UFC News

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2024

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker plans to make a statement at UFC Saudi Arabia. Whittaker was originally supposed to headline the card against Khamzat Chimaev. However, a week out from the fight, Chimaev was forced to withdraw and was replaced by Ikram Aliskerov. When Whittaker got the call, he admitted he didn’t know who Aliskerov was, but he has since become familiar with him.

Curtis Calhoun - June 18, 2024

All previous respect between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz has fizzled out ahead of their July 6 professional boxing match. Masvidal and Diaz will battle in a rematch of their UFC 244 BMF title fight in the boxing ring, Masvidal defeated Diaz in their MMA clash by TKO (doctor’s stoppage) to win the inaugural BMF belt.

Curtis Calhoun - June 18, 2024

UFC superstar Conor McGregor’s friendship with soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo reached a new level of trust this week. McGregor bet $60,000 for Ronaldo, the star of the Portugal National Team, to win the Golden Boot award at the UEFA Euro 2024 soccer tournament. The award is given to the leading goalscorer of the tournament, which Ronaldo acclaimed in 2020.

Josh Evanoff - June 18, 2024

Michael Chandler is going to be at UFC 303 whether Conor McGregor is there or not. It’s only been a few days since the long-awaited fight between ‘Iron’ and ‘The Notorious’ was canceled. Due to an injury to Conor McGregor, his June 29th bout against Michael Chandler will need to wait. As a result, a light-heavyweight title rematch between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will headline UFC 303 instead.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2024

Chael Sonnen has an interesting theory as to why Conor McGregor was out of his UFC 303 fight against Michael Chandler. McGregor was supposed to headline UFC 303 on June 29 in Las Vegas against Chandler in a highly-anticipated matchup. However, just over two weeks out from the fight, it was confirmed that McGregor was out of the bout due to an injury. But, according to Sonnen, he says it is due to the Irishman being in rehab for substance abuse.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2024

Belal Muhammad is entering his UFC 304 title fight against Leon Edwards with plenty of confidence. Muhammad is set to fight Edwards for the second time, as their first fight in 2021 was a No Contest due to an accidental eye poke. Entering the rematch, which is also Muhammad’s first crack at UFC gold, ‘Remember The Name’ not only thinks he will beat Edwards but says he plans to make it look easy.

Curtis Calhoun - June 18, 2024

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya got fight fans excited ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon. Adesanya will face UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in the UFC 305 main event on August 17. The card marks Adesanya’s return after a yearlong hiatus and the promotion’s return to Perth, Australia.

Curtis Calhoun - June 18, 2024

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier feels there may be more to the story behind the reasoning for Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 pull-out. McGregor and Michael Chandler were scheduled to headline UFC 303 on June 29 to cap off International Fight Week in Las Vegas. But, McGregor is out of the event due to injury, and the UFC ended up scrambling to book almost an entirely new UFC 303 main card.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2024

The 169th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC Saudi Arabia and PFL 5. We’re first joined by former UFC middleweight champion and current third-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker (1:18). We close it out by talking to PFL light heavyweight and reigning champion Impa Kasanganay (11:40).

Harry Kettle - June 18, 2024

Bo Nickal has given his thoughts on the ongoing situation regarding Conor McGregor and his withdrawal from UFC 303. As we know, Conor McGregor has been ruled out of UFC 303 due to injury. As a result, Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka are stepping up to fight for the UFC light heavyweight championship. Of course, for many fans, the bigger concern is whether or not McGregor will still be able to return later this year – which is what the promotion seems to be shooting for.

Harry Kettle - June 18, 2024

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira needs to cut 22 pounds ahead of UFC 303 next weekend. We all know that Alex Pereira is a beast. He’s already done so much in his short mixed martial arts career and yet, many already see him as an absolute legend. Now, as we look ahead to next Saturday, he’s set to put together something even more special. He’s set to defend his UFC light heavyweight championship on short notice, taking on Jiri Prochazka for the second time.

Harry Kettle - June 18, 2024

UFC star Colby Covington has gone after Sean Strickland for criticizing the state of fighter pay in the promotion. As we know, Sean Strickland is an outspoken guy. He’s made a career, at least in the last few years, out of letting the world know what he thinks. Some people believe it’s an act, whereas others just think that’s who he is. Either way, he’s annoyed a lot of people, and his latest frustration has been in relation to UFC fighter pay.

Cole Shelton - June 17, 2024

In the main event of UFC Vegas 93 on Saturday, ranked flyweights threw down as Tatsuro Taira took on former title challenger Alex Perez. Taira entered the fight with a perfect 15-0 record and was ranked 13th at flyweight. The Japanese fighter was 5-0 in the UFC and had notable wins over C.J. Vergara and Carlos Hernandez, but this was a big step-up in completion. Perez, meanwhile, was ranked fifth at flyweight and was coming off a KO win over Matheus Nicolau to return to the win column.

Curtis Calhoun - June 17, 2024

The opening betting line for the upcoming Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya UFC title clash is out. Du Plessis will make his first UFC middleweight title defense against the former titleholder Adesanya to headline UFC 305 in Perth. The August 17 pay-per-view marks the return of Adesanya after falling to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 last year.

Josh Evanoff - June 17, 2024

Rampage Jackson has taken up for former UFC champion Conor McGregor in light of his recent injury. ‘The Notorious’ was slated to headline UFC 303 later this month against Michael Chandler. The bout was going to be his first, since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Nearly three years removed from that injury, Conor McGregor was set to return opposite ‘Iron’ in a welterweight contest.

Curtis Calhoun - June 17, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley feels Jake Paul will be handed his toughest test in the ring against Mike Perry. Paul and Perry will come face-to-face on July 20, at an event hosted by Most Valuable Promotions. Paul was originally set to face boxing legend Mike Tyson in his return before Tyson withdrew due to a medical issue.

Josh Evanoff - June 17, 2024

According to Dana White, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones could be back as soon as this summer. ‘Bones’ hasn’t competed in well over a year. Last March at UFC 285, Jon Jones ended a lengthy hiatus by moving up to heavyweight to face Ciryl Gane. Fighting for the title that Francis Ngannou left vacant, he needed only one round to dispatch of ‘Bon Gamin’. Jones earned a first-round submission victory to win the gold.

Josh Evanoff - June 17, 2024

It seems that the UFC antitrust case won’t be coming to a close after all. As some fans might be aware, MMA’s biggest company has been dealing with two lawsuits for a few years now. The original class-action lawsuit was filed by UFC veterans including Cung Le, Jon Fitch, Nate Quarry, and others, back in 2014. Meanwhile, Kajan Johnson filed another suit in 2021, which would cover another bracket of fighters.