MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2019

Joe Rogan has been working as a color commentator for the UFC since 1997, having debuted all the way back at UFC 12. Over the years, the comedian and podcast host has become as much a part of big UFC cards as the Octagon itself. Of course, there will eventually come a day when Joe Rogan decides it’s time to take off his broadcaster’s headset once and for all.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2019

Former UFC bantamweight champion and two-time UFC featherweight title challenger Holly Holm is set to return to the cage at UFC 235, where she’ll battle red-hot prospect Aspen Ladd. If Holm wins this fight, she’ll be one of the frontrunners for a shot at Amanda Nunes — whether it’s for Nunes’ bantamweight or featherweight belt. Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Holly Holm divulged that she’d prefer to get a shot at Nunes’ bantamweight belt, rather than her featherweight belt

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 23, 2019

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang is the two-time and current ONE Lightweight World Champion. The Filipino warrior has had to overcome unthinkable poverty and tragedy to ascend to his current level. His story is one of the most triumphant you’ll find in the sports world. Folayang was born in Baguio City, in the Philippines where his family was impoverished. Folayang was one of nine children, but five of his siblings passed away from illnesses. Access to proper health care could have remedied the dire situations, but it wasn’t available. Folayang’s father worked as a laborer and part-time farmer. His mother worked at a laundromat. Though neither of Folayang’s parents learned to read or write, they made sure their children didn’t grow up with the same limitations. “My parents sacrificed a lot to bring us to school,” Folayang said. “Sometimes, they even borrowed money just for us to pay our tuition fees. In their daily lives, they didn’t focus on just one job; they found extra work that they could do so that it would compensate for the needs that we had.” Folayang’s parents were eyeing a career in law enforcement for him, but he chose martial arts instead. After accepting a scholarship for wushu, partly to lessen the financial burden on his parents, Folayang’s career in martial arts was on its way. He won 11 major medals as a member of the Philippine Wushu team. In 2007 at the age of 23, Folayang turned pro as a mixed martial artist. He started his career on a five-bout win streak. All but one of the victories came via first-round stoppage, and two of them took less than a minute. Just as he was flying high, Folayang faced a young, up-and-coming martial artist named Jon Tuck in 2009.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2019

At long last, Jorge Masvidal is set to return to the cage. The fan favorite welterweight contender will battle former title challenger Darren Till in the main event of the anticipated UFC London card on March 16. Speaking on the latest stacked episode of BJPENN Radio, Jorge Masvidal explained how he envisions this UFC London fight with Darren Till playing out— and interestingly enough, it all ends with him slapping another UK MMA star in Michael Bisping.

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2019

All the hype surrounding UFC 229 was about Conor McGregor taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, the co-main event fight between Anthony Pettis and Tony Ferguson was also a highly touted affair. It appeared the winner of Ferguson vs Pettis would be getting the next title shot against the winner of Nurmagomedov-McGregor. Ultimately, Ferguson defeated Pettis by corner stoppage after the second round. However, that had a lot to do with Pettis breaking his hand.

Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2019

In a sport based on individual performance, managers are one of the most important aspects to fighters that don’t get talked about nearly enough. While not every fighter needs a manager, those that find themselves at the top of the sport can likely be found with a great manager and agency behind them. One of the leading agencies in all of sports, especially combat sports, is First Round Management (FRM).

Drake Riggs - January 22, 2019

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Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2019

Current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley seems to have a planned scheduled for 2019, including his next title defense against Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas. While many expected Woodley’s next title defense to come against bitter rival Colby Covington, the champion accepted Usman without hesitation. Although he still plans on fighting Covington, Woodley has bigger plans for 2019 and that includes a run at the middleweight championship.

Jordy McElroy - January 22, 2019

In the wake of a shocking knockout loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 232, Cris Cyborg, the perpetual beacon of dominance in women’s MMA, was unwittingly made a martyr for everything that is wrong with super fights in the UFC. Nine proud years of wearing the moniker of the baddest woman on the planet, and Cyborg has been reduced to begging for an immediate rematch. Those pleas have fallen on deaf ears as the UFC prepares to move in another direction, leaving an entire division hanging in limbo. Nunes is currently pondering whether to defend her bantamweight title or move down to flyweight and attempt to collect a third belt.

Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2019

Two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes made some headlines last week when she said that she was ‘done’ fighting at featherweight after she defeated former champion Cris Cyborg in 51 seconds at UFC 232 to become the UFC’s first ever two-weight women’s champion. While Nunes stated that many knew the featherweight division was only made for the arrival of Cyborg, another featherweight, Megan Anderson took exception to Nunes’ comments and called for her to be stripped of the title. As the division’s future is up in the air, one person close to Nunes believes she won’t fight again at featherweight.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

Former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero (13-3 MMA) will return to the octagon this Spring at UFC Miami. That news comes via Brazilian news outlet Combate, who broke the following news on Twitter.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

Is former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor willing to put it all on the line inside the UFC octagon? Well, if you ask surging lightweight contender Al Iaquinta, the answer is no.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

TJ Dillashaw was looking to become the fourth fighters in UFC history to earn “champ champ” status this past weekend in Brooklyn. Unfortunatley for fans of “Killashaw“, things did not go as planned in his flyweight title fight with Henry Cejudo.

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2019

Daniel Cormier had originally planned to retire by his 40th birthday. Well, things may have changed. “DC’s” birthday falls on March 20, and the only pay-per-view between now and then is UFC 235 – as UFC 234 is already finalized – which already has two title fights. Now, the question remains on whether or not Cormier will retire before then or stick around longer.

James Lynch - January 22, 2019

Despite rumblings of a potential matchup, Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Rafael Dos Anjos has yet to be officially signed. The #7 ranked welterweight, “Ponz” spoke to MMAFighting and explained why he thinks the fight hasn’t been signed yet.

Chris Taylor - January 22, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum (23-8-1 MMA) saved a teenager from drowning in Southern California. Werdum was spening the day relaxing with his family at the beach near their home in Torrance, California. About an hour after they hit the sand, the local fire department arrived on scene in order to rescue two teenagers who were trapped at sea.

Drake Riggs - January 21, 2019

On today’s show, top bantamweight contender @MMARLONMORAES said he felt “a little bit embarrassed” to see the bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw lose the way he did on Saturday night. Full: https://t.co/mf8unBk7ts pic.twitter.com/YsvVKRsaOs

Drake Riggs - January 21, 2019

When it comes to elite level strikers in MMA, a discussion can’t be had without mentioning the likes of welterweight’s ‘Wonderboy’ Stephen Thompson. A two-time title challenger, unfortunately for Thompson, he has yet to come out as a victor in his title opportunities.