MMA News

Susan Cox - December 1, 2023

UFC Austin kicks off with fighter weigh-ins, which took place at 10 a.m. ET today, Friday, December 1st. UFC Austin takes place tomorrow, Saturday, December 2nd, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Harry Kettle - December 1, 2023

MMA veteran Ben Rothwell has called out Matt Brown for remarks he made regarding the PFL-Bellator merger. Over the years, Ben Rothwell has established himself as a fan favorite in combat sports. Between mixed martial arts and bare-knuckle boxing, ‘Big Ben’ has been there and done it all.

Harry Kettle - December 1, 2023

UFC star Conor McGregor has welcomed a new baby boy into the world alongside his fiancée Dee Devlin. As we all know, Conor McGregor is easily the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts. His track record speaks for itself, as does the celebrity status he’s been able to build throughout the course of his career.

Harry Kettle - December 1, 2023

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has criticized the state of boxing after admitting his love for the sport. When it comes to heavyweights in combat sports, Tom Aspinall is up there with the best of the best. He now holds gold in the UFC following his sensational knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich last month.

Susan Cox - November 30, 2023

Nate Diaz is responding after UFC CEO Dana White claims ‘Khabib’s crew in Dagestan’ could take over ‘weak’ America. Dana White told the ‘Full Send’ podcast that he’s feels America is ‘soft’:

Susan Cox - November 30, 2023

Daniel Cormier is detailing the fights he would like to see booked for UFC 300 and UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia. The landmark event, UFC 300, is expected to take place in April of 2024, but the exact date, venue and timing has yet to be confirmed by the promotion.

Susan Cox - November 30, 2023

Tom Aspinall is responding after receiving fan backlash from calling for the UFC to strip Jon Jones of his title. Aspinall (14-3 MMA) won the interim heavyweight title earlier this month when he defeated Sergei Pavlovich (18-2 MMA) by KO at UFC 295. Following the victory, the Brit called for ‘Bones’ to be stripped of his UFC heavyweight title while he recovers from a torn pectoral muscle.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2023

In the main event of UFC Austin, a battle of top-eight lightweights goes down as Beneil Dariush takes on Arman Tsarukyan. Heading into the fight, Dariush is a sizeable +250 underdog while the Armenian is a -310 favorite. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight. The pros slightly lean towards Dariush getting his hand raised at UFC Austin.

Susan Cox - November 30, 2023

Dricus Du Plessis is saying he could be fighting at light heavyweight shortly after UFC 297. UFC 297 will take place on Saturday, January 20th at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2023

Kelvin Gastelum believes he has always been a welterweight. Gastelum is set to return to the welterweight division for the first time since 2016 when he fought Johny Hendricks. Since then, he has been competing at middleweight and had a very up-and-down career going 5-6 with one No Contest, and after going 2-5 in his last seven he decided to make the move back to welterweight against Sean Brady at UFC Austin.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2023

Joe Solecki is excited to fight a well-known guy like Drakkar Klose at UFC Austin. After Solecki picked up a submission win back in February, he said he likely needed some time off to deal with some nagging injuries and the pending birth of his second child.

Josh Evanoff - November 30, 2023

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns wants Colby Covington early next year. ‘Durinho’ has been out of the cage since a short-notice bout with Belal Muhammad in May. There, Gilbert Burns suffered a lopsided unanimous decision defeat. In the welterweight title eliminator, he also suffered multiple muscle tears in his shoulder.

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2023

Jalin Turner says he didn’t have much of a choice but to accept the short-notice fight against Bobby Green at UFC Austin. Green was originally supposed to fight Dan Hooker in a five-round co-main event. But, less than two weeks before the fight, it was revealed Hooker suffered an arm injury and was forced out of the bout. Then, on nine days’ notice, it was revealed that Jalin Turner stepped up on short notice and the fight will remain at 155lbs.

Harry Kettle - November 30, 2023

UFC fighter Kevin Holland has claimed that he has not been offered a fight with Michael ‘Venom’ Page, also known as MVP. In the last few days, rumors have been circulating regarding Michael Page signing for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Page himself has teased the idea, whereas a recent interview revealed that Dana White has Michael Page vs Kevin Holland as a possible fight for UFC 297 in his war room. Of course, up to this point, there’s been no official announcement on the matter.

Harry Kettle - November 30, 2023

Former UFC fighter Paige VanZant isn’t a big fan of the love story between music sensation Taylor Swift and NFL star Travis Kelce. While she may no longer compete in the UFC, Paige VanZant is still a pretty big name. She’s an enigma in so many ways, but she also keeps her foot in the combat sports door – at the moment, through BKFC. She has a large fanbase and millions of followers across social media, and that’s likely to continue being the case for months and years to come.

Harry Kettle - November 30, 2023

Iridium Sports Agency has released a statement claiming Bobby Green was attacked by Arman Tsarukyan’s team this week. This weekend, Bobby Green and Arman Tsarukyan will both be in action – but not against each other. Green will take on Jalin Turner in the co-main event, whereas Tsarukyan will battle Beneil Dariush in the main event. The key, however, is that they’re in the same weight class at 155 pounds.

Harry Kettle - November 30, 2023

Alex Pereira has confirmed that he would be interested in training with his longtime rival Israel Adesanya in the future. Right now, Alex Pereira is on top of the world. He’s the UFC light heavyweight champion, just months after he previously held the middleweight title. As we know, of course, the man who took that belt from him is none other than Israel Adesanya. The two men have fought four times across kickboxing and mixed martial arts and to this point, Pereira holds a 3-1 lead. Despite that, he’s made it clear that he’s hungry to run it back at some point – perhaps at 205 pounds.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 30, 2023

“Smokin’” Jo Nattawut is gearing up for what could be his last explosive push toward ONE World Title contention. After over a decade of trading blows with elite strikers, he finds himself at the tail end of a storied career.