MMA News

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

Roxanne Modafferi is happy she gets to fight someone new. Over her last several fights, she has rematched the likes of Andrea Lee, Sijara Eubanks, and Jennifer Maia. Now, at UFC Fight Island 8, she will fight Viviane Araujo for the first time, which Modafferi is very excited about.

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

Conor McGregor has made it clear he wants to fight all the top-ranked lightweights and revealed Al Iaquinta is on that list. McGregor is set to return to the lightweight division at UFC 257 against Dustin Poirier and the Irishman has said it will be the start of a lengthy run at the division. If he goes out and beats Poirier, McGregor will likely fight a top-five opponent next time out. However, he says he would be open to fighting Al Iaquinta.

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Former ONE welterweight champion Zebaztian Kadestam says he’s an improved fighter ahead of his imminent return to competition. Kadestam will take on the unbeaten Gadjimurad Abdulaev at ONE: Unbreakable this Friday in Singapore. Abdulaev is replacing Kadestam’s originally slated opponent, Raimond Magomedaliev, on short notice, but the former champion is expecting a tough fight nonetheless.

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, two of the fiercest rivals in MMA history, nearly crossed paths on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. See the pair’s near encounter, as captured by Dan Hardy’s Full Reptile, below:

Adam Martin - January 19, 2021

Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend and former PRIDE fighter Ralph Gracie was sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting Flavio Almeida. Globo first reported that a United States court sentenced Gracie to six months in prison for the assault, along with three years of probation. According to Almeida’s lawyers, Gracie was also fined $50,000, will have to attend anger-management classes, and is prohibited from leaving the United States.

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

Michael Chiesa is eager to finally step back into the Octagon. In the main event of UFC Fight Island 8, Chiesa is set to battle Neil Magny in his first fight in nearly a year. Since Chiesa beat Rafael dos Anjos last January, he had a ton of momentum but injuries and the pandemic kept him out of the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is officially eligible to fight again after being suspended two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Dillashaw was suspended in the wake of a TKO loss to then flyweight champion TJ Dillashaw after testing positive for the injectable-only banned substance recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO).

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev has taken a shot at Conor McGregor ahead of the Irishman’s anticipated return to the Octagon. McGregor is slated to step back into the cage in the main event of UFC 257 this Saturday in Abu Dhabi, where he’ll battle No. 2-ranked lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.

Cole Shelton - January 19, 2021

The 25th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Fight Island 8 and UFC 257 var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_22657962", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"704810"} });

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

UFC superstar Conor McGregor has arrived on Fight Island—Yas Island in Abu Dhabi—and he’s already claiming ownership of it. McGregor is slated to take on Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 257 this Saturday on the Island. While most fighters on the card flew to Abu Dhabi directly, or through Las Vegas, McGregor first made a pitstop in Dubai, before eventually moving on to the scene of the action.

Tom Taylor - January 19, 2021

Dan Hooker, who is days out from a UFC 257 fight with Michael Chandler, is taking Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement announcement at face value. Nurmagomedov, the UFC lightweight champion, retired after defending his belt with a second-round submission of Justin Gaethje in October. Despite that announcement, UFC President Dana White has been adamant that he’ll attempt to convince the champ to fight one more time in an effort to push his record to 30-0.

Harry Kettle - January 19, 2021

American Top Team’s Mike Brown wants to see Dustin Poirier exploit Conor McGregor’s conditioning “weakness” at UFC 257 this weekend. Brown, who is Poirier’s head coach at ATT, will be hoping to guide “The Diamond” to victory more than six years after he was brutally defeated by McGregor at UFC 178 in Las Vegas.

Christopher Taylor - January 18, 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov has showered Max Holloway with praise following the Hawaiian’s record setting victory over Calvin Kattar. Holloway and Kattar collided in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 7 event in a bout which proved to be a very one sided contest.

Drake Riggs - January 18, 2021

Weili Zhang only has one loss on her MMA record. And that belongs to the UFC champ’s fellow Chinese standout, ONE Championship’s Meng Bo. On Nov. 9, 2013, Bo and Zhang met on the Chinese regional scene for each of their first clashes in MMA. However, despite their professional records both reading that bout as their first career contests, Bo has since revealed that the fight was actually an amateur fight with only two rounds — as can be seen below.

Adam Martin - January 18, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming UFC featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. The UFC recently announced that Volkanovski and Ortega will fight at UFC 260 on March 27. The main event for the card features UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou. With Volkanovski vs. Ortega now official for that event, the oddsmakers were quick to release the opening betting odds. Take a look at the odds for Volkanovski vs. Ortega below (via BestFightOdds).

Drake Riggs - January 18, 2021

Joanna Jedrzejczyk has fought in the highest profiled contests that she possibly could have in her career. Now, that could be about all that’s left for her. In March 2020, Jedrzejczyk acted as half of one of the greatest fights of all-time. It was her 10th career UFC title bout and the third she’d lost in just as many attempts. 2-4 in her last six overall, it’s left Jedrzejczyk with seemingly limited options — not only by popular belief but her own accord as well.

Cole Shelton - January 18, 2021

Dustin Poirier is looking to exact his revenge against Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 257 this Saturday. Poirier and McGregor first fought back at UFC 178 in 2014 with McGregor winning by first-round knockout. However, the fight took place at featherweight and many believe it is a much different scrap with it now taking place at lightweight. “The Diamond” has proven he is a legit contender and has a much better chin at 155-pounds.

Adam Martin - January 18, 2021

UFC president Dana White says Jon Jones will get the winner of the upcoming heavyweight title bout between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou. Jones vacated the UFC light heavyweight title last summer, announcing a move up to heavyweight for 2021 after a decade of dominance at 205lbs. Some thought he might even skip by Ngannou in the title shot queue, but the UFC is rightfully giving Ngannou the next crack at the belt. It was revealed over the weekend that the UFC is targeting Miocic and Ngannou to hold their rematch at UFC 260 on March 27, and Jones may face the winner of that bout.