MMA News

Tom Taylor - September 22, 2020

Charles Oliveira is not happy that Michael Chandler has been tapped as the back-up fighter for the UFC 254 main event on October 24. Chandler, the former Bellator lightweight champion, recently signed with the UFC. While he does not yet have an opponent for his Octagon debut, he has agreed to step in if either UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov or interim champ Justin Gaethje fails to make it to their planned title fight at UFC 254.

Adam Martin - September 22, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson made his “first Twitter call out ever” when he requested a fight against Leon Edwards. Thompson, who is generally regarded as MMA’s resident ‘nice guy,’ took to social media on Tuesday to call out Edwards for a fight between two of the best welterweights in the world. Check out the message that the veteran “Wonderboy” sent to Edwards on his Twitter as ‘the nicest guy in MMA’ gave “Rocky” the honor of being his first-ever Twitter call out.

Tom Taylor - September 22, 2020

UFC light heavyweight Ed Herman has fired back his haters and at UFC commentator Michael Bisping after a recent controversial win. Herman took on Mike Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 10 on September 12. Mid-way through the fight, the action was paused when Herman seemed to absorb a low blow. An instant replay, however, revealed that the strike was clean.

Cole Shelton - September 22, 2020

The 11th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 253. We’re first joined by third-ranked light heavyweight and one-half of the vacant title fight, Jan Blachowicz (2:34). Next, seventh-ranked flyweight, Kai Kara-France (15:52) comes on. 13th ranked bantamweight, Sijara Eubanks (40:27) then joins the program. Finally, 10th ranked flyweight, Brandon Royval (51:47) closes out the show.

Harry Kettle - September 22, 2020

UFC bantamweight Sean O’Malley was tapped out by Robert Degle in the finals of a recent jiu-jitsu tournament. O’Malley is coming off the back of a devastating defeat at the hands of Marlon “Chito” Vera, and as he continues to wait for an opportunity to get back to winning ways inside the Octagon, he is using the time away to compete in a different martial arts competition.

Harry Kettle - September 22, 2020

UFC middleweight Markus Perez has challenged Khamzat Chimaev to step up and replace Rodolfo Vieira for a proposed fight on October 10 after Vieira withdrew. The rise of Chimaev has been fascinating thus far, and this past weekend, his legend rose even further as he knocked Gerald Meerschaert out cold to take his UFC record to 3-0 and his mixed martial arts record to 9-0.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2020

Paige VanZant is taking a break from social media, with many speculating it is due to hateful comments. VanZant took to Instagram to announce she would be taking a break from social media. She also turned off comments for the post so no one could ask her why she is doing this.

Adam Martin - September 21, 2020

UFC welterweight Colby Covington fired back at his critics, claiming that NBA superstar LeBron James “wouldn’t last 10 seconds” with him. Covington took a shot at James, the LA Lakers superstar, following his fifth-round TKO win over Tyron Woodley at UFC Vegas 11 this past Saturday night. In his post-fight interview, Covington thanked all the first responders in the United States for their service and bashed “woke athletes” and “spineless cowards,” naming James.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2020

Diego Sanchez is no longer worried about becoming a UFC champion. Sanchez, who won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter at middleweight in 2005 was poised to be a UFC champion one day. Yet, that never came to fruition. Sanchez went 0-1 in title fights and now at 38-years-old isn’t worried about fighting for gold again.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2020

Colby Covington is open to fighting Nick Diaz next time out. Covington returned to the win column at UFC Vegas 11 with a fifth-round TKO win over Tyron Woodley. After the fight, he called for a rematch with Kamaru Usman or friends turned enemy fight with Jorge Masvidal.

Adam Martin - September 21, 2020

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz says rising middleweight and welterweight Khamzat Chimaev would put UFC superstar Conor McGregor “in a wheelchair” in a potential fight. Abdelaziz is Chimaev’s manager and so far he has seen his star client explode into one of the brightest young prospects in the UFC. Chimaev was signed by the promotion earlier this year after just six pro fights and he debuted with an impressive submission win over John Phillips on Fight Island. 10 days later he beat Rhys McKee a weight class down, setting a record for the shortest time span between two UFC victories.

Cole Shelton - September 21, 2020

In the main event of UFC Vegas 11, Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley finally had their grudge match after years of trying to make the fight happen. Covington was fighting for the first time since suffering a TKO loss to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title. Woodley, meanwhile, was on a two-fight losing skid and looking to get back into the win column.

Adam Martin - September 21, 2020

UFC president Dana White recently provided an update about where talks are with former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar recently became a free agent when his WWE contract expired, and naturally, fans and media immediately began speculation about a return to the Octagon. As soon as the news broke that Lesnar was a free agent again, fighters such as Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic raised their hands and said they would like to take the Lesnar fight.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2020

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Johnson is looking absolutely lethal ahead of his planned return to the Octagon. Johnson has not fought since April of 2017, when he was submitted in his second attempt at swiping the UFC light heavyweight title from Daniel Cormier. Despite his lengthy hiatus, he does not seem to have lost a step in training.

Adam Martin - September 21, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley says he will not retire from MMA despite UFC president Dana White suggesting he do so. At UFC Vegas 11, Woodley lost his third straight fight when he was stopped by Colby Covington in the fifth round via TKO due to a rib injury. It was the third straight setback for Woodley after dropping his previous two fights to Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Woodley was completely shut out on the scorecards in all three fights, so technically he has lost his last 15 rounds, which is not a good sign going forward.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2020

NBA legend LeBron James has responded to his haters just days after a highly-publicized callout by UFC welterweight standout Colby Covington. Covington picked up a lopsided TKO win over Tyron Woodley, a vocal supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, at UFC Vegas 11 over the weekend. In his post-fight interview with Jon Anik, Covington set his sights on James, another champion for the BLM movement.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier isn’t giving up on his previously rumored matchup with Tony Ferguson. For many weeks, Poirier and Ferguson were expected to fight at UFC 254 on Fight Island. Regrettably, the matchup fell through when Poirier was unable to agree to terms with the UFC.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2020

UFC President Dana White had quite a setup waiting for him when he arrived on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi for UFC 253 this week. UFC 253 goes down this Saturday and will mark the first event of the promotion’s second stint on the highly publicized Fight Island—Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. The promotion held it’s first four events on Fight Island during a three-week period in July. This time around, the promotion will be on the island for a five-week span, featuring five events, and it looks like White will be very comfortable for the duration of his visit.