MMA News
Alex Oliveira gets short-notice replacement opponent for UFC Vegas 20 as Ramazan Kuramagomedov fills in
Adam Martin - February 23, 2021
UFC welterweight Alex Oliveira will stay on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 20 card after all, with Ramazan Kuramagomedov stepping up on short notice. Oliveira was originally set to take on Randy Brown in what would have been an exciting bout between two fan favorites. Unfortunately for Oliveira, his status on this weekend’s card was up in the air while the UFC sought out a new opponent. Thankfully, the UFC matchmakers got Kuramagomedov to step up on short notice. The Russian will now make his UFC debut this Saturday against Oliveira, with MMAjunkie.com first reporting the news.
Daniel Cormier offers Dana White advice about Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement: "Keep trying"
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier believes Dana White should keep trying to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to fight again. Nurmagomedov, the UFC lightweight champ, announced his retirement after an October submission victory over Justin Gaethje. Despite the champ’s retirement announcement, UFC President Dana White has been determined to convince him to fight again.
Alexa Grasso "very happy" with win over Maycee Barber, believes title shot isn't far off
Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021
Alexa Grasso picked up one of the biggest wins of her career as she beat Maycee Barber at UFC 258. Entering the fight, all the hype was around Barber making her return. However, as Grasso was quietly going about her business, in the co-main event, she proved to everyone just how good she is.
Photo | Dan Hooker finally back in New Zealand, but still not reunited with family
Adam Martin - February 23, 2021
UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker is finally back home in his native New Zealand, but he has still not been reunited with his family. Hooker traveled to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 257 on January 23. Unfortunately for Hooker, things did not go well for him that night as he suffered a brutal first-round knockout loss. To make matters worse, Hooker has still not been able to reunite with his family a month since that fight. His home country of New Zealand has very strict quarantine rules and right now Hooker is still waiting to get to hug his wife and daughter. Taking to his social media, “The Hangman” posted a very emotional photo of him standing outside of a fence while his family appears on the other side of it.
PFL announces first-round featherweight, lightweight matchups, including debut of Anthony Pettis
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced the first-round matchups for its featherweight and lightweight seasons—including the league debut of former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. The league unveiled its first-round featherweight and lightweight fights, all of which will go down on the PFL 1 event on April 23, on Tuesday morning.
Jake Paul trolls Dana White, McGregor, Khabib in latest round of impressions
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
Jake Paul is back with another round of impressions, and this time, he’s targeting Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, and a host of other MMA stars. Paul became a star on YouTube, but has since become a fixture of the combat sports industry thanks to a handful of high-profile boxing matches.
Tyron Woodley discusses training with Francis Ngannou: He made me feel like my "nose is gonna break"
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley recently did a bit of training with Francis Ngannou, and he seems to be pretty blown away by the heavyweight contender’s sheer strength. Ngannou, currently the No. 1 contender in the UFC heavyweight division, is widely viewed as one of the hardest hitters in mixed martial arts history—maybe the hardest hitter outright.
Daniel Cormier argues Derrick Lewis hits harder than Francis Ngannou
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
Former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier believes Derrick Lewis is potentially a harder puncher than Francis Ngannou. Lewis and Ngannou, the UFC’s No. 1 and 2-ranked heavyweights, are widely accepted as the hardest punchers in mixed martial arts at present. Deciding which man punches harder, however, has been the subject of much debate among fight fans.
TJ Dillashaw makes picks for Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling
Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has made his prediction for the upcoming bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling. Yan, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, will attempt to defend his title against Sterling, the No. 1 contender, at UFC 259 on March 6. Ahead of the card, Dillashaw is preparing to return from a two-year suspension due to a United States Anti-Doping Agency suspension, and will therefore be watching the action closely.
Phil Baroni slams UFC lightweights Justin Gaethje and Donald Cerrone: “When the going gets tough they get tapping”
Harry Kettle - February 23, 2021
MMA veteran Phil Baroni has taken aim at UFC lightweights Justin Gaethje and Donald Cerrone for their defeats to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. Baroni is well known for being an outspoken figure on social media and based on recent evidence, it doesn’t seem as if that’ll stop being the case anytime soon.
Jan Blachowicz says potential "bad blood" with Israel Adesanya depends on his trash talk
Harry Kettle - February 23, 2021
UFC light heavyweight king Jan Blachowicz says he doesn’t have bad blood with Israel Adesanya right now – but that could change leading up to UFC 259. The two men are set to clash for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship as Blachowicz defends the belt for the very first time. Adesanya, on the other hand, is hoping to join an elite group of fighters to have won belts in two different weight classes.
Dana White tells Yana Kunitskaya she 'absolutely, positively won' against Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 19
Drake Riggs - February 22, 2021
UFC Vegas 19 got off to a hot start with a plethora of awesome finishes, and it would end the night on the same note. However, directly before the main event, there was some controversy at bantamweight — UFC President Dana White believes the judges got things right. At 135-pounds, top-ranked contenders Ketlen Vieira and Yana Kunitskaya took centerstage. After a competitive grappling heavy contest that saw round-by-round momentum shifts, “Foxy” would come out on top (literally) and get her hand raised by unanimous decision.
Thiago Santos promises to be "100 times better" in return to Octagon at UFC 259
Adam Martin - February 22, 2021
UFC light heavyweight Thiago Santos promised to be “100 times better” in his return to the Octagon at UFC 259 against Aleksandar Rakic. The last time we saw Santos, he lost in an upset to Glover Teixeira when he was submitted in the third round of that fight. Santos had success early and even dropped Teixeira in the fight, but eventually, the ring rust showed as Santos wore down and was tapped out. After losing a razor-thin split decision to Jon Jones at UFC 239 in July 2019, Santos missed over a year of action due to having double knee surgery and also catching COVID-19. So you can see why it’s somewhat excusable that he wasn’t as sharp when he fought Teixeira.
John McCarthy shares his thoughts on the stoppages from referee Herb Dean at UFC Vegas 19
Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021
John McCarthy has assessed Herb Dean’s performance at UFC Vegas 19. In the main event of the card, Dean was the third man in the Octagon for Derrick Lewis vs Curtis Blaydes. In the early going, Dean was doing a solid job monitoring the eye pokes. Yet, as Lewis landed the KO punch, “The Black Beast” followed it up with some more shots. He said it was Herb Dean’s fault, but John McCarthy believes Dean did everything he was supposed to.
UFC Fight Pass will no longer feature Invicta FC events
Drake Riggs - February 22, 2021
All-women’s promotion Invicta FC has truly left its mark on the sport of MMA. However, going forward it will no longer air on UFC Fight Pass. On Monday, Fight Bananas reported the separation between the two parties. Erik Kowal of MyMMANews would later confirm the report.
Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal 2 reportedly "pretty close" to being made
Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021
Kamaru Usman will likely get his wish of fighting Jorge Masvidal next time out. After Usman scored a third-round TKO win over Gilbert Burns to defend his welterweight title he called out Masvidal. Although he clearly won the fight at UFC 251, Usman wasn’t happy that he didn’t get the finish and the excuse of “Gamebred” taking it on six day’s notice was being used.
Felicia Spencer makes her UFC return in May against Danyelle Wolf
Cole Shelton - February 22, 2021
Felicia Spencer will welcome Danyelle Wolf to the UFC. Multiple sources have informed BJPENN.com that Spencer vs Wolf is agreed to for May 22. Contracts have also been sent out for the fight. The location of the event has not been announced.
TJ Dillashaw hoping for immediate title shot in UFC return: "I’m ready to go straight for the belt"
Adam Martin - February 22, 2021
UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw is hoping for an immediate title shot in his UFC return, saying that he’s “ready to go straight for the belt.” Dillashaw has not fought since January 2019 after he testing positive for PEDs following a TKO loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC on ESPN+ 1. Dillashaw was then suspended for two years by USADA, but he recently completed his suspension and is now ready to return to the cage. There has been plenty of speculation about who Dillashaw could fight in his Octagon comeback, with whispers that he could get a title shot against UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Remember, Dillashaw didn’t lose his belt, he vacated it. So in his mind, there is a justification for him coming back to fight for the belt despite the PEDs.