MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

Despite an 8-3 promotional record against solid competition, Canadian middleweight Elias Theodorou was recently released by the UFC. The move, though widely derided by fans, has not left Theodorou with any ill will toward the UFC. “I have no ill will toward the UFC,” Theodorou told MMA Junkie. “I don’t think being upset about it does anyone good. Especially myself. I don’t want to burn any bridges, but I also want to look at it in the positive aspects where I’m happy and healthy, and I’ve been successful in 20 of my professional times.”

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

Eddie Alvarez was widely expected to blow through Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin in his ONE Championship debut, which occurred on the stacked ONE: A New Era card in late March. In the end, however, the former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion was stopped by his unheralded opponent in the waning moments of the first round. Despite this setback, Alvarez remains focused on his ultimate goal: the ONE Lightweight World Title. He came to the Singapore-based promotion eager to add a new belt to his crowded trophy case, and he’s still confident he’ll achieve this goal.

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

Last weekend, after a stoppage loss to former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, MMA star Chael Sonnen announced his retirement from the sport. Sonnen retires with an impressive resume. He reached tremendous heights in WEC, the UFC, and Bellator. He defeated top-flight foes like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Michael Bisping, Nate Marquardt, Brian Stann, Yushin Okami, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. He also holds the distinction of being the only man to battle MMA legends Anderson Silva, Jon Jones and Fedor Emelianenko.

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

Despite her lengthy absence from the cage, due to an unfortunate series of injures, Paige VanZant remains one of the most visible stars in the UFC flyweight division. Yet while she is likely only a few wins away from a title shot, she doesn’t envision anybody beating the division’s reigning champion, Valentina Shevchenko. Luckily, VanZant doesn’t expect to ever be tasked with solving the Shevchenko puzzle.

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren is scheduled for his second UFC appearance at UFC 239 on July 6, where he’ll battle fellow contender Jorge Masvidal. It’s conceivable that the winner of this clash will get the next crack at UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman — though that would mean Colby Covington would have to be skipped over once again. Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Ben Askren explained that he believes a win over Jorge Masvidal could very easily put him ahead of Covington in the welterweight contendership race.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2019

Montana De La Rosa is set to return to the Octagon this Saturday at UFC Greenville. There, she is taking on Andrea Lee in a battle between two ranked flyweights. De La Rosa is 3-0 in the division so far, and she understands just how important this fight is for her career. Lee is on a six-fight winning streak and has shown she is one of the best fighters in the division.

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

NEW YORK – June 4, 2019 –Combate Americas today announced six new bouts for its first-ever featherweight (145 pounds) world championship event that will headline the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports franchise’s debut in the state of New Mexico,  live on television in Spanish in the U.S. on both Univision (12 a.m. ET/PT) and UDN (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT), and in English in the U.S. and Canada on DAZN (11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT) from Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho on Friday, June 28. Priced from $19.75, tickets for the Combate Americas world championship event are on sale at CombateAmericas.com/NewMexico.

Tom Taylor - June 18, 2019

The UFC had a difficult time locking down a main event for UFC San Antonio, which goes down on July 20. Eventually, the promotion landed on a welterweight contender bout between Rafael dos Anjos and Leon Edwards, but before that matchup was booked, several others were in consideration. One was a flyweight title fight between champion Valentina Shevchenko and challenger Liz Carmouche. While this matchup failed to come to fruition for the July 20 card in San Antonio, Shevchenko remains hopeful it will be booked soon. She has history with Carmouche, having experienced the first setback of her career against the American, and is eager for the opportunity to even the score. Particularly given the way their first fight ended.

Mike Pendleton - June 17, 2019

Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is currently serving a two-year suspension from USADA for his use of EPO, and recently spoke on his decision to take the banned-substance, but he also discussed more than that in his interview with Chael Sonnen. During his interview on the “You’re Welcome” podcast hosted by Chael Sonnen, Dillashaw discussed the return of his former coach and teammate Urijah Faber who is ending his retirement to take on Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento on July 13, and didn’t hold back in his thoughts on Faber’s return. Faber recently spoke on the possibility of fighting Dillashaw, and it’s a fight that interests him when his former teammate returns from suspension.

Mike Pendleton - June 17, 2019

As the UFC’s lightweight championship picture continues to take shape, the road back to the Octagon for former featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor also seems to be taking shape. Back in March while doing a Q&A with fans McGregor said he feels he owes it to Nate Diaz to have a trilogy fight, but that idea was recently shut down by Diaz himself. When Conor McGregor does decide to return his head coach John Kavanagh has a preference as to what opponent he wants his fighter to face first, and it’s the trilogy fight with Nate Diaz. Speaking to Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Kavanagh spoke about his preference wanting Diaz as McGregor’s next opponent, saying it’s something he’s wanted for a while.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

Last weekend, on the main card of Bellator 222, Dillon Danis improved to 2-0 in MMA with a submission victory over Max Humphrey. Shortly after this sophomore win, the Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist and Conor McGregor stablemate made yet another callout of reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Speaking on Monday’s edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Danis made a bold prediction for a potential fight with the light heavyweight legend. Despite the fact that he would be surrendering roughly 30 pounds of weight to Jones, and quite a bit of height and length, Danis is confident confident he could earn the tap if he attacked the UFC champ’s legs.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 17, 2019

ONE Championship made a successful return to China, with ONE: Legendary Quest selling out the Baoshan Arena in beautiful Shanghai. The biggest winner of the night was no doubt reigning ONE Atomweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion Stamp Fairtex of Thailand, who successfully defended her Muay Thai crown against a very game challenger in Alma Juniku of Australia.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 17, 2019

Tournaments and Grand Prix are excellent for martial arts promotions. It hearkens back to the golden days of competition in a variety of combat sports. ONE Championship is capturing that magic with its various ladder-style tournaments. Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev has already secured himself a spot in the lightweight final on the strength of two KO victories over Ev Ting and Amir Khan. Arslanaliev will face the winner of the Timofey Nastyuhkin vs. Honorio Banario semifinal, which takes place in Manila this August.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

Last month, in the main event of UFC Rochester, long-time UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee made his debut in the welterweight division opposite a fellow former lightweight in Rafael dos Anjos. Unfortunately for Lee, this first welterweight bout didn’t go as planned, as he was submitted by his foe in the fourth round. While Lee didn’t get the result he wanted in this fight, however, he says his preparations went very well.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

From the sounds of it, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is open to a rematch with his last opponent, Conor McGregor, who he submitted at UFC 229 in October. Before this prospective blockbuster can occur, however, the champ wants to see the Irish star put in some work and earn it.

Mike Pendleton - June 17, 2019

The complicated UFC lightweight title picture is starting to look a little clearer. While Khabib Nurmagomedov is scheduled to defend his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September, UFC President Dana White has an idea as to who is likely to get the next title shot thereafter. Following his win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 238, Tony Ferguson extended his winning streak to 12 and once again made a statement that he deserves a title fight. While many fans were left unsatisfied after the Ferguson and Cerrone fight ended by doctor stoppage, Dana White says that he assumes “El Cucuy” is next in line after Nurmagomedov and Poirier battle for the title.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

UFC President Dana White has recently expressed interest in investing in the purchase of an NFL team with former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. When asked about this topic on a recent episode of LVSportsBiz Guerrilla Cross Radio, however, the UFC President peppered in another very interesting detail with respect to his career as a titan of the sporting world. He claims he’s signed a brand new 10-year deal with the UFC. That’s right. Another decade of profanity-laced tirades and interim titles courtesy of Uncle Dana.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

Justin Bieber recently made his way into MMA headlines by calling for a fight with Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise and asking the UFC President Dana White to promote it. I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you dont take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite ?