MMA News

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2019

Anthony Pettis is set to take on Nate Diaz at UFC 241. But, that isn’t stopping his manager, Abraham Kawa from thinking of what could be next for the former lightweight champ. Kawa believes if “Showtime” gets past the Stockton native, a fight against Conor McGregor should be next on the agenda. “Even Conor fighting Khabib (Nurmagomedov), I don’t think that’s the fight,” Kawa said to MMA Junkie. “I actually don’t want to see that fight right now. Maybe after a while, yes. But right now I think Conor vs. Anthony is the fight. I’m looking at it as (if) Anthony beats Nate, and I think Conor is next on the horizon.”

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.

Cole Shelton - June 18, 2019

Renato Moicano is set to headline his first-ever UFC card this Saturday at UFC Greenville. The Brazilian is taking on Chan Sung Jung, AKA “The Korean Zombie” in a pivotal featherweight bout. Moicano is coming off of a TKO loss to Jose Aldo, which snapped his two-fight winning streak. Although the 30-year-old lost to the former champion, he believes it was a valuable learning experience and will make him better for this fight.

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.

Mike Pendleton - June 18, 2019

When Deron Winn makes his UFC debut at UFC Greenville next weekend, Daniel Cormier won’t be in his corner, but there’s a good reason for that. “We argue all the time, even when we are coaching high school wrestling, we’ll be arguing throughout the meet.”

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.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

This weekend, in the main event of BKFC 6 in Tampa, Florida, former boxing champ Paulie Malignaggi will meet UFC veteran Artem Lobov in bare knuckle fight. Given his accolades in the boxing arena, Malignaggi is expecting an easy night of work against his foe. And he’s thanking the “f**king stupid” MMA fans that support Lobov for helping to set this easy night of work up for him.

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.

Tom Taylor - June 17, 2019

Aaron Pico has long stood out as one of the hottest prospects on the Bellator MMA roster. Regrettably, the 22-year-old has been brutally knocked out in his two most recent bouts, leaving some real concerns about his future in the sport. Speaking at the Bellator 222 post-fight press conference, shortly after Pico’s knockout loss to Adam Borics, Bellator President Scott Coker discussed the recent rough stretch of this promising prospect.

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.