MMA News

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

The PFL 2021 season is shaping up to be a good one. Among the most notable new roster additions is Rory MacDonald — and last year’s champion, Ray Cooper III, is not impressed. After dropping his Bellator welterweight title in a rematch against Douglas Lima on October 26, 2019, MacDonald parted ways with the promotion. Now he finds himself once again on the hunt for a million dollars at the end of the PFL tournament.

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.

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

Alexey Oleynik will make the walk for his 75th professional MMA fight on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 19. On the main card, the Russian is set to face unranked, Chris Daukaus in a very intriguing fight. Oleynik is coming off a second-round TKO loss to Derrick Lewis in August in the main event of the card. Although the Russian is not fighting a ranked opponent or another legend, Oleynik is still looking forward to 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.

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.

Adam Martin - February 16, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz said a fan told him that he won $50,000 when he knocked out Luke Rockhold at UFC 239. Blachowicz finds himself in a familiar position next month at UFC 259 when he defends his belt against Israel Adesanya. Despite being the champion, Blachowicz is once again the underdog in this fight. The oddsmakers opened him as a +210 betting underdog in this fight, and it’s up to +220 now. It’s a role the Pole has found himself used to over the course of his UFC career, but especially as of late, being named underdog in four straight bookings now. Even though Blachowicz is the 205lbs champion, he still has his doubters.

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.

Tom Taylor - February 16, 2021

Gilbert Burns has issued a statement after his loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Burns, the UFC’s No. 1-ranked welterweight, challenged Usman for the welterweight strap in the main event of UFC 258 last weekend. Despite a strong start, he was ultimately stopped by the champion in round three.

Tom Taylor - February 16, 2021

Gina Carano says she found about her exit from Lucasilm’s popular Star Wars spinoff, The Mandalorian, on social media. Carano, who is widely credited as a pioneer of women’s mixed martial arts, lost her role on The Mandalorian after sharing a controversial social media post that compared the treatment of conservatives in the United States to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Tom Taylor - February 16, 2021

Colby Covington claims Jorge Masvidal turned down a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter and subsequent June fight. Covington and Masvidal were once close friends and training partners, but have since become two of the fiercest rivals in all of mixed martial arts.

Adam Martin - February 16, 2021

UFC president Dana White said that the world’s leading MMA promotion is hoping to host sold-out arenas of MMA fans by the summer of 2021. The UFC has not been able to host a house full of fans since UFC 248 in March 2020. The coronavirus pandemic led to the promotion literally shutting its doors for two months only to return in May 2020 in Florida for a series of events. The promotion has been able to hold events back in Las Vegas and in Abu Dhabi for the last nine months, but for the most part, fans have not been allowed except for a select few who were allowed into Fight Island. The UFC has not held a sold-out show with fans in a year.

Tom Taylor - February 16, 2021

Colby Covington has responded to the rumors about a potential welterweight contender fight with Leon Edwards. Edwards was slated to return to the cage against unranked prospect Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of a card on March 13. Regrettably, Chimaev was forced out of the fight due to health issues stemming from a previous COVID-19 infection, leaving Edwards without an opponent.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

The 28th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 19. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_22657822", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"720455"} });