MMA News

Tom Taylor - April 8, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett is now a Bellator MMA fighter. Although this news broke on April Fools day, it is indeed factual. Bellator President Scott Coker even has an opponent in mind for the heavyweight legend’s debut. Coker first announced that reigning Bellator light heavyweight and heavyweight champ Ryan Bader will defend his heavyweight belt against Cheick Kongo before returning to the light heavyweight division. He then added that Josh Barnett is likely to get an immediate title shot against the winner of Bader and Kongo’s fight.

Cole Shelton - April 8, 2019

Max Griffin is looking to get back into the win column at UFC 236. Griffin is currently on a two-fight losing streak with losses to Curtis Millender and Thiago Alves, although many thought Griffin beat Alves back in February.

Tom Taylor - April 8, 2019

Brock Lesnar is no longer the WWE Universal Champion. He surrendered that title at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday night after getting pinned by Seth Rollins (see it below). https://twitter.com/DokkanBattleGL/status/1115036668984053760 This information is pertinent to MMA fans because it would seem to open the door to a long-discussed heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and reigning champion Daniel Cormier.

Tom Taylor - April 8, 2019

Shortly after he knocked out Chuck Liddell in the debut Golden Boy MMA event in the fall, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz once again implied that he was likely retiring from MMA. “You get that feeling of, ‘Is this the last one?’ I want it to be,” Ortiz said. “It’s a lot of pressure; to impose your will on someone like that every single fight is really, really hard. There’s so much pressure to do that. And I’ve been doing it for 21 years. Now, if I just step out of that game and do it the right way of being a promoter and helping fighters, help them [grow]. And grow the next Tito Ortiz, grow the next Chuck Liddells, grow the next ‘Rampage’ Jacksons, Royce Gracies, Ken Shamrocks, Conor McGregors. And give them an opportunity to make the real money to make.”

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

On March 31, at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Bibiano Fernandes and Kevin Belingon met for what was expected to be a third and final time. Regrettably, this bout ended in controversy. Mid-way through the third round, Fernandes completed a takedown on Belingon. Belingon responded by unleashing a salvo of elbows, most of which seemed to land in the forbidden zone on the back and top of Fernandes’ head.

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

The first time Al Iaquinta met Khabib Nurmagomedov, in the last-minute main event of UFC 223, he had about 24 hours to prepare for the undefeated Russian juggernaut. While Iaquinta ultimately lost this fight by decision, he actually performed better than the vast majority of Nurmagomedov’s other opponents. Speaking on the latest episode of BJPENN.com Radio, Al Iaquinta explained why he’s so confident he could defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov in a rematch — particularly if the fight was preceded by an actual training camp this time around.

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

Back in December, RIZIN Fight Federation flew undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. out to Tokyo to battle one of its brightest young stars, Tenshin Nasukawa, in an exhibition match. Unfortunately for RIZIN, this plan seemed to backfire, as Mayweather walloped the much smaller Nasukawa to a first round knockout. Despite the seemingly disastrous end to this Floyd Mayweather vs. Tenshin Nasukawa fight, RIZIN does not appear to be done flirting with top-level boxers.

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

Last night, on the main card of BKFC 5, UFC veterans Artem Lobov and Jason Knight engaged in one of the best fights of the year so far, hammering each other into bloody messes for five frenzied rounds, with Lobov ultimately earning a unanimous decision win. This brutal bare knuckle brawl unsurprisingly left both Lobov and Knight with significant cosmetic damage. Post-fight, photos of both men have been floating around social media.

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

Artem Lobov wound up winning his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut on Saturday night, but his opponent Jason Knight did not make it easy for him. The two UFC veterans, who met in a featherweight showdown in the BKFC 5 main event, engaged in a bloody war for five frenzied rounds.

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

On Saturday night, bare knuckle fighting powerhouse Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returned to our screens with its fifth paper view, aptly titled BKFC 5. The card, which went down in Biloxi, Mississippi, was topped a 145-pound showdown between former UFC featherweights Artem Lobov and Jason Knight. Lobov, who is a long-time training partner of Conor McGregor, wound up defeating the Mississippi native Knight in an unforgettable five-round war. By the time the action had ended, both men had been pummelled into nearly unrecognizable masses of bruised flesh and coagulated blood.

Tom Taylor - April 7, 2019

Last night, upstart bare knuckle fighting promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returned to our screens with BKFC 5, its fifth pay-per-view. The card, which went down in Biloxi, Mississippi, was topped a 145-pound showdown between UFC veterans Artem Lobov and Jason Knight. Lobov, a key training partner of Conor McGregor, and Knight, a hometown hero in Biloxi, ended up delivering an epic, five-round war, painting the canvas red and thrilling fans watching on-scene and on screens. They also impressed the heck out of their fellow fighters.

Christopher Taylor - April 6, 2019

Former UFC fighters Jason Knight and Artem Lobov squared off in the headliner of tonight’s Bare Knuckle FC 5 event in Biloxi. The fight was an all out war which saw both fighters suffer knockdowns and then fight through adversity.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2019

Former UFC fighters Artem Lobov and Jason Knight squared off in the headliner of tonight’s Bare Knuckle FC 5 event in Biloxi. Lobov enters tonight’s contest looking to rebound from a three fight losing skid. During that stretch, “The Russian Hammer” suffered unanimous decision setbacks to Cub Swanson, Andre Fili and most recently Michael Johnson inside of the octagon.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2019

Former UFC fighter and fan favorite Chris Leben took on Justin Baesman in the co-headliner of tonight’s Bare Knuckle FC 5 event in Biloxi. Chris Leben was most recently seen in action under the WBKFF banner this past November, where he knocked out fellow veteran Phil Baroni in the very first round.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2019

Wrestling icon Bret Hart was attacked by a fan during his WWE Hall Of Fame speech, which forced former UFC fighter Travis Browne, among others, to step in. The incident occurred while Hart was in the ring for his aforementioned Hall Of Fame ceremony.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2019

Bare Knuckle FC 5 takes place tonight at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, the event is headlined by a scrap between Artem Lobov and Jason Knight. The main event will serve as the promotional debut of both fighters, as both Knight and Lobov saw there most recent competition under the UFC banner.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2019

Kelvin Gastelum will take on Israel Adesanya for the UFC’s interim middleweight championship at next weekend’s UFC 236 event in Atlanta. Gastelum was originally slated to challenge current UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker back at UFC 232, but that bout fell through when “The Reaper” was forced to withdraw from the contest due to health reasons.

Nolan King - April 6, 2019

Justin Gaethje is making it known who and which fight he wants next. Always one to run straight into the fire, Gaethje told TMZ earlier this week he is hoping to get a crack at Conor McGregor next — even if he has to travel to Ireland to do it. “There are so many [potential] fights right now, but Conor sounds like he’s coming back, so I’m the man,” Gaethje said in an interview with TMZ. “If he’s going to fight someone it has to be me.”