MMA News

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

UFC welterweight Mike Perry scoffed at the boxing advice given by Twitter users after suggesting he wants to improve that part of his game. Perry lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 23 last week. “Platinum” was jabbed up the entire fight and, although he did score some takedowns, took a ton of damage on the feet and wasn’t able to fire much back in return. With the loss, Perry has now dropped four of his last five fights. While Perry started off his UFC career five years ago knocking everyone out and becoming a fan favorite, he has really struggled as of late. At this point, you have to wonder what’s next for Perry. He likely will get another fight in the UFC due to being a fan favorite, but it would be a must-win fight if it happens.

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz will defend his title on September 4 when he fights No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira at UFC 266. Blachowicz defeated UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his first title defense back at UFC 259 in March. Following the fight, UFC president Dana White made it clear that Teixeira would be next in line to fight for the belt. After Blachowicz requested six months off to rest and recover after the Adesanya fight, the promotion granted his wishes and he will return this fall when he takes on Teixeira for all the gold. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report this Blachowicz vs. Teixeira fight. The venue or location has not been determined, but it seems likely that fans will be in attendance for this fight either way.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2021

On April 17, Ben Askren is ending his retirement to box YouTuber, Jake Paul in a highly-anticipated bout. Heading into the fight, Askren is a +145 underdog while the YouTuber is a -175 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the bout. The pros have a slight lean towards Ben Askren getting his hand raised, while some believe Paul will be able to walk through the UFC veteran.

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

UFC women’s strawweight contender Nina Nunes issued a statement following her first-round submission loss to Mackenzie Dern at UFC Vegas 23. Nunes entered the fight with Dern as the betting favorite, but she suffered a first-round defeat when Dern was able to get her down to the mat and tap her out with an armbar. For Nunes, it was her first fight in nearly two years due to becoming a mom, and the ring rust showed in the cage. However, she is still a top-10 ranked fighter in the women’s 115lbs division, and the loss won’t drop her too much in the women’s strawweight standings.

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson explained why he called Nate Diaz his bitch: “Just some light banter, man. I got nothing against the dude.” Ferguson recently made a tweet where he said that Diaz was his “b*tch” ahead of UFC 262. The card takes place on May 15, and Ferguson faces off against Beneil Dariush on the main card. In the co-main event of the evening, Diaz returns from his layoff to take on Leon Edwards in a No. 1 contender fight. In Ferguson’s tweet, he suggested that it was because of him that the event sold out in minutes. He then used the tweet as an opportunity to take a shot at Diaz, not to mention former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

The lightweight trilogy match between rivals Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is now official for the upcoming UFC 264 pay-per-view. On Wednesday morning, the UFC made it official that McGregor vs. Poirier will take place on July 10 at UFC 264. The fight will be contested at 155lbs and is set for five rounds or less. The promotion also revealed that the event will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fans can now pre-register for tickets for the fight. UFC president Dana White also said in another video that up to 20,000 fans will be in attendance for UFC 264.

Drake Riggs - April 13, 2021

Former UFC champion Anthony Pettis has his hands full with the upcoming PFL season. However, the groundwork has already been laid for some boxing. After boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya recently announced his return to the ring, Pettis’ manager revealed that the Golden Boy Promotions founder had turned down “Showtime” as his opponent.

Adam Martin - April 13, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley called out Petr Yan, asking him if you “wanna beat me up while you wait for your rematch?” Yan was widely expected to fight UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling in a rematch next, but the fight isn’t happening anytime soon after the new champ opted to get neck surgery. That means Sterling will be on the shelf until later this summer or fall, optimistically, which means that Yan may opt to take another fight in the meantime. Though it’s unlikely the UFC would strip Sterling of his title, it’s possible the promotion could opt to introduce an interim title. Either way, it does seem likely that Yan will fight someone else in the meantime. And if that’s the case, O’Malley wants it to be him.

Cole Shelton - April 13, 2021

Ali Abdelaziz doesn’t think Jorge Masvidal should be calling Kamaru Usman a coward. After Masvidal lost a clear-cut decision to Usman at UFC 251 on short notice, he wanted a rematch right away. He knew he could beat Usman on a full camp and started to take shots at the champ and even called him a coward. Yet, for Abdelaziz, he doesn’t understand why “Gamebred” believes his client is a coward.

Cole Shelton - April 13, 2021

Jake Paul is hoping to have a closed-door sparring session with Dustin Poirier. In the lead-up to Paul’s April 17 fight against Ben Askren, Poirier has taken some shots at the brash YouTuber. Since then, Paul has said he wanted to spar and train with Poirier, due to their mutual friendship with Jorge Masvidal, but that has yet to happen as of right now.

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

An intriguing lightweight bout between Gregor Gillespie and Diego Ferreira has been added to the UFC Fight Night card on May 8. Gillespie was supposed to fight Brad Riddell last month, but the fight was scrapped on fight day when Riddell was pulled from the card due to COVID-19 protocols. Instead of re-booking that fight, the UFC matchmakers have gone and given Gillespie a new matchup against Ferreira in what is a battle between top-15 ranked lightweight. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report the matchup, which will take place on the May 8 card headlined by TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen. The card will likely take place in Las Vegas.

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

UFC heavyweight Francis Ngannou responded after heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury says he will roast the UFC champ after smashing Anthony Joshua. Ngannou is coming off the biggest win of his MMA career, a first-round KO victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 that saw “The Predator” crowned as the new UFC heavyweight champion. Since then, there have been talks with the UFC about having Ngannou fight superstar Jon Jones in his first title defense, or potentially Derrick Lewis. Given that Ngannou is currently an active member of the UFC roster, his next fight will take place in the UFC Octagon. However, he has openly spoken about one day making the transition into heavyweight boxing. And if that’s the case, then the fighter he wants is the champ, Fury.

Cole Shelton - April 13, 2021

Ben Askren jumped at the opportunity to box YouTuber, Jake Paul. After Paul knocked out Nate Robinson on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. undercard, he called out several MMA fighters including Askren. Although “Funky” just had hip surgery and isn’t known as a striker, the former ONE Championship and Bellator champion knew this was a good opportunity to make a ton of money and beat up someone who he claims, isn’t a good fighter.

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor slammed rival Dustin Poirier, saying that “you will pay with your brain for this attempt at smearing my name.” This week, Poirier tweeted that Team McGregor never sent “The Good Fight Foundation” the $500,000 charitable donation it promised it would send following their fight at UFC 257. What was bizarre about the whole situation was McGregor’s team said in January that the money was in the process of being sent. That money was not sent, however, and McGregor later took to his social media to explain that he wanted to know where the money was going before he sent it. Poirier later said that McGregor was ghosting his emails and that they never responded to Poirier when he tried to explain where the money would go.

Cole Shelton - April 13, 2021

The 35th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren and UFC Vegas 24. We’re first joined by former UFC welterweight and now a professional boxer, Ben Askren (3:16). Next, former UFC heavyweight champ and pro boxer, Frank Mir (15:02) comes on. UFC lightweight, Drakkar Klose (33:23) joins the show. Closing out the program is UFC heavyweight, Chase Sherman (44:59).

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

Former UFC flyweight Jimmy Flick explained what led to him walking away from the UFC, suggesting that “fighters are too stupid to unionize.” Flick (16-5) announced over the weekend that he is walking away from mixed martial arts and the UFC at age 30. The announcement came as a complete shock for his fans, as Flick was set to fight Francisco Figueiredo in May, this coming off the heels of an incredible UFC debut in December where he submitted Cody Durden with a flying triangle choke. Overall, Flick had won four straight fights and with a win over Figueiredo, he likely would have fought a top-15 opponent next. Instead, the flyweight has decided to hang up his gloves.

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is targeting a return to the Octagon in the late summer, according to his manager, Ali Abdelaziz. Chimaev was supposed to fight Leon Edwards in March in what would have been a potential No. 1 contender fight at 170lbs. However, Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a bad experience with COVID-19, one that left him coughing up blood and thinking he had cancer. Fortunately, it appears as though Chimaev is now finally getting healthy. While he originally said that he was going to walk away from the sport, he has said in recent weeks that he has his motivation back and he is excited to fight again soon.

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera claims that he accepted a rematch with Sean O’Malley but his rival didn’t want to take the fight. Vera and O’Malley met last summer at UFC 252. O’Malley came into the fight with an unbeaten record, but early on in the first round, he suffered an ankle injury that caused him to lose his footing and fall to the mat, where Vera finished him with strikes. Since then, O’Malley has returned to the cage with a brilliant TKO win over Thomas Almeida, while Vera lost a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo in his last outing. With Vera and O’Malley battling it out for the No. 15 ranking in the UFC bantamweight division, a rematch makes sense.