MMA News

Adam Martin - March 12, 2021

UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko says she’s in no rush for a superfight against women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang. Shevchenko takes on top contender Jessica Andrade in the co-main event of UFC 261, which takes place on April 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the same card, Zhang takes on Rose Namajunas in the main event.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2021

On Saturday night, the UFC will return to our screens with the anticipated UFC Vegas 21 card out of the promotion’s Apex facility. UFC Vegas 21 will be headlined by a dynamite welterweight scrap between the division’s No. 3-ranked contender, Leon Edwards, and its No. 13 contender, Belal Muhammad. Edwards was originally slated to fight the unranked Khamzat Chimaev in the card’s headliner, but accepted a short-notice fight with Muhammad when Chimaev was forced off the card with health issues.

Adam Martin - March 12, 2021

A battle between heavyweights will take place at a UFC Fight Night event in June when Ilir Latifi meets Tanner Boser inside the Octagon. MMA Empire Canada first reported that Boser vs. Latifi will take place on the June 5 card that currently does not have a venue or location set for it.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz received some warm words from Khabib Nurmagomedov after his decision victory over Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz defended the light heavyweight belt against Adesanya, the promotion’s middleweight champion, in the main event of UFC 259 last weekend.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz has provided an update on his feud with Monster Energy executive Hans Molenkamp. Cruz returned to action on the UFC 259 undercard last weekend, picking up a decision victory over Casey Kenney. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, he set his sights on a charity fight with Molenkamp, claiming that the Monster executive has a habit of making unreasonable demands of fighters.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2021

Joseph Benavidez has opened up on his fighting future after a tough loss to Askar Askarov at last weekend’s UFC 259 card. Benavidez’s loss to Askarov, a unanimous decision, marked his third setback in a row, as he was also recently beaten in a pair of fights with Deiveson Figueiredo.

Harry Kettle - March 12, 2021

UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith has called out referees for needing to take more responsibility after the Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling fight at UFC 259 last weekend. As most of us know by now the Yan vs. Sterling fight ended in controversial fashion when “Funk Master” won the UFC Bantamweight Championship due to Yan being disqualified. Sterling was clearly unable to continue and the knee was deemed to be intentional, which is why the decision was made.

Harry Kettle - March 12, 2021

The UFC has continued to make cuts to their roster with Jordan Espinosa and Shana Dobson both being released from the promotion, MMA Fighting reports. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has never been shy when it comes to releasing fighters from the roster and as we continue on through what has been a successful 2021 for the company thus far, it seems as if they aren’t slowing down.

Christopher Taylor - March 11, 2021

Former UFC ‘champ champ’ Henry Cejudo and boxing great Canelo Alvarez got into exchange of words over Ryan Garcia. Canelo (55-1-2) put his WBA and WBC super middleweight world titles on the line last month when he squared off with Avni Yildiri. The result was a one sided beatdown for Alvarez, who emerged victorious by way of third round TKO.

Drake Riggs - March 11, 2021

Cub Swanson started one hell of a talking point this past month. Sharing his thoughts that MMA media should have “3 amateur fights,” the featherweight icon recently explained what he was getting at with his tweet.

Drake Riggs - March 11, 2021

ONE Championship’s atomweight world grand prix is official. And to kick it off, ONE: Empower will be an all-women’s card. Announced on Thursday via ESPN, ONE: Empower goes down on May 28, and currently hosts five fights featuring some of the promotion’s best female competitors. Additionally, one more “major” bout will be added as well as tournament alternate bouts.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao has decided to take his talents to German-based MMA promotion Elite MMA Championship (EMC). The 34-year-old Brazilian, who has a 34-9, 1 NC overall record in MMA, is now the latest member of EMC, a German-based promotion who made the announcement official on Thursday. Barao is now a member of the Elite MMA Championship bantamweight roster.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

UFC lightweight Ottman Azaitar issued a statement regarding the bag incident on UFC Fight Island that temporarily saw him cut from the UFC. Speaking to Mark Bergmann of Fighting.de, Azaitar spoke about the infamous bag incident on UFC Fight Island. Azaitar was scheduled to fight Matt Frevola but at the last minute, he was removed from the card. UFC president Dana White later said that Azaitar was cut because he broke COVID-19 protocols by allegedly handing his wristband to someone from outside the bubble, and that person reportedly dropped a bag in Azaitar’s room, a bag that has become MMA’s own version of the ‘briefcase from Pulp Fiction.’ White later changed his mind and reinstated Azaitar to the UFC, but the whole incident has left fans wondering what really happened. Here’s what Azaitar himself said about the infamous bag.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

Petr Yan believes Aljamain Sterling is the real paper champion. In the lead-up to UFC 259 and Yan’s first title defense, Sterling was calling the Russian a paper champion. He didn’t think Yan had earned his way to the title as he did, and he planned on proving that inside the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 21, Leon Edwards is making his return to the Octagon as he takes on Belal Muhammad. Heading into the fight, Edwards is a -275 favorite while the Palestinian-American is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the majority of pros have Edwards extending his winning streak to nine.

Adam Martin - March 11, 2021

UFC bantamweight Dominick Cruz slammed TJ Dillashaw for his cheater comments towards Petr Yan, telling him “you’re about eight years old.” In the wake of Yan’s DQ loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 259, Dillashaw took to his social media to call the former champion a “cheater.” Dillashaw, of course, hasn’t fought in over two years due to a suspension by USADA, and he has admitted that he cheated the system in order to gain an unfair advantage. Seeing the comments that Dillashaw made about Yan and bunching him into the same group of cheats that Dillashaw belongs to was something that Cruz, a former opponent who fought at UFC 259, wasn’t thrilled about seeing.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021

Former two-division champion turned color commentator Daniel Cormier has responded to complaints about biased commentary during the UFC 259 broadcast. Cormier joined Jon Anik and Joe Rogan at the commentary desk for UFC 259, which was headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jan Blachowicz and challenger Israel Adesanya, who holds the UFC middleweight title.

Tom Taylor - March 11, 2021

Belal Muhammad is making no secret of his disdain for fellow UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington. Muhammad is slated to take on No. 3-ranked welterweight contender Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC Vegas 21 this Saturday in Las Vegas—an opportunity he accepted on short-notice.