UFC News

Drake Riggs - May 11, 2021

UFC Vegas 26 drew in the best TV ratings on May 8. No. 6 ranked 115-pound strawweight contender Marina Rodriguez was later than usual for a typical trip to Las Vegas last week. After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of his highly-anticipated return bout against Cory Sandhagen, the promotion turned to make another top 10 fight.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

Dana White doesn’t have any interest in loaning a UFC fighter to box Jake Paul. After Paul knocked out Ben Askren, several UFC fighters have been calling him out. They have all said that they want to be the one to shut Jake up, but according to White, he says he will not loan any UFC fighter to box the brash YouTuber.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

Jon Jones doesn’t seem to like the idea of fighting Stipe Miocic his next time out. With Francis Ngannou now slated to defend his title against Derrick Lewis, ‘Bones’ was left on the outside looking in. However, UFC President Dana White hinted that Jones could make his heavyweight debut against Stipe Miocic.

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says a matchup between former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic and former 205lbs kingpin Jon Jones is possible. Miocic recently lost his belt when he was knocked out by Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 in March, but he remains one of the top heavyweights in the sport and has given no indication yet that he will be retiring despite the brutal KO loss. Ngannou is currently set to take on Derrick Lewis in a rematch that marks his first title defense, which means that Jones — who was originally set to fight the winner of Ngannou vs. Lewis — is currently on the sidelines waiting for a fight to be booked. With both Miocic and Jones both without opponents and with both men looking to fight for the heavyweight belt, a matchup with them is possible.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2021

The 37th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC 262 and UFC Vegas 27 next Saturday. We’re first joined by one-half of the UFC 262 co-main event in Beneil Dariush (2:48). Next, 10th-ranked middleweight, Edmen Shahbazyan joins the show (21:14). 13th-ranked UFC featherweight, Edson Barboza comes on (32:42). Closing out the program is seventh-ranked UFC middleweight, Jack Hermansson (48:42).

Adam D Martin - May 11, 2021

UFC president Dana White says that he doesn’t see that fire in Nick Diaz and questioned how badly he really wants to fight again. Diaz was a guest at UFC 261 last month and reportedly had a meeting with White about a possible comeback. Diaz hasn’t fought since January 2015 when he fought Anderson Silva to a No Contest but he has been talking about a comeback for a few years now. With his brother Nate Diaz returning to the Octagon next month at UFC 263, the older Diaz brother is also hoping to make his return to the cage this year and he told White just as much.

Harry Kettle - May 11, 2021

Diego Sanchez has announced that he will be enrolling in a Professional Athletes Brain Health Study in association with the UFC. Over the course of the last few days, Sanchez has been in the headlines for his relationship with controversial coach Joshua Fabia. The latter has been accused of warping the mind of Sanchez in recent months with many MMA figures speaking out about it after Diego was released from his UFC contract.

Harry Kettle - May 11, 2021

UFC star Conor McGregor believes his first fight against Dustin Poirier was the easiest fight of his career thus far. McGregor is set to square off against Dustin Poirier for the third time in their trilogy bout at UFC 264 this summer. If Conor wins that contest, the expectation is that he’ll go on to face either Charles Oliveira or Michael Chandler for the UFC Lightweight Championship. If he loses, it’s anyone’s guess as to what he may have in store for us in the future.

Drake Riggs - May 10, 2021

Alan Jouban announced Monday that his time as a fighter has come to an end. The UFC welterweight took to Twitter to share that he will be sticking to the analyst desk as he heads into retirement.

Christopher Taylor - May 10, 2021

UFC President Dana White confirmed on Monday that a rematch with Derrick Lewis will be next for Francis Ngannnou, this while providing an update on Jon Jones. Prior to March’s UFC 260 event, it was thought that the winner of Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 would be fighting ‘Bones’ in their next outing. However, shortly after ‘The Predator’ dethroned Stipe with a second round knockout, negotiations between Jones and the UFC quickly went south.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

Kevin Lee is changing weight classes and has an opponent in mind for his return to the Octagon. After Lee suffered a submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Brasilia in March of 2020, he said he would be away from MMA for a couple of years. He ended up tearing both of his knees which required by surgery, but “The Motown Phenom” is looking to return this summer at welterweight.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

Billy Joe Saunders suffered a severe eye injury in his loss to Canelo Alvarez and his career is now in jeopardy, according to a recent report. On Saturday night, Saunders and Alvarez took one step closer to unifying the 168-pound division. It was a massive fight and early on, Saunders had success. Yet, as the fight wore on, Alvarez started to go to the body and then landed a beautifully timed uppercut that landed flush on the eye of Saunders.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC lightweight Michael Chandler shared his prediction for the Charles Oliveira fight at UFC 262: “He’s going to get his clock cleaned.” Chandler steps into the Octagon for the second time this Saturday night when he fights Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title. For Chandler, he earned this title shot after being a champion in Bellator for the better part of 10 years and after scoring a knockout over Dan Hooker in his promotional debut at UFC 257. Although Oliveira is a tough matchup as the Brazilian is well-rounded and elite on the ground, Chandler is still confident that he will win this fight, and he’s excited to score another highlight-reel knockout.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

A pivotal middleweight bout between Edmen Shahbazyan and Jack Hermansson will not happen this Saturday at UFC 262. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com’s Cole Shelton and Adam Martin the fight is off UFC 262 and postponed one week to UFC Vegas 27 on May 22. It’s expected to serve as the co-main event. MMA reporter, Marcell Dorff was the first to report the news.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Jiri Prochazka says that he believes Jon Jones is still the “king of the light heavyweight division.” Prochazka is one of the hottest names at 205lbs these days after knocking out Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir in his first two Octagon appearances. UFC president Dana White has already said Prochazka is next in line to fight the winner of UFC 266’s main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and No. 1 contender Glover Teixeira, and that’s ideal because “Denisa” is hoping to win the belt. But if you ask Prochazka, the top opponent for him that he could choose would still be Jones.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

UFC welterweight Neil Magny says he open to the Khamzat Chimaev fight, but explained why he has his concerns about waiting for him. Magny had one of his best performances ever as he won a unanimous decision over Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 26. For Magny, beating someone as talented as Neal proves that he still has what it takes to be a top-10 fighter. It’s not a surprise, then, that so many other top contenders in the welterweight division are gunning for Magny, including Chimaev. The Swede has missed all of 2021 so far due to health issues but he is hoping to make his return to the Octagon this summer, and Chimaev has made Magny one of his targets.

Adam D Martin - May 10, 2021

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones trolled UFC president Dana White during his recent Instagram live session. Jones and the UFC are currently involved in public contract negotiations for a future fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Jones has said on social media that the UFC’s initial offer of $8 to $10 million was “way too low” for a fight of this magnitude, and so the UFC and Jones are having a hard time coming to a deal as the promotion does not want to meet Jones’ request of $30 million for the fight. We have seen the contract negotiations play out in public over the last few months and will continue to do so going forward as Jones is one of the UFC’s biggest stars and this is a huge story in MMA.

Harry Kettle - May 10, 2021

Conor McGregor has confirmed that he would be interested in the possibility of buying a football club – with Celtic and Manchester United being at the top of the list. Over the course of the last few weeks, in the midst of the European Super League chaos that engulfed European football, Manchester United fans have made it clear that they want the Glazer family to sell the club and leave Old Trafford for good.