MMA News

Cole Shelton - September 15, 2020

Johnny Walker is on a two-fight losing streak and thus has made some career changes ahead of his upcoming fight. At UFC Vegas 11, Walker is set to take on Ryan Spann in a very intriguing matchup. Normally, Walker trains at Tristar in Montreal, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he could not get into Canada so he decided to send John Kavanagh a message to train at SBG Ireland.

Tom Taylor - September 15, 2020

Artem Lobov has some fond memories from his time competing under the Ultimate Fighting Championship banner. Lobov, who has a 14-15-1 overall record, competed in the UFC from 2015 to 2018. In that time, he amassed a 2-5 promotional record, defeating Teruto Ishihara and Chris Avila, and coming up short to top talents in Ryan Hall, Alex White, Cub Swanson, Andre Fili, and lastly, Michael Johnson.

Cole Shelton - September 15, 2020

The tenth episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 11. We’re first joined by 11th-ranked light heavyweight, Johnny Walker (1:47). Next, UFC bantamweight, Randy Costa (13:56) comes on. Finally, UFC bantamweight, Andre Ewell (30:58) closes out the show.

Tom Taylor - September 15, 2020

Several of the coaches behind Colby Covington recently explained how the fighter has evolved since leaving American Top Team. After spending almost the entirety of his career training at ATT in Coconut Creek, Florida, Covington parted ways with the gym earlier this year. He now trains at MMA Masters in Miami.

Adam Martin - September 15, 2020

UFC featherweight Mirsad Bektic has lost his opponent Eduardo Garagorri ahead of their fight this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 11. Bektic and Garagorri were set to meet in a featured prelim on this weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley card, but the fight has been canceled. According to a report from MMAFighting.com, a cornerman for Garagorri has tested positive for COVID-19. Due to the cornerman’s positive COVID-19 test, the promotion has pulled Garagorri from the event out of an abundance of caution, leaving Bektic with no opponent.

Tom Taylor - September 15, 2020

Daniel Cormier says he had COVID-19 before his UFC 252 heavyweight title fight with the division’s reigning champion, Stipe Miocic. During a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, Cormier sang the praises of a product called the Oura Ring, which tracks health data and can help alert the wearer to potential health problems. The former two-division champion revealed that wearing the ring helped him realize he had COVID-19 and allowed him to get this health issue under control before his fight with Miocic.

Tom Taylor - September 15, 2020

Former two-division UFC champ Henry Cejudo recently admitted that he actually has some respect for rising bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley. Cejudo has had plenty in the way of trash talk for O’Malley lately, particularly after the prospect sustained the first loss of his career at the hands of Marlon Vera. On a recent episode of Real Quick with Mike Swick, however, Cejudo offered some rare praise for the up-and-comer—although he also questioned O’Malley’s toughness and heart.

Adam Martin - September 15, 2020

UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker is open to fighting Tony Ferguson after Dustin Poirier had contract talks fail with the promotion. UFC president Dana White recently said that an intriguing lightweight bout between Ferguson and Poirier was “probably” ticketed for UFC 254. Ferguson has already agreed to the fight but the promotion apparently cannot come to terms on a contract with Poirier and it’s not looking increasingly likely the UFC will move on from the matchup.

Tom Taylor - September 15, 2020

Chael Sonnen has a new matchup in mind for Tony Ferguson now that a fight with Dustin Poirier is seemingly off the table. For many weeks, Poirier and Ferguson were linked to a fight at UFC 254 on October 24. Regrettably, the matchup fell through when Poirier and the UFC couldn’t agree on the size of his prize.

Harry Kettle - September 15, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Marvin Vettori continues to call out Chris Weidman in the hope of securing a fight against the former champion. Vettori was able to take his current winning streak in the UFC to three fights in June as the Italian continues to try and climb up through the ranks of the 185-pound division. Weidman, on the other hand, finally got back on the winning trail with a unanimous decision victory over Omari Akhmedov at the start of August.

Harry Kettle - September 15, 2020

UFC president Dana White has praised Kevin Croom after his short-notice win in his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 10 this past weekend. Croom was a late addition to the card after previously being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, only to be released without fighting for the promotion. This time around he was thrown in at the deep end, being given an incredibly tough test in the form of Roosevelt Roberts.

Natasha Hooper - September 15, 2020

Donald Trump has said he wants Joe Rogan to moderate an upcoming debate against Joe Biden. Rogan has become a loud voice in the political space, and has sat down with Bernie Sanders and Candace Owens to discuss a number of hot button issues.

Cole Shelton - September 14, 2020

Witnesses have stepped up to provide details in Conor McGregor’s latest arrest. McGregor was arrested but was released without being charged earlier this week after he allegedly flashed a young woman. A witness revealed McGregor did in fact do just that with his bodyguards by his side.

Cole Shelton - September 14, 2020

In the main event of UFC Vegas 10, Michelle Waterson and Angela Hill were looking to snap their losing streaks and get back into contention at strawweight. The two were originally slated to be the co-headliner. Yet, just a week out from the event, they were promoted to the headliner status and agreed to the bout being five rounds as well. The fight was a competitive one and when it went to the scorecards, many were torn on who won. Just like fans on Twitter, the judges were split as Waterson got her hand raised by split decision.

Harry Kettle - September 14, 2020

UFC president Dana White has confirmed that he has held talks with popular free agent Michael Chandler. Fans and media members alike have been speculating over the future of Chandler after it was confirmed he’d be moving into free agency following his last Bellator fight.

Tom Taylor - September 14, 2020

Tyron Woodley envisions a violent end to his fight with Colby Covington, which headlines the UFC Vegas 11 card in this Saturday night. Woodley, the former UFC welterweight champion, has had a heated rivalry with Covington since the start of his title reign. More than a year after he surrendered the belt to Kamaru Usman, that rivalry with Covington is still festering, and the pair will finally settle it this Saturday.

Adam Martin - September 14, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed he has reached out to the management of Brock Lesnar, saying it would be a “great opportunity.” Reports recently came out saying that Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, is a free agent after his contract with the WWE expired and he could be considering offers to return to MMA. UFC president Dana White has already said he’s interested in a Lesnar vs. Jon Jones fight, and Coker has said he is interested in a Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko fight, so it will be interesting to see where Lesnar ends up next should he indeed make a comeback.

Tom Taylor - September 14, 2020

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz is seemingly in incredible shape ahead of his planned return to the UFC’s Octagon in 2021. The elder Diaz brother recently laid out plans for his first fight in close to five years, even undertaking a test fight camp and weight cut in anticipation of that return. While some members of the MMA community doubt that he’ll follow through on this plan, he certainly seems to be in top shape.