MMA News

Drake Riggs - April 12, 2019

As is the case with most incidents where fighters get busted for performance-enhancing drug (PED) use, it puts everything in the past into question. That has been no different with former two-time UFC champion, TJ Dillashaw who recently tested positive for EPO use a day prior to his last bout which took place in January. In turn, he is now suspended for two years.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

This week, Israel Adesanya discussed the possibility of a future fight with UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, suggesting that he’d like to collect the scalp of another GOAT contender after beating Anderson Silva this past February. “He was right and when I heard about it – I think maybe two days after he said it – I was like, ‘Oh, really?’” Adesanya told TMZ Sports, discussing Jones’ interest in a fight with him (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I had receipts. I had some screenshots from prior and then I posted them to show that I was already on that same plane. So yeah, great minds think alike.

Nolan King - April 12, 2019

Earlier this month, the MMA world was sent into a tizzy when UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw tested positive for EPO. As a result, the 135-pound king was suspended for two years by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Despite statements being issued from his teammates, coaches, and trainers, Dillashaw remained silent on the issue. However, that changed on Friday afternoon when the 33-year-old bantamweight released a video on Instagram.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is generally known as a polite and level-headed fighter. When he was asked about former UFC middleweight champ Luke Rockhold at Friday’s UFC seasonal press conference, however, Smith showed a fiery side of his personality we don’t often see. “That guys a f***ing piece of shit,” a fired up Smith said of Rockhold. “F**k Luke Rockhold. The first opportunity I get, I’m gonna drill a hole through Luke Rockhold’s f***ing face. I promise you guys that.”

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

It’s that time again! On Friday at 12:00pm ET, the UFC is hosting one its classic, star-studded press conferences to promote its upcoming cards. Watch it live below: This time around, the event is scheduled to feature stars like UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, undefeated welterweight contender Ben Askren, bantamweight and featherweight champ Amanda Nunes, flyweight champ Henry Cejudo, and former welterweight champ Tyron Woodley.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

Lodune Sincaid, a veteran of the first-ever season of The Ultimate Fighter, has passed away at 45 years old. Sherdog was the first to report this unfortunate news. The fighter’s website, LoduneMMA.com, has since issued a statement confirming this tragedy.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

Israel Adesanya is currently gearing up for an interim middleweight title fight with Kelvin Gastelum, which goes down in the co-main event of UFC 236 in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday night. That being said, the Nigerian-born Kiwi is not afraid to look to the future. Part of that future, he says, could be a showdown with UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Adesanya reminds that he’s already beaten one fighter widely considered the Greatest of all Time in Anderson Silva, and would happily take out another.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

On Saturday night, the UFC will return to our screens with UFC 236. The card, which will go down in Atlanta, Georgia, registers as the first to be topped by a pair of interim title fights. The first of these interim championship bouts will occur in the middleweight division, where undefeated striking ace Israel Adesanya will look to defeat brick-fisted wrestler Kelvin Gastelum. The winner of this fight can expect to unify their title with the undisputed belt owned by Robert Whittaker sometime later this year.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

On Friday, ONE Championship returned to The Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines with the stacked ONE: Roots of Honor card. This card was topped by a featherweight title fight between long absent champion Martin Nguyen and former champion Narantungalag Jadambaa, one of the most experienced veterans on the ONE roster.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2019

Israel Adesanya, who battles Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight title in the co-main of UFC 236 this weekend, is believed to have some of the best striking in MMA. The Kiwi kickboxer’s striking is so highly rated that he was actually flown into Florida by renowned coach Henri Hooft in 2015, where he served as a sparring partner for Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. At the time, Johnson was gearing up for a light heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones — a fight that never happened.

Cole Shelton - April 12, 2019

At UFC 236, Khalil Rountree will take on Eryk Anders who is moving back up to light heavyweight. In the eyes of many observers, this fight looks like surefire entertainment. Rountree is no different. He believes this fight could very well be the Fight of the Night.

Chris Taylor - April 11, 2019

The Team of former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn has released a statement following allegations from his former partner. “BJ is in a highly-contested child custody case involving his two young daughters. The order of protection has made serious allegations against BJ.  The allegations are so, misleading, hurtful and false that any further comment by BJ or about BJ would cause more damage to the well-being of his children and potentially further inflame the pending custody proceedings. BJ and his family ask that you respect their privacy at this very difficult time.”

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2019

Like so many of us, Max Holloway is tired of the ongoing Twitter beef between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. In fact, he believes the two UFC stars could achieve a tremendous amount of good if they combined forces. They might even be able to combat climate change (h/t MMA Mania). Holloway first discussed notion in an interview with Sports Illustrated.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2019

Earlier this week, news surfaced that former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw had tested positive for EPO, a powerful performance-enhancer that can only be ingested through injection. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) handed Dillashaw a two-year ban for this incident, but in the eyes of former UFC welterweight champ Matt Serra, that might not be enough. Matt Serra went off on TJ Dillashaw on the UFC Unfiltered podcast this week.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2019

UFC middleweight contender Paulo Costa has been the subject of several doping rumors of late, thanks in large part to the recent comments of his would-be opponent Yoel Romero. While it now sounds like stomach medication could be the reason for Costa’s recent brushes with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), however, his recent opponent Uriah Hall feels there could actually be more at play here. https://youtu.be/kx8ITw1dBEI “I was supposed to fight that dude a while back,” Hall said on Bloody Elbow’s Pull No Punches podcast (transcript via MMA Mania). “He pulled a bicep muscle and I was like ‘What?’ Listen, s**t is going on under the radar here. I don’t know why, I have a feeling, but we’re not stupid.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2019

One of the most anticipated features of the UFC 235 bill was a welterweight showdown between former UFC champ Robbie Lawler and former ONE and Bellator champ Ben Askren. Regrettably, this bout ended in controversy. Mid-way through the first round, Askren locked up a bulldog choke that appeared to lull Lawler to sleep. After referee Herb Dean stopped the action, however, Lawler protested, and the replay revealed that he might not have actually gone out.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2019

This week’s news that former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw had tested positive for EPO, an “injectable only” performance-enhancing substance, sent a shockwave through the MMA community. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan is just as disappointed by this news as the rest of us. “To me, it’s a shame because I’m a TJ fan,” Rogan told his guest Herb Dean on Wednesday’s edition of the Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show (transcript via MMAjunkie) “I think he’s a phenomenal fighter and I’m a big fan of watching him perform. But it just taints his legacy. It just does. There’s no way around it. When you get caught cheating – this stuff, there’s no way it’s not cheating. This is just cheating. This isn’t any accident. It taints your legacy, and the guy had an amazing legacy: two-time bantamweight champion, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters.”

Cole Shelton - April 11, 2019

In the main event of UFC 236, this Saturday, featherweight champion Max Holloway will move up in weight to take on Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship. Ahead of the rematch, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. The consensus is that it will be a close interesting fight.