MMA News

Alfredo Zullino - March 21, 2020

It was only matter of time before this brand new Coronavirus affected the MMA world. Italian, now retired, MMA fighter Cristian Binda posted on his social media that he is been found positive to COVID-19.

Chris Taylor - March 21, 2020

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has gone off on Jorge Masvidal for suggesting that he is a more famous fighter than Conor McGregor. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ recently sat down with TMZ Sports where he revealed that the Coronavirus outbreak has killed his plans to fight ‘Gamebred’ in July.

Chris Taylor - March 21, 2020

UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo took aim at former two-division champion Conor McGregor early this afternoon on social media. After McGregor posted a video of him throwing bombs on Instagram, ‘Triple C’ would reply to the post (shared by ESPN) with the following message for the Irish star.

Chris Taylor - March 21, 2020

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor is trying to make the best out of these troubling times. The former featherweight and lightweight title holder made his long awaited return to the Octagon at January’s UFC 246 event, where he needed less than one minute to dismantle Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Cole Shelton - March 20, 2020

Cory Sandhagen says he will not be fighting Dominick Cruz at UFC San Diego. It was reported Cruz was interested in making his return at the event and Sandhagen then took to Instagram to say he signed the contract. Now, however, the surging contender says the former bantamweight champion is not interested in fighting him.

Adam Martin - March 20, 2020

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till is apparently packing on the pounds during quarantine, showing off a picture of his bulging stomach on social media. Till was one of the biggest welterweights in the UFC but had difficulty making the weight and was forced to move up to middleweight after struggling to shave the weight. In his debut at 185lbs, he was able to edge out a split decision over top contender Kelvin Gastelum.

Adam Martin - March 20, 2020

Although most of the sports world is currently on a hiatus right now due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are still some mixed martial arts events happening around the globe. Despite most sports leagues shutting down for the next few weeks or months, the UK-based promotion Cage Warriors decided to hold its Cage Warriors 113 event this Friday in Manchester, England. During a time when sports fans don’t have much else going on, Cage Warriors 113 was a welcome reprieve from everything going on in the world right now. In the main event of the evening, UFC fighters Bartosz Fabinski and Darren Stewart grinded each other for 15 minutes in a fight that went the full three rounds. Fabinski was able to plant Stewart down on the mat and win a unanimous decision for the biggest win of his career to date. Despite taking place in Cage Warriors, this was essentially a UFC fight. And in the co-main event, Mason Jones knocked out Joe McColgan in a quick fight to win the Cage Warriors lightweight title.

Natasha Hooper - March 20, 2020

Arguably one of the hardest challenges of MMA begins before the fight has even started: weight cutting. The primary purpose of cutting weight is to make the limit set by the division that the fighter has chosen to compete in. The process involves dehydrating the body and can create major health complications and even hospitalization. Today at BJPenn.com, we cover the biggest weight cut blunders that have hindered fighters’ careers:

Natasha Hooper - March 20, 2020

Amid the Coronavirus epidemic and MMA events being cancelled left right and centre, many fight fans are stuck at home twiddling their thumbs. Not to fear, BJPenn.com have come to rescue you from your boredom slumber. We have curated the top fighter Instagram accounts you need to follow. Now, you can stay up to date with all the fight action, even when there are no fights!

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is one of countless sports organizations to be adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic that is currently sweeping the planet, having already been forced to postpone two events. Suffice it to say that it’s been a hectic few weeks for company president David Feldman, who is doing his best to guide the organization through these times of danger and uncertainty.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones is undeniably one of the most dominant titleholders in the promotion’s history. His incredible reign began back in 2011, when he bludgeoned Brazilian legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to a third-round TKO win. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cascade across the planet, the UFC has released footage of this iconic Jones win from its archives. See it below:

Cole Shelton - March 20, 2020

Jimi Manuwa is still interested in becoming a professional boxer. The former UFC light heavyweight retired last summer but recently said he is interested in a return to the Octagon. But, if that does not happen, the Englishman says he would like to box.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the combat sports industry to grind to a halt. Dozens of events have been postponed or canceled outright, and fighters are being deprived of the opportunity to compete. Yet Chael Sonnen believes this pandemic-related shutdown of the industry could be beneficial to fighters if they take proper advantage. In his eyes, fighters have a golden opportunity to gain some attention with much of the other noise drowned out.

Adam Martin - March 20, 2020

UFC lightweight rivals Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker wished each other well, agreeing to fight when the coronavirus pandemic is over. Poirier and Hooker are set to meet in the main event of UFC San Diego in May, but with the coronavirus outbreak wreaking havoc on the sports world and on the UFC schedule, there’s no guarantee that fight or card will still go on.

Harry Kettle - March 20, 2020

Footage has recently been released of a 16-year-old Andy Ruiz Jr. sparring with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. The combat sports world has gone into lockdown over the course of the last few weeks as a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak. Therefore, fans are taking comfort in the knowledge that there is a whole lot of footage out there from years gone by that they can watch as we wait for things to settle down. In addition to that, newly discovered footage is also being unveiled — as seen here when Ruiz Jr. posted up the following clip of him and Arlovski going at it many years ago.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020

Dana White has been working hard to keep the UFC running during the coronavirus pandemic. While he ultimately had to “indefinitely postpone” three UFC shows, he delayed doing so until the last possible minute, and has been adamant future shows will go down as planned. White’s reluctance to bend to the coronavirus pandemic has generated some understandable criticism from fans and media alike. He has not taken kindly to that criticism.

Natasha Hooper - March 20, 2020

Sam Alvey feels bad for all the people affected by coronavirus, but declared there has been a “huge overreaction” to the pandemic. With his upcoming fight against Khalil Rountree at UFC on ESPN 8 scrapped, “Smile’n” Alvey reacted to the company’s decision to cancel three upcoming shows. The news came after President Donald Trump declared no more than 10 people should gather at one time.

Natasha Hooper - March 20, 2020

Cage Warriors’ presenter Layla Anna-Lee recently gave BJPENN.com the low down on how she’s been affected by the novel coronavirus. She also responded to backlash over Cage Warriors’ decision to go ahead with Friday night’s CW113 show in spite of the outbreak. Layla Anna-Lee is a British Brazilian sports presenter covering MMA, boxing and football. She presents for the UK MMA promotion Cage Warriors. The company is home to some of the best emerging talent, with fighters such as Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping having graced its cage in the past.