MMA News

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.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

UFC flyweight star Paige VanZant will explore free agency after her next fight, which will mark the final obligation on her current UFC contract. “I am, yeah,” VanZant said when asked about free agency on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (via Bloody Elbow). “You know, it’s more for me, I want to prove my worth. And obviously, with my arm injuries I’ve had three surgeries in a row now. Even though I’m so popular, I guess… I’ve been doing amazing things outside the UFC—Sports Illustrated, Dancing with the Stars, all these amazing things. I want to show, ‘Hey, I’m a huge player in this division. I’m a huge player in the UFC.’ And I think it’s going to take one more fight to do that.”

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.

Natasha Hooper - June 20, 2019

The Bellator 223 press conference held today at Leicester Square in London answered many questions about the future of the promotion, particularly in the European market. Scott Coker, the CEO of Bellator and a veteran fight promoter, made his thoughts very clear. During the conference, he discussed the expansion of the promotion on the continent next year:

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

BKFC President Dave Feldman has apparently invited former two-division UFC champ Conor McGregor to BKFC 6 in Tampa to watch his good friend Artem Lobov battle his nemesis Paulie Malignaggi. While Feldman has not yet gotten confirmation from McGregor’s camp, he’s confident the Irishman could be in attendance. “They won’t give confirmation yet but if I’m a betting man, I’m betting he’s coming,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “They’re not going to give confirmation and if they are, they’re not going to tell us so we put it out there ‘hey Conor McGregor’s coming to the fight’ and then he’s mobbed. So it’s not going to happen like that but from the conversations I’m having, if I was going to bet on it, he’ll be there but who knows.”

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

Henry Cejudo, now the UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion, could be out of action for quite some time. After a busy start to 2019, he’s gone under the knife to repair a torn subscapularis muscle, and his recovery could keep him out of action for the remainder of the year. This according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Cejudo sustained this shoulder injury in his UFC 238 bantamweight title fight with Marlon Moraes. After a rough opening round, Cejudo gradually took control of the fight, and ultimately finished his dangerous Brazilian foe in the third round, winning the vacant bantamweight belt.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2019

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship returns this Saturday for their biggest card to date. In the card’s main event, Artem Lobov welcomes Paulie Malignaggi into BKFC. Ahead of this fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. And, the majority believe the boxer will get it done, but some think Lobov will be too much for Malignaggi.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2019

This weekend, in the main event of Bellator 223, Gegard Mousasi will attempt to defend the Bellator middleweight strap opposite Rafael Lovato Jr. If he’s successful on this mission, he may then seek a second title in another Bellator division. Previously, Mousasi has expressed interest in moving up to the light heavyweight division to battle reigning champion Ryan Bader for his belt. That being said, he’s now hinting at a potential move down to welterweight, but only if Douglas Lima captures the title from Rory MacDonald, as Mousasi has already decisively beaten MacDonald.

Adam Martin - June 20, 2019

The two best middleweights in MMA are set to fight in a title unification bout this fall. According to a report from Raphael Marinho of Combate, UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker will take on interim UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the main event of UFC 243, which takes place October 6 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It is the biggest fight in MMA history between fighters from Australia and New Zealand.

Christopher Taylor - June 19, 2019

UFC President Dana White recently shared his thoughts on the post-UFC fight career of current Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. MacDonald had made headlines earlier this year, this after he questioned his desire to inflict pain on others following a draw with Jon Fitch.

Cole Shelton - June 19, 2019

Back in March, Conor McGregor announced his retirement from MMA. Many people believed it was only to keep him in the headlines and he would soon return to action. But, as of right now, there is still no word on if or when the Irishman will return to the Octagon. According to his teammate in James Gallagher, he believes the former champ-champ won’t return unless he gets what he deserves. What Conor McGregor  deserves, says Gallagher is a share in the UFC.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2019

Tony Ferguson wants a shot at the UFC lightweight title currently owned by Khabib Nurmagomedov. Riding high on 12-straight wins over some of the division’s best fighters, he’s more than earned the opportunity, and he’s getting tired of waiting. As it turns out, his fans are tired of waiting too.

Adam Martin - June 19, 2019

Former Ultimate Fighter winner Julianna Pena has not fought since January 2017, but she’ll be making her return to the Octagon next month at UFC Sacramento. According to Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com, Pena is stepping up on short notice to replace the injured Sara McMann and take on Nicco Montano in a women’s bantamweight bout at UFC Fight Night 155, which takes place July 13 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 19, 2019

At ONE: Enter the Dragon in Singapore last May 17, Sage Northcutt’s ONE Championship debut didn’t last very long. Unfortunately for Northcutt, he was on the losing end of a destructive finish. As tough of an evening as it was for Northcutt, there is still room for recovery and improvement. There are a lot of things in his favor, but let’s first break down how it all happened.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2019

Earlier this month, in the co-main event of UFC 238 in Chicago, Kyrgyzstan’s Valentina Shevchenko defended the UFC flyweight title with a beautiful head kick knockout of challenger Jessica Eye. Shortly after this dazzling victory, she received a congratulatory phone call from Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. This isn’t the first this has happened, but it was still a pretty special moment for the flyweight champ.

Tom Taylor - June 19, 2019

UFC President Dana White has long teased a move into the boxing business, and with the unveiling of the new UFC Apex facility, and rumors that UFC parent company Endeavor could potentially purchase Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), that move is looking more imminent than ever. If White does jump into the boxing industry, he is confident he can breathe new life into the sport, which he believes is hindered by a broken business model.