MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

The oddsmakers don’t have a lot of faith in Thiago Santos. For all the Brazilian’s ferocious, fight-altering power, he’s being effectively counted out by the bookies ahead of his UFC 239 showdown with seemingly unbeatable UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The online bookmaker BetOnline has labelled Jon Jones as a huge -800 favorite, which means you’d have to successfully bet $800 to win $100 (h/t MMA Fighting). Santos, meanwhile, is a near 6-1 underdog at +575. That means that a successful $100 bet on him would earn you $575.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

Conor McGregor has retired from MMA — at least, that’s what he’s claiming. Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as “Mixed Martial Art” today.I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition.I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement.Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje, who will collide in the main event of UFC Philadelphia this weekend, are revered as two of the most ferocious leg kickers in MMA. Yet in the opinion of Barboza, there is simply no comparison.

Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019

UFC welterweight standout Jorge Masvidal has some options for his next fight. After knocking out Darren Till two weekends ago, both Ben Askren and Leon Edwards have been calling for a fight with “Gamebred”.

Drake Riggs - March 28, 2019

UFC 237 is set to go down on May 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the evening’s co-main event, legendary featherweight icon, Jose Aldo looks to take out another rising contender in Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski. Unfortunately for Aldo, his fight is now up in the air after suffering a bacterial infection from a cut last week that resulted in his hospitalization.

James Lynch - March 28, 2019

If Jose Aldo can’t compete at UFC 237, a former opponent is willing to replace him. Renato Moicano spoke with MMAJunkierecently and said that if Aldo – who was recently admitted to the hospital for a bacterial infection – is forced to withdraw from his fight against Alexander Volkanovski on May 11 that he’d be willing to step up in his place.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

Earlier this month, TJ Dillashaw relinquished the UFC bantamweight belt after one of his recent drug tests turned up adverse findings. In the opinion of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who discussed the issue on his popular Believe You Me podcast, Dillashaw’s choice to relinquish the belt before the United States Anti-Doping Agency had reached a verdict on his case is nearly an admission of guilt. “I don’t break the circle of trust,” Bisping said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I don’t speak outside of school. I don’t tell tales outside of f*cking tale-telling time but I’m telling you this, circle of trust or not, no motherf*cker relinquishes their belt out of respect for the rest of the division. It ain’t about the rest of the division, it’s about me. I’m not gonna relinquish my belt once I destroy the competition and become the champion. I’m not gonna relinquish my belt out of respect for the competition. You just wouldn’t do that. So that in itself – and I apologize if I’m wrong – is almost an admittance of guilt. It really is.

Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019

The UFC is heading back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for UFC on ESPN 2 this weekend. In the main event, Edson Barboza will be taking on Justin Gaethje in a matchup that has Fight of the Year written all over it. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Here’s what they had to say.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

This weekend, in the main event of UFC Philadelphia, former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will go to war with fellow fan favorite Edson Barboza. If Gaethje is able to win this fight, he’ll take a big step up the lightweight rankings and open the door to a host of compelling matchups.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre recently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. “There’s no tears. I’m very happy to do it,” St-Pierre said in the English portion of his retirement message in Montreal. “In combat sports you should retire on top, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m happy I have the discipline to do it.”

Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019

The UFC’s lightweight division will hopefully get a little more organized come UFC 236. In the main event, featherweight champion Max Holloway will move up in weight to take on Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship. However, some fans aren’t thrilled about this matchup, as they thought Tony Ferguson or another lightweight contender deserved the opportunity to fight for gold. American Top Team owner Dan Lambert is not one of those people.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

If you look at the lineup for this weekend’s UFC Philadelphia card, you’ll see that Michelle Waterson is set to battle former strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Ahead of this compelling fight, the UFC has been referring to Kowalkiewicz as the “Polish Princess.” She says the UFC made this nickname up for her, and she didn’t find out about it until she saw it in UFC Philadelphia promotional material.

Cole Shelton - March 27, 2019

The UFC made a shocking announcement just over a week ago: all pay-per-views will now be sold through ESPN+ for Americans. Immediately after the news, many fans and fighters took to Twitter to question the move and how it would impact PPV buys.

Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019

One of the featherweight division’s all-time most exciting fighters is without a doubt Cub Swanson (25-10). And after some time off, the veteran is back. First reported by The Toronto Sun and now confirmed by the UFC, the Palm Springs native is set to make his Octagon return at UFC Ottawa on May 4 when he takes on the rising prospect, “Hurricane” Shane Burgos (11-1).

Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019

Following UFC 235 and former UFC welterweight champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler’s (18-3) somewhat controversial first-round submission loss to Ben Askren, the idea from UFC President Dana White was to run the fight back as soon as possible. Well, one of Lawler’s old fights will be ran back alright… But it won’t be that one. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has since reported that verbal agreements are in place for Lawler to rematch with Askren’s good friend and teammate, the man who dethroned Lawler, Tyron Woodley (19-4-1) at UFC Minneapolis on June 29.

Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019

UFC 239 only has one fight announced for it with the light heavyweight debut of former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold taking on Jan Blachowicz. That was the only bout announced… Until Wednesday afternoon. ESPN has confirmed that UFC 239 will host two big-time title fights on July 6 in the light heavyweight and bantamweight divisions. Meaning the champion, Jon Jones (24-1) will face Brazil’s dangerous “Marreta,” Thiago Santos (21-6).

Cole Shelton - March 27, 2019

Jon Jones’ potential move up to heavyweight may be happening sooner than anticipated. If he does move up, the fight that is expected to take place will pit “Bones” against Stipe Miocic. The rumors first started when ESPN analyst and Bellator fighter, Chael Sonnen mentioned the two possibly fighting each other this July.

Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019

With a vacant bantamweight title up for grab, Aljamain Sterling is calling for his chance. The “FunkMaster” is currently on a three-fight winning streak which has seen him beat the likes of Brett Johns, Cody Stamann, and Jimmie Rivera. Now that he finds himself at the top of the division, Sterling wants his chance at the UFC title. While the UFC seems pretty set on making Marlon Moraes vs Henry Cejudo as the next bantamweight title fight, Sterling continues to push and call out for a title fight.