MMA News

Thomas Taylor - January 24, 2020

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has been getting roasted by fight fans all week. The latest member of the MMA community to join the pile-on is UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The cause of the widespread attack on Smith, for those who have been living under rocks, is twofold.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2020

In September of 2019, Dustin Poirier challenged the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight belt. Unfortunately for Poirier and his fans, the mission didn’t go as planned, as he was submitted by the champion in the third round. Despite this loss, Poirier is still determined to be become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion in the future. His brief reign as the interim lightweight champ, he says, just doesn’t cut it as far as his legacy is concerned.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2020

Paige VanZant was out of action for almost all of 2019 due to a series of severe arm injuries. She was then booked for a return against Amanda Ribas at the upcoming UFC Brasilia card. Unfortunately, that planned comeback was fight was foiled by yet another arm injury. Speaking on Instagram, VanZant opened up on this new injury and promised that it will not keep her out of action for too long. She says she’ll fight again in May.

Adam Martin - January 24, 2020

UFC superstar Conor McGregor was handed his $50,000 bonus for Performance of the Night at UFC 246 in cash by UFC president Dana White. McGregor needed just 40 seconds to knock out Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC 246 to pick up his first win since a November 2016 TKO win over Eddie Alvarez. The UFC awarded McGregor a $50,000 bonus for the knockout win, joining Aleksei Oleinik, Carlos Diego Ferreira, Brian Kelleher, and Drew Dober as bonus winners.

Adam Martin - January 24, 2020

The UFC Raleigh weigh-ins took place Friday morning and all 24 fighters on the card made weight for this Saturday night’s event. In the main event, heavyweight Curtis Blaydes tipped the scales at 248lbs. His opponent, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, stepped onto the scales at 247lbs. Both men were well below the heavyweight non-title limit of 265lbs.

Adam Martin - January 24, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards says he is promised a welterweight title shot with a win over Tyron Woodley at UFC London. Edwards is set to take on Woodley in a potential No. 1 contender’s fight at UFC London in March. UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman does not have an opponent booked yet, although Jorge Masvidal appears to have the fast track to the next title shot. According to Edwards himself, however, it could be he who ends up fighting Usman next.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2020

Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold, both former UFC middleweight champions, went 2-0 across two entertaining grudge matches. In the first fight, Rockhold came out on top via submission. In the second, Bisping won via first-round knockout, winning the middleweight belt in the process. During an appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast to promote his new book Quitters Never Win: My Life in UFC, Bisping divulged that he was actually injured before his first fight with Rockhold.

Cole Shelton - January 24, 2020

Cris Cyborg knows she will go down as one of the greats but at Bellator 238 she can cement her legacy even more. In the main event, Cyborg is making her Bellator debut and taking on Julia Budd for the featherweight title. Should she win, she would become the first person to win belts in Strikeforce, Invicta, UFC, and Bellator. Or, as Cyborg calls it, a “Grand Slam Champion.”

Cole Shelton - January 24, 2020

In the main event of Bellator 238, Julia Budd is looking to defend her featherweight title against Cris Cyborg who’s making her promotional debut. Heading into the fight, Budd is a +325 underdog while the Brazilian is a -450 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe this is a closer fight than the odds suggest but the majority are leaning towards Cyborg becoming the new champion.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2020

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was expected to return to the cage against Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, but was later forced out of this matchup with personal issues. While it was and still is unclear what kind of personal issues caused Whittaker to withdraw from the fight, UFC President Dana White caused a tidal wave of speculation when he appeared to get emotional discussing Whittaker’s situation.

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2020

Junior dos Santos is not a fan of Curtis Blaydes’ wrestling centric style to say the least. In the main event of UFC Raleigh, the two will square off with JDS looking to get back into the win column. Blaydes, meanwhile, is looking to extend his winning streak.

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2020

Jorge Masvidal has made his intentions known. After “Gamebred” beat Nate Diaz at UFC 244 he said he wanted the biggest payday possible and many pointed to Conor McGregor. Yet, Masvidal believes the Irishman doesn’t actually want to fight him as evident by his post-fight speech at UFC 246.

Adam Martin - January 23, 2020

Footage has been released of UFC superstar Conor McGregor training shoulder strikes with former UFC fighter Cathal Pendred years ago. McGregor used shoulder strikes in his main event fight at UFC 246 against Donald Cerrone in the bout’s opening seconds and badly hurt “Cowboy” with them. After kicking Cerrone right in the chin with a high kick, McGregor was able to pummel Cerrone with punches on the mat and finish him for a 40-second TKO win in his long-awaited return to the Octagon.

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.

Adam Martin - January 23, 2020

This is the second in a series of new articles here on BJPenn.com in 2020 analyzing the betting odds for all UFC events. The second event of the year is UFC Raleigh. Note: All odds based on current odds at BestFightOdds.com. This article is for entertainment purposes only. Never bet what you can’t afford.

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.