MMA News

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2019

Jon Jones is once again the light heavyweight champion. He defeated Alexander Gustafsson by third-round TKO at UFC 232 to reclaim the belt. Following the fight, Jones called out Daniel Cormier to fight him at light heavyweight — though he was subsequently booked to fight Anthony Smith at UFC 235 on March 2.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 8, 2019

At just 20 years of age, Christian Lee owns a compendium of impressive performances. He has proven time and again why he is one of the top contenders for the ONE Championship featherweight title. In his most recent match last November at ONE: Heart of the Lion, Lee was able to secure a scintillating finish over Japanese veteran Kazuki Tokudome just a little over the first three minutes of the bout. He unleashed a barrage of elbows and punches on the former Pancrase Lightweight Champion before the referee intervened and stopped the match.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald is going to have a busy 2019. The champion is a combatant in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, and his title will be up for grabs in every one of his Grand Prix matchups, starting with his upcoming first-round showdown with Jon Fitch. If all goes according to plan, of course, MacDonald will make it to the tournament finale, and emerge unscathed with the belt still slung over his shoulder.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley is scheduled to defend his title at UFC 235 on March 2 in Las Vegas — against Kamaru Usman, not against Colby Covington as originally expected. While Woodley is now focused on this UFC 235 fight with Usman, and Covington is now at odds with the UFC, Woodley says he hopes to fight Covington almost immediately after he has dealt with Usman in March.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

According to a report from CNN, a karate instructor has taken justice into his own hands and dispatched a would-be kidnapper to the hospital on a stretcher. Here’s how the instructor himself, Charlotte, North Carolina’s Randall Ephraim, explains the ordeal:

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2019

At UFC 235 on March 2, streaking light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith will get his shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, which is once again owned by the seemingly unstoppable Jon Jones. Heading into this fight, fans are not giving Anthony Smith much of a chance. For all his talent and ferocity, Jones has proven himself to be on another level entirely from most of his opposition.

Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019

The champ is back! The last time we saw the current strawweight queen Rose Namajunas (8-3) in action was in April 2018 at UFC 223 when she fended off Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the second straight time.

Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019

Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest rivalries in MMA history. Now that Jones is back and the light heavyweight champion once again, it can potentially set up a trilogy bout for the two. ‘Bones’ currently leads the series 1-0 (1 NC). Since Jones vs Cormier 2 at UFC 214 in July 2017, Cormier has gone on to become the UFC heavyweight champion. Thus having made him the double champ as he held both the light heavyweight and heavyweight titles at the same time.

Thomas Taylor - January 7, 2019

Speaking on Instagram on Monday afternoon, three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson called for a UFC London fight with streaking contender Corey Anderson. Both men, to remind, fought at UFC 232, with Gustafsson coming up short to Jon Jones, and Anderson picking up an impressive win over Gustafsson’s training partner Ilir Latifi.

Thomas Taylor - January 7, 2019

Norman Parke, a veteran of the UFC, KSW, BAMMA and Brave CF cages, has decided to call it a career — at least tentatively. Parke announced his retirement from MMA on Twitter, explaining that he’s become “sick of how this game works.” That being said, he added that he does plan to partake in a bareknuckle bout in the United Kingdom later this year, and could end his retirement from MMA should the right offer come across his desk.

Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019

The second half of 2018 and beginning of 2019 isn’t looking to be going the way that top UFC welterweight Colby Covington was hoping it would. In June 2018 at UFC 225, Covington won the interim welterweight title by defeating Rafael Dos Anjos via unanimous decision. Thus, presumably, setting him up for a guaranteed clash with the undisputed champion Tyron Woodley. You know… As interim titles generally do.

Drake Riggs - January 7, 2019

Every year, there seemingly will always be points in the year where those in the community who are baselessly making their claims for whatever reason that MMA, or more specifically the UFC, is not flourishing in the business department. However, that continues to prove untrue when really looking deeper at the numbers. Even though without looking deeper we can still see the big deals that are being made…

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Ali Abdelaziz claimed that streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson would “100%” not be the next opponent for his star client, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. “The biggest money fight he can make [is what we’re looking for],” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, Khabib doesn’t need to fight anybody else for his legacy. He’s done what he’s done. He’s 27-0, he’s 12-0 in the UFC, he’s never been dropped, he’s never been caught, he’s never been knocked down. Let’s talk about a GOAT. No PEDs. We talk about the greatest of all-time, I think that he should be on top of the list, because he never lost to anybody. He’s never lost, he’s never been dropped, he’s never been stitched, nothing.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Just over a week removed from his UFC 232 loss to Jon Jones, three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson is already ready to get back into the cage. Speaking on Instagram on Monday afternoon, the Swedish star called for a fight with streaking contender Corey Anderson. Anderson, to remind, also fought at UFC 232, defeating Gustafsson’s teammate and friend Ilir Latifi by unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

The opening odds for Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman’s UFC 235 welterweight title fight have now been released — and they’re very close. According to the website BestFightOdds.com, the online sportsbook 5dimes has pegged Tyron Woodley as a -170 favorite, meaning a successful $170 bet on him would earn you $100. Kamaru Usman, meanwhile, has been identified as a +130 underdog by the same sportsbook, meaning a successful $100 bet on him would win you $130.

Cole Shelton - January 7, 2019

Jon Jones returned to glory at UFC 232 when he defeated his rival Alexander Gustafsson by TKO in the third round to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight title. It was not an easy road back for Jones. The light heavyweight great was coming off of a 15-month USADA suspension and was looking to win back his belt. The pressure was high and some fans believed Jones would suffer from ring rust. Yet for Jones’ coach Mike Winkeljohn and the rest of the team at JacksonWink MMA, that was never a worry.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2019

Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin (12-4, 6 KOS, 4 Subs) has been competing in combat sports for a long time. He began training in Pankration when he was just a child, and wound up winning a European championship in the sport at a young age. Buoyed by his success in Pankration, he then transitioned into MMA at 18 years old, and after a seven-fight win streak — all stoppages — he was invited to ONE Championship, where he debuted with a jaw-dropping, flying knee knockout of current lightweight champion Eduard Folayang.

James Lynch - January 7, 2019

UFC bantamweights Rob Font and Nathaniel Wood are making the UFC matchmakers’ job pretty easy. The pair exchanged a verbal agreement on Twitter over the weekend that they’d be willing to fight each other when the UFC makes it’s return to London on Mar. 16.