MMA News

Tom Taylor - July 19, 2019

After stopping Ricky Simon in his comeback fight, Urijah Faber called for a title shot against UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. While Faber is a big star, however, it’s inarguable that there are far more deserving contenders in the division at present — like Aljamain Sterling. Speaking on a recent episode of Submission Radio, Aljamain Sterling gave his thoughts on Faber’s proposed title shot.

Tom Taylor - July 19, 2019

Tito Ortiz, who is gearing up for a Combate Americas fight with Alberto Del Rio, recently expressed his confidence that he could be the man to topple UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. At the very least, he said, he’d do better than Daniel Cormier has against Jones. “I think I would do a lot better against Jon Jones than Daniel Cormier, because Cormier is just a shorter guy (with) bigger legs, bigger torso,” Ortiz said recently on the Domenick Nati Show (transcript via Bloody Elbow). “He’s just a big, big guy.

Christopher Taylor - July 18, 2019

UFC women‘s flyweight standout Paige VanZant may not be able to compete inside the cage, but that isn’t keeping her out of the spotlight. ’PVZ’, who is currently recovering from yet another arm surgery, recently took to Instagram where she teased fight fans with the following risky photo.

Christopher Taylor - July 18, 2019

Jorge Masvidal is looking to secure a title shot and is willing to send in his good friend Yoel Romero in order to sway negotiations. The surging UFC welterweight contender, Masvidal, is coming of back to back knockout victories over opponents Darren Till and Ben Askren.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 18, 2019

Max Holloway believes he’s the gold standard of mixed martial arts in Canada. Holloway is proud to hail from Hawaii, but he’s expressed his love for Canada as well. He often refers to the country as the “10th Island.” He’ll put his featherweight gold on the line against Frankie Edgar in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 27. The bout will headline UFC 240.

Cole Shelton - July 18, 2019

At UFC 241, Nate Diaz will return to the Octagon after a near three-year hiatus when he takes on Anthony Pettis. The Stockton native last fought back in 2016, where he lost to Conor McGregor at UFC 202 via a controversial majority decision. For Pettis, he last fought back in March where he knocked out Stephen Thompson in his welterweight debut. Now, ahead of the fight, “Wonderboy” broke down the Diaz vs Pettis matchup and is leaning towards his most recent opponent getting his hand raised for a number of reasons.

Mike Heck - July 18, 2019

Greg Hardy is still new to the sport of MMA and the UFC, but that doesn’t mean he has his mind set on a dream matchup in the future. Hardy, who will face Juan Adams this weekend at UFC San Antonio, recently stated that he wants to be the greatest heavyweight of all-time. To accomplish that very feat, Hardy knows he may have to get by one of the greatest to ever step in the cage; the UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.

Tom Taylor - July 18, 2019

These days, it seems like the majority of UFC fighters are trash talkers. Whether it’s to build interest in a fight or get under their opponent’s skin, many fighters seem to have embraced this verbal side of the game. UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, however, has not. Speaking on a recent episode of Submission Radio, Whittaker gave his take on all the trash talk in MMA. In his eyes, the time and energy fighters spend trash talking would be well spent elsewhere — like in the gym.

Tom Taylor - July 18, 2019

This weekend, on the main card of UFC San Antonio, Alexander Hernandez will look to rebound from a tough loss to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone against long-time Brazilian contender Francisco Trinaldo. Looking back on his fight with Cerrone, Hernandez still believes he is the overall better fighter, but acknowledges that he didn’t give his foe’s experience and composure enough respect.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 18, 2019

Bellator president Scott Coker appears to be taking things slow with Aaron Pico. While Pico has been hailed as one of the greatest prospects in MMA, he was thrown to the wolves rather quickly. At the age of 22, Pico has a record of 4-3 and he’s been stopped in all of his losses. In his last two outings, Pico was brutally knocked out by Henry Corrales and Adam Borics.

Natasha Hooper - July 18, 2019

Things may be about to come full circle for Paul Felder, as he prepares to make 155 pounds as a potential replacement for Nurmagomedov or Poirier in their upcoming bout. UFC 242 on September 7th in Abu Dhabi promises to put the best UFC fighters to the test. Especially in the main event where lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov faces off against Dustin Poirier.

Tom Taylor - July 18, 2019

After Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October, there was some discussion about him potentially crossing over to boxing to battle Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring— just as McGregor did in 2017. Since then, however, talk of a Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match has almost completely fizzled out. Yet Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz claims that Mayweather is still begging for the matchup.

Cole Shelton - July 18, 2019

Germaine de Randamie headlined her second UFC card on Saturday, taking on the undefeated Aspen Ladd in the main event of UFC Sacramento. But, fans were not happy with the ending of the fight as the former featherweight champion knocked out the 24-year-old in just 16 seconds with one punch. As soon as the fight was over, boos came down from the crowd, who evidently thought the referee intervened early. De Randamie had no idea if it was an early stoppage during the fight. But, now looking back on it, the Dutch fighter believes it was a good stoppage and wonders why fans want to see fighters take more damage than necessary.

Mike Heck - July 18, 2019

Kevin Lee certainly doesn’t see a scenario where a matchup with Ben Askren would be all that competitive. Now that “The Motown Phenom” has had a taste of the welterweight division — and with plans to stay at 170-pounds — a fight between him and Askren is something that could be on the table. With both fighters coming off of a loss, the matchup certainly makes sense. Sprinkle in some back-and-forth at the UFC 236 seasonal press conference and you have a storyline to build off of.

Natasha Hooper - July 18, 2019

Being able to maintain an undefeated record is no easy feat, especially when there are so many rising stars on the UFC roster. Yet strawweight contender Tatiana Suarez has just done that. Currently holding a 9-0 record, it may be no surprise that some are comparing her to the undefeated UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. Suarez made her UFC debut in The Ultimate Fighter in 2016. She beat Amanda Cooper via  d’arce choke in the first round and took home the victory. Since then she has continued competing in the Octagon and beaten worthy contenders including Nina Ansaroff last month at UFC 238. Similarly to Nurmagomedov, Suarez utilizes wrestling to defeat her opponents.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 18, 2019

For years now, the Philippines and ONE Championship, the top martial arts organization in Asia, have put on some fantastic events. The next event to be staged in Manila is ONE: Dawn of Heroes on 2 August. The stakes are high as the card is packed with title bouts and essential matches in several weight classes. Here are five athletes with the most to lose at ONE: Dawn of Heroes.

Natasha Hooper - July 18, 2019

Yesterday, Donald Cerrone announced on Instagram he would be taking a short-notice fight at UFC Vancouver. It has now been revealed his opponent is none other than Justin Gaethje. Dana White confirmed the match-up for UFC Vancouver on September 14. The fearless fighters will go head to head at the Rogers Arena and it will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+.

Cole Shelton - July 17, 2019

Dustin Poirier believes his upcoming fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov is very similar to Rocky IV. There, Rocky Balboa went to Russia to take on Ivan Drago, the heavyweight Russian. In Poirier’s case, he is going to Abu Dhabi to take on undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov where the Russian will have the Muslim crowd behind him. “This is real, I’m a world champion,” Poirier said to ESPN. “As is he. This is a super fight to me. That’s how I feel, that’s what this feels like to me. We’re going to a sold-out arena they’re building as we speak in Abu Dhabi, the middle of the desert, and princes and sheiks will be there. It’s crazy. It’s a Rocky movie.”