MMA News

Cole Shelton - February 2, 2021

Diego Ferreira is excited to rematch Beneil Dariush. At UFC 179 in October of 2014, Dariush edged out a decision against Ferreira in a fight the Brazilian took on short notice. Since then, however, both men have become top-15 lightweights and the Fortis MMA product believes the rematch just makes sense.

Cole Shelton - February 2, 2021

Paige VanZant is set to make her BKFC debut this Friday night but says she is open to a return to MMA. VanZant shocked many when she signed with BKFC after she fought out her contract with the UFC. Many thought she would sign with Bellator but she decided to go sans gloves. Although she will be the face of the promotion, VanZant revealed BKFC will allow her to take an MMA fight will under contract with them.

Cole Shelton - February 2, 2021

Frankie Edgar knew he would end up fighting Cory Sandhagen. At UFC Raleigh in January of 2020, Edgar was booked to make his bantamweight debut against Sandhagen. However, the former lightweight champion ended up accepting a short notice fight against Korean Zombie and the bout against Sandhagen was canceled.

Cole Shelton - February 2, 2021

James Vick has announced his retirement from MMA. After Vick lost four straight fights in the UFC and was released many wondered if he would fight again. Yet, after a year away from the sports, Vick returned to headline an XMMA event last Saturday night. Unfortunately for Vick, he suffered a second-round TKO loss to PFL veteran, Andre Fialho.

Adam Martin - February 2, 2021

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and PFL star Lance Palmer are among the class of the PFL season-three 155lbs and 145lbs roster. After taking 2020 off due to COVID-19 concerns, PFL is set to kick off its third season this April. The promotion promised that the roster would be completely overhauled heading into this new season, and they weren’t joking. There are plenty of fresh faces on this season’s upcoming lightweight and featherweight rosters, such as Pettis, in addition to PFL stalwarts like Palmer. Take a look at the rosters below.

Adam Martin - February 2, 2021

UFC legend Randy Couture explained why he’s called “Captain America” and “The Natural” in a new sit-down interview with Burt Watson. Couture, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, was known by several nicknames throughout his career, but the two most commonly associated with him are “Captain America” and “The Natural,” which is also the title of his book written by Loretta Hunt. Speaking to former UFC staff member Burt Watson, Couture explained to MMAjunkie.com the origins of his two most popular nicknames. For “The Natural,” Couture opened up about how it was coined in Full Contact Fighter Magazine.

Tom Taylor - February 2, 2021

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is back with another terrible take, this time expressing his disinterest in women competing in mixed martial arts. Smith, whose gimmick relies heavily on intentionally controversial sound bites, made his comments about women in combat sports during an appearance on the latest episode of the “Black on the Air” podcast. 

Cole Shelton - February 2, 2021

The 26th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 18. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_22657921", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"711792"} });

Tom Taylor - February 2, 2021

Surging UFC welterweight contender Michael Chiesa is still hoping to fight Colby Covington next, but he’d also be up for a fight with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Chiesa last fought at UFC Fight Island 8 in January, when he picked up an impressive decision victory over Neil Magny. After that fight, he set his sights on Colby Covington, a dedicated Donald Trump supporter, with a politicized callout.

Tom Taylor - February 2, 2021

Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren is already breaking in his customized Jake Paul-inspired punching bag. Earlier this week, Askren unveiled a custom-made punching bag adorned with Paul’s mug, which will no doubt help him prepare for his April 17 boxing match with the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

Tom Taylor - February 2, 2021

Darren Till has gone to bat for UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after a recent criticism from his fellow contender Uriah Hall. Hall, the UFC’s No. 8-ranked middleweight, recently expressed his belief that Adesanya has been competing against subpar opposition of his own volition.

Tom Taylor - February 2, 2021

Javier Mendez says Khabib Nurmagomedov should hold out for a blockbuster fighter with Georges St-Pierre or retire from mixed martial arts. Nurmagomedov, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, announced his retirement from competition after choking out Justin Gaethje in October. Despite his retirement announcement, he still hasn’t vacated the lightweight throne, as UFC President Dana White has been attempting to convince him to fight one last time.

Harry Kettle - February 2, 2021

UFC star Mike Perry has issued an apology for ever using the N-word, indicating that he will never do so again. It’s safe to say that Perry is probably one of the most polarizing figures in all of mixed martial arts, and as we look ahead to the future, it doesn’t really feel like that trend is going to change anytime soon.

Harry Kettle - February 2, 2021

UFC welterweight Neil Magny has vowed to slap Khamzat Chimaev on sight in the wake of the latter’s trolling on social media. At one point a few months back it seemed like Magny and Chimaev could end up facing off against each other, but in the end, that didn’t come to fruition and Magny was instead booked to fight Michael Chiesa on Fight Island.

Christopher Taylor - February 1, 2021

Justin Gaethje has shared an interesting theory as to why Dustin Poirier won’t fight fellow UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler. The former interim UFC lightweight champion, Gaethje (22-3 MMA), believes ‘The Diamond’ is taking a stance against Dana White in order to bring integrity back to the sport.

Drake Riggs - February 1, 2021

Michael Chandler will be aiding his fellow former Bellator champion Ben Askren in preparation for his Jake Paul boxing match — and the new UFC lightweight title contender is confident in how the contest will play out. “I’m telling you, Ben Askren’s gonna beat Jake Paul,” Chandler told ESPN. “Listen, you can say Ben Askren’s boxing isn’t that good, and it’s not, I will agree with you on that. But when it comes to dirty boxing, under hooks, pushing, pulling, grabbing heads. I mean, you’re gonna be in there for eight rounds straight, 16-24 minutes plus a minute in between, Jake Paul will get worn down, Ben Askren won’t. Depending on the ruleset, depending on the referee, depending on how quickly they’re going to break ’em up, Ben is gonna wear on ’em, close the distance, then it’s gonna be really hard to punch Ben Askren when he’s up in your face, pulling on you, punching you to the body, punching you to the head. Albeit, they may be pitter-patter… Ben Askren knocks out Jake Paul, seventh round.”

Drake Riggs - February 1, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov has made it abundantly clear who the perfect man to get him to 30-0 would be, and that’s none other than Georges St-Pierre. On a recent episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast hosted by UFC commentator Jon Anik and retired UFC title challenger Kenny Florian, “KenFlo” shared some interesting insight.

Cole Shelton - February 1, 2021

Jorge Masvidal has responded to Kamaru Usman after he said he would like to run things back. At UFC 251, Masvidal stepped up on a weeks’ notice to battle Usman for the welterweight title. “Gamebred” didn’t have a training camp and in the first round had some success. However, Usman used his wrestling and clinch to win the last four rounds and defend his title.