MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee recently had her first taste of defeat. This unappetizing dish was served up at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo in March when, after a four frenetic rounds of action, she was stopped by a volley of fifth-round strikes from ONE Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan. Lee does not plan on having a second serving.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

Junior dos Santos is going to have his hands full in the UFC Minneapolis main event, where he will take on arguably the hardest puncher in MMA history in Francis Ngannou. He knows full well how dangerous the task at hand is. “Ngannou is a really strong guy, has heavy hands,” dos Santos told MMA Fighting recently. “I think it’s no exaggeration to say he’s the most dangerous man in MMA today. A punch that connects, even if it only grazes, will knock you out. He’s a dangerous guy and I’m getting ready for that. I know his potential, the danger he offers in the fight, but that’s the type of challenge that excites me.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2019

Earlier this month, in the main event of UFC Stockholm, Anthony Smith picked up arguably the biggest win of his MMA career, submitting three-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson. In the moments after this loss, Gustafsson announced his plan to retire from MMA — which is why Luke Rockhold didn’t find Smith’s win very impressive. Rockhold has previously been very critical of Smith’s ability, and saw nothing special in his defeat of Gustafsson, who had seemingly lost his will to fight.

Natasha Hooper - June 28, 2019

Eddie Alvarez is a firm believer in the old adage that respect is earned, not given. Despite having a great track record and wins over notable stars including Anthony Pettis and Rafael Dos Anjos, Alvarez is now back to square one in ONE Championship and is ready to earn any respect he receives. Back in March, Eddie Alvarez made his ONE Championship debut against Timofey Nastyukhin. He experienced a first-round TKO at the hands of the Russian fighter. Many fans predicted Alvarez would win and were shocked by the outcome. There were residual expectations coming from his UFC and Bellator careers that not all debuting ONE Championship fighters have to contend with.

Christopher Taylor - June 27, 2019

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has offered to train Robert Whittaker for his title unification bout with Israel Adesanya. The news come shortly after ‘Bones’ complimented Whittaker in a recent interview calling him the ‘real deal’ and ‘a stand-up guy’, this while adding that he can’t wait to see Robert ‘stomp a mudhole’ in the face of Israel Adesanya.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

According to former UFC bantamweight champion, Miesha Tate, the career of Ronda Rousey is more desirable than that of Amanda Nunes. When Amanda Nunes beat Cris Cyborg at UFC 232, to become the featherweight and first female champ-champ, the consensus was that she was the greatest female fighter of all-time. And, she even admitted that herself.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

Daniel Cormier did not get the Brock Lesnar fight he so desired. Instead, the heavyweight champion will now rematch Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 241. Given “DC” already beat Miocic, he understands what he needs to do to win the fight again. But, the motivation is not the same for this fight, and the heavyweight champion admits that.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Many have been wondering how Jon Jones would fare in the heavyweight division and Francis Ngannou wouldn’t mind being a dance partner. Ngannou and Jones are currently on different paths. ‘The Predator’ is set to take on former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in the main event of UFC Minneapolis this Saturday night (June 29). Meanwhile, ‘Bones’ is scheduled to defend his light heavyweight gold against Thiago Santos in the UFC 239 headliner on July 6.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Joseph Benavidez already has a victory over Henry Cejudo and he feels lightning can strike twice. Benavidez and Cejudo shared the cage back in Dec. 2016. Cejudo was coming off a first-round TKO loss to Demetrious Johnson. In the first round against Benavidez, Cejudo was deducted a point for low blows. The bout went the distance and Benavidez was awarded the split decision victory. Since that bout, Cejudo has gone 5-0 and he is the UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

Fight fans love to debate about the greatest fighter of all time. But in the eyes of UFC President Dana White, there’s really no sense in debating it anymore. He believes reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has irrefutable claim to that title — which is especially impressive considering the troubles he’s had outside the cage. “This isn’t about a dominant, dominant champion. This is about the greatest of all time,” Dana White said in an interview with ESPN (transcript via MMA News). “We’re at a point now where, to keep saying, ‘Oh, he could possibly….’ He is. He’s it. Jon Jones is it. Nightmare outside of the Octagon, nightmare for opponents inside the Octagon. And when you look at what this guy has been able to do, the fact that we can sit here…I call him the greatest, you don’t disagree, and most other people wouldn’t, either, and the lifestyle that he’s lived outside the Octagon is pretty amazing. I mean, this guy is a freak of nature. He’s phenomenal. He’s the best ever.”

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 27, 2019

Thiago Santos doesn’t view Jon Jones as an unstoppable force. On July 6, Santos will challenge Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title. This will be Jones’ second title defense in his current reign. As for “Marreta,” it’ll be his first title opportunity under the UFC banner. Jones vs. Santos headlines UFC 239 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC Greenville card, and as expected “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung has taken a big climb up the featherweight list on the strength of his first-round drubbing of Renato Moicano. In fact, the Korean Zombie has caused something of a domino effect at featherweight, as his recent opponent Yair Rodriguez has also taken a big climb up the ranks, while a host of others have dropped down two or three spots each.

Adam Martin - June 27, 2019

Although Georges St-Pierre officially announced his retirement from the UFC back in February, his long-time head trainer at Tristar gym still believes he could one day return to the Octagon. Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Zahabi admitted that the welterweight legend is still training in his hometown of Montreal, and that he thinks St-Pierre could make a return to the Octagon if the right offer materializes.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

Colby Covington was widely expected to get the first crack at new UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, but after a series of twists and turns, he ultimately found himself booked for a crucial welterweight contender bout with the former champion Robbie Lawler instead. Surprisingly, Covington seems to be just fine with this matchup. He gave his take on how it all came to be on the latest episode of BJPenn.com Radio. 

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

Earlier this week, news surfaced that UFC President Dana White is working with the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) to potentially overturn the lone loss on the record of Jon Jones: a 2009 disqualification against Matt Hamill. This controversial loss occurred when Jones unloaded a series of illegal, 12-6 elbows on Hamill, and White — along with UFC commentator Joe Rogan — feels like it should have been ruled a win for the future champ.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

Jorge Masvidal is not a big fan of trash talk. The welterweight contender prefers to do his talking in the Octagon. But there is one person who Masvidal can get behind in terms of trash talking, and that is Henry Cejudo. He likes the Olympic gold medalist’s talk because the champ-champ backs it up.

Tom Taylor - June 27, 2019

If Junior dos Santos defeats Francis Ngannou at UFC Minneapolis this weekend, he hopes it’ll earn him a heavyweight title shot — though he doesn’t intend to wait for that opportunity. If he does re-capture heavyweight gold, dos Santos then plans to challenge one of the top boxing champions in the world — something he attempted to do during his first reign as UFC champion. “Back when I was the champion in 2012, I challenged Wladimir Klitschko, he was the champion at that time, and I said I would beat Wladimir Klitschko in a boxing match but of course I’m not a good promoter like Conor McGregor and he got the fight against [Floyd] Mayweather,” Junior dos Santos told MMA Fighting this week. “Klitschko actually replied to me, he said anytime, anywhere, something like that. But then I lost my belt, I lost the fight to Velasquez and I lost the belt so it didn’t make much sense anymore to promote that fight.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2019

The Octagon returns to Minnesota this Saturday for UFC Minneapolis. In the main event of the card, Francis Ngannou is taking on Junior dos Santos in a pivotal heavyweight clash. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. In this case, a few believe Ngannou will be able to knock out dos Santos, while the rest think the Brazilian will use his wrestling and experience to win this fight.