MMA News

James Lynch - March 20, 2019

Ben Askren has yet to have his next fight booked but he does have an ideal scenario in mind. This past weekend at UFC London, the 34-year-old spoke to the media about a number of topics including the creation of a 165-pound division. The former ONE and Bellator champion has been campaigning this new weight class since he signed with the UFC in October. He believes current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is the perfect opponent.

BJPENN.COM Staff - March 20, 2019

Eduard Folayang is honored to headline ONE: A NEW ERA on 31 March where he will defend his ONE Lightweight World Title at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan against legendary Japanese martial artist Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki. Heading into this highly-anticipated rematch, Folayang knows he has to put forth the best performance of his career in order to successfully retain his title against the streaking Aoki. As such, he is hard at work in training camp getting ready to put on an absolute show.

Cole Shelton - March 20, 2019

Tony Ferguson is not expected to be in the Octagon anytime soon according to UFC President, Dana White. Ferguson, who is the former interim lightweight champion is currently in the midst of his own personal problems including his wife filing a restraining order against him.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2019

On Wednesday morning, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw announced that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) have discovered an adverse finding on one of his recent drug tests, and that he has decided to vacate the bantamweight throne as a result. TJ Dillashaw made this shocking announcement on Instagram.

Drake Riggs - March 19, 2019

UFC London took place this past weekend and to say that it ended with a bang would be putting it mildly. Even after the main event concluded, the action didn’t quite stop. In said main event, ‘Gamebred’ Jorge Masvidal would return to the Octagon for the first time since November 2017 as he hoped to snap a two-fight losing streak against Darren Till. And that he would.

Drake Riggs - March 19, 2019

“[My high school wrestling coach] is reading the roll sheet calling names and he goes, ‘Kfam..Kamar… Who the? Who is this kid? Who the f*ck is this kid?'” Kamaru Usman shared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “And I’m like, ‘That’s me, coach…’ That’s your name?! I’m like yeah, he’s like, ‘I’m not saying that!’ Cause my full name is Kamarudeen. He’s like, ‘I’m not gonna say that! Like, Kamardien, Kamardy… I’m gonna call you Marty,’ And I’m just like, ‘Yeah sure, coach…’ “I’m 5-foot-3, 100-pounds, I’m scared of this guy and I’m like sure. I mean, you’re a kid, you don’t care. You’re gonna have nicknames growing up. Now the whole team’s calling me Marty. I love that coach, he essentially changed the course of my life.

Drake Riggs - March 19, 2019

The UFC lightweight division is full of super talented competitors from top to bottom and the argument is constantly being made for it as the best division in the sport overall. As top heavy as it is, fighters from all across the rankings have proven to be competitive with one another no matter the number next to their name. Take ‘Raging’ Al Iaquinta (14-4-1) for a recent example when he knocked off Kevin Lee in their rematch at UFC on Fox 31 in December 2018.

Drake Riggs - March 19, 2019

UFC Wichita marked the return of “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis for the first time since his title-challenging effort in November 2018 against Daniel Cormier. Unfortunately for Lewis, his attempted rebound wouldn’t get the result that he wanted as his opponent, former champion, Junior Dos Santos would end up taking home the second round TKO victory.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2019

Shortly after last weekend’s UFC London card wrapped up, main event winner Jorge Masvidal and co-main event winner Leon Edwards got into a wild skirmish backstage. Masvidal has previously stated that, after Edwards began talking to trash to him, he approached the Brit with his hand behind his back. He says that Edwards then raised his fists, which sparked the skirmish.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2019

When Jorge Masvidal flattened Darren Till in the UFC London main event, he catapulted back into UFC welterweight title contention, and in the eyes of some fans, even usurped Colby Covington’s spot as the next man in line for Kamaru Usman. Speaking to Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday, UFC President Dana White cleared things up.

Nolan King - March 19, 2019

The UFC’s list of 2019 signees just got a little bit more impressive. Earlier this week, the largest promotion in the sport of mixed martial arts inked undefeated light heavyweight Ivan Shtyrkov (16-0-1). Shtyrkov’s manager, Sayat Abdrakhmanov, of Ruby Sports & Entertainment, announced the signing on social media Tuesday morning. Currently ranked as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in Russia by Tapology.com, Shtyrkov is known for his versatility and ability to finish fights.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2019

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is headed up to the lightweight division for an interim title fight with Dustin Poirier. While he’s stated that he hopes to return to the featherweight division and defend his belt thereafter, it’s not completely clear how things will actually unfold if he wins interim lightweight gold. Whatever the case, top featherweight contender Alexander Volkanovski wants Max Holloway to know that he still has work to do in the featherweight division.

James Lynch - March 19, 2019

Corey Anderson is still without an opponent “Overtime” appeared to have a fight in the works with Alexander Gustafsson, only to see Anthony Smith earn that matchup instead. Then, the #7 ranked light heavyweight was offered former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at UFC 238 in June — yet he decided to decline.

Mike Pendleton - March 19, 2019

Joe Rogan has one of the biggest platforms in the podcast industry for both fight fans and non-fight fans, but former UFC champion Conor McGregor doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of his fight commentary. During a Q&A session in Chicago, which was attended and filmed by BJPenn.com’s Mike Pendleton, McGregor was asked about potentially being a guest on Rogan’s podcast and said he’d be willing to do it but then went on to add that he wishes Rogan would call a fight the right way.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2019

UFC President Dana White is as polarizing as any fighter he employs. Some fans love him, others loathe him. You can file former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia into that latter category. From the sounds of it, he can’t stand the UFC boss.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2019

During a recent interview with Megan Olivi, UFC President Dana White updated on the fighting future of Daniel Cormier, who initially planned to retire this month. White feels that Daniel Cormier didn’t want to retire nearly as much as the people around him wanted him to.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2019

At UFC 235, Ben Askren made his highly-anticipated debut, when he took on Robbie Lawler. Askren, who is undefeated, was looking to show he is the best in the world. However, early on, ‘Funky’ was in a lot of trouble when Lawler slammed him on his head.

Mike Pendleton - March 18, 2019

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor celebrated St. Patrick’s Day weekend by going on a promotional tour in the United States for his Proper 12 whiskey and while doing so, he took some time to update his fighting career. During his promotional stop in Chicago, McGregor spoke with fans for 30 minutes to discuss a wide variety of topics from rematches to fight negotiations and more.