that “I can’t imagine what Conor’s going through.” Usman is the UFC welterweight champion and one of the best fighters on the planet, and since he has become more famous with his wins in the Octagon, he has become a bigger star outside of it. Now that Usman knows what it’s like to be a big star he sympathizes with what McGregor is going through as the most popular fighter in the sport. As nice as it is to have all the fame and the money that McGregor does, Usman wants to remind everyone that you also have to deal with all the haters and the trolls who want you to fail miserably.

Harry Kettle - June 18, 2021

The scorecards from the three judges scoring Rory MacDonald vs Gleison Tibau last night have been released to the public. PFL 5 is officially in the books and while we may know the four welterweight contenders who will progress through to the playoffs, the process of learning who would go through certainly didn’t come easily.

Harry Kettle - June 18, 2021

Multiple MMA fighters reacted on social media after Gleison Tibau pulled off an upset win over Rory MacDonald at PFL 5 last night. The two men battled it out as part of the final push towards the welterweight playoffs in the PFL. The overwhelming expectation heading into the bout was that MacDonald would blow the doors off of Tibau and while it wasn’t quite so convincing, many did believe he was the one who should have his hand raised.

Drake Riggs - June 17, 2021

Claressa Shields is officially an MMA fighter following a successful PFL 4 debut against Brittney Elkin this past Thursday. Inevitably, fans are expecting a clash of Olympic gold medals pitting Shields against the 9-0 Kayla Harrison. Currently looking to claim yet another PFL crown through the lightweight tournament, Harrison recently shared her thoughts on the boxing legend’s victory.

Cole Shelton - June 17, 2021

Logan Paul has a ton of confidence after going all eight rounds with Floyd Mayweather. On June 6 in Miami, Florida, Paul and Mayweather had a highly-anticipated exhibition bout. Although Paul is 0-1 as a pro boxer he was younger and had a massive height and reach advantage which made the fight interesting. Early on, he used his size and pressured Mayweather but as the bout dragged on the undefeated pro boxer took over but couldn’t finish Paul and they went the distance.

Cole Shelton - June 17, 2021

Jorge Masvidal is looking to return sometime in October or November against a top-five opponent. Masvidal is coming off back-to-back losses to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title including losing by a vicious KO back at UFC 261. Although the losses are disappointing, “Gamebred” says he’s eager to return at the end of this year.

Adam D Martin - June 17, 2021

UFC 205lbs champion Jan Blachowicz credited Israel Adesanya for improved grappling against Marvin Vettori, saying “he did his homework.” Blachowicz handed Adesanya his first loss in MMA back in March when he won a unanimous decision in a fight where Blachowicz took Adesanya down and controlled him on the mat. There were some who thought Blachowicz laid out the blueprint for how to beat Adesanya, but he showed improvements in his grappling game against Vettori at last Saturday’s UFC 263 in a unanimous decision win. Notably, there was one point in the fight where Vettori got Adesanya’s back, but he was able to explode out of the position and avoid danger.

Adam D Martin - June 17, 2021

Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya will return to the ring when he takes on former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in an exhibition boxing match. Mike Coppinger of The Athletic was the first to report that De La Hoya vs. Belfort is on tap for the Triller Fight Club event scheduled for September 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be an exhibition match and the fighters will wear 12-ounce gloves. As the scribe notes, the 48-year-old De La Hoya hasn’t fought since losing to Manny Pacquiao in 2008. The 44-year-old Belfort, meanwhile, hasn’t competed since losing to Lyoto Machida in the UFC in 2018, and his only pro boxing match came back in 2006, which he won by first-round KO.

Adam D Martin - June 17, 2021

UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes is among the MMA fighters up for nomination at the 2021 ESPY Awards. Nunes is up for nomination in two categories this year. The first category that she is nominated for is Best Athlete in Women’s Sports, and “The Lioness” is up against Naomi Osaka in tennis, Simone Biles in gymnastics, and Breanna Stewart of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm for the award. The 2021 ESPY Awards show takes place on July 10.

Cole Shelton - June 17, 2021

Anderson Silva immediately knew what Chris Weidman was going through. On the main card of the stacked UFC 261 card, Weidman and Uriah Hall were having a rematch years in the making. It was an important fight for the middleweight division but on the first kick Weidman threw, his leg snapped just like Silva’s did against Weidman. Once the dust settled of the injury, the Brazilian reached out to Weidman and gave him some advice and support.

Cole Shelton - June 17, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 29, Korean Zombie takes on Dan Ige in a pivotal featherweight clash. It’s an evenly matched fight as the oddsmakers have it as a pure pick’em at -110 apiece. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe it will be Korean Zombie getting his hand raised on Saturday night.