MMA News

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2021

Dustin Poirier has apologized for bringing the Conor McGregor donation issue to the public. Over the past week, Poirier and McGregor had a heated back-and-forth after “The Diamond” claimed the Irishman never paid the $500k to his charity as he said he would. After some tweets at one another, Poirier issued a statement on the situation and apologized for bringing it to light.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2021

Jake Paul says there is strict vocabulary in their contract that will prohibit Ben Askren from using any MMA tactics in their fight. When Paul and Askren were booked, many wondered if “Funky” would accidentally shoot for a takedown or use some elbows or knees. However, according to the brash YouTuber, in the contract, if Askren does any MMA tactics in the fight, his entire purse would be forfeited.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2021

Check out the complete betting odds for this Saturday’s UFC on Vegas 24 card featuring an intriguing middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum. The UFC Vegas 24 main event sees Whittaker and Gastelum finally fight after they were supposed to meet in 2019 for the title but Whittaker was forced out of the fight on the day of the event. Whittaker is coming off back-to-back decision wins over Jared Cannonier and Darren Till to return to the win column after losing his belt to Israel Adesanya. Gastelum, meanwhile, returned to the win column last time out with a decision win over Ian Heinisch.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2021

Ben Askren won’t be retiring from boxing after Saturday night if he beats Jake Paul. On April 17, Askren is set for his first professional boxing fight as he is set to face brash YouTuber, Jake Paul. It’s a highly-anticipated fight that has the combat sports world talking about it as “Funky” is far from a boxer.

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

Watch former UFC fighter-turned-boxer Ben Askren hit the pads ahead of his boxing match with Jake Paul on Saturday on Triller. Askren makes his highly-anticipated boxing debut this weekend when he takes on the YouTuber-turned-boxer in a high-profile boxing match. Askren came up as a wrestler in college before making the transition into mixed martial arts during the late 2000s. Since 2009, Askren has been competing at the highest level of the sport in both Bellator and in the UFC, racking up a 19-2, 1 NC record overall in MMA. However, after losing to Demian Maia and Robbie Lawler in the UFC in 2019, he decided to walk away, citing a hip issue.

Adam D Martin - April 14, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira has issued a statement after his title fight with Jan Blachowicz was announced for UFC 266. Teixeira vs. Blachowicz will collide at UFC 266 with the 205lbs belt on the line. Soon after the fight with Teixeira and Blachowicz was announced, the veteran Brazilian took to social media to issue a statement about earning his second career UFC title shot. Read it below.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2021

Drakkar Klose is eager to welcome Jeremy Stephens back up to lightweight. With Stephens on a five-fight winless streak, the 10th-ranked featherweight decided to move up to lightweight and will face Klose at UFC Vegas 24. For Klose, he is much more excited about this fight than his past couple.

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.

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

Legendary MMA referee John McCarthy criticized the referee in ONE Championship who DQed Eddie Alvarez at ONE on TNT 1 last week. Referee Justin Brown took matters into his own hands when he handed Alvarez a red card and a DQ loss last Wednesday at ONE on TNT 1. In the fight, Alvarez took his opponent Iuri Lapicus to the ground and started to rain down punches on his face. However, his opponent slightly turned his head, which caused Alvarez to land one or two punches that might have hit his opponent in the back of the head. As his opponent was unable to continue and had to be stretchered out of the cage, the referee decided he had no choice but to DQ Alvarez.

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.

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

Rafael dos Anjos is hoping he can replace Dustin Poirier and face Conor McGregor on July 10. After McGregor and Poirier had a back-and-forth on social media due to the failed payment from McGregor’s to Poirier’s charity. Following the heated exchange, the Irishman claimed the fight was off and he would be facing someone else and Rafael dos Anjos hopes he is that opponent.

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.

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.