MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 11, 2019

Multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Michelle Nicolini has been waiting for her name to be called since her last bout back in November of 2018. On 12 July, she makes her highly-anticipated return in the co-main event of ONE: Masters of Destiny at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Nicolini’s first ONE Championship test for 2019 comes in the form of reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion and former ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title challenger Angela “Unstoppable” Lee of Singapore.

Tom Taylor - July 11, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC 239 card, and as expected, there have been some big changes. Most notably, reigning UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes has taken a big climb up the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, carried by her head kick induced stoppage of former champ Holly Holm.

Cole Shelton - July 11, 2019

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is set to return to the Octagon this Saturday when he takes on Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento. This bout will be Faber’s first since he retired in 2016. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Although the 26-year-old in Simon is a -340 favorite, compared to Faber who is a +260 underdog, many are leaning towards the Hall of Famer getting it done.

Tom Taylor - July 11, 2019

Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov crossed paths at UFC 239, and in a twist that should surprise absolutely nobody, the two long-time rivals promptly had to be separated. UFC President Dana White revealed at the card’s post-fight press conference that the pair had been “talking s**t to each other,” at which point security intervened.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 11, 2019

There will be three different combat sports on display at ONE: Masters of Destiny on 12 July at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but each bout could potentially end in a  knockout. Here is a look at the most prolific knockout artists competing on the ONE Championship card. 

Tom Taylor - July 11, 2019

Michael Chiesa picked up a big win at UFC 239, defeating The Ultimate Fighter season one winner Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision. Yet he didn’t escape the Octagon unscathed. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday, Chiesa divulged that Sanchez gave him what fight fans often refer to as an “oil check.”

Natasha Hooper - July 11, 2019

UFC 239 was an action-packed fight card that featured legendary moments that will go down in UFC history. This includes the now infamous flying knee from Jorge Masvidal. The event took place last Saturday 6th July at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 11, 2019

Malaysian women’s atomweight contender Jihin Radzuan — known by the nickname “Shadowcat” — will be defending her home country’s pride against the Philippines’ Jomary Torres at ONE: Masters of Destiny this coming Friday, July 12 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Apart from an impressive 4-1 professional record, the up-and-coming Malaysian prospect is also the owner of one of the more unique monikers in mixed martial arts, and it is something that has made fellow athletes and fans quite curious.

Adam Martin - July 10, 2019

Thiago Santos had the biggest fight of his MMA carer this past Saturday against Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 239. Thought he officially lost a split decision, he gained the respect of the entire MMA community for not only giving Jones a tough fight, but for fighting 25 minutes with two severely-damaged knees. Although Santos will be out until mid-2020 after having knee surgery, he told Combate that he isn’t giving up hope of eventually fighting Jones for a second time.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 10, 2019

Daniel Cormier is riding high going into UFC 241 and he now has one more thing to celebrate. Cormier is set to put his heavyweight gold on the line against Stipe Miocic in a rematch. In their first encounter back in July 2018, Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to capture the UFC heavyweight title. They’ll run it back inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Aug. 17.

Cole Shelton - July 10, 2019

Forbes has released their 2019 highest-paid celebrity list (money earned from 2018) and there is only one MMA fighter on the list and that is Conor McGregor. The Irishman came in at 65 out of the 100 and earned an estimated $47 million. Forbes lists how he got that money which includes a $30 million payout from his UFC 229 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov, after his base salary and pay-per-view bonuses. He also collected $5 million from Reebok and his whiskey company, Proper Twelve sold over 200,000 cases. He was also the 21st highest paid athlete for the year according to Forbes, even after fighting just once, and it is the fourth-straight year he is on that athlete-centric list.

Tom Taylor - July 10, 2019

Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker don’t even know where their UFC 243 middleweight title fight will occur yet, but Adesanya is already letting the trash talk fly. Speaking at the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony over the weekend, the interim champion Adesanya shared his thoughts on his first staredown with the undisputed champ Whittaker.

Cole Shelton - July 10, 2019

Jorge Masvidal is now a UFC record holder. At UFC 239, “Gamebred” took on Ben Askren. To start the fight, he ran across the cage and landed a perfectly placed flying knee that knocked his foe out cold. The official time of the knockout was five seconds, which is still the record. But, as Joe Rogan pointed on the broadcast, had the ref gotten in position faster, it could have very well been two or three seconds.

Adam Martin - July 10, 2019

Former UFC featherweight title contender Chad Mendes has officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts at age 34. Although previously reported to be retired, Mendes did not confirm that he was officially done with the sport until Tuesday. Mendes told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto he has notified the UFC of his retirement, and he has been removed from the USADA testing pool.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 10, 2019

Robert Whittaker has no plans to be goaded into a verbal spat with Israel Adesanya. Whittaker and Adesanya are set to collide in a middleweight title unification bout on Oct. 5. The championship tilt will serve as UFC 243’s main event. While the headliner and event have been announced, a location has not. While many had anticipated Melbourne, UFC president Dana White revealed during the summer press conference 2019 that nothing is a lock yet.

Tom Taylor - July 10, 2019

At UFC 239, Holly Holm sought to usurp the UFC bantamweight throne by unseating reigning champion Amanda Nunes. Regrettably for Holm and her dedicated fanbase, this mission did not go as planned, as she was stopped by a first-round head kick and volley of followup punches. Speaking in a video on her Instagram story on Tuesday, Holm addressed this tough setback, assuring her fans that she will keep moving forward, as the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive played in the background.

Natasha Hooper - July 10, 2019

Alexander Gustafsson is reconsidering his retirement. The Swedish fighter announced his retirement in Stockholm last month, after receiving a submission loss from Anthony Smith.

Tom Taylor - July 10, 2019

Ahead of his light heavyweight debut opposite Jan Blachowicz, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold had a lot to say about a handful of the division’s top stars — namely the champion Jon Jones and top-ranked contender Anthony Smith. In the end, of course, Rockhold’s debut in the division did not go the way he envisioned, as he was knocked out by Blachowicz in the second round.