MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza has decided the light heavyweight division is not for him. After losing a controversial and frankly forgettable decision to Jan Blachowicz in his light heavyweight debut this fall, Jacare has elected to return to his native middleweight division. The Brazilian is now scheduled to meet Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout at UFC 249, which is scheduled for April 18 in Brooklyn, New York. ESPN, the official broadcast partner of the UFC, was first to report this matchup. MMA Fighting subsequently confirmed that report.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is viewed by many fans as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. If you ask the man himself, however, that lofty title belongs to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Nurmagomedov, a friend and training partner of Jones’ arch rival Daniel Cormier, was asked who he considers the sport’s pound-for-pound king at a recent press conference in Russia.

Natasha Hooper - December 26, 2019

2019 was a rollercoaster ride for the world of MMA, featuring plenty of ups and downs. As the year draws to a close, BJPENN.com looks back on 10 of the biggest MMA stories of 2019, from the good to the bad to the downright ugly.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2019

Here’s your Christmas present from the UFC, fight fans: a whopping five fights were announced on Christmas Day, including appearances from stars like Rachel Ostovich, Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos and Kai Kara-France. Here’s a rundown of the new UFC fights announced on Christmas Day, via Marcel Dorff on Twitter.

Christopher Taylor - December 25, 2019

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley got in the Christmas spirit this evening by accepting a challenge from Leon Edwards. The Birmingham native, Edwards, had challenged Woodley to a showdown at March’s UFC event in London.

Adam Martin - December 24, 2019

Check out BJPenn.com‘s list of the top-10 MMA fighters of the decade, featuring the likes of Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Demetrious Johnson and Cris Cyborg. The first thing to note is that this is a very subjective and difficult list to come up with. There were so many fighters who could be included in the discussion, but ultimately we had to leave many of them off since it’s just a top-10. But before we do that, here’s a list of some honorable mentions that just missed the list.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019

Patrick Cummins, the UFC light heavyweight contender who famously left his job as a barista to fight Daniel Cormier on short notice, has announced his retirement from MMA. Cummins made his announcement on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019

UFC President Dana White says 2019 was the “biggest year in the company’s history.” A jubilant White made this claim in a Tuesday afternoon Instagram post. See it below:

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019

When you really think about it, watching Khabib Nurmagomedov effortlessly dominate all of his opposition in the cage is not all that different from watching Mario stomp Goombas Piranha Plants in a classic Nintendo game. Need more proof of the similarities between the Russian UFC champ and the princess-saving Italian plumber? Check out the video below: a Super Mario-inspired tribute to Nurmagomedov from the folks at RT.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019

Aleksandar Rakic had the opportunity to take a big step up the light heavyweight rankings at UFC Busan when he took on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. While Rakic had plenty of success in this fight, Oezdemir ultimately left the cage with a controversial split decision win on his record. Speaking on Instagram on Sunday, Rakic issued a brief statement on this setback. He included a photo of himself moments after a previous win, and assured he feels just as victorious after his fight with Oezdemir.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2019

Donald Cerrone is gearing up for a massive showdown with Conor McGregor, which headlines the UFC 246 card on January 18. It should surprise absolutely nobody that the hyperactive lightweight and welterweight contender is staying plenty busy outside of his preparations for this fight. In addition to his usual schedule of training, skydiving, bull riding, and anything else that gets his blood pumping, Cerrone recently starred in a new music video from alternative rock band Billy Talent. He was joined in this video by former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 24, 2019

A mature athlete and person understands and is realistic about their limitations. They also know that there are multiple definitions of greatness. Sage Northcutt is displaying such maturity and spirit of conscientiousness in his recent career decision.  After falling short in his ONE Championship debut against experienced Brazilian striker Cosmo Alexandre at welterweight, Northcutt has decided to return to his original weight class at 155 pounds.

Cole Shelton - December 24, 2019

Petr Yan is not a fan of Henry Cejudo, to say the least. After Yan beat Urijah Faber at UFC 245, many thought the Russian would be next in line for a title shot at Henry Cejudo. Yet “Triple C” instead called for a bout with Jose Aldo who is 0-1 at bantamweight, and on a two-fight losing streak.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2019

It turns out Donald Cerrone will not be having Duke Roufus’ help in his UFC 246 camp to prepare for Conor McGregor. On Jan. 18, in the main event of UFC 246, “Cowboy” will return to the Octagon at welterweight against the Irishman in McGregor. In the lead up to the fight, Roufus was on ‘The Luke Thomas Show’ on Sirius XM and said Cerrone was coming to Milwaukee to do some of his camp.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2019

UFC women’s strawweight contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk says she is still planning on moving back up to the flyweight division in the future. Jedrzejczyk is set to take on UFC women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang at UFC 248 in March in Las Vegas. Jedrzejczyk will be looking to reclaim the title which she held between 2015 and 2017 before dropping it in shocking fashion to Rose Namajunas at UFC 217.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2019

Deiveson Figueiredo has violent intentions for Joseph Benavidez when they meet for the vacant flyweight title at UFC Norfolk. Earlier this week, BJPENN.com reported the title bout was set, and for Figueiredo, he was very surprised to discover he would be fighting for the vacant title.

Alfredo Zullino - December 23, 2019

African mixed martial arts is definitely on the rise. Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman just defended his UFC welterweight title against Colby Covington, and fellow countryman Israel Adesanya unified the middleweight title by defeating Robert Whittaker just two months ago. Now, Italian-Cameroonian Simon Biyong (6-1 MMA) will look to continue that trend of success in his Rizin Fighting Federation debut on New Year’s eve in Tokyo, Japan.

Natasha Hooper - December 23, 2019

BJJ powerhouses, Royce Gracie and Eddie Bravo don’t see eye to eye. Chael Sonnen recently sat down on his Youtube channel to explain their ongoing feud.