MMA News

Mike Heck - July 9, 2019

When it comes to Luke Rockhold’s recent rollercoaster ride with his fighting career, many point to his middleweight title loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 199 as the beginning of the downward trajectory. In fact, Jan Blachowicz was able to use a piece of Bisping’s in-fight strategy at UFC 239 to put him in a position to be in his own world title conversation. Blachowicz picked up a big win on Saturday night when he knocked Rockhold out in the second-round. It was a left hook — the same punch Bisping landed on that magical night in June 2016 — that set up the finish.

Cole Shelton - July 9, 2019

Ricky Simon did not expect to get the offer to fight UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber. Simon believed the UFC would give Urijah Faber a winnable fight in his return to action, and assures that he is not that. The 26-year-old is 15-1 as a pro and undefeated in the UFC. He is coming off of a decision win over Rani Yahya at UFC 234, which cemented him as a top-15 bantamweight. While he was waiting for his next fight contract, he was in the midst of planning a wedding and honeymoon, which he had to cancel the latter when the call to fight Faber came.

Jordy McElroy - July 9, 2019

Paradise, Nevada was on the verge of descending into hell for light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who came within a scorecard of losing a split decision to gutsy contender Thiago Santos at UFC 239 on Saturday night. One opinion is literally all that stood between continuity and a seismic shift in the division ushering in a new era in MMA. A visibly stunned audience at the T-Mobile Arena watched in complete disbelief as a weary and injured Santos was helped back to the locker room. Not far behind him was Jones, arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, leaning on a couple human crutches himself after five rounds of attrition; or rather, five rounds of newfound hope for a light heavyweight division growing stagnant from a lack of star power, aside from its incandescent king.

Cole Shelton - July 9, 2019

Colby Covington will return to the Octagon in the main event of UFC Newark. On this card former interim champion will not be fighting for the welterweight title, as many expected. Instead, he is set to take on the former welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler. It will no doubt be an exciting fight, which “Chaos” admits, but he also wanted this fight for another reason. He believes a win over “Ruthless” will improve his legacy even more, and make him the greatest welterweight of all time.

Natasha Hooper - July 9, 2019

Bellator fighter Dillon Danis was attacked whilst partying at a Burlesque club in New York City. The Daily Mail obtained a video of the attack.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 9, 2019

It would be fair to say there is a lot on the line in the highly-anticipated upcoming rematch between Thailand’s Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy and Italy’s Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan. The pair are set to face off against each other once more on the main event of ONE: Masters of Destiny inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday, 12 July.

Chris Taylor - July 8, 2019

Jon Jones had to put his light heavyweight title on the line just moments after witnessing his friend and training partner Holly Holm suffer a brutal knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 239. The former women’s bantamweight queen, Holm, fell short in her bid to dethrone the current ‘champ champ’, this after eating a nasty head kick in the contests opening round.

Jason Kindschy - July 8, 2019

Jorge Masvidal returns to the show following what many are calling the greatest knockout in UFC history. With all the animosity built up between Masvidal and Ben Askren leading into fight week at UFC 239, there was no question that “Gamebred” had bad intentions for his opponent. However, the spectacular result of a record-breaking flying-knee KO was above and beyond expectation. Smashing his way into the history books and exemplifying the warrior spirit throughout his combat sports tenure, Masvidal is finally becoming the superstar our sport deserves. In this impromptu chat with Jorge, we’ll recap the knee heard round the world, get his reaction to becoming a record holder, find out where things stand with Ben Askren, and what’s next for the American Top Team staple. From back yards to bright lights, the meteoric rise of “Gamebred” is only getting started.

Mike Pendleton - July 8, 2019

During an interview with MMA Junkie at the UFC’s Hall Of Fame ceremony, Tony Ferguson said that he’s getting bored with the lightweight division while he’s awaiting a shot at the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier’s UFC 242 lightweight title fight. Ferguson has won 12 consecutive fights dating back to 2013 with his most recent victory coming at UFC 238 against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, and is awaiting the main event at UFC 242 to see who could possibly be his next opponent. With Khabib Nurmagomedov preparing to defend the lightweight title against interim champion Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson told MMA Junkie that he’s ready to fill-in as an injury replacement if either fighter can’t make it to the main event.

Thomas Taylor - July 8, 2019

John Lineker has found a new home. After being released from the UFC roster earlier this month, the fan favorite has signed with ONE Championship.

Adam Martin - July 8, 2019

UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Santos suffered severe knee injuries in his fight against Jon Jones at UFC 239, and his team says he will be out until mid-2020 at the earliest. According to a report from Combate, an MRI scan taken Monday showed that Santos suffered ruptures in the ligaments of his left knee and meniscus. It’s feared that Santos has also suffered a meniscal injury and partial rupture to the ligaments in his right knee, though Santos will first have to undergo further testing to confirm that.

Mike Pendleton - July 8, 2019

The feud between interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and reigning light heavyweight champion Jon Jones just got turned up a notch. Following Jones’ UFC 239 title defense over Thiago Santos, Adesanya gave his assessment on the champion’s performance, and it wasn’t quite complimentary. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Adesanya rated Jones’ title defense over Santos as “meh” and then continued with his criticism of how Jones looked at UFC 239.

Mike Pendleton - July 8, 2019

Following his record-setting knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239, Ben Askren doesn’t sound ready to stop fighting. Askren suffered his first professional MMA loss to Masvidal this past weekend, and on Monday he provided an update on his fighting future. During an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Ben Askren was asked if he has plans to keep fighting following his loss, and he responded with a quick “yes”.

Tom Taylor - July 8, 2019

Over the weekend, Ben Askren found himself on the wrong end of the new record for the fastest KO in UFC history, succumbing to a Jorge Masvidal flying knee just five seconds into their UFC 239 scrap. Less than 48 hours removed from this violent knockout loss, the former ONE and Bellator welterweight champ appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show to give his take on the way things went down.

Adam Martin - July 8, 2019

UFC president Dana White says he will speak to Holly Holm following her brutal head kick knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 239. “She’s an incredible athlete, an incredible human being. I don’t know. I think she needs to take a look at what’s next for her,” White said at the UFC 239 press conference (h/t MMAFighting.com).

Tom Taylor - July 8, 2019

The record for the fastest KO in UFC history has long belonged to Duane Ludwig, but over the weekend, on the main card of UFC 239, that record was broken. In just five seconds, Jorge Masvidal earned his place in the UFC history books, levelling former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren with a flying knee to the face. Masvidal’s incredible knockout victory left just about everybody watching the card completely stunned — including cage-side UFC commentators Joe Rogan, Paul Felder and Jon Anik. On Monday afternoon, the UFC released footage of the live reaction from this commentary trio, and it pretty well captures the reaction we all had.

Tom Taylor - July 8, 2019

The list of viable opponents for UFC featherweight and bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes is getting shorter and shorter. At UFC 239, which went down in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nunes defended her bantamweight strap with a first-round TKO victory over former champion Holly Holm — one of the few established bantamweight contenders remaining that she had not yet fought.

Natasha Hooper - July 8, 2019

Fans took to social media to mock Ben Askren after his abrupt loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239. However, some fans took it a step further by taking aim at “Funky’s” wife and family. Askren ate a flying knee from his opponent, “Gamebred” Masvidal within five seconds of the first-round. Masvidal made sure to deliver two extra blows to Askren as he fell to the ground, securing his explosive victory. Both fans and fighters were in awe of such a decisive win.