MMA News

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2019

Gegard Mousasi is set to defend his middleweight title against Rafael Lovato Jr. in the main event of Bellator London tomorrow afternoon. The 33-year-old, Mousasi, will fight professionally for the 53rd time on Saturday. Although he has been fighting professionally since 2003, he admits he doesn’t love the sport. Rather, he is doing it to get paid.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

Speaking to Business Insider ahead of his BKFC 6 showdown with Paulie Malignaggi, Artem Lobov shared his take on a rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor, a long-time friend and training partner of Lobov, lost to Nurmagomedov by submission in October of 2018. Yet Lobov believes the Irish star would perform much better in a rematch with the Russian champion, pointing to McGregor’s rematch with Nate Diaz as evidence.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

On Saturday night, Paulie Malignaggi and Artem Lobov will finally get the chance to settle their score. The pair will meet in the main event of BKFC 6, which kicks off at 9:00pm ET in Tampa, Florida This 10-fight card will be available on pay-per-view on all major cable and satellite providers, as well as on all streaming devices and FITE.tv, at a price of $39.99USD.

Adam Martin - June 21, 2019

Count the co-owner of the UFC among the parties interested in a potential celebrity showdown between Justin Bieber and Tom Cruise. According to a report from TMZ, Ari Emanuel ‚ the co-CEO of William Morris Endeavor — is very interested in booking a fight between Bieber and Cruise. According to the report, Emanuel allegedly called Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun last week and added UFC President Dana White into the call. Emanuel reportedly told Bieber’s camp that he believes Bieber vs. Cruise would be an “epic fight that needed to happen” and TMZ reports that White agreed with him and is on board with the potential showdown.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

Tomorrow night, the UFC will return to our screens with the interesting looking UFC Greenville card. The card will be topped by a featherweight contender bout between undead star “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, and Brazilian finisher Renato Moicano. Both men will be looking to rebound from recent stoppage losses, as The Korean Zombie was snuffed by Yair Rodriguez in his last outing, and Moicano was taken out by the former champ Jose Aldo.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 21, 2019

It was a tough night at the office for Filipino mixed martial arts veteran Eric Kelly at ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST. The former ONE World Title contender came up short against Sanda specialist, Niu Kang Kang last 15 June in Shanghai, China’s Baoshan Arena. Kelly admitted that even before event night, a few things began to go awry. The 37-year old suffered an injury in training, getting a cut from an accidental headbutt.

Natasha Hooper - June 21, 2019

The UFC has officially unveiled a new state-of-the-art training facility in Shanghai, China. On Thursday, the Las Vegas based promotion revealed their 93,000 square foot Performance Institute. The facility is expected to be a prime training destination for fighters in China as the UFC grows its presence in Asia. The building is furnished floor-to-ceiling with new training equipment and an abundance of cages to choose from. There are designated training areas to fulfil all fitness needs including weight training, cardio and swimming. The building features innovative recovery solutions such as Cryotherapy and designated sports science rooms. There are also physiotherapy rooms with trained staff on hand to assist. The vast facility is a point of pride for the promotion that has grown exponentially since its 1993 inception.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

We’re now just a little over 24 hours out from Artem Lobov and Paulie Malignaggi’s anticipated bare knuckle grudge match, which will headline BKFC 6 in Tampa, Florida, this Saturday night. In this eleventh hour, both men have found chances to squeeze in final bits of pre-fight trash talk. “No one respects this guy,” Lobov said at Thursday’s BKFC 6 press conference (via MMA Junkie). “How could you respect this guy? I guarantee you his own parents are watching him at home going, ‘Where did it all go wrong? How did we not bring this guy up the right way? What is wrong with our son?’ I guarantee it happens like this. And they’re asking the same question: ‘Son, what is wrong with you? Seriously, look at what you’re doing.’

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 21, 2019

ONE: Legendary Quest was another successful martial events for ONE Championship as the promotion brought its brand of action to Shanghai once more. In the main event, 21-year-old two-sport world champion Stamp Fairtex successfully defended her ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship against 18-year-old Alma Juniku. The challenger made an excellent account of herself, but in the end, she didn’t have the power or experience necessary to dethrone Stamp.

Tom Taylor - June 21, 2019

On June 29, in the main event of UFC Minneapolis, top heavyweight contenders Junior dos Santos and Francis Ngannou would collide in a fight that should earn the winner a title shot. Ahead of this fight, it’s clear that both men possess impressive striking and fight-altering power. The grappling edge, meanwhile, would seem to rest firmly in the corner of dos Santos.

Christopher Taylor - June 20, 2019

Unfortunate news has struck UFC Greenville, as it is being reported that John Lineker has been forced out of his scheduled fight with Rob Font. Nolan King of MMAJunkie recently reported that Lineker has been forced off this Saturday’s fight card for an undisclosed reason.

Christopher Taylor - June 20, 2019

Former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen retired from the sport of mixed martial arts this past weekend following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222. The setback served as Sonnen’s second in a row, as he was previously defeated by MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in the semifinals of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2019

At UFC 238, the vacant bantamweight title was on the line as top contender Marlon Moraes was taking on flyweight champion Henry Cejudo. After a solid first round, the Brazilian started to fade and Cejudo TKO’d him in the third. After the fight, the Olympic gold medalist mentioned how he wanted to defend both titles. However, that won’t happen this year as Henry Cejudo is out until early 2020 due to shoulder surgery. With that, Petr Yan wants an interim title fight against Aljamain Sterling, who both won their respective bouts at UFC 238.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2019

After Chael Sonnen lost to Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222, “The American Gangster” announced his retirement from MMA. The 42-year-old never reached his goal of capturing a major MMA title, which he considers to be a failure, but he was one of the major draws in the sport. The Oregon native, Chael Sonnen, fought the top names in the sport and knew how to sell a fight with his mouth. The lead up to his title fights with Anderson Silva and his scrap against Tito Ortiz were among the best. And, according to UFC President, Dana White, that made Sonnen stay relevant as he could sell a fight and piss off other fighters.

Adam Martin - June 20, 2019

When ONE Championship signed Sage Northcutt to a big free-agent contract, the thought was he could become one of the promotion’s stars. But after suffering a devastating knockout loss to Cosmo Alexandre in his ONE debut, many have written off Northcutt as an overrated bust, fairly or unfairly. Even UFC president Dana White said Sage Northcutt would be better off leaving the sport of MMA and pursuing other interests. But if you ask ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong, the promotion is still very much behind the 23-year-old talent, and Northcutt’s boss believes “Super Sage” can still be a world champion.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

Irish Bellator star James Gallagher has never shied away from a little pre-fight trash talk, and at the recent Bellator 223 press conference in London, he wound up swapping plenty of that with a teammate of his opponent, Jeremiah Labiano. The drama began during the press conference, when one of Labiano’s teammates began heckling Gallagher from the crowd. Gallagher responded with a firm lecture for his heckler, who he believed was one of his foe’s coaches.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2019

Ahead of UFC 235, it was reported Nick Diaz would return to the Octagon to take on Jorge Masvidal. But, the Stockton native said he never signed a contract and the fight never happened.”Gamebred” then fought Darren Till, who he knocked out back in March. Now, at UFC 239, Masvidal is taking on Ben Askren in a fight that could earn the winner a title shot. Although the stakes are high for this one, “Gamebred” is already eyeing a future opponent in Nate Diaz, Nick’s little brother.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

Robert Whittaker captured the UFC interim middleweight title with a July, 2017 defeat of Yoel Romero. He was then promoted to undisputed champion when Georges St-Pierre vacated the undisputed title in late 2017. Current interim champ Israel Adesanya, who fights Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 in October, believes Whittaker’s unconventional road to middleweight gold casts doubt on his status as a legitimate champion.