UFC News

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Cory Sandhagen was offered the chance to still headline UFC Vegas 26 this Saturday but opted not to. Sandhagen was originally supposed to fight TJ Dillashaw in a fight many fans were looking forward to. The winner was likely going to get a title shot, but Dillashaw was forced out of the fight due to a cut above the eye.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Billy Joe Saunders says the issue with the ring size for his fight against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday has been resolved. Saunders and Alvarez were set to fight at AT&T Stadium in a unification bout of the super-middleweight titles. It was a fight many fans were eager for as it would be a tough test for the Mexican. Yet, on Tuesday, it was revealed the size of the ring was an issue as an 18-foot ring was installed, not the 24-foot ring expected. That forced Saunders’ dad, Tom, and team to say they are out of the fight.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

The latest UFC rankings updates are in, and Jiri Prochazka has officially broken into the top-three rankings in the light heavyweight division. Jiri Prochazka’s knockout win over Dominick Reyes at UFC Vegas 26 earned him not only $100,000 in bonus awards, but also the No. 2 ranking in the world at 205lbs. It’s an incredible accomplishment for the Czech Republic native, who wasn’t even in the UFC a year ago. But he absolutely deserves it after beating Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir by knockout in his first two UFC appearances. As well, he is riding a 12-fight win streak. With Prochazka moving into the No. 2 spot at 205lbs, Reyes dropped all the way to No. 5. It’s also worth noting that Aleksandar Rakic also dropped one spot in the rankings to No. 3.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington blasted Conor McGregor for wanting a title shot at 170lbs, calling the MMA superstar “a joke.” Covington is one of the top-ranked contenders at 170lbs right now and is likely next in line to fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman following his big KO win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261. However, that hasn’t stopped McGregor from taking to social media recently and suggesting that he will be coming for the welterweight strap soon, despite the fact he is coming off of a TKO loss to a lightweight in Dustin Poirier in his last outing.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze is hoping to return to the Octagon for a quick turnaround fight against veteran Jeremy Stephens. Chikadze is coming off of the best win of his UFC career, a body kick TKO over Cub Swanson at this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 25 card. It was the best performance of the Georgian’s career to date, and it improved his UFC record to a perfect 6-0. Chikadze is one of the hottest fighters in the division at the moment and after beating Swanson in short order, he has been hanging around in Las Vegas hoping to get another fight booked.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Geoff Neal is excited he finally gets the chance to face Neil Magny. Last August, Neal and Magny were scheduled to fight but Neal had serious health problems that hospitalized him and forced him out of the scrap. The two then got different fights and Neal ended up losing a decision to Stephen Thompson back in December, which he says was a good learning experience.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman shared his latest health update after breaking his leg against Uriah Hall at UFC 261. In what was one of the most horrific injuries we have ever seen in the Octagon, Weidman broke his leg when he threw a leg kick that was checked by Uriah Hall. Immediately after throwing the kick, Weidman went down in pain and had to be stretchered out of the Octagon and taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. Fortunately, surgery went well and Weidman is expected to make a full recovery in six-to-12 months. But right now in the early days of his leg break, it has been extremely painful for him as he told his fans.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

Michelle Waterson didn’t hesitate to accept when the UFC offered her another short-notice main event fight. After TJ Dillashaw was forced out of the UFC Vegas 26 main event against Cory Sandhagen, the UFC was quick to book Waterson vs. Marina Rodriguez at flyweight. For “The Karate Hottie,” she’s ecstatic to be headlining another UFC card.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2021

The 36th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN with Cole Shelton is here ahead of UFC Vegas 26 and Bellator 258. We’re first joined by UFC Vegas 26 headliner and ninth-ranked strawweight, Michelle Waterson (2:56). Next, 10th-ranked welterweight, Geoff Neal (14:32) comes on. 12th-ranked lightweight, Diego Ferreira joins the show (30:30). Then, second-ranked Bellator bantamweight, Patrick Mix (45:40) comes on. Closing out the program is UFC heavyweight, Maurice Greene (1:03:26).

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier says that former rival Jon Jones doesn’t deserve Conor McGregor money when he fights Francis Ngannou. Jones is hoping to fight Ngannou for the UFC heavyweight title sometime later this year, and reports have indicated he is asking upwards of $30 million for the fight. If you ask Cormier, however, that is too rich because it would be more than McGregor, the UFC’s biggest pay-per-view superstar. For DC, it doesn’t make sense that Jones should be paid more than McGregor. Speaking on the “DC and Helwani” podcast, Cormier suggested that Jones be paid in the $8 to $10 million dollar range to take on Ngannou instead.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC play-by-play commentator Brendan Fitzgerald discussed the production meeting incident with Joshua Fabia and Diego Sanchez on Fight Island. Last week, it was revealed that the UFC had cut Sanchez after a back-and-forth email exchange with the promotion’s lawyer Hunter Campbell. Sanchez and Fabia were requesting medical documents and the UFC believed that it was the right call to release him instead. Later on, there was a video leaked of an argument between Fabia and the UFC production team on Fight Island. Fitzgerald himself was in the room for it and speaking to John Hyon Ko of South China Morning Post, he gave his thoughts on the situation.

Adam D Martin - May 4, 2021

UFC welterweight Alex Morono reacted to the news that he will be taking on Donald Cerrone at this weekend’s UFC Vegas 26 event. Cerrone was expected to take on fellow Octagon veteran Diego Sanchez this Saturday night at UFC Vegas 26, but the fight fell apart when Sanchez got into a medical disagreement with the UFC and was released from his contract. The UFC has spent the last week looking for a replacement opponent to keep Cerrone on the card, with a number of fighters offering to fill in on short notice. In the end, the matchmakers decided that the right man for the job is Morono, who will step in on just six days’ notice to fight Cerrone this Saturday night.

Harry Kettle - May 4, 2021

UFC referee Herb Dean has given his thoughts on the controversial ending to Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling back at UFC 259. In their UFC Bantamweight Championship clash, it appeared as if Yan was well on his way to successfully retaining his title. However, after he threw an illegal knee at a downed opponent, Sterling was able to leave the UFC APEX as champion through a disqualification victory.

Christopher Taylor - May 3, 2021

Nate Diaz will no longer be fighting Leon Edwards in the co-main event of UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston, Texas. Unfortunately for fight fans, ESPN reported this evening that Diaz (20-12 MMA) has suffered a minor injury and his highly anticipated welterweight showdown with ‘Rocky’ has been postponed until June’s UFC 263 pay-per-view event.

Adam D Martin - May 3, 2021

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes issued a statement following his brutal knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25. Reyes entered this fight against Prochazka on the heels of back-to-back losses to Jon Jones and Jan Blachowicz, so he badly needed to get a win and get back in the victory column. Unfortunately for Reyes, the fight did not go his way once again as Prochazka battered him all over the Octagon until eventually scoring the finish in the second round. It was another phenomenal performance by Prochazka, who looks to be a serious title contender at 205lbs, while for Reyes it was another tough loss that will drop him out of title contention.

Drake Riggs - May 3, 2021

Tatiana Suarez’s days at 115-pounds may be behind her. After seeing how the last UFC flyweight title bout played out, the dominant wrestler likes her chances against one of the sport’s very best. Having not competed since June 2019 due to lingering injuries, the undefeated 8-0 season 23 winner of The Ultimate Fighter is now feeling a move to flyweight could be in her future. Therefore making the ultimate goal a showdown with reigning queenpin, Valentina Shevchenko.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2021

Triller is continuing to go after people who illegally streamed their Fight Club event on April 17 between Jake Paul and Ben Askren. Triller recently came out and said they were filing a lawsuit seeking $100 million in damages from illegal streamers. Now, the promotion is taking it one step further suggesting that anyone who illegally watched Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren can pay the $49.99 price tag for the event. In exchange, those individuals’ names will be removed from lawsuit, which seeks a $150,000 penalty from every person who pirated the card.

Cole Shelton - May 3, 2021

Donald Cerrone will fight on Saturday night after all. Cerrone was originally set to fight Diego Sanchez, in what was going to be Sanchez’s retirement fight. However, the UFC ended up releasing the TUF 1 winner and a search for a replacement opponent was underway.