MMA News

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Geoff Neal is excited he finally gets the chance to face Neil Magny. Last August, Neal and Magny were scheduled to fight but Neal had serious health problems that hospitalized him and forced him out of the scrap. The two then got different fights and Neal ended up losing a decision to Stephen Thompson back in December, which he says was a good learning experience.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman shared his latest health update after breaking his leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. In what was one of the most horrific injuries we have ever seen in the Octagon, Weidman broke his leg when he threw a leg kick that was checked by Uriah Hall. Immediately after throwing the kick, Weidman went down in pain and had to be stretchered out of the Octagon and taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. Fortunately, surgery went well and Weidman is expected to make a full recovery in six-to-12 months. But right now in the early days of his leg break, it has been extremely painful for him as he told his fans.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Michelle Waterson didn’t hesitate to accept when the UFC offered her another short-notice main event fight. After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of the UFC Vegas 26 main event against Cory Sandhagen, the UFC was quick to book Waterson vs. Marina Rodriguez at flyweight. For “The Karate Hottie,” she’s ecstatic to be headlining another UFC card.

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

Ali Abdelaziz believes Colby Covington would earn a rematch against Kamaru Usman by defeating Leon Edwards in his next fight. In the wake of Usman’s vicious knockout win over Jorge Masvidal, many fans have been convinced that another showdown with Covington is right around the corner. Their first fight, back at UFC 245, was contested over the UFC Welterweight Championship with “The Nigerian Nightmare” successfully defending his belt.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier says that former rival Jon Jones doesn’t deserve Conor McGregor money when he fights Francis Ngannou. Jones is hoping to fight Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight title sometime later this year, and reports have indicated he is asking upwards of $30 million for the fight. If you ask Cormier, however, that is too rich because it would be more than McGregor, the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view superstar. For DC, it doesn’t make sense that Jones should be paid more than McGregor. Speaking on the “DC and Helwani” podcast, Cormier suggested that Jones be paid in the $8 to $10 million dollar range to take on Ngannou instead.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC play-by-play commentator Brendan Fitzgerald discussed the production meeting incident with Joshua Fabia and Diego Sanchez on Fight Island. Last week, it was revealed that the UFC had cut Sanchez after a back-and-forth email exchange with the promotion’s lawyer Hunter Campbell. Sanchez and Fabia were requesting medical documents and the UFC believed that it was the right call to release him instead. Later on, there was a video leaked of an argument between Fabia and the UFC production team on Fight Island. Fitzgerald himself was in the room for it and speaking to John Hyon Ko of South China Morning Post, he gave his thoughts on the situation.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC welterweight Alex Morono reacted to the news that he will be taking on Donald Cerrone at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 26 event. Cerrone was expected to take on fellow Octagon veteran Diego Sanchez this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 26, but the fight fell apart when Sanchez got into a medical disagreement with the UFC and was released from his contract. The UFC has spent the last week looking for a replacement opponent to keep Cerrone on the card, with a number of fighters offering to fill in on short notice. In the end, the matchmakers decided that the right man for the job is Morono, who will step in on just six days’ notice to fight Cerrone this Saturday night.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards reacted after his scheduled fight at UFC 262 against Nate Diaz was pushed back to UFC 263 instead. Diaz suffered a minor injury during his training camp that has pushed the fight against “Rocky” back about a month. Instead of the two rivals meeting at UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston, Texas, the two will now meet at UFC 263 on June 12 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diaz vs. Edwards bout was is scheduled for five rounds despite it being a non-title fight, and it will be one of three, five-round fights that take place at UFC 263, along with Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori 2 and Deivieson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno 2.

Christopher Taylor - May 3, 2021

Nate Diaz will no longer be fighting Leon Edwards in the co-main event of UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston, Texas. Unfortunately for fight fans, ESPN reported this evening that Diaz (20-12 MMA) has suffered a minor injury and his highly anticipated welterweight showdown with ‘Rocky’ has been postponed until June’s UFC 263 pay-per-view event.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes issued a statement following his brutal knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25. Reyes entered this fight against Prochazka on the heels of back-to-back losses to Jon Jones and Jan Blachowicz, so he badly needed to get a win and get back in the victory column. Unfortunately for Reyes, the fight did not go his way once again as Prochazka battered him all over the Octagon until eventually scoring the finish in the second round. It was another phenomenal performance by Prochazka, who looks to be a serious title contender at 205lbs, while for Reyes it was another tough loss that will drop him out of title contention.

Drake Riggs - May 3, 2021

Tatiana Suarez’s days at 115-pounds may be behind her. After seeing how the last UFC flyweight title bout played out, the dominant wrestler likes her chances against one of the sport’s very best. Having not competed since June 2019 due to lingering injuries, the undefeated 8-0 season 23 winner of The Ultimate Fighter is now feeling a move to flyweight could be in her future. Therefore making the ultimate goal a showdown with reigning queenpin, Valentina Shevchenko.

Drake Riggs - May 3, 2021

Joanna Jedrzejczyk hasn’t been seen in the Octagon in over a year – that doesn’t mean she isn’t staying busy and taking some damage. On Monday, Jedrzejczyk took to Instagram to share a photo of herself in the hospital. However, rather than just a wholesome selfie, the former UFC strawweight champion was sporting a gnarly gash on her shin.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2021

Donald Cerrone will fight on Saturday night after all. Cerrone was originally set to fight Diego Sanchez, in what was going to be Sanchez’s retirement fight. However, the UFC ended up releasing the TUF 1 winner and a search for a replacement opponent was underway.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley will return to the Octagon on July 10 at UFC 264 when he faces off against Louis Smolka. MMA journalist Ryan Frederick was the first to report the O’Malley vs. Smolka fight, which will take place on the Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor III undercard at UFC 264. Multiple sources have indicated to BJPenn.com that this booking is accurate and will take place.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC middleweight contender Robert Whittaker was criticized by coach Eugene Bareman for turning down a title shot against Israel Adesanya. After defeating Kelvin Gastelum in lopsided fashion at UFC Vegas 24, it was fully expected that Whittaker would get the next title shot against Adesanya. However, the promotion announced that it will be Marvin Vettori who next takes on Adesanya at UFC 263 on June 12. Whittaker later explained the reasons that he was unable to go so soon because he’s banged up, and the UFC decided to go with Vettori. But for Bareman, it was a bad call.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is confident that the trilogy fight against her rival Amanda Nunes will happen one day. The calls for a trilogy between Shevchenko and Nunes are high after “Bullet” ran through Jessica Andrade in her last outing at UFC 261. Since moving down to flyweight, Shevchenko is a perfect 7-0, with a 6-0 record in flyweight title fights. The UFC is having trouble finding opponents for Shevchenko as she has been blowing everyone she fights out of the water. The only trouble she has ever had in her UFC career was against Nunes, and thus fans want to see them fight again. The two rivals previously met in 2016 and 2017, with Nunes winning a unanimous decision at UFC 196 and a split decision at UFC 215.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochazka says it would be his “pleasure” to fight the UFC’s 205lbs champion, Jan Blachowicz. Prochazka knocked out former title challenger Dominick Reyes this past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 25. It was another incredible knockout win for Prochazka, who also finished Volkan Oezdemir with strikes to win his UFC debut last summer on Fight Island. Overall, the Czech Republic native is now riding a 12-fight win streak. He has been absolutely destroying everyone in his path at 205lbs and a title shot can’t be far away now.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight Randa Markos questioned her opponent Luana Pinheiro for not continuing after an illegal upkick at UFC Vegas 25. Pinheiro and Markos met in the headliner of the UFC Vegas 25 preliminary card. Right from the start of the fight, Pinheiro was controlling where the action took place with her grappling skills as she slammed Markos to the mat multiple times. It is also worth noting there was a nasty eye poke where the referee and doctor took a closer look at stopping the fight. In the end, the fight continued, but unfortunately for Markos, it ended very soon after that after she landed an illegal upkick that appeared to knock Pinheiro out.