MMA News

bjpenndotcom - January 26, 2021

There’s a lot to look forward to as the Professional Fighters League (PFL) gets ready for its 2021 season, which kicks off in April. In just three short years, the PFL has evolved from an up-and-coming promotion into one of the industry’s biggest power players, just behind the UFC.

Tom Taylor - January 26, 2021

Mere hours after their upcoming boxing match was made official, Jake Paul and Ben Askren are already swapping trash talk on Twitter. Paul, who achieved his massive fame on YouTube, will collide with Askren in an eight-round professional boxing match on April 17. News of the fight was first reported by BJPENN.com, and recently confirmed as official by ESPN.

Tom Taylor - January 26, 2021

Darren Till and Marvin Vettori, the two top middleweights out of Europe at present, are targeted to collide on April 10. The bout will serve as the card’s headliner, and be contested over five rounds. News of this matchup was first reported by ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC.

Tom Taylor - January 26, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre has opened up on a long-discussed superfight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, which now seems impossible. Nurmagomedov, 29-0, announced his retirement from MMA in October, after defeating Justin Gaethje via submission. However, Nurmagomedov had long expressed interest in fighting St-Pierre—who is also retired—in his 30th and final MMA fight.

Harry Kettle - January 26, 2021

Dan Hooker’s head coach Eugene Bareman has given his thoughts on Hooker’s devastating loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257. Hooker was unable to get back on the winning trail against Chandler on Saturday night as he suffered a first round TKO that massively sets him back in his quest to win the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Harry Kettle - January 26, 2021

UFC commentator Dan Hardy has revived his “feud” with Herb Dean over his stoppage in the Amanda Ribas fight at UFC 257. Ribas was beaten by Marina Rodriguez this past weekend through a string of vicious attacks, but after a moment of hesitation, the aforementioned Herb Dean allowed the fight to go on for a few seconds longer – which caused Ribas to sustain even more damage from Rodriguez.

Christopher Taylor - January 25, 2021

Recently retired former UFC ‘champ champ’ Henry Cejudo has shared some advice for Conor McGregor following his loss to Dustin Poirier. McGregor made his highly anticipated return to the Octagon this Saturday in Abu Dhabi for a rematch with Poirier. The former lightweight title holders had previously collided in a featherweight contest in 2014, with the Irishman earning a first round finish.

Christopher Taylor - January 25, 2021

Jose Garcia, the athletic recovery coach of the Diaz bros, has sent a warning to Dustin Poirier following his recent victory at UFC 257. Poirier squared off with Conor McGregor for a second time on Saturday evening in Abu Dhabi. ‘The Diamond’ and ‘Notorious’ had previously collided in a featherweight contest in 2014, with the Irishman emerging victorious by way of first round knockout.

Drake Riggs - January 25, 2021

In the heavier weight classes for the women, there are only a select few names that stand out. Especially beyond 145-pounds. Truthfully, it’s essentially just Kayla Harrison and Gabi Garcia — to an extent. Both competitors at the highest level in their respective backgrounds, Harrison and Garcia have since turned their attention to MMA. However, the latter still finds herself competing in BJJ competitions aplenty — a world in which she possesses a whopping 24 gold medals in.

Adam Martin - January 25, 2021

Former NBA star-turned-boxer Nate Robinson roasted UFC superstar Conor McGregor with a series of memes following his recent knockout loss. Robinson has been the butt-end of memes and jokes for the past several months in the wake of his brutal KO loss to Jake Paul on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. card. Robinson suffered a vicious beating in the fight, getting dropped several times before finally being KOed cold. The former three-time NBA dunk contest winner had no business being in the ring that night, and he suffered dearly for it. He hasn’t made a decision about whether or not he will fight again, but some of his peers want him to.

Andrew Whitelaw - January 25, 2021

Max Holloway knows a thing or two about great fights. The 29-year-old delivered a performance for the ages against Calvin Katter at UFC Fight Island 7 and set a new record for most significant strikes landed with 445.

Adam Martin - January 25, 2021

A new report from the Sports Business Journal suggests that UFC 257: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 2 sold 1.6 million pay-per-views. UFC president Dana White said that UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 was on pace to be one of the biggest pay-per-view sellers of all time, and he was right. According to a report from John Ourand of SBJ, UFC 257 sold 1.2 million PPVs on ESPN+. There were another 400,000 international PPVs sold, for a total of 1.6 million PPV buys.

Adam Martin - January 25, 2021

UFC president Dana White says he was worried Calvin Kattar could have died following his lopsided loss to Max Holloway at UFC on ABC 1. Kattar was on the wrong end of a historic beating as Holloway shattered the record for significant strikes landed in a UFC fight, landing 445 significant strikes on his opponent. Kattar showed amazing durability and courage by making it the full five rounds, but it was hard to watch at times. The fourth round, especially, saw Kattar receive an obscene amount of damage and many felt that referee Herb Dean should have stepped in and stopped the fight, or that Kattar’s corner should have thrown in the towel. But neither of those things happened, and White was concerned for him.

Adam Martin - January 25, 2021

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler sent a message to Dustin Poirier, predicting that he will “finish him within the first two rounds.” Chandler knocked out Dan Hooker in brutal fashion in the co-main event of UFC 257. When it comes to making an impression in your UFC debut, it can’t get any better than what Chandler did. It sure looked like Chandler was going to be the star of the night, but Poirier went and outdid him with a crazy KO over Conor McGregor in the main event. Chandler and Poirier were both rewarded with $50,000 bonuses for their victories, and it’s possible both men will next fight each other for the vacant title.

Cole Shelton - January 25, 2021

John Kavanagh knows Conor McGregor was fully focused and prepared for his UFC 257 fight against Dustin Poirier. Throughout McGregor’s career, there has been a common perception that the Irishman has lost his focus and isn’t as determined as he once was when he made his way up the featherweight division. However, for McGregor’s head coach in Kavanagh, he says the Irishman was fully dedicated and motivated and this was the best Conor he has seen.

Cole Shelton - January 25, 2021

Nate Diaz is not a fan of Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor for suggesting that their potential trilogy would be for the vacant lightweight title. In the lead-up to UFC 257, both McGregor and Poirier thought their fight should be the belt, but that was not the case. Instead, UFC president, Dana White was holding out hope Khabib Nurmagomedov would return.

Adam Martin - January 25, 2021

A middleweight bout between contenders Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa is reportedly being targeted for a UFC Fight Night card on April 17. Sherdog.com first reported that Whittaker vs. Costa is being targeted for the April 17 date, though a location has not been confirmed yet. The report suggests Las Vegas as a possible destination for the event. But with coronavirus-related travel restrictions, especially for international fighters, UFC president Dana White recently admitted that he isn’t sure where fights are going to be held in the coming months.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2021

ESPN has issued a statement after Saturday’s UFC 257 pay-per-view was plagued by widespread technical difficulties. UFC 257 was headlined by a lightweight showdown between Conor McGregor, the sport’s biggest star, and Dustin Poirier. McGregor has headlined the vast majority of the UFC’s most successful pay-per-views, and the expectation is that UFC 257 was another home-run in terms of purchases.