MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

News of Georges St-Pierre’s planned retirement prompted UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to make one final effort to goad him into a fight. While Nurmagomedov’s call for a fight with St-Pierre excited some fans, however, it didn’t go over well with the many UFC lightweight contenders awaiting a shot at the champ’s belt, such as Al Iaquinta and Dustin Poirier. Poirier was first to react to today’s GSP vs. Khabib talk, first expressing his frustration with an emoji, and ultimatately calling for the UFC to release him, evidently fed up with waiting for a title shot.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

Today, news surfaced that former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre plans to formally announce his retirement from mixed martial arts at a Thursday morning press conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The reports on this topic suggest St-Pierre has elected to hang up the gloves because his desired fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has failed to come to fruition. Unsurprisingly, this massive Georges St-Pierre news generated some interesting reactions from his fellow fighters and a few other notable members of the MMA community.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

After an impressive win over Rachael Ostovich at UFC Brooklyn in January, fan favorite UFC flyweight contender Paige VanZant is already targeted to return to the cage. According to a report from Brazilian outlet Combate, VanZant will collide with Poliana Botelho at UFC 226, which goes down on April 13 at a yet undetermined location. With her January win over Rachael Ostovich, Paige VanZant bounced back from a pair of tough losses: a submission loss to Michelle Waterson, and a decision loss to Jessica-Rose Clark in her flyweight debut. This skid was preceded by a highlight reel, switch-kick knockout of current BKFC champ Bec Rawlings. VanZant is 8-4 overall.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

Earlier today, news surfaced that former UFC welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre plans to formally announce his retirement from MMA at a press conference in Montreal on Thursday morning. It is alleged that St-Pierre is retiring because his desired fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov could not be made a reality. Khabib Nurmagomedov is urging him to reconsider.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

Darren Till and Israel Adesanya are two of the most impressive strikers in the UFC, and as luck would have it, they’re only separated by one weight class. As a matter of fact, they might soon reside in the same weight class, as the hulking welterweight Darren Til has long teased a move up to Adesanya’s middleweight turf. And should these two bright young striking specialists wind up in the same division, the UFC would be foolish not to pit them against each other.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

It seems that former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre is hanging up the gloves. According to a report from Benoit Beaudoin of RDS, the Canadian legend is holding a press conference at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday morning, where he will announce his retirement from MMA. This retirement has allegedly been spurred on by failed negotiations for a fight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2019

On May 4, the UFC will return to the capital city of Canada. The promotion officially announced this long rumored UFC Ottawa card on Wednesday. https://twitter.com/UFC_CA/status/1098220979212505088 As first reported by BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton, this UFC Ottawa card will feature a middleweight contender bout between Canada’s Elias Theodorou and American wrestling specialist Derek Brunson. This bout could potentially serve as the card’s main event, though the UFC is still considering other options.

James Lynch - February 20, 2019

UFC commentator Joe Rogan hasn’t been featured on either of the US-based UFC on ESPN broadcasts this year, and now we know why. The former “Fear Factor” host, who has been with the UFC for over 20-years, says that it was his decision to cut back on the amount of events he’d be working.

Thomas Taylor - February 19, 2019

Costa Rica’s Ariel Sexton has become a staple of the ONE Championship lightweight division. Given his status as one of the organization’s premier lightweights, it came as no surprise when he was invited to compete in the anticipated ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. Sexton will compete in his first Grand Prix bout on Friday night in Singapore (Friday morning in the Western Hemisphere) at ONE: Call to Greatness, where he will battle local hero Amir Khan for a ticket to the quarterfinals.

Drake Riggs - February 19, 2019

In the heavyweight division, seeing knockouts isn’t uncommon. The bigger the individuals, the stronger and more powerful they will be with their strikes. It’s simple, really. However, then we take a look at someone like this past weekend’s UFC Phoenix main event winner, Francis “The Predator” Ngannou who time and time again proves to have power levels that may very well just eclipse that of anything ever seen before on this planet. We’re talking over 9000.

Drake Riggs - February 19, 2019

If Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone could fight every weekend, he surely would. But when it comes to landing big fights, it’s a process that can take more time than just jumping right back into the mix when asked to.

Drake Riggs - February 19, 2019

After some recent speculation as the date draws closer, we now know the second bout for UFC 236 which takes place on April 13. ESPN has confirmed that at UFC 236 we will be treated to a middleweight title showdown… But it won’t be for the undisputed title.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2019

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s UFC Phoenix card, and as expected, there’s been some movement in the heavyweight division. Francis Ngannou, who knocked out former champion Cain Velasquez in the main event, has climbed up to the number-two spot in the rankings, surpassing Derrick Lewis.

Cole Shelton - February 19, 2019

Renato Moicano was very close to a featherweight title shot. All he needed to do was defeat former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Well, as we know, that is a lot easier said than done.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2019

Mike Perry is getting engaged. The all-action UFC welterweight announced his plans to marry his long-time girlfriend Danielle Nickerson on Instagram late last week.

Tom Taylor - February 19, 2019

UFC President Dana White has previously been very open to the idea of a lightweight showdown between fan favorites Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone. “I’d like to see Conor fight this Summer, those two want to fight each other; they’ve both earned it,” White told MMAjunkie following the UFC 234 pre-fight press conference in Australia. “Cowboy’s fought anybody we’ve ever put against him. We throw this young killer Hernandez at him, Cowboy’s the underdog and he goes in and does it the way he did it, then Conor’s fought everybody. If these two want to fight, I’m down.”

BJPENN.COM Staff - February 19, 2019

Last October ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced a blockbuster addition to the promotion’s stacked lightweight division in the form of former UFC and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez started his martial arts journey when he was in high school as a wrestler. He later incorporated a few more disciplines and went on to become a professional mixed martial artist to support his family.

James Lynch - February 19, 2019

Anthony Smith is not a fan of Colby Covington “Lionheart”, who is set to face Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 235 on Mar. 2, didn’t hold back on the controversial welterweight After a Twitter exchange with Covington a few weeks back, Smith decided to address the issue on The MMA Hour on Monday.