MMA News
Brandon Royval says Kai Kara-France win "was pure domination," wants a top contender in December
Cole Shelton - September 29, 2020
Brandon Royval knew he was a better striker than Kai Kara-France and wanted to make a point of it in their fight at UFC 253. Royval was the betting underdog heading into the fight, yet he knew he had the skillset to win as long as could avoid the right hand of Kara-France.
Photo | Official poster released for UFC 254
Tom Taylor - September 29, 2020
The UFC has dropped the official poster for the upcoming UFC 254 pay-per-view card, which is scheduled for October 24 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. See it below:
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 12 with Irene Aldana, Brandon Royval, Yorgan De Castro & Casey Kenney
Cole Shelton - September 29, 2020
The 12th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Fight Island 4. We’re first joined by one-half of the main event and sixth-ranked bantamweight, Irene Aldana (2:01). Next, seventh-ranked flyweight, Brandon Royval (16:10) comes on. Heavyweight, Yorgan De Castro (31:10) joins the program. Finally, UFC bantamweight, Casey Kenney (44:25) closes out the program.
Dan Hardy criticizes Israel Adesanya's "crass" UFC 253 celebration
Tom Taylor - September 29, 2020
UFC commentator Dan Hardy was not impressed by Israel Adesanya’s post-fight celebration at Saturday’s UFC 253 card. Adesanya, the UFC middleweight champion, took on ferocious Brazilian knockout artist Paulo Costa last Saturday night. After winning via second-round TKO, he briefly pretended to hump his vanquished foe.
Photos | Khabib Nurmagomedov gives fans a look at UFC 254 training camp
Adam Martin - September 29, 2020
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov gave fans a closer look at his training camp for UFC 254 in a series of new photos released. Nurmagomedov returns to the Octagon for the first time since September 2019 when he takes on interim champ Justin Gaethje in a title unification bout at UFC 254 on October 24. Nurmagomedov will be fighting with a heavy heart after the death of his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov earlier this summer after a fatal battle with COVID-19. Ahead of his big fight with Gaethje, Nurmagomedov has released photos of his training camp.
ONE Championship reveals full lineup for ONE: Reign of Dynasties on October 9
Tom Taylor - September 29, 2020
ONE Championship has revealed the complete lineup for the upcoming ONE: Reign of Dynasties card, which is scheduled for October 9. The card is headlined by a ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title clash. A co-main event featuring two of the promotion’s best flyweight contenders rounds out the six-bout offering. The venue and location for this event have yet to be confirmed and announced by ONE Championship.
Jorge Masvidal throws support behind Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rematch
Andrew Whitelaw - September 29, 2020
Jorge Masvidal has publicly thrown his support behind a proposed charity fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Masvidal and Poirier are teammates at American Top Team and “Gamebred” tweeted his approval, stating that he will both be tuning in and donating.
Paulo Costa says "something happened" before Adesanya fight, performance was impacted
Tom Taylor - September 29, 2020
Paulo Costa claims “something happened” before his UFC 253 fight with Israel Adesanya that affected his performance in the cage. Costa challenged Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title in the main of UFC 253 last Saturday un Abu Dhabi. Despite being hailed as the champion’s toughest foe to date, he was soundly beaten, and ultimately stopped in the second round.
Jan Blachowicz sends challenge to "fat a**" Daniel Cormier, gets quick response
Tom Taylor - September 29, 2020
New UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz is calling for a fight with the division’s former champion, Daniel Cormier. Blachowicz became the new UFC light heavyweight champ when he defeated Dominick Reyes in the co-main event of UFC 253 last Saturday on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.
Israel Adesanya offers advice to Paulo Costa after UFC 253
Tom Taylor - September 29, 2020
Undefeated UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has some advice for his latest opponent, Paulo Costa. Adesanya took on Costa in the main event of UFC 253 last Saturday, on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Ahead of the fight, Costa was widely heralded as the champion’s toughest foe to date. In the end, however, those perceptions didn’t prove accurate.
Jake Matthews says he almost apologized to Diego Sanchez during final moments of ground and pound
Harry Kettle - September 29, 2020
UFC welterweight Jake Matthews has admitted he almost apologized to Diego Sanchez in the final moments of their UFC 253 showdown. Matthews was able to dominate the UFC veteran from pillar to post in a unanimous decision win that was scored 30-26 across the board. It took Matthews’ current winning streak to three in the Ultimate Fighting Championship with six wins in his last seven, compared to Sanchez who has actually won three of his last five.
Colby Covington praises UFC president Dana White for “not bowing to the woke mob”
Harry Kettle - September 29, 2020
UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington has praised UFC president Dana White for defending him after his recent racism controversy. Covington was accused of racially insulting 170-pound champion Kamaru Usman when the two had a heated exchange after “Chaos” defeated his long time rival Tyron Woodley in dominant fashion. He also proceeded to go after the Black Lives Matter movement and called Woodley a “communist”.
Conor McGregor unloads on "fat fool" Daniel Cormier
Christopher Taylor - September 28, 2020
Conor McGregor lashed out at fellow former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier on social media Monday evening. The Irishman’s verbal assault was due to comments made by Cormier surrounding McGregor’s current and very public spat with UFC President Dana White.
Daniel Cormier accuses Jon Jones of giving up belt due to fear of Dominick Reyes rematch
Adam Martin - September 28, 2020
Daniel Cormier believes that his rival Jon Jones vacated the UFC light heavyweight title because he didn’t want to rematch Dominick Reyes. After defending his title earlier this year at UFC 247 with a decision win over Reyes, Jones surprised the MMA community this summer when he officially vacated the 205lbs title, which put it up for grabs at UFC 253 in a vacant title fight between Reyes and Jan Blachowicz. In an upset, Blachowicz knocked out Reyes in the second round to win the title.
Conor McGregor challenges Dustin Poirier to charity MMA fight in Ireland, "The Diamond" responds
Adam Martin - September 28, 2020
UFC superstar Conor McGregor challenged long-time rival Dustin Poirier to a charity MMA fight, and “The Diamond” has issued his response. McGregor has been in the news this weekend after he released text messages of a private conversation he had with UFC president Dana White earlier this year regarding a potential fight with Diego Sanchez. White said releasing the images was a dirty thing to do and McGregor fired back at the UFC president. It’s a big mess, and the biggest problem is it doesn’t get McGregor any closer to fighting. He hasn’t fought since January at UFC 246.
What's next for the stars of UFC 253?
Cole Shelton - September 28, 2020
The UFC was back on Fight Island last weekend for a very solid UFC 253 card that saw two titles on the line. In the main event of UFC 253, Israel Adesanya remained undefeated as he scored a second-round TKO win over Paulo Costa. The co-main event saw Jan Blachowicz become the promotions new light heavyweight champion with a TKO win over Dominick Reyes.
Daniel Cormier lists the five “big fights” he wants the UFC to book at welterweight
Cole Shelton - September 28, 2020
Daniel Cormier believes booking the UFC’s welterweight division should be rather easy. Right now, it appears the only fight booked is Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns. The plan was to do Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz 2 but Colby Covington might be next for ‘Gamebred’. So, if Cormier was a matchmaker he believes there are five big fights the UFC can book.
Jon Jones sends a stern warning to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya
Cole Shelton - September 28, 2020
Jon Jones has sent a stern message to Israel Adesanya following his UFC 253 win over Paulo Costa. For months, Adesanya and Jones have taken shots at one another and many thought a fight would eventually happen. Yet, “Bones” vacated the light heavyweight belt and has a planned moved to heavyweight. Once that happened, many thought a fight with Adesanya was out the window, but it appears Jones is still interested as he took to Instagram to roast the middleweight champion.