MMA News

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

American grappling star turned mixed martial artist Garry Tonon will return to action this Friday night in what he considers his toughest bout so far. The multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion will look to climb the featherweight ranks with a victory over his next foe, in hopes of landing a shot at the belt in the very near future.

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.

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.

Adam Martin - November 30, 2020

UFC middleweight veteran Ronaldo Souza says that he offered to fight Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 16 but “The Joker” turned him down. Hermansson was set to fight Darren Till in the main event of UFC Vegas 16 on December 5, but Till unfortunately pulled out of the fight with an injury. Kevin Holland then filled in on short notice, but he was forced to pull out of the fight due to a positive COVID-19 test. Hermansson was finally booked to fight Marvin Vettori, who was originally slated to fight Souza at UFC 256 next weekend. Souza, in turn, was booked to fight Holland, who will look to make a speedy recovery from COVID-19.

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

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.

Adam Martin - November 30, 2020

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes that Jake Paul would “beat up” Dillon Danis if the two ever end up fighting in a boxing match. In the wake of Paul’s knockout win over Nate Robinson at the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. event, there have been numerous athletes taking to social media to call Paul out. We’ve seen NHL players including Ryan Reaves and Evander Kane call Paul out, not to mention numerous other MMA fighters and boxers. One of those fighters is Danis, the outspoken Bellator fighter who has made it known he is interested in stepping into the ring with Paul. And Paul seems like he’s interested in the fight, too.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2020

UFC President Dana White says there is “no hurry” to schedule the UFC debut of former Bellator lightweight champion “Iron” Michael Chandler. Chandler signed with the UFC in the fall, and was was immediately pegged 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.

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

Renowned mixed martial arts coach John Kavanagh was not impressed with Snoop Dogg’s commentary during last weekend’s Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight. Tyson and Jones, 54 and 51 respectively, collided in an eight-round heavyweight exhibition fight on Saturday night in Los Angeles. Despite the age of the two men, the event generated massive international interest, with many stars of the combat sports world tuning in—Kavanagh included.

Harry Kettle - November 30, 2020

UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson has explained why he would like to see Israel Adesanya defeat Jan Blachowicz for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Hermansson is set to step back into the Octagon on Saturday night for the first time since his win over Kelvin Gastelum on Fight Island. “The Joker” was set to face both Darren Till and Kevin Holland before they were forced to pull out, and now, he’s square off against fellow European star Marvin Vettori.