MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 4, 2023

Number-five-ranked Mansur Malachiev is on a mission to stake his claim as the next contender for the ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship. For him to achieve that, he has to go through former divisional king and #1-ranked Joshua Pacio. Both men will collide at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video. The event airs live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, this Friday, October 6.

Josh Evanoff - October 4, 2023

Former UFC title challenger Michael Chandler would prefer to fight Nate Diaz if Conor McGregor doesn’t show. ‘Iron Mike’ has been out of action since a clash with Dustin Poirier last November at UFC 281. There, Michael Chandler suffered a third-round submission loss. Since then, he’s been in talks for a longshot fight with Conor McGregor, who has admitted that he would rather fight Nate Diaz instead.

Cole Shelton - October 4, 2023

Dana White has an ideal location for next year’s Mexican Independence Day event. White held Noche UFC last month for Mexican Independence Day and the event took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a massive success and White promised he would hold the Mexican Independence Day event every year goinfg forward.

Cole Shelton - October 4, 2023

Michael Chandler has an idea of when he will finally fight Conor McGregor. Chandler and McGregor coached TUF against one another earlier this year, and the hope was they would fight before the end of 2023. However, the UFC have now announced the main events for the rest of the year, so when Chandler and McGregor will fight one another is uncertain, especially given the fact that the Irishman is still not in the USADA testing pool.

Susan Cox - October 4, 2023

Tony Ferguson is sharing the ‘one part that hurts’ about his current six-fight losing skid. Ferguson has recently lost to the likes of Bobby Green, Nate Diaz, Michael Chandler, Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

Susan Cox - October 4, 2023

Former UFC champions Frank Mir and Quinton Jackson are discussing the demise of PRIDE FC. PRIDE FC was folded into the UFC in October of 2007, marking the end of the organization.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 4, 2023

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has extended an enticing offer to Joe Rogan. This comes after the renowned MMA personality and podcaster expressed his deep appreciation for Muay Thai.

Harry Kettle - October 4, 2023

Sean O’Malley has explained why Paddy Pimblett could be in a lose-lose situation against Tony Ferguson at UFC 296. At UFC 296, Paddy Pimblett faces the biggest opponent of his career thus far – Tony Ferguson. ‘El Cucuy’ is a former interim lightweight champion, but with a six-fight losing streak to his name, many wonder whether or not this will serve as his final fight in the promotion. On the flip side, this is a real test for Pimblett to see where exactly he’s at in the lightweight division.

Harry Kettle - October 4, 2023

UFC fighter Kevin Holland has responded to Dillon Danis after he called him an easy fight. It’s public knowledge these days that Kevin Holland is one of the most intriguing fighters on the UFC roster. He never backs down from a fight, and he isn’t afraid to get in there on short notice. While he may not always get his hand raised, he certainly knows how to put on a show for the fans.

Harry Kettle - October 4, 2023

UFC CEO Dana White has explained why it would be a good thing for Bellator to continue being a prominent feature in MMA. It’s been well-documented in the past that Dana White doesn’t always play well with others. He’s had several feuds stretching across the combat sports landscape, and through it all, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has continued to thrive.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 3, 2023

Although Superbon Singha Mawynn was forced to withdraw from his ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title challenge against Tawanchai PK Saenchai, the latter will still make an appearance on this weekend’s card. Tawanchai will now step back into the featherweight kickboxing ranks at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video to take on Thai compatriot Jo Nattawut. The card airs live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, October 6.

Zain Bando - October 3, 2023

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping isn’t afraid to speak on various topics within the combat sports world. Ahead of the highly-anticipated tilt between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC belt holder Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28, Bisping, now a UFC color commentator, gave his thoughts about Fury entering the bout and what he should be aware of.

Cole Shelton - October 3, 2023

Bob Arum, the promoter for Tyson Fury revealed the shocking payday ‘The Gypsy King’ will get for his upcoming fight against Oleksandr Usyk. Fury is set to return to the ring on Oct. 28 when he takes on former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou. However, before that fight even happened, it was revealed that Fury signed on to face Oleksandr Usyk to unify the heavyweight division in either December or January.

Cole Shelton - October 3, 2023

Yoel Romero thinks Israel Adesanya fought scared against Sean Strickland. Adesanya was coming off a KO win over Alex Pereira back in April, and the fight against Strickland was one he didn’t want in the first place. Instead, ‘The Last Stylebender’ wanted to face Dricus Du Plessis, but an injury kept him from getting the bout.

Josh Evanoff - October 3, 2023

UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso is healing in preparation for a trilogy with Valentina Shevchenko. Last month, the two women’s flyweight stars clashed in the main event of UFC Noche. The bout was a rematch of their prior clash at UFC 285 in March. There, Alexa Grasso ended Valentina Shevchenko’s historic title reign by a third-round submission. In the process, she pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year.

Josh Evanoff - October 3, 2023

Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson believes he’ll be faster than Paddy Pimblett. ‘El Cucuy’ has been out of action since a third-round submission loss to Bobby Green in July at UFC 290. The defeat was his sixth in a row, and there were quick calls for Tony Ferguson to retire. However, he quickly hit back at those calls to hang it up and booked a fight with Paddy Pimblett.

Cole Shelton - October 3, 2023

Stipe Miocic isn’t sure what his fighting future holds. Miocic is set to return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC 295 on Nov. 11 against Jon Jones at Madison Square Garden for the heavyweight title. It’s a massive fight, and it’s the first time Miocic has fought since March of 2021 when he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou to lose the heavyweight strap.

Cole Shelton - October 3, 2023

Grant Dawson didn’t expect to get his first UFC main event already but he is excited for it. Dawson is set to headline UFC Vegas 80 on Saturday against Bobby Green. It is a fight that came together on relatively short notice, as Dawson only got about five weeks’ to prepare. However, he says he was told he would be fighting around this time for a while but thought it would be against Jalin Turner.