MMA News
Brian Ortega doesn't think Alexander Volkanovski looked "like the same Volk" against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298
Cole Shelton - February 21, 2024
Brian Ortega doesn’t think Alexander Volanovski looked like his usual self in his UFC 298 title fight against Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski was coming off a KO loss to Islam Makhachev back in October for the lightweight title and was making a fairly quick turnaround to face the undefeated challenger. Heading into the fight, Volkanovski was a slight betting favorite, but Topuria was confident he would KO the champ.
Pro fighters make their picks for Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2
Cole Shelton - February 21, 2024
In the main event of UFC Mexico City, a rematch between top-three flyweights goes down as Brandon Moreno takes on Brandon Royval. Heading into the fight, Moreno is a -310 favorite while the American is a +230 underdog. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the flyweight main event. The pros believe Moreno will get his hand raised again as he beat Royval back in 2020, and with the fight being in Mexico they believe he will let the crowd go home happy on Saturday night.
Jorge Masvidal eyeing future 'BMF against BMF' fight with Justin Gaethje: "I will break his f*cking orbital"
Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2024
Retired UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal really wants to fight the new ‘BMF’ titleholder Justin Gaethje. ‘Gamebred’ famously retired from MMA following a unanimous loss to Gilbert Burns last April. In the process, Jorge Masvidal vacated the symbolic ‘BMF’ championship. The Miami native won the gold with a 2019 stoppage win over Nate Diaz, but never defended it. Months later, the UFC announced plans to put the title on the line for Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier 2.
Alex Pereira reveals Jamahal Hill fight is first of new eight-fight UFC contract: "Very grateful"
Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2024
Light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira won’t be leaving the UFC for quite a while. ‘Poatan’ is fresh off a battle for vacant light-heavyweight gold in November at UFC 295. In the main event of the New York card, Alex Pereira faced Jiri Prochazka. ‘Denisa’ never lost the title himself, but vacated it due to injury in late 2022. In his first fight back, he lost to the Brazilian by second-round knockout.
Dana White reveals Vladimir Putin gifts to Khabib Nurmagomedov after Conor McGregor win: "Whatever he wanted"
Josh Evanoff - February 21, 2024
Dana White has opened up on the aftermath of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229. Over five years removed from UFC 229, the card is still the highest-grossing in MMA history. At the top of the billing, were lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Conor McGregor. Leading into the event, the two stars were in a heated feud, that would continue for years beyond that night in 2019.
Brandon Royval reveals Alexandre Pantoja will be in attendance for his UFC Mexico City main event against Brandon Moreno
Cole Shelton - February 21, 2024
UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will be in attendance for Saturday’s UFC Mexico City main event which sees Brandon Moreno rematch Brandon Royval. Moreno was supposed to headline the card against Amir Albazi, but the latter was forced to withdraw due to an injury and was replaced by Royval. With Moreno and Royval currently ranked in the top three, the winner of the main event could get the next title shot, despite both men coming off decision losses to Pantoja.
Chael Sonnen shares advice for Robert Whittaker & Paulo Costa following UFC 298: "You got to compete"
Fernando Quiles - February 21, 2024
Chael Sonnen has some advice for Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa following UFC 298. Whittaker and Costa went one-on-one inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on February 17. It was a hard-fought three-round fight, and “The Reaper” ended up taking a unanimous decision over “Borrachinha.” Now that the dust has settled, Sonnen believes there is a key piece of advice both Whittaker and Costa should follow.
MMA legend Demetrious Johnson doesn't think Israel Adesanya is ready to fight Dricus Du Plessis: "I don't like that fight for Izzy"
Fernando Quiles - February 21, 2024
Demetrious Johnson thinks Israel Adesanya needs more time to prepare for Dricus Du Plessis. There has long been bad blood between Adesanya and the current UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. While such a fight figures to be quite lucrative, “Mighty Mouse” doesn’t believe now is the time for “The Last Stylebender” to jump into a title fight with “Stillknocks.”
Sean Strickland gets scolded by former UFC champion Tyron Woodley for asking permission to fight Jake Paul: "Why the f*ck you asked Hunter?"
Fernando Quiles - February 21, 2024
Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has taken issue with Sean Strickland asking UFC for permission to fight Jake Paul. Strickland, an ex-UFC middleweight titleholder, has gotten into a back-and-forth exchange with Paul on social media. “The Problem Child” slammed Strickland for taking advantage of influencer Sneako during a sparring session. In the clip, Sneako was covering up while Strickland unloaded with punches. Strickland isn’t known for having an off-switch, and often dials things up to 100 with just about anyone he interacts with.
Ilia Topuria shakes up the pound-for-pound rankings following UFC 298 title win
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2024
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has made quite the debut in the pound-for-pound rankings. Last weekend at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria won the UFC featherweight championship. He did so by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski, a man who is widely considered to be one of the best fighters on the planet. It served as the latest in a string of memorable wins in his MMA career, as he fulfilled the prophecy he set out for himself years ago.
Jorge Masvidal slams Colby Covington for making excuses on his UFC 296 performance: “Now you’re blaming the f**king greatest president this country has ever seen?”
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2024
Former UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal has hit out at Colby Covington for making excuses for his defeat at UFC 296. Back in the day, Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington were the best of friends. These days, that isn’t quite the case – and they can be better described as bitter enemies.
Stone Cold Steve Austin names two UFC fighters he’d like to see in WWE
Harry Kettle - February 21, 2024
Stone Cold Steve Austin has named two UFC fighters that he thinks could make a strong transition over to WWE. Through the years, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling have had a whole lot of crossover. Sometimes, it works out for the best – and sometimes, it falls short of the mark. In the modern era, though, the two are interlinked more so than ever before.
Max Griffin wants to "finish" his career in the UFC after fighting out his deal, hopes for a quick turnaround
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Max Griffin is ready to re-sign with the UFC. Griffin fought out his contract at UFC Vegas 86 against Jeremiah Wells and he earned a hard-fought split decision win. Going into the fight, Grifin knew there was pressure on him to get the victory, but he believed that same pressure would prove to be good motivation and make him perform at his best.
Dan Ige says KO of Andre Fili was "pretty gangster," eyes return at The Sphere against any ranked featherweight
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Dan Ige returned to the win column in a big way at UFC Vegas 86. Ige was fighting in the co-main event as he took on short-notice replacement Andre Fili. The Hawaiian was originally supposed to fight Lerone Murphy, but the Brit was forced out of the bout. Fili ended up being the replacement opponent, which was tough for Ige as he says the two are friends and have trained together in the past.
Dana White shuts down rumor of Israel Adesanya vs. Khamzat Chimaev headlining UFC Saudi Arabia
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Dana White says the Israel Adesanya vs. Khamzat Chimaev won’t be headlining UFC Saudi Arabia in June as a photo seemed to indicate. On Tuesday afternoon, a photo went viral that showed the Kingdom Arena website showing Israel Adesanya vs. Khamzat Chimaev as the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. Immediately, many fans took to social media to share it and wondered if it was legit. However, it was later revealed that the website was fake and the real arena website does not even have the UFC’s June event on their schedule.
Jamahal Hill responds to fan backlash over UFC 300 main event booking: “Guaranteed banger”
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Jamahal Hill has fired back at fans that are disappointed with him headlining UFC 300 against Alex Pereira. On Saturday after UFC 298, Dana White announced that Pereira would be defending his light heavyweight title against Hill in the main event of UFC 300 on April 13. White had promised that UFC 300 would be a historic card from top-to-bottom but some fans felt like the main event was a bit of a disappointment.
Alexander Volkanovski comes under fire for having Mark Zuckerberg in his corner at UFC 298: "Why would you do that?"
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2024
Kenny Florian is confused by Alexander Volkanovski had Mark Zuckerberg in his UFC 298 corner. At UFC 298 on Saturday night, ‘The Great’ made his return to the octagon. The bout was a short turnaround for the Australian, previously being knocked out by Islam Makhachev in October. For Alexander Volkanovski, the featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria offered a chance to bounce back.
Michael Bisping baffled by criticism about UFC 300 card: "People are just criticizing for the sake of it"
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2024
UFC commentator Michael Bisping hopes that Saturday night’s announcement puts an end to a lot of online chatter. At UFC 298 on Saturday night, fans got to see Ilia Topuria finally become the featherweight champion. ‘El Matador’ headlined a pay-per-view event, scoring a knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski in front of the likes of Michael Bisping. At the post-fight press conference, Dana White had big news.