MMA News
UFC Philadelphia | Edson Barboza not afraid to trade leg kicks with Justin Gaethje
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
Edson Barboza and Justin Gaethje, who will collide in the main event of UFC Philadelphia this weekend, are revered as two of the most ferocious leg kickers in MMA. Yet in the opinion of Barboza, there is simply no comparison.
Jorge Masvidal responds to callouts from Ben Askren and Leon Edwards
Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019
UFC welterweight standout Jorge Masvidal has some options for his next fight. After knocking out Darren Till two weekends ago, both Ben Askren and Leon Edwards have been calling for a fight with “Gamebred”.
Reasons to watch Bellator 219
Mike Straus - March 28, 2019
The Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California will host this weekend’s Bellator 219 event. In a weekend chock-full of high level mixed martial arts action, it can be easy to overlook some intriguing fights that slip through the cracks. With a ton of hype being thrown in the direction of UFC Philadelphia, and for good reason, and with ONE Championship hosting their most anticipated event yet, Bellator 219 could be one such card. No worries, that’s why you are reading this. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons to tune in this Friday to Bellator 219.
Jose Aldo provides update, still unsure if he'll be able to fight at UFC 237
Drake Riggs - March 28, 2019
UFC 237 is set to go down on May 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the evening’s co-main event, legendary featherweight icon, Jose Aldo looks to take out another rising contender in Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski. Unfortunately for Aldo, his fight is now up in the air after suffering a bacterial infection from a cut last week that resulted in his hospitalization.
Michael Bisping gives his take on TJ Dillashaw drug testing situation
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
Earlier this month, TJ Dillashaw relinquished the UFC bantamweight belt after one of his recent drug tests turned up adverse findings. In the opinion of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, who discussed the issue on his popular Believe You Me podcast, Dillashaw’s choice to relinquish the belt before the United States Anti-Doping Agency had reached a verdict on his case is nearly an admission of guilt. “I don’t break the circle of trust,” Bisping said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I don’t speak outside of school. I don’t tell tales outside of f*cking tale-telling time but I’m telling you this, circle of trust or not, no motherf*cker relinquishes their belt out of respect for the rest of the division. It ain’t about the rest of the division, it’s about me. I’m not gonna relinquish my belt once I destroy the competition and become the champion. I’m not gonna relinquish my belt out of respect for the competition. You just wouldn’t do that. So that in itself – and I apologize if I’m wrong – is almost an admittance of guilt. It really is.
EXCLUSIVE | Pro fighters make their picks for Edson Barboza vs Justin Gaethje
Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019
The UFC is heading back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for UFC on ESPN 2 this weekend. In the main event, Edson Barboza will be taking on Justin Gaethje in a matchup that has Fight of the Year written all over it. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Here’s what they had to say.
EXCLUSIVE | After first staredown, Yuya Wakamatsu believes Demetrious Johnson is 'intimidated'
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
Yuya Wakamatsu is being counted out by almost everybody as he prepares to battle former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson this Sunday at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan. However, the 24-year-old Japanese fighter feels that he has some crucial advantages heading into this matchup with the MMA legend. One such advantage is his size.
Justin Gaethje shrugs off Anthony Pettis callout, has other plans
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
This weekend, in the main event of UFC Philadelphia, former WSOF lightweight champion Justin Gaethje will go to war with fellow fan favorite Edson Barboza. If Gaethje is able to win this fight, he’ll take a big step up the lightweight rankings and open the door to a host of compelling matchups.
EXCLUSIVE | ATT owner Dan Lambert has a suggestion for anyone who doesn't want to see Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier
Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019
The UFC’s lightweight division will hopefully get a little more organized come UFC 236. In the main event, featherweight champion Max Holloway will move up in weight to take on Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship. However, some fans aren’t thrilled about this matchup, as they thought Tony Ferguson or another lightweight contender deserved the opportunity to fight for gold. American Top Team owner Dan Lambert is not one of those people.
UFC Philadelphia | Karolina Kowalkiewicz says the UFC gave her a new nickname without telling her
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
If you look at the lineup for this weekend’s UFC Philadelphia card, you’ll see that Michelle Waterson is set to battle former strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Ahead of this compelling fight, the UFC has been referring to Kowalkiewicz as the “Polish Princess.” She says the UFC made this nickname up for her, and she didn’t find out about it until she saw it in UFC Philadelphia promotional material.
EXCLUSIVE | Chatri Sityodtong opens up on meeting with Georges St-Pierre
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong recently had a meeting with former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in Singapore. Given Sityodtong’s recent habit of signing high profile mixed martial artists to ONE Championship, some members of the combat sports world speculated that he could be working on a deal with St-Pierre.
Dustin Poirier sees some issues in UFC PPV's moving to ESPN+
Cole Shelton - March 27, 2019
The UFC made a shocking announcement just over a week ago: all pay-per-views will now be sold through ESPN+ for Americans. Immediately after the news, many fans and fighters took to Twitter to question the move and how it would impact PPV buys.
Report | Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler agree to rematch as UFC Minneapolis headliner
Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019
Following UFC 235 and former UFC welterweight champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler’s (18-3) somewhat controversial first-round submission loss to Ben Askren, the idea from UFC President Dana White was to run the fight back as soon as possible. Well, one of Lawler’s old fights will be ran back alright… But it won’t be that one. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has since reported that verbal agreements are in place for Lawler to rematch with Askren’s good friend and teammate, the man who dethroned Lawler, Tyron Woodley (19-4-1) at UFC Minneapolis on June 29.
BREAKING | UFC 239 gets Jon Jones and Amanda Nunes title defenses
Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019
UFC 239 only has one fight announced for it with the light heavyweight debut of former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold taking on Jan Blachowicz. That was the only bout announced… Until Wednesday afternoon. ESPN has confirmed that UFC 239 will host two big-time title fights on July 6 in the light heavyweight and bantamweight divisions. Meaning the champion, Jon Jones (24-1) will face Brazil’s dangerous “Marreta,” Thiago Santos (21-6).
BREAKING | Henry Cejudo moves up to face Marlon Moraes for the vacant bantamweight title at UFC 238
Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019
With TJ Dillashaw now out of the picture due to his relinquishing of the title following an “adverse finding” in one of his drug tests ahead of UFC Brooklyn, it’s time for a new champion to be crowned. It was practically a foregone conclusion that the next bantamweight title fight would at the very least feature the undeniable top contender, former World Series of Fighting king, “Magic” Marlon Moraes (22-5-1). It was just a matter of who against.
Stipe Miocic responds to Jon Jones
Cole Shelton - March 27, 2019
Jon Jones’ potential move up to heavyweight may be happening sooner than anticipated. If he does move up, the fight that is expected to take place will pit “Bones” against Stipe Miocic. The rumors first started when ESPN analyst and Bellator fighter, Chael Sonnen mentioned the two possibly fighting each other this July.
Report: Ben Saunders Meets Promotional Newcomer at UFC Sunrise
Nolan King - March 27, 2019
Tuesday morning, UFC Unfiltered featured UFC President Dana White as the lead guest. The UFC don dropped a number of tidbits — one of which being a bout between Ben Saunders was in the works for UFC Sunrise. However, later that evening Ariel Helwani reported a bout between Mike Perry and Alex Oliveira was in the works for the event, while Damon Martin tweeted Ben Saunders would be facing a UFC newcomer.
Paige VanZant lands lead color commentator gig
Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019
Former UFC strawweight prospect turned flyweight, ’12 Gauge’ Paige VanZant has already shown to be multi-talented whether it be expressed in or out of the MMA world. As a fighter first, VanZant’s newest venture will see her doing work in the MMA world… But not as a fighter. The UFC announced Wednesday that VanZant will be making her debut as a commentator when she takes the lead role as color commentator alongside Sean Wheelock for M-1 Global – USA. The event will take place on April 4 on UFC Fight Pass live from the Pipa Event Center at Quechan Casino Resort in Yuma, Arizona starting at 8:00 PM PST.