MMA News

Drake Riggs - January 31, 2019

UFC 235 is looking to be the biggest card of the first half of 2019 and on Thursday we got the card’s first press conference. In attendance was the light heavyweight and welterweight champions Jon “Bones” Jones and Tyron Woodley. Of course, so were their opponents in Anthony “Lionheart” Smith and “The Nigerian Nightmare” Kamaru Usman.

Drake Riggs - January 31, 2019

On Thursday, the UFC held their first pre-fight press conference for the big UFC 235 card that will go down on March 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada. As fun as it was, we got some surprising news.

Drake Riggs - January 31, 2019

Bellator 214 marked the promotion’s first event of the new year and boy did it deliver. A new champion was crowned, and new stars were potentially born. In the main event, the year-long Bellator heavyweight Grand Prix title tournament came to its conclusion as Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader fought for the vacant title.

Thomas Taylor - January 31, 2019

Jon Jones is once again the UFC light heavyweight champion, and as always, one of the most compelling matchups available for him is a rematch with his arch rival Daniel Cormier, who currently holds the UFC heavyweight title. While Jon Jones is currently booked for a UFC 235 title defense opposite the fearsome Anthony Smith, and Daniel Cormier is still unsure whether he’ll retire in March as originally planned, UFC President Dana White seems to be very interested in a rematch between the two stars — and soon.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2019

UFC President Dana White and boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya have had plenty to say about each other over the last few weeks. In fact, their beef recently got so heated that the retired boxer De La Hoya even challenged White to a fight on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs undercard. “Let’s get in the ring,” Oscar De La Hoya said on the Luke Thomas show. “Let’s get in the ring, three rounds. Let’s do this. Let’s do this under Canelo [Alvarez], Cinco de Mayo. I’ll even give you five months so you can get off the juice, and then we can get in great shape and then we go three rounds. Look, I’m going to give you what, a 50 pound advantage? It’s ok. I can take you on. Let’s do it.”

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2019

Speaking on ESPN’s Now or Never this week, UFC President Dana White delved into a procession of hot-button MMA topics — most notably the next fights of Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. First, the UFC boss gave a big thumbs up to a much discussed fight between Conor McGregor and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Cole Shelton - January 31, 2019

Brad Pickett is a mixed martial arts legend, no question about it. The 40-year-old has fought 39 times as a professional and 18 of those fights occurred under the WEC or UFC banner. Pickett announced his retirement from the sport following his loss to Marlon Vera in March 2017. Now, however, he is set to return on March 30 in London, England — but it will not be an MMA fight. Rather, Pickett will be making his bare knuckle boxing debut, and for a BKB title belt no less.

James Lynch - January 31, 2019

“Mr. VanZant” Austin Vanderford finally has a date set for his Bellator debut. The 28-year-old is the husband of UFC flyweight Paige VanZant and will be making his promotional debut on Feb. 15 at Bellator 215. ESPN’s Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news that “AK47” will be facing Cody Jones on the card.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2019

This weekend, on the main card of UFC Fortaleza, former UFC middleweight and welterweight title challenger Demian Maia will return to the cage for a scrap with Lyman Good. However this fight unfolds, retirement is looking like a more and more imminent possibility for the 41-year-old Brazilian grappler. That being said, he says he wants to fight out the final three obligations on his current UFC contract before he makes any big decisions on his retirement.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2019

Over the last few weeks, there’s been significant buzz surrounding a potential fight between fan favorite lightweights Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone — the fighter themselves certainly seem to be into it. In a recent interview with  Eurobash, Conor McGregor striking coach Owen Roddy gave this potential matchup his seal of approval.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2019

Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr recently made headlines by sharing his desire for a fight with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, even asking UFC President Dana White for the opportunity to meet the broadcast personality inside the Octagon. @ufc @danawhite hey how do I challenge a couple of these clowns on tv to a fight? I think we should start a business together. Where pro athletes can challenge some of these people to an octagon fight until they give us an answer…. You don’t know me… stop lying.

Tom Taylor - January 31, 2019

Jorge Masvidal is not a Michael Bisping fan. In fact, Masvidal dislikes the British legend so much that he’s long stated he’ll happily fight him outside the cage. Apparently, that hasn’t changed.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 31, 2019

Team Lakay’s Honorio Banario faltered in his goal to hand undefeated American Lowen Tynanes the first setback of his professional career. The two warriors met in the quarter-final round of the highly-anticipated ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix on the main card of ONE: Hero’s Ascent which took place last 25 January at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2019

With each new year, Japan’s RIZIN Fighting Federation seems to continually step things up a notch with bigger and better shows. 2018 was no different. RIZIN capped this past year off with the fantastic RIZIN 14 New Year’s Eve show which was headlined by a surprising exhibition boxing match that featured all-time boxing great Floyd Mayweather vs prodigy kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa.

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2019

"That’s what you get." @RaphaAssuncao says @TJDillashaw regrets dropping down to flyweight. #UFCFortaleza https://t.co/VnpT9bBsiG pic.twitter.com/A4h9XPUmON — MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 31, 2019

Mike Pendleton - January 30, 2019

For Justin Willis, fighting isn’t a sport, it’s not just a paycheck, it’s life and it’s something he was made for. Fighting is in his blood, it’s what he grew up on, and it’s made him exactly who he is today; a rising contender in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Holding a professional record of 8-1 in his career, Willis is coming off a big unanimous decision victory over Mark Hunt in his most recent fight back in December 2018.

James Lynch - January 30, 2019

The next time Kevin Lee steps into the octagon he will likely have a new coaching staff around him. “The Motown Phenom” suffered his second loss in his last three fights this past December when he was defeated by Al Iaquinta by unanimous decision at UFC on FOX 31. As a result, Lee is planning on making changes to his training camp and that includes his coaching staff.

Tom Taylor - January 30, 2019

On Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) convened to make crucial decisions on the futures of Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones. The NSAC began by disciplining Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov for their UFC 229 post-fight brawl. McGregor received a $50,000 fine and a six month suspension, while Nurmagomedov received a much steeper $500,000 fine and a nine-month suspension that can be reduced to six months if he completes an anti-bullying PSA.