UFC News

Adam Martin - March 10, 2021

UFC heavyweight Jon Jones took a shot at Israel Adesanya’s coach, saying “Your boy has almost no takedown defense or offense off his back.” Adesanya lost a unanimous decision to Jan Blachowicz in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC 259 event. Aside from being statistically outstruck on the feet, Adesanya was also dominated on the floor. Blachowicz was able to take his opponent down in the later rounds of the fight, lay on him, and beat him up from the top position. Adesanya, who was tired at that point of the fight from a bigger man laying on top of him, was not able to muster any offense from his back and went on to drop the decision on the judges’ cards.

Adam Martin - March 10, 2021

Veteran MMA official Neil Hall passed away on Wednesday after battling COVID-19 complications, his family announced in a public statement. His wife Kath Hall shared on Facebook that her husband passed away after battling COVID-19. According to the statement, Hall had back surgery last summer but had an infection in the surgery area which wasn’t noticed until January. While getting treatment for his infection, Hall picked up COVID-19 and after three weeks of fighting, he passed away. Hall’s age was not immediately available. The family’s statement is as follows:

Adam Martin - March 10, 2021

UFC president Dana White said that welterweight contender Leon Edwards will be in line for a 170lbs title shot with a big win this weekend. Edwards returns to the Octagon for the first time since July 2019 this Saturday night when he meets Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC Vegas 21. The Brit has a 10-2 overall record and is currently riding an eight-fight win streak as he closes in on the top of the UFC welterweight division. According to White, if Edwards goes out there and defeats Muhammad in an impressive fashion, he will be next in line for a welterweight title shot.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is confident that he’ll eventually become the promotion’s heavyweight champion. That being said, the man widely regarded as the greatest fighter of all time is in no rush— particularly when he feels undervalued by the UFC. Jones got to talking about his legacy and future in the sport on Twitter on Wednesday.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor reportedly doubled his net worth by selling his popular Irish whiskey company, Proper No. Twelve. McGregor and his business partners launched Proper No. Twelve in September, 2018. The whiskey was an immediate financial success, and a little over three years later, the Irish MMA star has reportedly sold his stake in the company for a gargantuan fortune.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has some advice for the promotion’s new bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling: Step away from the Internet. Sterling returned to the cage at UFC 259 last weekend, when he challenged Petr Yan for the bantamweight title. Regrettably, this fight ended in disaster when Yan blasted Sterling with an illegal knee. When Sterling was unable to continue, he was named the victor by disqualification, which meant that he became the new champion—but under pretty unfortunate circumstances.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

Eugene Bareman, the chief handler of UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, believes there’s still room for a potential super fight with Jon Jones. Adesanya and Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, have been jawing back and forth on social media and in interviews for several years, and have made no secret of their desire to fight each other.

Tom Taylor - March 10, 2021

Ben Askren has enlisted the help of legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach ahead of his anticipated showdown with YouTube celebrity Jake Paul. Askren, the former ONE Championship and Bellator welterweight titleholder, will meet Paul in an eight-round pro boxing match on April 17. The bout will air on pay-per-view at a price of $49.99. 

Harry Kettle - March 10, 2021

UFC legend Jon Jones has shown off his “man strength” ahead of his imminent shift up to heavyweight from light heavyweight. Jones is preparing to move up to the UFC’s heaviest division at some stage this year, with the plan being for him to challenge the winner of Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou 2 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Harry Kettle - March 10, 2021

According to a recent report from Fightful, UFC Vegas 21 has lost a heavyweight fight between Ben Rothwell and Philipe Lins. The two men had been set to throw down in what would’ve been one of the featured fights on the card outside of the Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad main event. The reason for the fight not taking place seems to be due to some kind of injury, although it isn’t noted who sustained the injury, with the expectation being that it’ll be rescheduled for a later date.

Drake Riggs - March 9, 2021

As the new UFC bantamweight champion. Aljamain Sterling is already finding himself as a target for challengers – one of which is a former titleholder themselves. Capturing the title at UFC 259 via disqualification after Petr Yan landed an illegal knee, Sterling and the Russian former champ are expected to run things back as soon as possible. However, the man to hold the title prior to Yan, Henry Cejudo, appears to be seriously teasing a return to action.

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2021

Sam Stout has set up a GoFundMe for his former opponent, Spencer Fisher. Recently, MMAFighting did a phenomenal story detailing Fisher’s symptoms consistent with a future diagnosis of CTE. He has also been declared permanently disabled and unable to work. The UFC had also paid Fisher $5000 a month for a PR job to help him out but after the company was sold, the promotion cut that money off.

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2021

Israel Adesanya had plans to try and become the first-ever three-weight champion in the UFC. According to Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman had Adesanya became a champ-champ on Saturday he would’ve moved up to heavyweight if Miocic defended his belt again.

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2021

Conor McGregor is changing his approach and mentality ahead of his trilogy with Dustin Poirier. At UFC 257, Poirier evened the score as he earned a second-round knockout over the Irishman. Given the fact, they are now 1-1 against each other, with both wins coming by knockout, it makes sense to do the trilogy. According to Kavanagh, the goal remains the same of having that fight take place in the summer.

Tom Taylor - March 9, 2021

Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm has shed some light why she was forced out of a planned fight with Julianna Pena. Holm and Pena were slated to collide on May 8, in a bout that could have earned the winner a crack at reigning bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Tom Taylor - March 9, 2021

The official UFC rankings have been updated after last Saturday’s stacked UFC 259 card, and as expected, there have been some significant changes. The biggest chances to the UFC rankings concern the men’s pound-for-pound list.

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2021

The 31st episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 21. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_50564942", "obj": {"id":"22947","width":"100%","height":"","video":"737270"} });

Tom Taylor - March 9, 2021

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is no longer interested in a potential super fight between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya. Jones, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, and Adesanya the reigning middleweight champion, are two of the fiercest rivals in MMA at present—to the point that a future fight between them seemed almost inevitable.