MMA News

Tom Taylor - July 19, 2019

Former UFC and Strikeforce fighter Jason Miller — known by the ring name ‘Mayhem’ — has been sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to a felony count of vandalism and a misdemeanor count of violating a protective stay-away order, per the Orange County Register.  The 38-year-old was arrested in October after destroying a large marble table at his former girlfriend’s home. The former UFC and Strikeforce star also punched holes in the wall, destroyed several doors, and knocked the garage door off its tracks, according to prosecutors. He has remained in custody since this incident.

Adam Martin - July 19, 2019

Former UFC lightweight contender Myles Jury, who recently became a free agent, has signed a multi-fight contract with Bellator. ESPN.com’s Ariel Helwani first broke the news. He added that Jury, who has previously competed as a featherweight, will compete as a lightweight in Bellator. He is expected to make his promotional debut later this year.

Cole Shelton - July 19, 2019

After Germaine de Randamie beat Aspen Ladd by knockout in just 16-seconds at UFC Sacramento, many believe she is next for the title shot against reigning bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. After all, de Randamie was ranked number-one heading into the fight and beat the then fourth-ranked fighter. Yet, de Randamie isn’t certain if Nunes is next — especially if Nunes decides to defend her UFC featherweight title next. 

Tom Taylor - July 19, 2019

In late June, Gegard Mousasi surrendered the Bellator middleweight title to Rafael Lovato Jr., losing via majority decision. Shortly after this defeat, Mousasi accused his foe of performance-enhancing drug use.  “I should have won this match even with him using PEDs,” Mousasi said on Vechtersbazen Podcast. “I told the commission that it’s clear that he was on PEDs. (The commissioner) gave me a pat on the shoulder and told me that he was going to get tested on fight day and walked away.”

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.

Cole Shelton - July 18, 2019

Former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee is on a two-fight losing streak and has thus decided to change up camps. After dropping his last fight to Rafael dos Anjos, in a bout that served as his welterweight debut, “The Motown Phenom” is now set to train at TriStar with Georges St-Pierre for his next fight.

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

Back in January, controversial former NFL star Greg Hardy made his UFC debut opposite Allen Crowder. This debut ended in chaos, as Hardy was disqualified after bombing Crowder with an illegal knee. Despite this blunder, Hardy was given a second shot in the UFC’s Octagon. This sophomore outing occurred back in April. This time around, he got the win he was seeking, pelting the outmatched Dmitrii Smoliakov to a decisive first-round TKO win.

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

The Octagon returns to Texas this Saturday for UFC San Antonio. In the main event, top welterweights collide as Rafael dos Anjos takes on Leon Edwards. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. Although Edwards is a slight favorite at -130, while dos Anjos is the underdog at +100, most are favoring the Brazilian to get it done.

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.