UFC News

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC analyst Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on a redesign of the current UFC gloves, saying that “there’s always gonna be issues.” Cormier was in the booth during the recent UFC Vegas 21 card, which saw the main event end in controversy when Leon Edwards poked Belal Muhammad in the eye, leaving him unable to compete. The fight was called off by referee Herb Dean on the advice of the cage-side doctor, who declared the bout a “No Contest” due to an accidental eye poke.

Harry Kettle - March 17, 2021

Paulo Costa‘s coach & brother has provided some more details on the current health of the UFC middleweight contender. It was recently reported that Costa has been forced out of his highly anticipated April 17 fight against Robert Whittaker, a fight many saw as a potential No. 1 contender bout at 185lbs. At the time, it was said Costa had been suffering from a severe case of the flu.

Adam D Martin - March 17, 2021

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov had a meeting with Lorenzo Fertitta, later telling Dana White to “send me location.” Nurmagomedov is currently in a state of quasi-retirement. Following his submission over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, “The Eagle” said that he was going to hang up his gloves after promising his family that he wouldn’t fight anymore. However, UFC president Dana White has been trying for the last six months to get Nurmagomedov to fight again, but to no avail. However, Nurmagomedov hasn’t given up his lightweight belt yet and he continues to make hints that he could fight again, such as meeting up with White in Las Vegas, though most signs are still pointing to him soon hanging up his gloves for good.

Drake Riggs - March 16, 2021

As Jake Paul’s boxing match against Ben Askren draws near, he continues to get help from MMA fighters in preparation – add Mike Perry to the list. After catching wind of the million-dollar bet UFC President Dana White laid down in favor of Askren, Perry shared his thoughts on Tuesday.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Colby Covington wasn’t impressed with Leon Edwards. In the main event of UFC Vegas 21, Edwards made his long-awaited return to the Octagon against Belal Muhammad who took the fight on short notice. Early on, Edwards was having success and landed a head kick that appeared to rock Muhammad. The Englishman clearly won the first round, but in the second round, Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye and the fight was over.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Francis Ngannou will have Kamaru Usman in his corner for his heavyweight title fight at UFC 260. In the main event of the pay-per-view card on March 27, Ngannou will rematch Stipe Miocic after being dominated by him the first time around. Miocic used his wrestling to take Ngannou down at will to secure the decision win.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Antonio Carlos Junior didn’t think he was fighting for his job at UFC 257. Carlos Junior was making his return to the Octagon after over a year away against Brad Tavares. In the fight, the Brazilian was looking to get the fight to the ground but Tavares managed to keep the contest on the feet and outstrike him to win a decision. After the fight, it was revealed Carlos Junior was released which caught him by surprise.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

The UFC rankings have been updated following UFC Vegas 21, with featherweight Dan Ige and light heavyweight Ryan Spann moving up the ladder. Ige knocked out Gavin Tucker in 22 seconds, while Spann finished Misha Cirkunov in the first round for his biggest UFC victory to date. Both Ige and Spann not only earned $50,000 bonuses for their incredible knockouts, but they have also moved up the UFC rankings in the latest update. Check out the latest changes to the UFC rankings (via Jed I. Goodman).

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Aljamain Sterling and Matt Serra appear to be on good terms. In the lead-up to UFC 259, Sterling was training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and added Eric Nicksick to his corner. With the addition of Nicksick, Serra was removed from the corner, and the former welterweight champion admitted he was very upset by the news. The former UFC welterweight champion also announced his retirement from cornering fighters which caused a ton of backlash on Sterling, who was already feeling the heat following the illegal knee DQ finish in the Petr Yan fight at UFC 259.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo said that he wants to fight Max Holloway, saying he loves the “challenge.” Cejudo retired from the UFC following a TKO win over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. However, despite being retired he has maintained an active social media profile and has called out a number of fighters over the past year or so, most notably Alexander Volkanovski. Considering Cejudo is just 34 years old, most fans and media believe he will fight again. If he does, then you can now add another potential opponent to the mix.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC executive Marc Ratner said that referee Herb Dean felt that middleweight Darren Stewart baited Eryk Anders into throwing an illegal knee. Anders was hurting Stewart up against the fence with punches and looked to be on his way to a win, but when Stewart went to the mat and took a knee, Anders nailed him in the head with an illegal knee and the fight was stopped. Dean declared the foul unintentional and thus the fight was ruled a No Contest. The fact Dean called it a No Contest instead of a DQ, which Petr Yan was hit with by referee Mark Smith when he nailed Aljamain Sterling in the head, left some fans who were watching take to social media to share their confusion on why one of these fights was a No Contest and why the other was a disqualification.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling believes that he “outstruck” Petr Yan in their title fight at UFC 259, one that ended via DQ. Sterling won the 135lbs title after Yan landed an illegal knee late in the fourth round that rendered Sterling unable to continue fighting. Referee Mark Smith called the fight off on the advice of the cage-side doctor, and Sterling was named the new UFC bantamweight champion. For many fans, it’s been hard to accept Sterling as a champion because many people felt he was losing the fight to Yan. At the time of the stoppage, Yan was up 29-28, 29-28, and 28-29 on the three judges’ scorecards, and he was winning the fourth round.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

The opening betting odds have been released for the upcoming Jorge Masvidal vs. Kamaru 2 fight at next month’s UFC 261 pay-per-view. The world’s leading MMA promotion officially announced on Monday that UFC 261 — which takes place on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida — will feature a full crowd for the first time in over a year. The PPV card is stacked with three title fights, including Masvidal vs. Usman in the main event for the UFC welterweight title, plus Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade for the UFC women’s flyweight title and Weili Zhang vs. Rose Namajunas for the UFC women’s strawweight belt. The UFC is coming back with a great card for the fans.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

Team Robert Whittaker has requested a title rematch with UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya after the Paulo Costa fight fell apart. Whittaker was set to fight Costa in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card on April 17, with the winner of that fight likely set to fight Adesanya for the belt. However, Costa was forced to pull out of the fight due to illness, which leaves Whittaker without an opponent. But if the Aussie’s team has their way, then they’ll be next for Adesanya either way.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

The 32nd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com is here ahead of UFC Vegas 22. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_50564923", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"741163"} });

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC featherweight contender The Korean Zombie said he’s willing to fight Dan Ige next, but he’s also willing to move up to lightweight. The Korean Zombie has not fought since last October when he lost a unanimous decision to Brian Ortega in a No. 1 contender fight at 145lbs. Ortega will now face UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 260 later this month, while the Zombie is still waiting for an opponent. It’s been nearly six months since the fan-favorite last competed, and he’s getting tired of waiting around for an opponent. While the rest of the top featherweight contenders seem to be getting matched up, the Zombie waits out in the cold.

Adam D Martin - March 16, 2021

UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz reacted to Daniel Cormier’s scoring of his UFC 259 title fight with Israel Adesanya. Blachowicz defeated Adesanya via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 259. The first couple of rounds were close, but most fans thought Blachowicz took at least or two of the first three rounds, and then he easily took the last two rounds universally. However, while most people scored the fight for Blachowicz, Cormier was criticized heavily because he did the commentary for the fight and seemed to ignore a lot of what Blachowicz did. It led to DC taking to social media, later on, to deny having any sort of bias during his call.