MMA News
If Jose Aldo can't fight at UFC 237, Renato Moicano willing to step in
James Lynch - March 28, 2019
If Jose Aldo can’t compete at UFC 237, a former opponent is willing to replace him. Renato Moicano spoke with MMAJunkierecently and said that if Aldo – who was recently admitted to the hospital for a bacterial infection – is forced to withdraw from his fight against Alexander Volkanovski on May 11 that he’d be willing to step up in his place.
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.
Rory MacDonald says Georges St-Pierre is still training: 'He's working hard'
Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019
Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre recently announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. “There’s no tears. I’m very happy to do it,” St-Pierre said in the English portion of his retirement message in Montreal. “In combat sports you should retire on top, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m happy I have the discipline to do it.”
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.
Cub Swanson makes his return at UFC Ottawa to take on Shane Burgos
Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019
One of the featherweight division’s all-time most exciting fighters is without a doubt Cub Swanson (25-10). And after some time off, the veteran is back. First reported by The Toronto Sun and now confirmed by the UFC, the Palm Springs native is set to make his Octagon return at UFC Ottawa on May 4 when he takes on the rising prospect, “Hurricane” Shane Burgos (11-1).
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.
EXCLUSIVE | Aljamain Sterling ready for bantamweight title shot: 'How can I not be the next guy in line?'
Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019
With a vacant bantamweight title up for grab, Aljamain Sterling is calling for his chance. The “FunkMaster” is currently on a three-fight winning streak which has seen him beat the likes of Brett Johns, Cody Stamann, and Jimmie Rivera. Now that he finds himself at the top of the division, Sterling wants his chance at the UFC title. While the UFC seems pretty set on making Marlon Moraes vs Henry Cejudo as the next bantamweight title fight, Sterling continues to push and call out for a title fight.
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.
Jon Jones teases fight with Stipe Miocic in July
Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019
Current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is looking for his next fight, and he may have found it in the weight class above him. Shortly after Chael Sonnen reported that he heard a fight was in the works between Jones and former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, Jon Jones added fuel to the fire. I don’t think you guys are ready to witness @stipemiocic and I, would July give you all enough time?
Welterweights top UFC Rochester as Neil Magny vs Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos added as co-main event
Drake Riggs - March 27, 2019
Update: Zaleski dos Santos has since come out to say that the fight was never offered to him. “Today I saw alot of posts matching me in a fight in Rochester-NY against Neil Magny. As much as this is a fight that I want there was no truth behind it. At no point have I or my team been contacted by the UFC about the match and as we stand I will be competing again sometime around june/july.” he said in a post to Instagram. The UFC’s last event for the month of May is set to go down in Rochester, New York. And it has shaped up to be quite the solid card.
ONE: A New Era official fight card and start time
Tom Taylor - March 27, 2019
On Sunday night (Sunday morning in North America), Singapore-based martial arts powerhouse ONE Championship will debut in the MMA hotbed of Tokyo, Japan with ONE: A New Era. To celebrate this Tokyo debut, ONE Championship has stacked this card with some of its best and brightest.