MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2020

UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team are currently focused on a lightweight title fight with top contender Tony Ferguson, but once that’s over, they’re hoping for a fight with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. According to the Nurmagomedov patriarch Abdulmanap, the hope is for a special rules bout with Mayweather: 11 rounds contested under boxing rules, and a lone, 12th round contested under the full MMA rule-set.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2020

After 14 years and 27 fights with the UFC, Thiago Alves found himself longing for a fresh start. So, when the promotion offered him a new deal after a pair of losses to Laureano Staropoli and Tim Means, he respectfully declined, and signed an exclusive contract with upstart bare knuckle promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) instead. “I’ve been in MMA for such a long time, I’ve been with the UFC for such a long time,” Alves told BJPENN.com hours after his signing with BKFC was announced. “I’m excited for a new stage. Anything new at this stage in my life is super exciting. I’ve been following BKFC for a little bit now, and I think it’s savage.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2020

The tough breaks just keep coming for Paige VanZant. After over a year on the shelf due to a series of unfortunate injuries, VanZant was expected to return to the cage opposite Amanda Ribas at UFC Brasilia on March 14.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2020

Audie Attar, the manager behind former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor, believes his star client is “the biggest thing in combat sports.” Attar made this comment in a recent interview with MMA Fighting.

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2020

Curtis Millender says he’s been offered a fight with Michael Page numerous times, yet “MVP” has never accepted the fight. Millender is set to return to action against Moses Murrietta at Bellator 238 in his first fight since being released from the UFC. Yet he is not fighting a big name like Michael Page, which he says is because MVP has been ducking him.

Mike Pendleton - January 23, 2020

At Bellator 238, on Saturday, January 25, Cris Cyborg will challenge Julia Budd for the Bellator featherweight title. When she steps into the Bellator cage for the first time, Cyborg will be adding another world-class MMA promotion to her resume, which already includes the UFC, Invicta FC, and Strikeforce. She will also be re-uniting with her old boss, Scott Coker. Much was made about the relationship between Cyborg and UFC President Dana White as the two were at odds for several years, and didn’t seem to see eye-to-eye when she was with the company. While the UFC was certainly the biggest stage for Cyborg’s global brand, she had already cemented herself as one of the greatest fighters of all-time, and working with a familiar face in Coker should also come with a breath of fresh air.

Alfredo Zullino - January 23, 2020

One of Italy’s top female mixed martial artists is set to compete for Ansgar Fighting League gold as Micol di Segni will lock horns with Elizabeth Rodrigues on March 14 in Spain. Di Segni (7-3 MMA 0-0 AFL), a Dana White Contender Series alum and a Brave Combat Federation and Cage Warriors veteran, will battle for the belt in the co-main event of AFL Valkyries, a women-only mixed martial arts event hosted by the Spain-based promotion.

Harry Kettle - January 23, 2020

The mixed martial arts community has taken to social media in order to roast Stephen A. Smith following footage being released of him hitting the pads. Smith has been slowly but surely making his way over into the world of MMA over the last year or so as a direct result of ESPN’s growing relationship with the UFC. However, despite what many would think are his ‘best intentions’, he has been rubbing some fans the wrong way. 

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2020

Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal are continuing to go back-and-forth at one another to potentially set up a fight. After Usman TKO’d Colby Covington at UFC 245 many wondered what would be next. Masvidal was up there but he was waiting for the outcome of the UFC 246 main event between Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone. Yet, “Gamebred” recently switched stances and said he is focused on Usman because he wants to break his face.

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2020

Justin Gaethje believes he might be Conor McGregor’s next opponent as the Irishman finally has the confidence to fight him. Gaethje called out McGregor before “Notorious” returned at UFC 246. Following the win, “The Highlight” thinks the fight still makes sense. John Kavanagh also said they liked the idea of Gaethje at welterweight as their next fight.

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2020

Darren Till may still be able to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 248 after all. After Robert Whittaker, Cannonier’s original opponent, pulled out due to personal reasons many assumed Till would be the logical replacement and it was announced he was. But, he injured his ankle and UFC president Dana White said that fight was off.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2020

Roxanne Modafferi picked up a massive upset over the weekend, walloping Maycee Barber to lopsided decision win on the UFC 246 undercard. Unfortunately, Barber’s father has suggested this fight shouldn’t count as a true loss on his daughter’s record given that she sustained an ACL tear early in the fight.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2020

Urijah Faber began his 2019 comeback with a dominant, first-round victory over Ricky Simon. Unfortunately for the Team Alpha Male head, however, his comeback plans then hit a snag at the hands of Petr Yan. Faber and Yan collided on the main card of UFC 245 in December, and the fight ended up being a lopsided third-round TKO victory for the Russian.

Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2020

As streaming services continue to take over the combat sports industry, there are more and more events being broadcast on platforms like ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass, DAZN and YouTube. BJPENN.Com’s Streaming this Week series keeps fans up to date on the best combat sports action across the industry’s major streaming platforms.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2020

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves is dropping his gloves and heading to the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) ring. News of Alves’ move to BKFC was first reported by MMA Fighting, who spoke to the promotion’s president David Feldman.

Adam Martin - January 22, 2020

Rising UFC middleweight contender Edmen Shahbazyan will take on veteran Derek Brunson at UFC 248 in the latest addition to the star-studded pay-per-view card. UFC 248 takes place on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event sees UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya take on Yoel Romero, while the co-main event sees UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang fight rival Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The Las Vegas Review-Journal first broke the news of the Shahbazyan vs. Brunson matchup.

Adam Martin - January 22, 2020

Tristar Gym head trainer Firas Zahabi says he would like to see Conor McGregor fight Nate Diaz in a trilogy for the first 165lbs title in UFC history. McGregor knocked out Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246 to re-emerge as the biggest superstar in MMA. The race to become his next opponent is now on, with several fighters vying for the coveted spot of being McGregor’s next foe. Some of the possible opponents for McGregor include UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, superstar Jorge Masvidal and lightweight stud Justin Gaethje.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 22, 2020

Aung La N Sang is not like other champions. Many titleholders allow themselves to be challenged for their respective world titles.  Despite holding both the ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight World Titles, Aung La is still hunting for the best challenges. That’s why it’s no surprise to see “The Burmese Python” calling for a title defense against undefeated middleweight prospect Reinier de Ridder.