MMA News

Adam Martin - January 2, 2020

UFC president Dana White says that his biggest matchmaking regret is never booking a heavyweight fight between Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko. Lesnar and Emelianenko were arguably the two biggest superstars in the sport at the beginning of the 2010s. At the time, Lesnar was the UFC heavyweight champion, while Emelianenko had dominated the competition in PRIDE and was a new member of the Strikeforce roster.

Adam Martin - January 2, 2020

PFL welterweight contender David Michaud says that the starting pay in PFL is about the same as it would be for a newcomer to the UFC. Michaud just fought Ray Cooper III at PFL 2019 Championship and was knocked out in the second round to lose his chance to win $1 million. It ended a nice run for Michaud in his first year in PFL, snapping a three-fight win streak over Glaico Franca, John Howard, and Handesson Ferreira.

Natasha Hooper - January 2, 2020

Henry Cejudo claimed the nickname “Triple C” after becoming a two-division champion of the flyweight and bantamweight division, but last month, it was announced that the Olympic wrestler had released his flyweight belt, leaving top-ranked fighters Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo to battle for the 125-pound strap in 2020. Their fight for the vacant flyweight title will headline the UFC Norfolk event on February 29. It will be only the second event held by the UFC in Norfolk. The first was UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Pettis in November 2017.

Mike Heck - January 2, 2020

Whether he was your pick for 2019 Fighter of the Year, or at least in your top-3, no one had a bigger surge over that 12-month stretch than Jorge Masvidal. After losing back-to-back fights in 2017, and not competing at all in 2018, “Gamebred” took the UFC by storm with highlight reel knockouts over Darren Till and Ben Askren before headlining UFC 244 against Nate Diaz, and capturing the created “BMF” title. While 2019 was a banner year for Masvidal, the plan is to enhance the momentum even further throughout 2020.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2020

Jafari Vanier, the head coach behind Donald Cerrone, doesn’t view Conor McGregor as a particularly versatile fighter. The coach gave his take on McGregor, who Cerrone will fight in the main event of UFC 246 on January 18, in in Cerrone’s documentary ‘More than a Cowboy.’

Adam Martin - January 2, 2020

The Korean Zombie wants a title shot against new UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski next, but he has three other opponents in mind as well. The Korean Zombie recently knocked out Frankie Edgar in the first round at UFC Busan, upping his record to 3-1 since returning to MMA in 2017 after a four-year mandatory military service layoff. He also has knockout wins over Renato Moicano and Dennis Bermudez and a KO loss to Yair Rodriguez since his return.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2020

Chael Sonnen has a hunch that Georges St-Pierre will fight again in 2020. St-Pierre, a former two-division UFC champion, is currently retired, but Sonnen doubts that retirement will stick.

Harry Kettle - January 2, 2020

The excitement of a brand new year in the world of mixed martial arts is being felt throughout the Ultimate Fighting Championship and beyond, with a series of high profile cards and title fights already being set in stone for the next few months, including the stacked UFC 247 card, scheduled for February 8 in Houston, Texas.  in the UFC 247 main event, Jon Jones will attempt to defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against the undefeated Dominick Reyes. Jones is aiming to further cement his spot as the greatest light heavyweight of all time, whereas Reyes is looking to cause what would be regarded as one of the greatest upsets in UFC history.

Tom Taylor - January 2, 2020

Conor McGregor has always been known for his bold fashion choices. Perhaps the best example of this was in 2016 when, ahead of a scheduled lightweight title fight with Rafael dos Anjos, the Irishman donned the attire of infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquín Guzmán, better know as “El Chapo.” Speaking on on a recent episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, UFC commentator Joe Rogan looked back on this fabled Conor McGregor moment. He could not contain his enjoyment of it.

Harry Kettle - January 2, 2020

The UFC is currently going through a bit of a break, but the promotion’s jam-packed 2020 calendar will soon be underway, starting with events like UFC 246 and UFC Raleigh.  While UFC 246 is generating more attention than any other upcoming UFC card, due to the return of Conor McGregor, UFC Raleigh is definitely a card to keep an eye on. 

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 2, 2020

Growing up, Stamp Fairtex was constantly pestered by bullies. Stamp described herself as a “tiny” child. Growing up in Rayong, Thailand. Her size made her an easy target for her classmates. This pushed the now two-sport champ to find solace in Muay Thai and ultimately paved her way to ONE Championship.

Chris Taylor - January 1, 2020

UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal was voted 2019 Fighter of The Year by multiple outlets including Forbes and CBS Sports. The Miami native had an absolutely spectacular year in 2019, which saw him go 3-0 with all three wins coming by way of Knockout/TKO.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

John Kavanagh, the head coach behind former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor, says the MMA star is better than ever ahead of his UFC 246 welterweight scrap with Donald Cerrone. Kavanagh sung McGregor’s praises on Twitter shortly after the Irish star’s last hard sparring session in Ireland. He admitted that he wasn’t sure how McGregor would look when this comeback plan was first mounted, but says fans are in for a “real treat.”

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

Fight fans have been dying to see UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones move up to heavyweight for years. According to UFC President Dana White, however, it may never happen. White shared his thoughts on Jones moving up a weight class in a recent interview with ESPN. He believes Jones is quite comfortable at light heavyweight, and emphasized that before any potential move up to heavyweight is discussed, Jones needs to get by Dominick Reyes at UFC 247.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

Rory MacDonald is no longer a Bellator fighter, having signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in 2020. While this promotion change has opened the door to some new and exciting matchups for MacDonald, it has seemingly closed the door on a trilogy fight between MacDonald and reigning Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima, who are currently tied 1-1 across two previous bouts. Yet MacDonald doesn’t see it that way.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

Last night, Lance Palmer became a two-time Professional Fighters League (PFL) champion, defeating Alex Gilpin by unanimous decision to win the featherweight belt. As usual, Palmer’s father Wayne was in the building to support, and he made a pretty interesting wardrobe choice for his night out. The elder Palmer was visible several times on broadcast. Fans promptly noticed that he was wearing a slightly doctored UFC shirt. Instead of reading Ultimate Fighting Championship, it read Ultimate Farting Championship.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) closed out its 2019 season on New Years Eve, meaning another group of fighters pocketed $1M prizes. In the card’s main event, Kayla Harrison won the lightweight championship by dominating Larissa Pachecho to a unanimous decision win.

Tom Taylor - January 1, 2020

Rampage Jackson tipped the scales at 265 pounds for his Bellator Japan-headlining showdown with fellow MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. While that’s certainly not an unheard of weight for the heavyweight division, it was quite heavy for Rampage, who previously ruled the UFC’s 205-pound light heavyweight division. To make matters worse, Rampage lost this fight by first-round knockout, so the extra mass did little to benefit him.