MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Former UFC flyweight Rachael Ostovich has responded to the “weirdos” asking her to create an OnlyFans account. Ostovich last fought at UFC Vegas 15 late last month, succumbing to a volley of third-round punches from Gina Mazany. That setback pushed her onto a three-fight losing skid, as she was submitted by Paige VanZant and Montana De La Rosa in her next most recent fights.

bjpenndotcom - December 9, 2020

The lightweight division is widely considered the best weight class in all of MMA, and it looks like it could be better than ever in 2021. Despite the retirement of UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov—the division’s best fighter—a number of other world-class lightweights are poised to accomplish huge things in the New Year.

Tom Taylor - December 9, 2020

Anthony Johnson has parted ways with the UFC, and will instead be mounting his comeback in the Bellator MMA cage. News of this move comes from Ariel Helwani of ESPN.

Christopher Taylor - December 8, 2020

Yoel Romero appears to be in good spirits following news that he has parted ways with his longtime employer the UFC. On Friday evening ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported on Twitter that the former UFC middleweight title challenger, Romero (13-5 MMA), was now a free agent.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2020

Ciryl Gane expects to fight former teammate, Francis Ngannou in the very near future. Gane is considered the top heavyweight prospect and will get his toughest test against Junior dos Santos at UFC 256. It is a very intriguing matchup and if Gane wins, he believes it sets him up to fight Ngannou.

Adam Martin - December 8, 2020

UFC president Dana White says that the upcoming roster cuts from the world’s leading MMA promotion have “nothing to do with fighter pay.” Last week, the UFC made the surprising move to release former middleweight title contender Yoel Romero. Although Romero is 43 years old and riding a three-fight losing streak, he was still ranked in the top-five and the move came as a surprise to a lot of people. White told the media that these surprises will keep on coming as the promotion looks to cut up to 60 fighters from its active roster. That has led fans and media to speculate on the UFC’s motivation to cut all of these 60 fighters.

Adam Martin - December 8, 2020

The UFC has made its latest round of roster cuts, releasing several fighters from the roster including veteran lightweight Matt Wiman. UFC president Dana White has promised the world’s leading MMA promotion will be making 60 cuts to its active fighter roster. The promotion last month released former middleweight champion Anderson Silva, before recently releasing top-five ranked middleweight Yoel Romero in a shocking move. The cuts will continue to keep on coming as the UFC is looking to make room on its roster for Contender Series alum, new fighters from The Ultimate Fighter, and free-agent signings.

Adam Martin - December 8, 2020

UFC women’s strawweight contender Michelle Waterson has been forced out of her upcoming UFC 257 bout against Amanda Ribas. MMAFighting.com was the first to report that Waterson has had to withdraw from her bout against Ribas at UFC 257, which was set to take place on January 23 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. With Waterson off of the card, the UFC will likely look to find a replacement opponent for Ribas. With the card still well over a month away, it shouldn’t be difficult for the UFC to find someone to fight Ribas next month, though it’s doubtful the replacement opponent will be as highly-ranked as Waterson is.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2020

Jon Jones knows he has to win the heavyweight title for his legacy. Earlier this year, Jones vacated the light heavyweight title to focus on his move up to heavyweight. However, he still hasn’t gotten a fight booked but that is because he is taking his time in bulking up the right way. Once he is ready, he could very well get an immediate title shot which he knows if he wins, would cement his case as the best ever.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2020

Brandon Moreno plans to shock the world. In the main event of UFC 256, Moreno is making a three-week turnaround to battle Deiveson Figueiredo for the flyweight title. It is a very intriguing matchup given both men just fought at UFC 255.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2020

Artem Lobov was supposed to make his return to MMA. Lobov was expected to headline ARENA Fight 2 against Ylies Djiroun for the lightweight title, however, it was announced on Tuesday the event is canceled. Although this is a promotion many didn’t expect him to sign with, for Lobov, he just wanted to fight once in 2020.

Tom Taylor - December 8, 2020

Arena Fight Championship 2, an event that was slated to include the MMA return of Artem Lobov, has been cancelled due to several positive COVID-19 tests. The promotion announced this unfortunate news in a public statement on Tuesday.

Adam Martin - December 8, 2020

PFL women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison is set to compete in a rematch against Jozette Cotton in Titan FC next week. Harrison is still a member of the PFL roster but the promotion allowed her to take two fights outside of the organization in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Harrison ventured to Invicta FC in her last fight and picked up a vicious TKO win over Cortney King in a bloody battle. She will now head to Titan FC to take on Cotton, a former opponent in PFL, on December 17. The event takes place in Miami.

Tom Taylor - December 8, 2020

The medical suspensions for last weekend’s UFC Vegas 16 card are in, and a handful of fighters are facing long absences after their fights. Most notably, middleweight contender Jack Hermansson is facing a potential six-month sit due a fractured orbital he sustained in his decision loss to Marvin Vettori in the UFC Vegas 16 main event.

Tom Taylor - December 8, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till has opened up on his infamous sparring session with outspoken welterweight star “Platinum” Mike Perry. Till and Perry got a few sparring rounds in in 2018, after they crossed paths outside a hotel. While Till famously thought Perry was inviting him to the spa, he agreed once Perry had clarified his request.

Tom Taylor - December 8, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has shared his initial thoughts on Claressa Shields after their first training sessions together. Shields, a three-division boxing champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, is set to make her MMA debut in the PFL cage in 2021. Ahead of this anticipated debut, Shields has set up camp at JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque—the training home of many top fighters, including Jones.

Adam Martin - December 8, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira says that he was told Khabib Nurmagomedov swore on his father’s grave that he’s retired from MMA. Oliveira takes on Tony Ferguson this Saturday night at UFC 256 in what is the most important fight of his career to date. The Brazilian is currently riding a seven-fight wins streak and he is looking to earn a shot at the UFC lightweight title. While his focus is completely on Ferguson ahead of this weekend’s matchup, he can’t help but look at the rest of the landscape at 155lbs, including what Nurmagomedov is doing.

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2020

The 22nd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 256. We’re first joined by one-half of the main event, Brandon Moreno (2:46). Next, the GOAT, Artem Lobov (22:16) joins the show. Then, UFC lightweight, Renato Moicano (38:29) comes on. UFC featherweight, Daniel Pineda (56:10) joins the program. Closing out the show is UFC featherweight, Peter Barrett (1:08:30).