MMA News

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.

Drake Riggs - May 10, 2021

The build-up to the big strawweight title clash between Zhang Weili and Rose Namajunas culminated with some political integration. However, it was just a struggle to make the fight happen in the first place. Now the former champion, China’s Zhang (21-2) hadn’t fought in over a year before the Namajunas encounter in Jacksonville, Florida at UFC 261. “Magnum” ultimately found herself in enemy territory when once again making the walk.

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

The New Jersey Athletic Control Board has overturned Renan Ferreira’s controversial win over Fabricio Werdum at PFL 3. Werdum headlined the card and just seconds into the fight, he got the fight to the ground. He then threatened a triangle choke and it looked like it was tight, but Ferreira landed ground and pound and got the first-round KO win over Werdum.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

Brazilian heavyweight Renan Ferreira fired back at his countryman Fabricio Werdum following his recent controversial win in PFL. Ferreira scored the biggest win of his MMA career to date when he knocked out Werdum in the first round of their PFL regular season fight, but the finish was controversial as it appeared as though Ferreira had tapped to a triangle choke seconds beforehand. Werdum was upset about the finish and his team has already appealed the result of the contest. Fans online for the most part seem to agree there was a tapout, but the referee missed it and Ferreira didn’t acknowledge it, thus leading to Werdum not getting his hand raised.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler shared his prediction for the Charles Oliveira fight at UFC 262: “He’s going to get his clock cleaned.” Chandler steps into the Octagon for the second time this Saturday night when he fights Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title. For Chandler, he earned this title shot after being a champion in Bellator for the better part of 10 years and after scoring a knockout over Dan Hooker in his promotional debut at UFC 257. Although Oliveira is a tough matchup as the Brazilian is well-rounded and elite on the ground, Chandler is still confident that he will win this fight, and he’s excited to score another highlight-reel knockout.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

A pivotal middleweight bout between Edmen Shahbazyan and Jack Hermansson will not happen this Saturday at UFC 262. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com’s Cole Shelton and Adam Martin the fight is off UFC 262 and postponed one week to UFC Vegas 27 on May 22. It’s expected to serve as the co-main event. MMA reporter, Marcell Dorff was the first to report the news.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochazka says that he believes Jon Jones is still the “king of the light heavyweight division.” Prochazka is one of the hottest names at 205lbs these days after knocking out Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir in his first two Octagon appearances. UFC president Dana White has already said Prochazka is next in line to fight the winner of UFC 266’s main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira, and that’s ideal because “Denisa” is hoping to win the belt. But if you ask Prochazka, the top opponent for him that he could choose would still be Jones.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC welterweight Neil Magny says he open to the Khamzat Chimaev fight, but explained why he has his concerns about waiting for him. Magny had one of his best performances ever as he won a unanimous decision over Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 26. For Magny, beating someone as talented as Neal proves that he still has what it takes to be a top-10 fighter. It’s not a surprise, then, that so many other top contenders in the welterweight division are gunning for Magny, including Chimaev. The Swede has missed all of 2021 so far due to health issues but he is hoping to make his return to the Octagon this summer, and Chimaev has made Magny one of his targets.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 26, Marian Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson stepped up on short notice to headline the card up a weight class at flyweight. Rodriguez entered the fight coming off the biggest win of her career as she TKO’d Amanda Ribas at UFC 257 in January. The Brazilian was 3-1-2 in the UFC and her lone loss was a controversial split decision to Carla Esparza. Waterson, meanwhile, returned to the win column last September with a split decision win over Angela Hill.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed that welterweight star Michael Page could be next in line to get a title shot at 170lbs. Page knocked out Derek Anderson in highlight-reel fashion at Bellator 258 this past Friday night, and overall he has won his last five fights in a row, with four of those wins coming by way of knockout. Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima is currently set to fight No. 1 contender Yaroslav Amosov, but Page has been vocal about wanting to fight the winner.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones trolled UFC president Dana White during his recent Instagram live session. Jones and the UFC are currently involved in public contract negotiations for a future fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Jones has said on social media that the UFC’s initial offer of $8 to $10 million was “way too low” for a fight of this magnitude, and so the UFC and Jones are having a hard time coming to a deal as the promotion does not want to meet Jones’ request of $30 million for the fight. We have seen the contract negotiations play out in public over the last few months and will continue to do so going forward as Jones is one of the UFC’s biggest stars and this is a huge story in MMA.

Harry Kettle - May 10, 2021

Conor McGregor has confirmed that he would be interested in the possibility of buying a football club – with Celtic and Manchester United being at the top of the list. Over the course of the last few weeks, in the midst of the European Super League chaos that engulfed European football, Manchester United fans have made it clear that they want the Glazer family to sell the club and leave Old Trafford for good.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell said that he’s ready to fight YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, saying “I’m ready anytime for that clown.” Liddell was responding to a fan who had suggested that either Liddell, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya or former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov should fight Paul, who has quickly turned himself into one of combat sports’ biggest names. Taking to his social media to respond, “The Iceman” said that he’d be happy to fight Paul.

Harry Kettle - May 10, 2021

Conor McGregor has confirmed that he plans on moving back up to fight at welterweight as part of his future in the UFC. Throughout the course of his UFC career the Irishman has fought three times at welterweight. He first went 1-1 with Nate Diaz in two enticing 2016 bouts, before eventually returning to the weight class at the start of 2020. In that fight, he dispatched Donald Cerrone with ruthless efficiency in a convincing 40-second success.

Adam Martin - May 9, 2021

UFC women’s fighter Angela Hill put out an open call to other women’s strawweights, and Tecia Torres has volunteered her services. Hill was set to fight Amanda Ribas in a high-profile women’s strawweight bout on the UFC Vegas 26 undercard, but the fight fell apart at the last minute when Ribas tested positive for COVID-19. Unfortunately, the late scratch meant that it was impossible for the UFC to get someone to fight Hill and she was pulled from the card without getting a fight. It’s possible that the UFC will try and re-book this fight but it’s also possible the promotion could have Hill return in a quick turnaround fight since she is not fully healthy and ready.

Adam Martin - May 9, 2021

UFC welterweight Alex Morono praised “BMF” Donald Cerrone after knocking him out for the biggest win of his career to date at UFC Vegas 26. Morono scored the first-round knockout after blitzing “Cowboy” early and putting him away with strikes in the opening round. It was a fantastic showing from “The Great White” as he picked up the best name on his resume to date. For Morono, to come in on short notice and defeat a legend like Cerrone is one heck of a win. Following the fight, he took to his social media to comment on the outcome of the bout. Check out what Morono wrote below.