MMA News

Drake Riggs - May 11, 2021

UFC Vegas 26 drew in the best TV ratings on May 8. No. 6 ranked 115-pound strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez was later than usual for a typical trip to Las Vegas last week. After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of his highly-anticipated return bout against Cory Sandhagen, the promotion turned to make another top 10 fight.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

Dana White doesn’t have any interest in loaning a UFC fighter to box Jake Paul. After Paul knocked out Ben Askren, several UFC fighters have been calling him out. They have all said that they want to be the one to shut Jake up, but according to White, he says he will not loan any UFC fighter to box the brash YouTuber.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

Jon Jones doesn’t seem to like the idea of fighting Stipe Miocic his next time out. With Francis Ngannou now slated to defend his title against Derrick Lewis, ‘Bones’ was left on the outside looking in. However, UFC President Dana White hinted that Jones could make his heavyweight debut against Stipe Miocic.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Bellator light heavyweight star Anthony Johnson was arrested for identity theft in Connecticut following his big win last weekend. The Daily Voice was the first to report the arrest of Johnson. According to police reports, Johnson illegally used a credit card in November 2019 in order to purchase a round-trip ticket from Newark, New Jersey, to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Johnson was named as the passenger of the ticket. New Canaan police obtained a warrant for Johnson’s arrest, and “Rumble” was taken into custody following his fight last weekend at Bellator 258 where he knocked out Jose Augusto in one of the most exciting MMA fights of the year.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Misha Cirkunov and Gillian Robertson have both tested positive for marijuana following their recent UFC fights in Nevada. Cirkunov lost via first-round TKO to Ryan Spann at Vegas 21: Edwards vs. Muhammad, while Robertson dropped a decision to Miranda Maverick at UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2. Unfortunately, not only did both fighters lose their fights, but they have both tested positive for marijuana and have been handed temporary suspensions by the Nevada Athletic Commission. It is worth noting that while many states don’t test for marijuana anymore, Nevada is a state that still does, and Cirkunov and Robertson were nabbed.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says a matchup between former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former 205lbs kingpin Jon Jones is possible. Miocic recently lost his belt when he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March, but he remains one of the top heavyweights in the sport and has given no indication yet that he will be retiring despite the brutal KO loss. Ngannou is currently set to take on Derrick Lewis in a rematch that marks his first title defense, which means that Jones — who was originally set to fight the winner of Ngannou vs. Lewis — is currently on the sidelines waiting for a fight to be booked. With both Miocic and Jones both without opponents and with both men looking to fight for the heavyweight belt, a matchup with them is possible.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

Beneil Dariush didn’t expect Tony Ferguson to accept the fight. Every since Dariush scored a highlight-reel KO win over Drakkar Klose, he has been calling to face a top-ranked opponent. Unfortunately, that did not go his way as he ended up facing Scott Holtzman and then Diego Ferreira. After two more wins, Dariush gets his shot against Tony Ferguson at UFC 262.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed that Bellator is considering the bantamweight division for the organization’s next Grand Prix. Coker is currently holding Bellator’s light heavyweight Grand Prix and featherweight Grand Prix, and two years ago held the welterweight Grand Prix. Coker is a big fan of the tournament format going back to his Strikeforce days and so he is already thinking about what the next tournament in Bellator would be, and it could very well be bantamweight.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

The 37th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 262 and UFC Vegas 27 next Saturday. We’re first joined by one-half of the UFC 262 co-main event in Beneil Dariush (2:48). Next, 10th-ranked middleweight, Edmen Shahbazyan joins the show (21:14). 13th-ranked UFC featherweight, Edson Barboza comes on (32:42). Closing out the program is seventh-ranked UFC middleweight, Jack Hermansson (48:42).

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says that he doesn’t see that fire in Nick Diaz and questioned how badly he really wants to fight again. Diaz was a guest at UFC 261 last month and reportedly had a meeting with White about a possible comeback. Diaz hasn’t fought since January 2015 when he fought Anderson Silva to a No Contest but he has been talking about a comeback for a few years now. With his brother Nate Diaz returning to the Octagon next month at UFC 263, the older Diaz brother is also hoping to make his return to the cage this year and he told White just as much.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

PFL heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum reacted after his controversial TKO loss to Renan Ferreira was overturned to a No Contest. Werdum lost via first-round knockout to Ferreira last Thursday at PFL 3, but the finish was marred in controversy as it appeared as though Ferreira had tapped out seconds before he pounded Werdum out. Immediately, Werdum protested the stoppage and said that Ferreira had tapped out. Werdum’s manager Ali Abdelaziz confirmed that Team Werdum would be filing an appeal and they did just that, and it was successful. On Monday, the result of the fight was overturned to a No Contest so Werdum had the loss removed from his record.

Harry Kettle - May 11, 2021

Diego Sanchez has announced that he will be enrolling in a Professional Athletes Brain Health Study in association with the UFC. Over the course of the last few days, Sanchez has been in the headlines for his relationship with controversial coach Joshua Fabia. The latter has been accused of warping the mind of Sanchez in recent months with many MMA figures speaking out about it after Diego was released from his UFC contract.

Drake Riggs - May 10, 2021

No longer under contract with the UFC as a commentator, former welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy now hopes to part ways as a fighter. Despite it nearly being 10 years since “The Outlaw” stepped foot inside the Octagon, Hardy still aims for a return to competition if possible. But first, he needs to be released from his UFC fighter contract.

Drake Riggs - May 10, 2021

Alan Jouban announced Monday that his time as a fighter has come to an end. The UFC welterweight took to Twitter to share that he will be sticking to the analyst desk as he heads into retirement.

Christopher Taylor - May 10, 2021

UFC President Dana White confirmed on Monday that a rematch with Derrick Lewis will be next for Francis Ngannnou, this while providing an update on Jon Jones. Prior to March’s UFC 260 event, it was thought that the winner of Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 would be fighting ‘Bones’ in their next outing. However, shortly after ‘The Predator’ dethroned Stipe with a second round knockout, negotiations between Jones and the UFC quickly went south.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

Kevin Lee is changing weight classes and has an opponent in mind for his return to the Octagon. After Lee suffered a submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Brasilia in March of 2020, he said he would be away from MMA for a couple of years. He ended up tearing both of his knees which required by surgery, but “The Motown Phenom” is looking to return this summer at welterweight.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

Billy Joe Saunders suffered a severe eye injury in his loss to Canelo Alvarez and his career is now in jeopardy, according to a recent report. On Saturday night, Saunders and Alvarez took one step closer to unifying the 168-pound division. It was a massive fight and early on, Saunders had success. Yet, as the fight wore on, Alvarez started to go to the body and then landed a beautifully timed uppercut that landed flush on the eye of Saunders.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

Donald Cerrone will get another shot to end his winless streak. On Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 26, Cerrone suffered a first-round TKO loss to Alex Morono. “Cowboy” was supposed to face Diego Sanchez, but after the TUF 1 winner was released, Morono stepped up on short notice and got the win.