MMA News

Harry Kettle - April 20, 2020

In a twist similar to Randy “Macho Man” Savage turning on Hulk Hogan, Stephen Thompson has shocked the world and turned heel. It’s safe to say that the ongoing war of words between Ariel Helwani and Darren Till has sent shockwaves through the MMA universe, to the point where it seems obvious that they’re going to throw down in what will almost certainly be one of the most highly anticipated fights in the history of mixed martial arts.

Natasha Hooper - April 20, 2020

Aljamain Sterling has called out Dominick Cruz for blocking him on social media, and also responded to a callout by Frankie Edgar. “The Funk Master” has been inching towards a title shot but the former champion, Cruz, has beaten him to it. The current bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo was scheduled to defend his title against Jose Aldo next. However, his Brazilian opponent had to pull out of their scheduled matchup due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Natasha Hooper - April 20, 2020

Dominick Reyes has called out his last opponent Jon Jones for bluffing about an upcoming matchup against fellow light heavyweight Jan Blachowicz. In the main event of UFC 247, Reyes challenged the division’s champion, Jones, for the 205-pound crown. “Bones” defended his title and claimed the decision victory, but many spectators believed “The Devastator” should have won the five-round war. The 30-year old claimed he’s ready for the rematch but Jones will not sign the contract.

Adam Martin - April 19, 2020

Check out videos of the top five submissions from UFC 11 to UFC 20, featuring the legendary UFC Hall of Famer Kazushi Sakuraba. In our latest series here at BJPenn.com “Top 5 Submissions” we take a look at the most lethal submissions from the second block of UFC events. These tapouts from 1997 to 1999, which feature numerous future UFC Hall of Famers, still hold up strong over 20 years later. Keep in mind there are many other submissions deserving of the list, but we had to choose just five. Take a look at our top-five list below.

Adam Martin - April 19, 2020

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar says he’s interested in fighting Aljamain Sterling in his bantamweight debut. Edgar was supposed to fight Cory Sandhagen back at UFC Raleigh in January in what was supposed to be his first fight at 135lbs. But Edgar was pulled from the card and instead fought Chan Sung Jung at UFC Busan at featherweight, where he suffered a nasty KO loss to The Korean Zombie. The fight with Sandhagen was subsequently wiped out as a result and Edgar has still yet to make his official bantamweight debut.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

In a new interview, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva said he wanted to retire in 2012 before his first fight with Chris Weidman at UFC 162. Silva was the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport at the time and was coming off of a 17-fight win streak with culminated in a vicious TKO over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 153. There were talks of a superfight against UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre and Silva were in attendance for GSP’s win over Carlos Condit at UFC 154, but the fight never materialized for whatever reason. When the GSP fight didn’t happen, Silva had planned on retiring.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa spoke about the effects of blows to the head in MMA and says he’s willing to donate his brain for research. Costa is one of the top middleweights in MMA and is known for pulverizing his opponents’ heads and being the one who dishes out the damage. But in a recent interview with AG Fight, Costa admitted he thinks about the effects of blows to the head on his brain, and it’s the reason why he plans on retiring from the sport by the time he’s 36.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

UFC superstar Conor McGregor highlighted the changes he’s made in his life over the last two years, saying it’s never too late to turn your life around. It was two over years ago at UFC 223 when McGregor suffered through the lowest point of his MMA career when he threw a dolly through a bus window, which caused a chain reaction of negative effects. McGregor dealt with numerous legal issues outside the cage over the next year, not to mention a lopsided loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 and a subsequent suspension from a post-fight brawl against his rival’s team. There’s no question that McGregor’s 2018 and 2019 years are ones that he wants to forget.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

Former UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy explained why he refused anesthesia for sutures following his fight against Yoel Romero at UFC 178. Kennedy and Romero got into one of the wildest brawls of 2014, with Romero eventually earning the third-round stoppage via TKO in controversial fashion at UFC 178’s “Fight of the Night.” Kennedy suffered brutal facial damage during the knockout and was forced to get his face stitched up by the doctors after the fight. However, it looks like the pain didn’t end for Kenney with the knockout.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till told former champ and fellow Brit Michael Bisping to send his son to Liverpool so he can “make a man out of him.” Bisping and his son often have funny back-and-forth banter on their social media, especially during quarantine as not much else is going on. Till recently took notice of Bisping’s conversation with his son on social media and jokingly offered to teach his son a lesson. Here’s what Till wrote on Twitter.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo fired back at featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski, who recently called his choice of opponents “embarrassing.” Volkanovski was critical recently of Volkanovksi calling out aging legends like Dominick Cruz and Frankie Edgar for his next fight after his UFC 250 matchup against another legend in Jose Aldo was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions. Instead of calling out top contenders like Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan or Cory Sandhagen, Cejudo has instead focused on older fighters who are coming off of losses, and Volkanovski noticed.

Adam D Martin - April 19, 2020

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir is now a free agent and is open to fighting for another promotion or getting behind the mic and doing commentary. This past October saw Mir snap a four-fight losing skid when he defeated Roy Nelson via decision at Bellator 231. It was his first win since July 2015 and it couldn’t have come at a better time as it helped him avoid a dreaded five-fight losing skid. Mir was still under contract with Bellator and had one fight left on his deal after going 1-2 with the promotion, but the heavyweight legend said he’s come to a deal with Bellator to release him.

Chris Taylor - April 18, 2020

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Chris Taylor - April 18, 2020

Jon Jones continued to mock Jan Blachowicz today, this after the surging light heavyweight contender suggested he “can’t wait to fist” Bones in a potential fight. Yesterday evening Jones seemingly shutdown a potential immediate rematch with Dominick Reyes in favor of a showdown with the Polish standout in Blachowicz.

Chris Taylor - April 18, 2020

UFC President Dana White held a conference call with Fighters on Friday afternoon addressing the Coronavirus Pandemic while fielding questions. According to a report from MMAJunkie‘s Nolan King, White took time to hear from his athletes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic for approximately 25 minutes. After an initial statement, White opened up the floor for written questions.

Chris Taylor - April 18, 2020

In our newest segment “Top 5 Knockouts” we take a look back at some of the most brutal finishes that have occurred during numbered UFC events. In this second edition of “Top 5 Knockouts”, we reflect back on UFC events 11 – 20, which occurred between the years of 1996 to 1999.

Chris Taylor - April 17, 2020

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has no plans of granting Dominick Reyes with a immediate rematch following their close fight at UFC 247. ‘Bones’ scored a unanimous decision victory over Reyes at February’s event in Houston, but the judges ruling did not sit well with many fight fans. Even UFC President Dana White admitted that he had scored the UFC 247 main event in favor of ‘The Devastator’.

Chris Taylor - April 17, 2020

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has responded to former opponent Anthony Smith by offering up some advice. Earlier this month, Smith was the victim of a home invasion which resulted in what he called “one of the toughest fights of his life”.