MMA News
Report | Vladimir Putin allocates $9.3M for school named after Khabib Nurmagomedov
Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will reportedly have a school built in his honor in his native Dagestan. This school will be built using 600 million rubles (9.3M USD) allocated by Russian President Vladimir Putin (h/t Bloody Elbow). This news was announced by Khabib’s father Abdulmanap during an interview with the Teacher’s Newspaper. Abdulmanap claims this project came about after the UFC champion asked Putin to invest in education inside Dagestan during a recent phone call.
18-year-old Muay Thai star Alma Juniku breaks down Shanghai showdown with Stamp Fairtex
Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019
On Saturday, June 15, in the main event of ONE: Legendary Quest in shimmering Shanghai, China, 18-year-old Muay Thai star Alma Juniku will take on champion Stamp Fairtex for the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title. Ahead of this mammoth Muay Thai showdown, the Albanian-Australian talent had a quick chat with BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor.
Dana White interested in partnering with Fertitta brothers in NFL ownership
Adam Martin - June 12, 2019
Just a few days ago, former UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said he was interested in potentially owning an NFL team down the road once an opportunity arises. Now, it appears his former business partner Dana White wants to join him in that venture. The UFC President recently spoke to TMZ Sports and said that if Lorenzo and his brother Frank purchase an NFL team that he would be interested in partnering with them.
Khabib Nurmagomedov rules out move to welterweight
Adam Martin - June 12, 2019
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been a dominant force at lightweight and many want him to move up to welterweight at some point, but the UFC lightweight champion has shot down any idea of him moving up a weight class anytime soon. Speaking at the UFC 242 press conference on Wednesday in London, Nurmagomedov told the media that he has no interest in moving up to 170lbs to fight that division’s champion Kamaru Usman.
Khabib Nurmagomedov rips Conor McGregor, shuts down rematch talk
Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019
From the moment Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event in October, there has been talk of an immediate rematch between the two lightweight stars. The fight wasn’t particularly competitive, but it was a massive financial success, and a rematch would surely be the same. And of course, McGregor’s fight-altering power — and the ever present possibility of a knockout that it creates — will always make his fights interesting.
Khabib Nurmagomedov believes wins over three opponents will make him P4P king
Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019
Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is already one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. To cement himself as the pound-for-pound best fighter alive, however, he believes he needs to defeat three specific opponents. Those opponents are Dustin Poirier, who he’ll meet at UFC 242 on September 7 in Abu Dhabi, his long-time rival Tony Ferguson, and former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Myanmar's Phoe Thaw is pumped for first ONE bout outside of his homeland
BJPENN.COM Staff - June 12, 2019
Myanmar’s Phoe Thaw will step into the unknown on 15 June when he faces off against Indonesian veteran Victorio “Indra” Senduk at ONE: Legendary Quest in Shanghai, China. This contest will be the first matchup that Phoe Thaw has competed in outside of his home country, and the 34-year-old is thrilled that he has been given this chance to showcase his talents to an entirely new set of fans.
Bellator 222 | Pro fighters make their picks for Chael Sonnen vs. Lyoto Machida
Cole Shelton - June 12, 2019
Bellator returns to Madison Square Garden in New York City with the stacked Bellator 222 card this weekend. The card sees two titles on the line and an intriguing light heavyweight matchup between Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida. Ahead of the light heavyweight showdown, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions on this light heavyweight matchup. And, the consensus is that Sonnen will use his wrestling and grind out a win.
Crane accident crushes home of UFC star Macy Chiasson
Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019
Disaster has struck in the life of UFC bantamweight contender Macy Chiasson. On Sunday, during a severe windstorm in the Dallas area, a construction crane collapsed and fell on her apartment building, destroying her home and all of her possessions. She was lucky to escape with her life and her dog.
Spotlighting the Chinese warriors who will compete at ONE: Legendary Quest
BJPENN.COM Staff - June 12, 2019
ONE Championship continues to establish itself in mainland China. The next event takes place in Shanghai on 15 June, called ONE: Legendary Quest, and there are five Chinese athletes scheduled to compete on the card. Those warriors will help to set the table for the co-main event, Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Agilan Thani, and the main event between ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Stamp Fairtex against 18-year-old world prodigy Alma Juniku. The match between Stamp and Juniku has a combined age of just 39, which is a record for a ONE Championship title bout.
Team Rose Namajunas responds to Andrade vs. Zhang fight
Mike Pendleton - June 11, 2019
Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas hopes to get a rematch with current champion Jessica Andrade, but she’s first looking to take some time off to recover from a neck injury. Following the news that Andrade will face Weili Zhang at UFC China in late August, Namajunas’ manager Brian Butler released a statement to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. Reached out to Rose Namajunas’ (@rosenamajunas) manager Brian Butler (@BrianButler_Au) for their reaction to the Andrade/Zhang title fight. Here’s what Brian told me. pic.twitter.com/cNFjNInAgd
Donald Cerrone provides update on eye after loss to Tony Ferguson
Thomas Taylor - June 11, 2019
Over the weekend, in the middle bout of the UFC 238 main card, Donald Cerrone stepped into the Octagon with streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson. This bout was widely expected to capture the card’s Fight of the Night honors, and in the end it did just that. Unfortunately, it did end with a degree of controversy, as Cerrone was deemed unfit to continue fighting between the second and third rounds.
Jessica Andrade vs Weili Zhang targeted for UFC China
Mike Pendleton - June 11, 2019
After winning the UFC women’s strawweight title in her home country of Brazil, new champion Jessica Andrade is reportedly heading into enemy territory for her first title defense. According to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, while contracts haven’t been signed, a strawweight title fight between Andrade and Weili Zhang is close to being finalized for UFC China which will take place on August 31, in Shenzhen, China and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
Conor McGregor once again places on list of highest paid athletes
Tom Taylor - June 11, 2019
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has once again earned a spot on Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes in the world. The Irish MMA star didn’t place in the top-10 this year, instead coming at No.21 with $47M in earnings. McGregor’s former opponent and long-time rival Floyd Mayweather, who held the No.1 spot last year, has vanished from the list all together. The top spot is now occupied by Lionel Messi, while other names in the top-10 include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Canelo Alvarez, Roger Federer, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. No other UFC fighters appear on the list, though boxers like Gennady Golovkin, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder do.
Rafael dos Anjos bashes Conor McGregor, Justin Bieber for recent comments
Tom Taylor - June 11, 2019
In the span of a few hours on Sunday, pop star Justin Bieber called for a UFC fight with actor Tom Cruise, and former two-division champion Conor McGregor offered to promote it. Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, like many members of the MMA community, finds all of this completely ridiculous. In fact, he wishes he could go back in time to an era where things like this were a little less common.
Aljamain Sterling likes chances against Henry Cejudo: 'Where does he win?'
Tom Taylor - June 11, 2019
UFC 238 was a big night for the bantamweight division. In the main event, flyweight champion Henry Cejudo captured the vacant bantamweight title with a TKO defeat of Marlon Moraes, while on the prelims, Aljamain Sterling established himself as the division’s top contender with a victory over Brazil’s Pedro Munhoz. While Henry Cejudo followed his bantamweight title win with callouts of Cody Garbrandt, Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, it seems likely that he’ll find himself defending the title against Aljamain Sterling in the near future.
Ricardo Lamas details brutal injuries sustained in Calvin Kattar fight
Adam Martin - June 11, 2019
One of the most brutal knockouts on the UFC 238 prelims went flying under the radar due to the the main card featuring three finishes involving bigger-name fighters. On the preliminary card, rising featherweight contender Calvin Kattar brutally knocked out Ricardo Lamas late in the first round with punches. It was a nasty knockout loss for Lamas in front of his friends and family in Chicago, and one that has led some to push for Lamas to consider hanging up his gloves.
Aaron Pico says top featherweights are still turning down fights with him
Cole Shelton - June 11, 2019
At Bellator 222 inside Madison Square Garden, highly touted prospect Aaron Pico will return to the cage to take on Adam Borics. He’ll be looking to rebound from a knockout loss to Henry Corrales. Although Pico is coming off of a loss, he is ready to return and believes he’s taken the perfect amount of time off. With the loss, the highly regarded prospect also decided to take a step back and go back to the drawing board. He even undertook a camp change to JacksonWink MMA.