MMA News

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2020

Dana White has thrown together a blockbuster UFC card for May 9, and of the key features of this event is a bantamweight title fight between champ Henry Cejudo and challenger Dominick Cruz. While the card as a whole has fans very excited, this Cejudo vs. Cruz fight has generated a bit of criticism from some members of the MMA community.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2020

Kamaru Usman feels that Tyron Woodley is “holding himself back” by being overly choosey in terms of the opponent for his next fight. Woodley has not fought since he surrendered the UFC welterweight title to Usman early last year. He was expected to return to the cage against Leon Edwards in London on March 21, but the event ultimately fell through due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2020

Dominick Cruz will get a crack at reigning UFC bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo at UFC 249 on May 9, but the booking has generated quite a bit of criticism. The bout’s naysayers point to the fact that Cruz, despite being arguably the best bantamweight ever, has not fought since a 2016 loss to Cody Garbrandt. At the same time, several contenders such as Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen are on impressive win-streaks in the division and have arguably already earned title shots themselves.

Harry Kettle - April 27, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker believes that Rampage Jackson needs to prove he’s serious about fighting before he puts him back in the cage. Jackson returned to action back at Bellator’s co-promotional event with Rizin in December 2019, losing to Fedor Emelianenko within just a few minutes of the fight getting underway.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2020

ONE Championship has launched its first-ever, official athlete rankings. “It is with great excitement that I announce the inaugural ONE Championship Official Rankings,” said ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2020

UFC President Dana White is adamant that, as of yet, no UFC employees have been laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. That being said, White recognizes that many business are feeling the pinch during these unprecedented time, and forecasted that many members of the MMA media will soon find themselves on the chopping block. White discussed the topic in a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, first assuring that all of “his people” are safe from potential layoffs.

Natasha Hooper - April 27, 2020

Pat Miletich is putting the gloves back on. Miletich is a legend of the MMA. He was the UFC’s first welterweight champion and is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. Alongside legends like Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie, he set the gold standard for the sport in the late ’90s.

Natasha Hooper - April 27, 2020

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, has revealed he is “feeling fine” despite a suspected pneumonia scare. As the world faces an ongoing health crisis, so did the lightweight champion’s father, as Abdulmanap was hospitalized over suspected pneumonia and flu-like symptoms. The news came from Dagestani sports commentator, Ramazan Rabadanov on Instagram.

Adam Martin - April 26, 2020

Check out videos of the top five submissions from UFC 21 to UFC 30, featuring the UFC debut of heavyweight legend Andrei Arlovski. In our latest series here at BJPenn.com, we look at the “Top 5 Submissions” of each block of 10 UFC events. Today’s edition in the series takes a closer look at the best submissions from UFC 21 to UFC 30, taking place from 1999 to 2001. Keep in mind there are other submissions deserving of the list, but we had to choose just five. Take a look at the list below.

Jason Kindschy - April 26, 2020

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”531945″ player=”20625″ title=”BJJ with BJ Pass Guard Toro Ando Drill” duration=”29″ description=”BJ Penn demonstrates “Pass Guard Toro Ando Drill”.” uploaddate=”2020-03-18 20:07:59″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15717/thumb/531945_t_1584562085.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/15717/sd/531945.mp4″”] In this segment of BJJ with BJ, “The Prodigy” demonstrates the Toro Ando drill for passing an opponents guard.

Adam Martin - April 26, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards says he is interested in a fight against top contender Colby Covington in order to “shut him up.” Edwards was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley in a five-round main event at UFC London in March. The card was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and Edwards has been in limbo ever since. There’s still a chance the UFC could re-book Edwards vs. Woodley at some point, but given global travel restrictions at the moment, it doesn’t seem like it’s a fight that will be happening anytime soon.

Adam D Martin - April 26, 2020

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is upset that the MMA media turned his recent home invasion story into a rivalry with champion Jon Jones. Smith and Jones, of course, met last March at UFC 235, with Jones once again defending the UFC light heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision win. The two have remained mostly cordial since that fight on social media and in interviews. But when Smith recently told the story of having his home invaded by an alleged drug-fueled former wrestler in the middle of the night, Jones used it to take a shot at Smith.

Adam D Martin - April 26, 2020

UFC president Dana White believes the new UFC 249 card that is set to take place May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, is the best card the UFC has ever booked. The full UFC 249 card was announced this week. The card is littered with big names both on the main card and on the prelims including two title fights at the top of the billing. On paper, it’s a very deep card that should be a welcome reprieve for fight fans who haven’t seen a live UFC fight in almost two months. It’s so good on paper that White even believes UFC 249 might be the best card the promotion has ever put together.

Adam D Martin - April 26, 2020

UFC president Dana White doesn’t anticipate have crowds at a UFC event anytime soon, saying he doesn’t expect a live gate “for a very long time.” White has been adamant all along that the UFC’s show would not be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. But that didn’t stop several fight cards in March and April from being canceled. White did everything he could to hold the original UFC 249 card on April 18 at Tachi Palace in Leemore, California, but ultimately the UFC was forced to stand pat and not hold the event. The promotion is now looking to make a return to ESPN+ at the new UFC 249 card on May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, though without a crowd present.

Adam D Martin - April 26, 2020

UFC heavyweight contender Greg Hardy said that he wants to live on Fight Island and break his own record by fighting six times a year on it. Hardy is coming off of a mostly-successful UFC rookie year in 2019. Though controversy followed him at every turn due to his dark past, Hardy showed that he is a legitimate heavyweight contender by going 2-2, 1 NC in his first fights in the Octagon, all of which took place within the span of one calendar year. Hardy set the record for most UFC fights in one year by a heavyweight in the process (though it’s happened in other weight classes.)

Adam D Martin - April 26, 2020

Bellator president Scott Coker praised the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, gushing over the Russian’s recent KO win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Emelianenko is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and is still fighting at a high level. In a legends’ match at the Bellator and RIZIN New Year’s Eve card in December, Emelianenko was able to stop Jackson in the first round in a battle of former PRIDE superstars. It was another big win for Emelianenko in the later stages of his career, and at age 43, don’t look now, but he’s won three of his last four fights overall, all by knockout.

Adam D Martin - April 26, 2020

Just a few days after UFC president Dana White made the card official, the world’s leading MMA promotion has released the poster for UFC 249. White has been trying for weeks now to put a show on for the fans, and while it didn’t look like he would be able to get his way, things are now looking up. After previous events scheduled for Brooklyn, New York, and Leemore, Calfornia fell through, UFC 249 was officially announced to take place on May 9 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The card will air live on ESPN+, with the main card on PPV.

Chris Taylor - April 25, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez believes that Conor McGregor would “put away” Tony Ferguson in a potential fight. Alvarez, who now fights for ONE Championship, recently sat down with The Score MMA where he discussed McGregor’s chances against fellow UFC lightweight contenders.