MMA News

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Antonio Carlos Junior didn’t think he was fighting for his job at UFC 257. Carlos Junior was making his return to the Octagon after over a year away against Brad Tavares. In the fight, the Brazilian was looking to get the fight to the ground but Tavares managed to keep the contest on the feet and outstrike him to win a decision. After the fight, it was revealed Carlos Junior was released which caught him by surprise.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Robert Whittaker will still headline the April 17 card after all. Late Monday night, it was revealed Paulo Costa was out of his fight against Whittaker due to ongoing complications from COVID-19. The hope for the Brazilian was to push the fight back a couple of weeks. However, that will not be the case. According to Contreas Legaspi and later confirmed by ESPN, Gastelum has agreed to step up on short notice to fight Whittaker.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

The UFC rankings have been updated following UFC Vegas 21, with featherweight Dan Ige and light heavyweight Ryan Spann moving up the ladder. Ige knocked out Gavin Tucker in 22 seconds, while Spann finished Misha Cirkunov in the first round for his biggest UFC victory to date. Both Ige and Spann not only earned $50,000 bonuses for their incredible knockouts, but they have also moved up the UFC rankings in the latest update. Check out the latest changes to the UFC rankings (via Jed I. Goodman).

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo said that he wants to fight Max Holloway, saying he loves the “challenge.” Cejudo retired from the UFC following a TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. However, despite being retired he has maintained an active social media profile and has called out a number of fighters over the past year or so, most notably Alexander Volkanovski. Considering Cejudo is just 34 years old, most fans and media believe he will fight again. If he does, then you can now add another potential opponent to the mix.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC executive Marc Ratner said that referee Herb Dean felt that middleweight Darren Stewart baited Eryk Anders into throwing an illegal knee. Anders was hurting Stewart up against the fence with punches and looked to be on his way to a win, but when Stewart went to the mat and took a knee, Anders nailed him in the head with an illegal knee and the fight was stopped. Dean declared the foul unintentional and thus the fight was ruled a No Contest. The fact Dean called it a No Contest instead of a DQ, which Petr Yan was hit with by referee Mark Smith when he nailed Aljamain Sterling in the head, left some fans who were watching take to social media to share their confusion on why one of these fights was a No Contest and why the other was a disqualification.

Harry Kettle - March 16, 2021

Marlon Vera has responded after Sean O’Malley claimed that he will be putting his “unbeaten” record on the line when he fights at UFC 260. O’Malley is set to fight Thomas Almeida at this month’s PPV event, but he’ll be doing so with a 12-1 professional MMA record after he was beaten by “Chito” at UFC 252 last summer.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes that he “outstruck” Petr Yan in their title fight at UFC 259, one that ended via DQ. Sterling won the 135lbs title after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that rendered Sterling unable to continue fighting. Referee Mark Smith called the fight off on the advice of the cage-side doctor, and Sterling was named the new UFC bantamweight champion. For many fans, it’s been hard to accept Sterling as a champion because many people felt he was losing the fight to Yan. At the time of the stoppage, Yan was up 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 on the three judges’ scorecards, and he was winning the fourth round.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Team Robert Whittaker has requested a title rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after the Paulo Costa fight fell apart. Whittaker was set to fight Costa in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on April 17, with the winner of that fight likely set to fight Adesanya for the belt. However, Costa was forced to pull out of the fight due to illness, which leaves Whittaker without an opponent. But if the Aussie’s team has their way, then they’ll be next for Adesanya either way.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

The 32nd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com is here ahead of UFC Vegas 22. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_50564923", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"741163"} });

Harry Kettle - March 16, 2021

UFC fan favorite Sam Alvey has told Leon Edwards to gain some humility after the latter called for a title shot following his fight against Belal Muhammad. It’s safe to say that the MMA community has been mixed in reacting to Edwards’ no contest against Muhammad. While some will happily point out how good he looked in the first round, others note that the eye poke was a nasty one – even if it was a pretty unlucky way to end his first fight back in almost two years.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC featherweight contender The Korean Zombie said he’s willing to fight Dan Ige next, but he’s also willing to move up to lightweight. The Korean Zombie has not fought since last October when he lost a unanimous decision to Brian Ortega in a No. 1 contender fight at 145lbs. Ortega will now face UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 260 later this month, while the Zombie is still waiting for an opponent. It’s been nearly six months since the fan-favorite last competed, and he’s getting tired of waiting around for an opponent. While the rest of the top featherweight contenders seem to be getting matched up, the Zombie waits out in the cold.

Drake Riggs - March 16, 2021

Prodigy kickboxing sensation Tenshin Nasukawa is already one of the best ever in his sport despite his age. Apparently, there was a point where the world’s premier MMA promotion wanted to get their hands on the Chiba Prefecture native. 41-0 at just age 22, Nasukawa first stepped foot inside the RIZIN FF ring at RIZIN 9 in 2017. He’s fought under the banner 13 times overall and looked virtually flawless in all outings – excluding an exhibition boxing match vs. Floyd Mayweather.

Christopher Taylor - March 15, 2021

Paulo Costa will no longer be fighting former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on April 17 as previously planned. After initial report from Ag.Fight suggested that the Costa vs. Whittaker bout was in jeopardy, MMAFighting has since confirmed that ‘The Eraser’ will no longer be competing at UFC Fight Night 188.

Christopher Taylor - March 15, 2021

Fighters shared mixed reactions after Dana White announced that next month’s UFC 261 event will feature a full attendance crowd. Earlier this evening, White took to Twitter where he proclaimed the UFC is “back” after securing a venue in Jacksonville, Florida for UFC 261. In addition to announcing that the event will showcase a full fan audience, the UFC boss also revealed that April’s pay-per-view event will be headlined by a welterweight title fight rematch between Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman.

Drake Riggs - March 15, 2021

Rose Namajunas isn’t the only one in her family with a massive fight coming up. The former UFC strawweight champion’s older brother, Nojus, is set to make his pro-MMA debut next week. On March 27, Namajunas, 31, joins the pro ranks at Mountain Force MMA 23 (MTF 23) in Logan, Utah.

Drake Riggs - March 15, 2021

Following her successful seventh career title defense, Amanda Nunes appeared in jeopardy of losing a title. She now also disputes that notion. “They did not cut the [featherweight] division,” Nunes told FanSided. “Dana [White] and I have a great relationship, as long as I want to defend it he will find me opponents.”

Cole Shelton - March 15, 2021

Petr Yan is confident he will get his belt back when he rematches Aljamain Sterling. At UFC 259, Yan was looking to defend his belt for the first time and after three rounds it appeared he would do just that. He had dropped Sterling in the first, stuffed 16 of 17 takedowns, and even took Sterling down on all seven attempts. The challenger was also fading, but in the fourth round, Yan threw an illegal knee and he was DQ’d meaning Sterling was the new champ.