MMA News

Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021

Michael Chandler has offered his support to Dan Hooker. Hooker recently posted on social media that he is back in New Zealand but in quarantine. He shared a photo of him behind the fence with his wife and daughter looking at him. It was a sad photo and what made it worse is the fact he still has another 12 days to go in quarantine, despite already being away from his family for 44 days.

Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021

TJ Dillashaw is hoping to lure Henry Cejudo out of retirement. In January of 2019, Dillashaw dropped down to flyweight to face Cejudo to try and become a champ-champ. Unfortunately for Dillashaw, the fight did not go his way as he was knocked out in 32 seconds and was then suspended for two years by USADA.

Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021

Jairzinho Rozenstruik has heard all the talk about Ciryl Gane being a future UFC heavyweight champion. Rozenstruik and Gane were originally supposed to be the co-main event on March 13 but were moved to the main event this weekend. It’s an intriguing matchup and for Rozenstruik fighting two weeks earlier isn’t that big of a deal.

Adam D Martin - February 23, 2021

UFC heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes released a statement following his nasty knockout loss to Derrick Lewis at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 19. Blaydes was a massive betting favorite heading into the UFC Vegas 19 main event against Lewis, and for the first round at least, he appeared to be the better fighter. Blaydes didn’t even need to use his wrestling in the first round as he was able to outstrike Lewis and take the first round. However, the second round would prove to be a different beast. After attempting a takedown, Lewis connected on a gigantic uppercut which knocked his opponent to the floor, where he landed two follow-up shots before the referee stepped in.

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - February 23, 2021

The 29th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 20. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_22657760", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"723957"} });

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.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2021

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has identified the toughest opponent he’s ever faced in mixed martial arts competition. While Woodley has shared the cage with fighters like Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, Darren Till, Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Robbie Lawler, Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit, Josh Koscheck and Nate Marquardt, he says his toughest foe to date was American Top Team veteran Nathan Coy.

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.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - February 22, 2021

UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee says he wants to run it back with Tony Ferguson when he returns to the Octagon later this year. Lee has not competed since last March when he was submitted by Charles Oliveira in the main event of the last UFC card before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He had double surgery after the fight, and after missing a full year of action, he’s ready to return to the Octagon in the coming months. And when he makes his return, he wants to rematch Ferguson.

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.

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.