MMA News

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

Frank Mir was preparing to make his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut in early 2021 when he got a call to make his boxing debut. Originally, Mir was set to fight Antonio Tarver in the co-main event to Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul. However, the Georgia Commission wouldn’t clear Tarver, so Mir is now set to face Steve Cunningham. Although it is a change of opponent, Mir is still excited at the opportunity of making his pro boxing debut.

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.

Harry Kettle - April 13, 2021

Footage has emerged of Jon Jones beating Brad Bernard on the 13th anniversary of the win that kickstarted his mixed martial arts career. Over the course of the last decade we’ve seen Jon Jones rise up through the ranks and become one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters in MMA history. Now, as he prepares to make the shift up to heavyweight, many are wondering what he can continue to do to improve his legacy.

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.

Harry Kettle - April 13, 2021

Mike Perry has laughed off the idea that Darren Till genuinely wanted to provide him with MMA training and accommodation in England. Last weekend, Perry fell to a unanimous decision defeat against Daniel Rodriguez that dropped his recent record to 3-7. It was his fourth loss in his last five fights and while there are many people who believe he still has what it takes to be an elite MMA star, others feel as if now is the time for the UFC to cut their ties with him.

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2021

Top strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern picked up the biggest victory of her career against Nina Nunes at UFC Vegas 24. Now, she’s ready to go all the way to the top. With three big wins in 2020, Dern extended her winning streak to a strong four in a row, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt now envisions fighting for gold at the end of 2021.

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2021

A potential fight between Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones has everyone excited these days. Including Georges St-Pierre who sees both fighters experiencing fear after talk of Jones being the “scared” one out of the two. Immediately after Ngannou was crowned as the new UFC heavyweight champion of the world at UFC 260 on March 27, UFC President Dana White planted a seed in the post-fight press conference. Teasing the possibility of Jones being scared to fight a guy as impressive as Ngannou has become. St-Pierre recently countered that sentiment.

Cole Shelton - April 12, 2021

Tony Ferguson went nearly a decade without losing and then in 2020, “El Cucuy” went 0-2, but he believes those losses were the best thing to ever happen to him. Ferguson first fought Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title in May, which served as the first event back for the UFC from the pandemic. Unfortunately, Ferguson suffered a fifth-round TKO loss. El Cucuy then took a short notice fight against Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 and lost a clear-cut decision in a fight he was dominated in.

Cole Shelton - April 12, 2021

Kevin Lee is hoping Conor McGregor is serious that he won’t be fighting Dustin Poirier on July 10. After Poirier took to social media to say the Irishman never donated the $500k to his charity as he promised, McGregor responded with his reasoning. Conor said that he needed to know where the money would be going, and after a couple more tweets from Poirier, “Notorious” said he will no longer be fighting Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10.

Cole Shelton - April 12, 2021

Jake Paul is confident he will finish Ben Askren within two rounds in their boxing match on Saturday night. Paul, the brash YouTuber, is set for his third professional bout against Askren in Atlanta, Georgia which is a fascinating fight.

Cole Shelton - April 12, 2021

Julian Marquez was in no rush to return after his UFC 258 win over Maki Pitolo, but a short notice fight against Sam Alvey came up that Marquez jumped on. Originally, Alvey was set to drop down to middleweight to face Zak Cummings, who is Marquez’s teammate. Unfortunately, Cummings was forced out of the bout and when he told the team, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” knew it was a good fight for him.

Cole Shelton - April 12, 2021

Audie Attar, the manager of Conor McGregor, has blasted Dustin Poirier for going public about McGregor not donating to the Good Fight Foundation. Ahead of McGregor and Poirier’s rematch at UFC 257, the Irishman confirmed he would be donating $500k to Poirier’s charity. However, on Sunday night, “The Diamond” revealed on social media that McGregor never donated. Yet, for the Irishman, he claims he never heard of where the money would be going.

Adam D Martin - April 12, 2021

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler revealed his ambitious plan of fighting Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 and then Conor McGregor at UFC 264. Chandler is currently set to take on Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title in the main event of UFC 262 on May 15. Chandler recently said in an interview that, assuming a win over “Do Bronx,” he wants to fight McGregor by the year’s end. However, with McGregor now suggesting that his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 could be off due to Poirier bringing to the public eye McGregor’s non-donation to his charity “The Good Fight Foundation,” it’s possible that this fight could be in jeopardy. McGregor himself said as much on Twitter say, suggesting that he will be looking at other options for UFC 264.