MMA News
Belal Muhammad details experience training in Dagestan: "Every round feels like it’s a new fight"
Fernando Quiles - January 7, 2024
Top-ranked UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad has given some insight on what it’s like for him to train in Dagestan. Muhammad hopes to realize his goal of becoming a UFC champion and he is closer than ever to doing so. While not yet official, Belal is already going to be training in Dagestan in order to prepare for a UFC Welterweight Championship fight against Leon Edwards. He hopes that what he’s learned from the top tier grapplers and MMA fighters will be enough to dethrone “Rocky.”
UFC 297 title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva hasn't fought in front of a full crowd since 2018
Fernando Quiles - January 7, 2024
When Mayra Bueno Silva steps inside the Octagon for UFC 297 on Jan. 20, it’ll be the first time she’ll fight inside a packed arena since late 2018. Silva was forced to fight in front of no fans during the pandemic era, but even once restrictions were lifted, the women’s bantamweight title challenger was simply booked on events inside the UFC Apex. She will finally gets to fight under the bright lights once again when she takes on Raquel Pennington for the vacant UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
Josh Emmett reveals who he gives slight edge to for Alex Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria: "It’s hard for me to bet against ..."
Fernando Quiles - January 7, 2024
Josh Emmett doesn’t consider himself to be a modern day Nostradamus, but he does know who he’s leaning towards picking for the UFC 298 main event. Headlining that planned February 17 pay-per-view will be reigning UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. He’ll be putting his gold at stake against undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria. It’s a tough fight to call between a dominant champion, who is coming off a devastating KO loss to lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev, and the rising Topuria. As it stands now, Volkanovski is the -155 betting favorite, while Topuria is a +130 underdog, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Jon Anik scoffs at Conor McGregor's middleweight plans for UFC return: "It has no divisional relevance"
Fernando Quiles - January 7, 2024
UFC play-by-play ace Jon Anik would rather not see Conor McGregor return to action as a middleweight. McGregor sent the MMA world into a frenzy just before New Year’s, as he announced he will be fighting Michael Chandler on June 29 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. What had fight fans truly buzzing was when McGregor claimed that the fight will be contested at 185 pounds.
Song Yadong calls for Sean Strickland to start setting a "good example" following his recent remarks about China
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2024
Song Yadong has called for Sean Strickland to start setting a “good example” following his recent remarks about China. Strickland (28-5 MMA), the UFC’s newly minted middleweight champion, is known for making controversial comments and recently did so when he suggested China’s two biggest exports were Plastic and COVID 19.
Laura Sanko explains why she "actually liked" Sean Strickland fighting Dricus Du Plessis in the crowd at UFC 296: "I actually prefer guys have physical fights than do this s**t"
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2024
Laura Sanko has weighed in on all the drama surrounding this month’s Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis title fight at UFC 297. Strickland (28-5 MMA) will be looking to defend his newly acquired UFC middleweight championship for the first time when he squares off with Du Plessis (20-2 MMA) in the main event of UFC 297 on January 20 in Toronto, Canada.
UFC flag ban still applies to one country: "They said no"
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2024
The UFC flag ban still applies to at least one country according to bantamweight fighter Farid Basharat. Basharat (11-0 MMA) is set to compete against Taylor Lapilus on next weekend’s UFC Vegas 84 fight card. ‘Ferocious’ has gone 2-0 inside of the Octagon thus far, scoring wins over Da’Mon Blackshear (decision) and Kleydson Rodrigues (submission).
Tom Aspinall responds after Stipe Miocic preaches patience amidst calls for undisputed title fight
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2024
UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has responded after being told to remain patient by Stipe Miocic. Aspinall (14-3 MMA) claimed the promotion’s interim heavyweight title at November’s UFC 295 event after scoring a first-round knockout victory over Sergei Pavlovich (see that here). Following his spectacular performance, the British champion made his case for a crack at reigning heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan responds to callout from comedian Katt Williams
Chris Taylor - January 6, 2024
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has offered a response after being called out by comedian Katt Williams. The longtime funnyman, Williams, was a recent guest on ‘Club Shay Shay’ with NFL legend Shannon Sharpe where he called out Rogan for never having him on his podcast.
Opening odds released for Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2024
The opening odds have been released for the boxing fight between Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua. On Friday afternoon, MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani through Turki Alashikh, announced that Ngannou would return to the boxing ring against Anthony Joshua on March 9. The fight will be ten rounds and will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two will also have a press conference in London to start the promotion of the boxing match.
Belal Muhammad vows to not let anyone, even Conor McGregor, skip the line as champion: "Here to make a legacy"
Josh Evanoff - January 5, 2024
UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad doesn’t care if it’s Conor McGregor or anyone else, he wants to be a defending champion. ‘Remember The Name’ has been out of action since a title eliminator with Gilbert Burns in May. That night saw Belal Muhammad dominate the Brazilian, en route to a unanimous decision victory. The win moved him to a 10-fight undefeated streak and became a prime candidate to face welterweight champion, Leon Edwards.
Stipe Miocic responds to Tom Aspinall over recent Jon Jones comments: "Let's talk to unify the belts"
Josh Evanoff - January 5, 2024
Former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is down to face Tom Aspinall after Jon Jones. The British heavyweight famously won interim gold in November, with a knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich. While Tom Aspinall was first quiet about Jon Jones and his future, he’s been heavily targeting ‘Bones’ over the last few weeks. Famously, the undisputed heavyweight champion was slated to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 last year.
Francis Ngannou releases first statement after booking Anthony Joshua boxing match
Josh Evanoff - January 5, 2024
PFL heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou is ready for his upcoming boxing match with Anthony Joshua. ‘AJ’ has been looking for an opponent after his long-awaited boxing match with Deontay Wilder was blown up last month. Both men competed in the high-profile DAZN event titled ‘Day of Reckoning’. In the main event, Anthony Joshua scored a knockout win over Otto Wallin, while Wilder suffered a loss to Joseph Parker in the co-main.
Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua boxing match reportedly a "done deal"
Cole Shelton - January 5, 2024
Francis Ngannou has his second pro boxing fight set. According to MMA journalist, Ariel Helwani through Turki Alashikh, Ngannou will return to the boxing ring against Anthony Joshua on March 9. The fight will be ten rounds and will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two will also have a press conference in the coming weeks in London to officially announce and start the promotion for the boxing match.
Dricus Du Plessis reacts to Sean Strickland’s emotional interview with Theo Von: “I’m glad he cried and he got it out”
Susan Cox - January 5, 2024
Dricus Du Plessis is reacting to Sean Strickland’s emotional interview with Theo Von on the ‘This Past Weekend’ podcast. It was during the interview that ‘Tarzan’ opened up about his own childhood trauma growing up with an abusive father.
Sean O’Malley challenges Ilia Topuria to bet on their upcoming PPV numbers: “100k cash whoever’s PPV is bigger”
Susan Cox - January 5, 2024
Sean O’Malley is challenging Ilia Topuria to bet on their upcoming PPV numbers. The current UFC bantamweight champion, O’Malley (17-1 MMA) is preparing to defend his title in a rematch against Marlon Vera (23-8 MMA) at UFC 299 which takes place on Saturday, March 9th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Tang Kai to run it back with Thanh Le in world title unification bout at ONE 166: Qatar
BJPENN.COM Staff - January 5, 2024
ONE Championship’s first on-ground event in Qatar will play host to the much-awaited rematch between Tang Kai and Thanh Le. This ONE Featherweight MMA World Title unification bout will be one of the marquee attractions at ONE 166: Qatar. The event takes place at the Lusail Sports Arena on March 1.
Michael Bisping reminds Sean Strickland why “all bets are off” in trash talk with Ian Machado Garry
Harry Kettle - January 5, 2024
MMA analyst Michael Bisping has weighed in on Sean Strickland’s recent war of words with Ian Machado Garry. Over the course of the last few weeks, Sean Strickland and Ian Machado Garry have somewhat become rivals. It started with Strickland offering his thoughts on the speculation surrounding Machado Garry’s wife, with the Irishman obviously not being too pleased about that. The two had a run-in at the UFC PI, with Strickland making it clear that he’d be willing to fight him – even though he wasn’t overly interested in doing so.