MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 17, 2021

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC 258 card in Las Vegas, and as expected, there have been some big changes. Most notably, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman moved up the men’s pound-for-pound list after beating Gilbert Burns in the card’s main event. He’s now sitting at No. 4.

Tom Taylor - February 17, 2021

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle says Ronda Rousey picked up pro wrestling faster than anybody in the history of the sport. Rousey entered the combat sports limelight as a mixed martial artist, ultimately enjoying a lengthy reign as the UFC bantamweight champion. After two tough losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, however, she transitioned to the WWE ring with much fanfare and excitement.

Adam Martin - February 17, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns spoke about his loss to Kamaru Usman, saying, “this is what happens when you are chasing greatness.” Burns was knocked out by Usman in the third round of the welterweight title main event at UFC 258. Although Burns rocked Usman in the first 30 seconds of the fight and appeared to have the upper hand early on, he seemed to get overexcited and the gameplan fell apart. From then on out, Usman controlled the bout with his jab and eventually knocked Burns down to the ground in the third round with it, forcing the referee to stop the fight. It was a tough, emotional loss for Burns, who put so much into this training camp just to see himself get finished in a brutal fashion. However, he remains optimistic about his future.

Tom Taylor - February 17, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is in phenomenal shape ahead of his upcoming showdown with Paulo Costa. Whittaker lost the UFC middleweight title to Israel Adesanya in 2019, but has since rebounded with a pair of impressive decision victories over top contenders in Darren Till and Jared Cannonier. He’ll look to make it three in a row—and make his claim to another title shot truly undeniable—when he takes on the recent title challenger Costa on April 17.

Tom Taylor - February 17, 2021

Beneil Dariush has revealed what he sees as his path to victory in a potential fight with fellow lightweight contender Charles Oliveira. Dariush, the UFC’s No. 9-ranked lightweight contender, is riding a big victory over Diego Ferreira, and is looking for another big step up in competition. He views Oliveira, the division’s No. 3 contender, as just that.

Harry Kettle - February 17, 2021

Former NFL star Adam “Pacman” Jones has been seen getting into a wild bar fight in Cincinnati, TMZ reports. Jones, who spent 13 years in the National Football League with most of that tenure being with the Cincinnati Bengals, has had his fair share of run-ins with the law over the course of his time in the limelight.

Harry Kettle - February 17, 2021

UFC bantamweight Cody Garbrandt has reiterated his desire to fight Jose Aldo after a recent back and forth over social media. Garbrandt hasn’t been seen inside the Octagon since his remarkable knockout win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 250 last June. Garbrandt was initially expected to move down in weight to battle Deiveson Figueiredo for the Flyweight Championship in November, but “No Love” tore his bicep and also contracted COVID-19 – with the lingering effects of the latter delaying his return.

Drake Riggs - February 16, 2021

Featherweight fan favorite and WEC alum Leonard Garcia retired from MMA in 2014. In 2019, however, he returned to action for some bare-knuckle boxing. 1-1 in his first two Bare-Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) appearances, Garcia is now set to headline the promotion’s next event. On March 19, “Bad Boy” will be taking on Joe Elmore (2-0 in BKB, 13-12 in MMA) in the Biloxi Civic Center in Mississippi. The co-main event will feature a bantamweight showdown pitting 46-year-old former WBO junior welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley (55-33-1 in boxing) against BKFC stalwart Reggie Barnett Jr. (5-2 in BKB, 3-4 in MMA).

Drake Riggs - February 16, 2021

Christian Lee has a tall order ahead of him at ONE on TNT 2. But he’s as confident as ever as he looks to defend his title for a second time. Just 22-years old, Lee (14-3) captured the ONE Championship 170-pound crown in May 2019 against the legendary Shinya Aoki and has performed brilliantly since.

Adam Martin - February 16, 2021

UFC women’s flyweight veteran Roxanne Modafferi threw her support behind Maycee Barber following her second straight loss to Alexa Grasso. Barber was on her way to the top of the UFC 125lbs division when she suffered a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Modafferi last January at UFC 246 in a fight where she also injured her knee. After missing a year of action, Barber was back in the cage at UFC 258 when she took on Grasso in the co-main event. Unfortunately for Barber, it was her second straight loss as she was outboxed and dropped a unanimous decision. After winning her first eight career fights, Barber now finds herself on a two-fight losing skid.

Adam Martin - February 16, 2021

UFC veteran Brian Kelleher showed off the brutal cut he sustained on his forehead in his unanimous decision loss to Ricky Simon at UFC 258. Kelleher moved up to 145lbs for the short-notice fight with Simon for this past weekend’s UFC 258 card. He lost a decision at the end of 15 minutes on the judges’ scorecards, with Simon controlling the majority of the bout with his wrestling. At one point during the match, Kelleher received a nasty cut to the middle of his forehead. It wasn’t bad enough to stop the fight, but it looks like Kelleher needed to get some stitches to fix the cut. Check out the cut photo that Kelleher shared with his followers on his social media.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Julian Marquez was making his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 258 on Saturday night. Marquez was set for his first fight in 953 days after dealing with an injury. In the lead-up to the fight, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” said ring rust wouldn’t be a factor but admits his timing was a bit off early in the fight.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Leon Edwards doesn’t like Jorge Masvidal’s chances to become UFC champion. Masvidal got his first UFC title shot on short notice at UFC 251 against Kamaru Usman and lost a decision. Since then, both men have hinted at a potential rematch. However, according to Leon Edwards, he believes Usman wins with ease every time.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev is en route to Las Vegas to receive medical care for his lingering effects from COVID-19. After Chimaev got COVID-19, his fight against Leon Edwards on January 20 was postponed until March 13. However, recently, it was revealed the fight was canceled again due to Chimaev still dealing with lingering effects from the virus.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Mike Perry is set to return to the Octagon on April 10 against Daniel Rodriguez. FighterPath was the first to report the news of the booking and sources have confirmed to BJPENN.com that Perry vs. Rodriguez is set for April 10.

Adam Martin - February 16, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards wants Colby Covington to step up and fight him in March, telling his rival to “stop being a b*tch.” Edwards was set to fight Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on March 13. Unfortunately, Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the fight due to complications from COVID-19. That means that Edwards is currently without an opponent, with UFC president Dana White suggesting most recently that he fight Covington. When White said that it was a bit of a surprise because many assumed Covington and Jorge Masvidal would be coaching TUF 29. However, it appears that the promotion has other plans, and that means Edwards vs. Covington is the desired booking.

Tom Taylor - February 16, 2021

Jake Paul plans to lure Conor McGregor into a boxing match by first “embarrassing” McGregor’s long-time rival Nate Diaz. Paul, who became a celebrity on YouTube, is gearing up for an eight-round professional boxing match with former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. While that challenge is currently occupying most of his focus, he’s made it very clear that he wants to fight McGregor down the road.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Maycee Barber’s return to the Octagon did not go her way. In the co-main event of UFC 258, Barber fought Alexa Grasso in her first fight since she lost to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in a fight she also tore her ACL. Entering the scrap, Barber didn’t think ring rust would be a factor but admits she had a hard time finding her timing in the first two rounds.