MMA News

Mike Pendleton - October 3, 2019

Bellator MMA is headed back to Hawaii, and they’re bringing two of their bright young stars with them. KHON2 in Hawaii was first to report that Bellator will be returning to Hawaii on December 21st at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Oahu, Hawaii. The card will feature Bellator’s flyweight champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane who will attempt to defend her flyweight title against Kate Jackson who has a 11-3-1 record in her professional career, and is also a former competitor of The Ultimate Fighter Season 23. Jackson is riding a two fight winning streak and is 3-1 since joining Bellator.

Christopher Taylor - October 3, 2019

Current UFC interim middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has taken a shot at Yoel Romero in his latest warning to reigning division kingpin Robert Whittaker. Israel Adesanya (17-0 MMA) will square off with Robert Whittaker (20-4 MMA) in the headliner of this weekend’s highly anticipated UFC 243 pay-per-view event from Australia.

Natasha Hooper - October 3, 2019

Fan favorite Gunnar Nelson collided with Gilbert Burns in a welterweight bout at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night Copenhagen event. It marked the second time in a year that the Icelandic warrior had fought in Europe. Gunnar Nelson faced Leon Edwards at UFC London in March and left the Octagon with another loss and a broken orbital bone after receiving a nasty elbow. After healing from his injury and getting back to training, ‘Gunni’ was inked to fight Thiago Alves. However, Alves withdrew due to injury, leaving Gilbert Burns to fill in for the fight.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2019

Arjan Bhullar was expected to make his ONE Championship debut against Mauro Cerilli back in August. Unfortunately, this plan was nixed at the very last minute when Cerilli was forced out of the contest with a medical issue. Luckily, this cloud turned out to have a silver lining.

Cole Shelton - October 3, 2019

Darrion Caldwell was not happy that Patricio Freire did not pick him to fight in the Selection Show following Bellator 228. Instead, the featherweight champion decided to fight Pedro Carvalho, leaving Caldwell matched up with Adam Borics on the other side of the bracket. Following the event, Darrion Caldwell went to Patricio Freire’s locker room and confronted the champ about not picking him. The entire encounter was caught by Bellator.

Adam Martin - October 3, 2019

UFC lightweight contender Al Iaquinta says part of the motivation for fighting Dan Hooker in the co-main event of UFC 243 is to prove who the better real estate agent is. Iaquinta — who does real estate on the side in Long Island — was interviewed by MMAjunkie before this Saturday’s UFC 243 card and said he recently heard that Hooker also does real estate in Oceania. “Raging Al” said that he wants to beat Hooker to prove who the better real estate agent is, not to mention the better fighter.

Mike Pendleton - October 3, 2019

As UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya prepare to unify their titles in the main event of UFC 243, the anticipation is high. There have been many who believe this fight will break UFC records for highest attendance, and it is widely considered the biggest fight in Oceanic history given the pair’s ties to Australia and New Zealand. While both Whittaker and Adesanya are confident heading into this matchup, the UFC has set this fight up to be a spectacle for those in Australia as they have Marvel Stadium playing host to UFC 243.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2019

Former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has been putting work at Tristar in Montreal, Quebec. According to the gym’s head coach, Firas Zahabi, Woodley has been making strides. Speaking to MMA Junkie., Zahabi discussed his recent work with Woodley. Apparently, the former champ has been kicking convention and added some new weapons to his arsenal.

Mike Pendleton - October 3, 2019

Sergio Pettis was supposed to be fighting at UFC 245 in December, but those plans have reportedly been put on hold. According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Pettis, who was scheduled to fight Kai Kara-France on December 14 in Las Vegas, will reportedly test free agency as his current deal with the UFC has expired.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2019

Khabib Nurmagomedov has previously been opposed to the idea of a rematch with Conor McGregor, who he defeated by submission in late 2018. Apparently, however, the lightweight champion has changed his tune. That’s according to his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. According to the elder Nurmagomedov, Khabib is willing to rematch McGregor — if McGregor is willing to undertake the challenge on Russian soil, in Moscow.

Adam Martin - October 3, 2019

UFC president Dana White says he is open to booking a superfight between UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. White was interviewed by Sky Sport News ahead of UFC 243 and was asked about a potential bout between “The Last Stylebender” and “Bones,” who have been jawing back and forth at each other on social media the last couple of days.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2019

Michael Bisping had an incredible MMA career, culminating with a UFC middleweight title win, but he paid a hefty price for his success. At the height of his career, he sustained a nasty eye injury, and now wears a prosthetic eye as a result. Bisping flaunted his false eye during a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

Natasha Hooper - October 3, 2019

After defeating Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov has once again been calling for a matchup with a fighter widely regarded as the Greatest of All Time: Georges St-Pierre. Both fighters have acknowledged an interest in this potential match up. St-Pierre confirmed he was willing to come out of retirement to face Nurmagomedov under the right circumstances, and ‘The Eagle’ agreed he would fight St-Pierre — perhaps even in his home country of Canada. But due to a lack of developments, it seemed that the matchup was going to be nothing more than a fantasy for MMA fans. However UFC President Dana White may be making the dream a reality. During a live stream on Instagram, Dana White discussed the potential bout. He says he’s open to it, but Tony Ferguson will get a crack at Nurmagomedov first.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 3, 2019

ONE: Century is going to be an epic show. On 13 October in Tokyo, Japan, ONE Championship is putting on a show so big that it had to be divided into two parts. There will be a morning and evening card, and each will feature multiple bouts across three different combat sports. Both cards are packed with star power as most of the promotion’s top stars will be in action. 

Natasha Hooper - October 3, 2019

Oscar De La Hoya recently sat down with the Barstool Radio team to discuss his big plans for a return to the MMA business, and his ongoing beef with UFC President Dana White. The former world champion boxer De La Hoya launched Golden Boy Promotions in 2002, and after many years of promoting boxing, expanded into the MMA industry in 2018. Golden Boy’s first and only MMA card thus far was headlined by a trilogy fight between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, which the latter won by knockout.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 3, 2019

After lifting the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship belt from Jonathan Haggerty at ONE: Dawn of Heroes, Rodtang Jitmuangnon will be defending his title for the first time at ONE: Century Part II on October 13 at the iconic Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan against Walter Goncalves of Brazil.  Rodtang can hardly contain his excitement.

Christopher Taylor - October 2, 2019

It appears that former ’champ champ’ Conor McGregor is interested in fighting the winner of November’s BMF Title fight. UFC 244, which takes place November 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York, is headlined by a welterweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. The winner of that highly anticipated contest will take home the promotions new BMF Title.

Cole Shelton - October 2, 2019

Cub Swanson has had a hard time training jiu-jitsu ahead of his fight against Kron Gracie. His foe comes from the legendary Gracie jiu-jitsu family, so schools do not want to train Cub Swanson, which frustrates the featherweight contender.