MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 1, 2020

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 15 card, and there have been a handful of interesting changes. While the card lost its originally scheduled Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis fight at the last minute, it still featured one ranked fighter as top-15 light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith submitted Devin Clark in the short-notice main event.

Tom Taylor - December 1, 2020

Former two-division UFC champ Daniel Cormier believes a heavyweight fight between Jon Jones and Curtis Blaydes makes “all the sense in the world.” Jones, the most dominant light heavyweight fighter in MMA history, recently vacated the UFC light heavyweight title with plans to move up to the heavyweight division. While it’s still not clear who he’ll fight in his first fight in this new weight class, Cormier believes Blaydes should get the call.

Tom Taylor - December 1, 2020

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was showing flashes of his current dominance long before he made it to the sport’s biggest stage. This week, Khabib shared footage from his seventh pro fight to his official Facebook page, and it’s proof that he’s always been an absolutely lethal grappler—even in the early phases of his illustrious MMA career.

Cole Shelton - December 1, 2020

The 21st episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 16. We’re first joined by fourth-ranked middleweight contender, Jack Hermansson (3:01). Next, ninth-ranked lightweight, Diego Ferreira (17:36) joins the show. Then, the 15th-ranked flyweight, Montana De La Rosa (31:34) comes on. Closing out the show is flyweight contender, Cody Durden (41:31).

Tom Taylor - December 1, 2020

Veteran MMA referee Marc Goddard was not impressed by a recent fight involving a 529-pound man and a 139-pound woman. The bout in question occured in Moscow, Russia last week, under the Nashe Delo Fights banner. In the early going, it looked like the male fighter, Grigory Chistyakov, might come out on top. In the end, however, Darina Madzyuk turned the tables on her male foe, winning with a volley of strikes.

Harry Kettle - December 1, 2020

The odds have been released for a potential mixed martial arts fight between UFC welterweight Colby Covington and NBA star LeBron James. In the wake of Jake Paul knocking out Nate Robinson this past weekend, it seems as if there is a revived interest in the world of celebrity boxing – and potentially even celebrity MMA. From basketball to baseball and beyond, plenty of stars are starting to throw their name into the hat for a potential bout somewhere down the road.

bjpenndotcom - December 1, 2020

There’s no question that 2020 has been rough for mixed martial arts. COVID-19 hit professional sports particularly hard, and the road to recovery only began in recent months. But despite the difficult challenges, MMA is looking forward to a fantastic 2021. That’s because the sport is absolutely stacked with talented fighters who are ready to cement themselves as the best in the business. Here are 10 reigning MMA world champions from organizations around the world who are primed for an epic 2021.

Christopher Taylor - November 30, 2020

Dillon Danis was not happy with Daniel Cormier for suggesting that he would get “beat up” by Jake Paul in a boxing match. Earlier today on ESPN‘s “DC & Helwani show”, the former UFC champ-champ turned heads when he suggested that Jake Paul would defeat Dillon Danis in a boxing match.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2020

Diego Sanchez appears close to hanging up the gloves. Following Sanchez’s UFC 253 loss to Jake Matthews, many wondered what would be next for him. Some thought he should retire but he made it clear he would look to continue fighting.

Adam Martin - November 30, 2020

Claressa Shields, a former Olympic gold medalist in boxing, is making the move to mixed martial arts and surprisingly has signed with PFL. Shields has been teasing a move to MMA for the last few years. In fact, she was a guest of UFC president Dana White at UFC 245 last December in Las Vegas. Many thought that after Amanda Nunes defended the UFC women’s bantamweight title against Germaine de Randamie that night that Shields could potentially be a future opponent. But that fight won’t be happening anytime soon with Shields now in PFL.

Adam Martin - November 30, 2020

Top contender Jessica Andrade dropped a timeline for a potential fight against UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko in 2021. Andrade, the former UFC women’s strawweight champion, made her flyweight debut back at UFC Fight Island 6 in October and knocked out former title challenger Katlyn Chookagian with a nasty body shot. UFC president Dana White praised Andrade following the fight and hinted that she could be next in line to fight Shevchenko. Thus far that fight has not been booked but it appears it’s the direction the UFC is headed.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2020

Conor McGregor congratulated Nate Diaz on the anniversary of his TKO win over Gray Maynard. On November 30, 2013, Diaz and Maynard had their unofficial trilogy bout. They first met on The Ultimate Fighter with Diaz winning by submission. They then fought in 2010 with Maynard winning by split decision but in 2013, Diaz put the rivalry to bed with a TKO win.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler, one of the newer additions to the UFC roster, has announced that he’s starting fight camp. Chandler signed with the UFC in the fall, and was was immediately slated as the understudy for the UFC 254-headlining lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje. In the end, both Nurmagomedov and Gaethje made it to the Octagon that night, which meant Chandler’s services weren’t needed, and his UFC debut was put on ice.

Adam Martin - November 30, 2020

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Moreno joked that he would consider changing his nickname from “The Assassin Baby” to “Mexican McLovin.” Moreno is currently the No. 1 ranked contender in the UFC flyweight division, and on December 12, he will take on champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event of UFC 256. It’s a huge opportunity for Moreno, who is one of the most exciting fighters in the division. In his last fight at UFC 255, he finished Brandon Royval in round one.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

Outspoken UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington is calling for a boxing match with NBA legend LeBron James. Cross-sport boxing matches are all anybody can talk about these days, after YouTube star Jake Paul strafed former NBA player Nate Robinson in the co-main event of last weekend’s Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. card.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

Former UFC flyweight champion Henry Cejudo has made his pick for the upcoming title fight between current champ Deiveson Figueiredo and challenger Brandon Moreno. Henry Cejudo captured the UFC flyweight title with a controversial split decision defeat of of Demetrious Johnson in August, 2018. After defending the title with a knockout of TJ Dillashaw in January 2019, he then ventured up to bantamweight, where he captured the vacant title with a defeat of Marlon Moraes, and retired after defending the belt against Dominick Cruz.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2020

In the main event of UFC Vegas 15, Anthony Smith took on Devin Clark in a short-notice five-round headliner. Smith was looking to snap his two-fight losing streak while Clark while looking to pick up the biggest win of his career and enter the light heavyweight rankings. Yet, it was Smith who scored a first-round submission to get his momentum back.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

You can count UFC President Dana White among the multitudinous new admirers of Puerto Rican welterweight prospect Miguel Baeza. Baeza returned to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 15 last weekend, defeating hard-nosed Japanese star Takashi Sato by submission. With the win, which broadcasted on ESPN, the 28-year-old improved to an impressive 10-0 overall, and gave the impression that he could become a big star in the near future.