MMA News

Cole Shelton - January 10, 2024

Israel Adesanya avoided conviction for his drunk driving charge in New Zealand. Adesanya was charged on August 19 for drunk driving as he was operating a car with 87 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, which is over the legal limit of 50 milligrams. The maximum penalty for the drunk driving charge is a term of imprisonment of three months or a fine of $4500. The incident happened just weeks before his title defense against Sean Strickland which he lost by decision.

Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024

Former UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will face Amanda Ribas in March. ‘Thug Rose’ has been out of the cage since a move to flyweight in September. For her first bout up at 125 pounds, Rose Namajunas faced the rising Manon Fiorot. The former champion hoped to hand the contender her first loss on home soil, at UFC Paris. Instead, she suffered yet another setback.

Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024

UFC light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith doesn’t sound so hot on a Brock Lesnar return. Over the last few months, there have been murmurs of a return to the octagon for the WWE superstar. Brock Lesnar hasn’t competed since a decision win over Mark Hunt in July 2016. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating that he could return in April, at the historic milestone event, UFC 300.

Josh Evanoff - January 10, 2024

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Mark Hunt will be returning to combat sports. ‘The Super Samoan’ has had an odd last few years. Following a 2018 loss to Justin Willis, Mark Hunt parted ways with the UFC. The defeat was his third in a row, and his exit from the Dana White-led promotion was far from shocking. That partially has to deal with his lengthy lawsuit against them.

Susan Cox - January 10, 2024

Michael Bisping is confident Alex Pereira will be defending his light heavyweight title at UFC 300. Bisping, a former UFC middleweight champion, is making a big prediction for UFC 300.

Susan Cox - January 10, 2024

Dana White has booked UFC legend Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in a $100K challenge against his bull ‘Twisted Steel’. The UFC CEO Dana White has a passion that perhaps is not all that well known.

Susan Cox - January 10, 2024

Ariel Helwani is going to bat for Tom Aspinall after the Brit received recent criticism from UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. It was Tom Aspinall (14-3 MMA) who recently fought and defeated Sergei Pavlovich (18-2 MMA) by KO this past November at UFC 295 for the interim heavyweight title.

Susan Cox - January 10, 2024

Daniel Cormier is explaining why he’s not interested in seeing Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal 2. Masvidal, who retired from the UFC in April of last year, recently announced that he was ‘unretired’ and fight fans wanted to know what the 39-year-old would do next.

Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024

Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling has confirmed that he will never return to the bantamweight division. Over the course of the last few years, Aljamain Sterling has cemented his legacy at 135 pounds. He became a household name and held the championship high, successfully defending it on three occasions. Unfortunately, his run came to an end last summer when he was beaten via TKO by Sean O’Malley.

Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024

Jorge Masvidal has opened as a large favorite over rival Nate Diaz ahead of a potential rematch in boxing. Back in late 2019 at UFC 244, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz headlined Madison Square Garden for the UFC’s annual NYC show. They fought for the inaugural BMF championship, in what proved to be a strange matchup as Masvidal got the victory via doctor stoppage. It felt as if there was another chapter still to be written in this story, with the majority of fans wanting to see a rematch down the line.

Harry Kettle - January 10, 2024

Fight fans have made their feelings known after seeing the ticket prices for the upcoming UFC 299 event in Miami. On March 9 in Miami, Florida we will see one of the most stacked MMA cards in a long time go down. UFC 299 is full of world class talent from top to bottom, with the headline bout being Sean O’Malley defending his UFC bantamweight championship against rival Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera. In addition to that, the co-main event will see Dustin Poirier lock horns with Benoit Saint-Denis in a blockbuster lightweight collision.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 10, 2024

This Friday, January 12, ONE Championships makes its grand return to North American primetime with ONE Fight Night 18 on Prime Video. The promotion’s first premium live event of the year features an incredible lineup of action-packed bouts. It airs from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

Israel Adesanya knows he’s on the back nine of his fighting career. Adesanya is currently 34 years old and has been a pro-MMA fighter since 2012, but has competed in kickboxing for much longer. With over a decade as a pro fighter, Adesanya has put his body through a ton, and after his lopsided decision loss to Sean Strickland to lose his middleweight title, he said he would be taking a breaak from fighting.

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

Cain Velasquez will be back at a UFC event and in the corner this coming Saturday. Velasquez is the former UFC heavyweight champion and currently remains free on bail after facing 10 charges, to which he has pled not guilty, which include attempted murder; shooting at an occupied motor vehicle or aircraft; three counts of assault with a firearm; three counts of assault with a deadly weapon; willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony.

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

Colby Covington was getting heckled by fans at a recent Miami Heat NBA game. Covington has hailed himself as The King of Miami, ever since beating Jorge Masvidal by lopsided decision at UFC 272 in March of 2022. However, since scoring that impressive win, ‘Chaos’ has fallen out of favor with some fans due to his actions both in and out of the cage. Prior to his title fight with Leon Edwards at UFC 296, Colby Covington upset many people when he brought up Rocky’s deceased father. Colby’s underwhelming performance against Edwards certainly did not help his cause, and now he’s apparently getting trolled in his own city.

Josh Evanoff - January 9, 2024

UFC welterweight contender Michael Page doubts that Kevin Holland will have a kickboxing match with him later this year. ‘Venom’ recently ended his high-profile free agency. In March, Michael Page competed in his last fight in the Bellator cage, scoring a stoppage win over Goiti Yamaguchi. Following that bout, he became a free agent. After months of speculation, he signed with the UFC last month and was booked against Kevin Holland.

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

Jim Miller always wanted to fight one more time before UFC 300. For years, Miller has been vocal that he wants to compete at UFC 300, given he has competed at both UFC 100 and 200. However, many were surprised when Miller was booked to fight at UFC Vegas 84 on Jan. 13, exactly three months before the historic event.

Josh Evanoff - January 9, 2024

UFC commentator Michael Bisping believes that Tom Aspinall vs. Brock Lesnar isn’t as crazy as it sounds. The milestone UFC 300 event is now just a few months away. As of now, there are a slew of matchups announced for the event, including Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan. However, beyond comments from names such as Leon Edwards, there’s no clear champion to headline the card.