MMA News

Josh Evanoff - September 18, 2023

UFC women’s flyweight contender Valentina Shevchenko has taken aim at the judges after her draw with Alexa Grasso. ‘Bullet’ returned to the octagon in the main event of UFC Noche on Saturday. There, she faced Alexa Grasso in a rematch of their UFC 235 classic from March. That night earlier this year, the Mexican fighter won by third-round submission, ending Valentina Shevchenko’s lengthy title reign.

Josh Evanoff - September 18, 2023

Former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira nearly got an unexpected knockout over the weekend. ‘Poatan’ has been out of the octagon since his light-heavyweight debut against Jan Blachowicz in July. In the co-main event of UFC 291, the Brazilian scored a split-decision victory. In the process, Alex Pereira rebounded after a knockout loss to Israel Adesanya in April. The defeat was the first knockout loss of his MMA career.

Josh Evanoff - September 18, 2023

Former women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has an idea for a hypothetical trilogy fight with Alexa Grasso. ‘Bullet’ returned to the cage on Saturday night for the first time since her loss to Alexa Grasso in March. Last weekend, the two women flyweight contenders went head-to-head in the main event of UFC Noche. In what will likely become a yearly tradition, the event was held on Mexican Independence Day.

Cole Shelton - September 18, 2023

Ovince Saint Preux has been suspended by USADA for his second violation. USADA announced that Saint Preux accepted a six-month sanction for his second violation after testing positive for a prohibited substance.  Saint Preux tested positive for 3α-hydroxy-5α-androst-1-en-17-one (a long-term metabolite of 1-Androstenedione and/or 1-Testosterone) as the result of urine samples collected out-of-competition on June 17, 2023, and July 11, 2023.

Susan Cox - September 18, 2023

Erin Blanchfield says she’s willing to fight Manon Fiorot next following the controversial Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso rematch at Noche UFC. Noche UFC took place this past Saturday, September 16th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Headlining the event was flyweight title bout between Valentina Shevchenko (23-4 MMA) and Alexa Grasso (16-3 MMA). The end result was a split draw in their title fight rematch.

Susan Cox - September 18, 2023

Former NBA player, James Johnson, claims he would only need ‘a year of training’ to beat UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Jon ‘Bones’ Jones  (27-1 MMA) is currently preparing to defend his title against Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA) this coming November at UFC 295 which takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Harry Kettle - September 18, 2023

Islam Makhachev’s head coach Javier Mendez has revealed what improvements they expect to see from Charles Oliveira at UFC 294. Last year, Islam Makhachev became the UFC lightweight champion by submitting Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. Now, one year later, the two will run it back as ‘Do Bronx’ attempts to reclaim the gold he lost.

Harry Kettle - September 18, 2023

Mike Perry has taunted Darren Till with his hope being that he can secure a bare-knuckle boxing match against him in the future. Right now, it’s pretty clear to see that Mike Perry is the king of bare-knuckle boxing. His transition over from mixed martial arts has been incredible, with many noting that he’s quickly become the face of BKFC. He’s willing to take on all challengers, and he’s made a real name for himself as a result of it.

Harry Kettle - September 18, 2023

Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz have given their thoughts on the 10-8 scorecard in the Valentina Shevchenko vs Alexa Grasso rematch. Last weekend, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko went to war in their Noche UFC main event. The two battled it out over the UFC flyweight championship and in the end, a split draw was the result, meaning Grasso successfully retained her title.

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 17, 2023

Jonathan Di Bella got an unexpected message of support from none other than Paulie Malignaggi. This heartwarming gesture couldn’t have come at a better time for Di Bella. After all, he’s gearing up for a crucial title defense against Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video on October 6.

Fernando Quiles - September 17, 2023

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier would like to see Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko go toe-to-toe a third time. Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 was an instant classic. The rematch headlined Noche UFC inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Grasso submitted Shevchenko to take the UFC flyweight title in their first encounter back in March. The rematch had many twists and turns that kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the fight.

Fernando Quiles - September 17, 2023

Kevin Holland has released a brief statement on his Noche UFC defeat to Jack Della Maddalena. The two welterweights collided in the event’s co-headliner. Fans knew ahead of time that these two would be evenly matched and that hunch was correct. This one was scheduled for three rounds and it went the distance. One judge scored the fight for Holland, but that score was overruled by the other two judges who saw the fight going Maddalena’s way. Maddalena extended his winning streak to 16, while Holland’s two-fight streak was snapped.

Fernando Quiles - September 17, 2023

Raul Rosas Jr. believes he has the potential to be a big star under the UFC banner. Going into Noche UFC, many wondered how Rosas would perform after suffering the first loss of his pro MMA career against Christian Rodriguez back in April. “El Niño Problema” answered by turning in a stellar showing against Terrence Mitchell in Las Vegas. It only took Rosas 54 seconds to put Mitchell away via TKO.

Fernando Quiles - September 17, 2023

Edgar Chairez isn’t happy about his Noche UFC submission win being overturned upon replay, and he’s appealing the No Contest. Chairez took on Daniel Lacerda in a preliminary bout on the card. The two collided inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the opening frame, Chairez locked up a standing guillotine choke, and referee Chris Tognoni thought Lacerda went out and stopped the fight. Lacerda immediately protested the stoppage. Replays were in use during Noche UFC, and upon further review, the bout result was changed to a No Contest.

Fernando Quiles - September 17, 2023

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos certainly isn’t thinking about retirement right now. Dos Santos recently shared the cage with an old foe under bare knuckle MMA rules. “Cigano” went one-on-one with fellow legend Fabricio Werdum earlier this month. It was Werdum’s chance to avenge his now-famous 2008 loss to Dos Santos, which was held under the UFC banner. Ultimately, “Vai Cavalo” once again fell short against Dos Santos, this time via split decision. After the fight, Dos Santos appeared to be quite happy with his handiwork. He didn’t look like someone on the verge of retirement, and he has confirmed plans to continue fighting.

Fernando Quiles - September 17, 2023

Alexa Grasso isn’t opposed to a trilogy fight with Valentina Shevchenko, but she’d like a fresh face to share the Octagon with next. Grasso remains the UFC women’s flyweight champion after a thrilling five-round war with Shevchenko in their Noche UFC rematch. There were plenty of exciting moments in the fight such as Grasso dropping “Bullet” in the second round, and Shevchenko squeezing down on a guillotine choke before her opponent popped free.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2023

The Octagon returned to Las Vegas for tonight’s Noche UFC event, an eleven-bout fight card headlined by Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2. The highly anticipated women’s flyweight title fight rematch proved to be a thrilling back and forth contest. Valentina Shevchenko had a strong start to the fight, getting the better of Alexa Grasso throughout the opening five minutes. However, in round two, Grasso was able to drop ‘The Bullet’ with a beautiful counter punch and went on to easily win the second frame. Rounds 3, 4 and 5 were all close, but fans and analysts were seemingly divided on who they thought won after twenty-five minutes of action. In the end, the judges were torn as well, as the bout was ruled a split draw.

Chris Taylor - September 16, 2023

Tonight’s Noche UFC event was headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight rematch between Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko. Grasso (16-3-1 MMA) was looking to earn her first title defense when she took to the Octagon this evening. The 30-year-old had captured the promotion’s flyweight world title this past March at UFC 285, where she upset ‘The Bullet’ by way of fourth-round submission. That win had marked Alexa’s fifth in a row, as she’d previously defeated the likes of Kim Ji-yeon, Maycee Barber, Joanne Wood and Viviane Araujo.