MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2019

Rising UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards his hoping to fight his fellow Brit Darren Till in the main event of the UFC’s March 16 return to London, England. https://soundcloud.com/mmafighting/eurobash-w-leon-edwards-aleksandar-rakic-soren-bak-episode-19

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2019

Anthony Smith, who is expected to challenge Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 235 on March 2, has some questions about the champion’s recent drug tests, several of which of turned up traces of the banned substance ‘turinabol.’ “I think that the definition of a clean fighter has become mighty grey in the last six months,” Smith said on the latest episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show (transcript via MMA Mania). “And it didn’t used to be like that, it was pretty black and white.”

James Lynch - January 15, 2019

Derrick Lewis isn’t set to step back into the cage until Mar. 9 but “The Black Beast” nearly fought on this Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+1 card in Brooklyn, NY. That’s according to Lewis who said he was asked to face former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, however he turned down the matchup because he needed more time off.

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2019

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw looks like a different man entirely as he cuts down to 125 pounds for his Saturday night flyweight title fight with Henry Cejudo, which will air on ESPN+. In Cejudo’s eyes, this slimmed-down version of Dillashaw does not look good.

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2019

Al Iaquinta was recently called out by former World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje, who he was briefly scheduled to fight this summer. For the moment, however, this is not a fight that Iaquinta is especially interested in. “I’m looking up in the rankings,” Iaquinta told MMAjunkie Radio. “I think Gaethje, he’s kind of had his opportunity, and he chose to fight Vick. He wanted to do what was best for him, so now I’m going to do what’s best for me. Fighting below me in the rankings is definitely not (it). It’s a good fight, but I think there’s guys that’ll put me right up there. Those are the guys I’m gunning for.

Drake Riggs - January 14, 2019

At UFC 227 in August 2018, Henry Cejudo made history by becoming the second ever UFC flyweight champion. Unfortunately, since then the division has had a big black cloud surrounding it and it seems as if they all may be finding themselves out of roster spots in the near future.

Drake Riggs - January 14, 2019

2019 will officially mark the beginning of the “Violence Queen” Ariane Lipski’s career in the UFC.

Drake Riggs - January 14, 2019

At UFC 235 in March, Tyron Woodley will look to successfully add another welterweight title defense to his list of accomplishments by taking out the red-hot Kamaru Usman. As the 170-pound king since July 2016, Woodley’s time in the division may be coming to an end by the time that 2020 rolls around.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

At UFC 232, UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes moved up to the featherweight division on a quest to defeat the seemingly unbeatable Cris Cyborg and become one of just three fighters in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes concurrently. In an absolutely jaw-dropping performance, Amanda Nunes succeeded on this mission, mauling Cyborg to a first-round knockout victory.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

On Saturday night, the UFC will debut on ESPN and ESPN+ with the stacked UFC Brooklyn card. The card will be headlined by a flyweight title super fight between reigning champion Henry Cejudo and slimmed-down bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw.

Cole Shelton - January 14, 2019

Allen Crowder, who didn’t fight at all in 2018, will return to the Octagon against a controversial figure in Greg Hardy this Saturday night on ESPN+. Hardy who was a former pro-bowler in the NFL, was involved in an alleged domestic violence case which got him kicked out of the league. Now, he will be making his UFC debut against Crowder. And Crowder is ready.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

This Saturday, on the UFC’s first card on ESPN, Donald Cerrone returns to the lightweight division for a showdown with surging contender Alexander Hernandez. As ever, fans are incredibly excited to watch “Cowboy” do his thing. When he fights, there is a near-certainty of entertainment and spectacle, and at the end of the day, that’s just what he wants to be remembered for.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

Over the last few weeks, it’s been widely speculated that recent UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till will be called upon to headline the UFC’s March 17 return to London, England. Who Till would fight in this prospective headliner, however, remains uncertain. Long-time UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal is hoping to provide some clarity in that regard. Speaking on Twitter on Monday morning, Masvidal offered to step in and fight Darren Till in his backyard.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

At UFC 232, which went down in late December in Los Angeles, former UFC bantamweight title challenger Cat Zingano stepped into the cage with former Invicta champ Megan Anderson for a highly anticipated featherweight contender bout. Unfortunately, this bout ended in controversy. Early in the first round, Anderson uncorked a well-timed head kick. Regrettably, her toe landed right in Zingano’s eye, causing a nasty laceration that forced the end of the fight.

James Lynch - January 14, 2019

UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has stated that he plans on walking away from the sport when he turns 40 years old on Mar. 20. Former champion Stipe Miocic doesn’t want to see “DC” retire as the heavyweight champion and called his shot on Twitter earlier this morning. .@dc_mma March 20 is coming up quick. Let’s settle this and get this fight on the books before you blow the candles out on that cake.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 14, 2019

Zebaztian Kadestam is a 28-year-old martial artist from Sweden, and he’s the ONE Welterweight World Champion. Over the course of his MMA career, Kadestam has compiled an 11-4 record with nine victories coming by KO and another by submission. When “The Bandit” comes to the cage, he is looking to steal away his opponent’s consciousness. Kadestam is just the third man in history to hold the ONE Welterweight World Title. The other two are Nobutatsu Suzuki and Ben Askren. Kadestam began his reign in November 2018 at ONE: Warrior’s Dream when he scored a fifth-round KO victory over Tyler McGuire to capture the strap that was vacated when Askren was traded to the UFC for Demetrious Johnson. Kadestam’s stamina and constant pressure wore down McGuire, and as the latter retreated following a fifth-round exchange, Kadestam caught him with a power shot that dropped him.

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2019

Over the weekend, UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker had his wallet stolen from his truck. From the sounds of it, he’s nearly tracked down the thief behind this crime.

Tom Taylor - January 13, 2019

In January of 2015, MMA legends Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz stepped into the cage together for a matchup that had fight fans drooling in anticipation. After five wild, rounds, Silva was announced the winner of this fight by unanimous decision. Unfortunately, that result was eventually overturned when Silva tested positive for Drostanolone and Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites. Four years later, Anderson Silva says he’s still interested in a do-over with Nick Diaz — but not for the UFC’s benefit. The former middleweight champion feels the UFC has a habit of using aging stars to promote young prospects, and he doesn’t want a potential rematch with Diaz to serve that purpose.