MMA News

Chris Taylor - January 6, 2019

UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will be making a quick turnaround in order to defend his title at March’s UFC 235 event in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White recently told TMZ Sports that a title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith was in the works for March’s pay-per-view event.

Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019

UFC 235, which goes down on March 2 in Las Vegas, keeps getting better and better. Late on Sunday, it was reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will make his long-awaited return to action on the card. The former champ will battle rising prospect Pedro Munhoz. Breaking: Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz added to UFC 235. That card now has two title fights and three former UFC champions. Wow. pic.twitter.com/heeXk4mg2H

Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019

On New Years Eve in Tokyo, Floyd Mayweather stepped through the ropes of the RIZIN Fighting Federation ring for a boxing exhibition bout with 20-year-old kickboxing ace Tenshin Nasukawa. In an absolutely dominant performance, Mayweather put the young kickboxer down inside the first three-minute round. Now Conor McGregor wants a turn at the Japanese fighter — albeit under a different ruleset. Speaking on Twitter on Sunday night, the Irish superstar called for a mixed martial arts exhibition bout with Tenshin Nasukawa — also in Tokyo.

Thomas Taylor - January 6, 2019

Nick Diaz is apparently not a fan of CrossFit. From the sounds of it, he doesn’t like Georges St-Pierre‘s ‘water workouts’ either. The former Strikeforce welterweight champion went off on these two forms of exercise in a virulent tirade posted to his Instagram story. Unsurprisingly, this rant was quickly saved and immortalized by several members of the MMA community.

Cole Shelton - January 6, 2019

Macy Chiasson is a natural featherweight. She competed at featherweight on The Ultimate Fighter 28, and ended up winning the season at that weight. However, she is moving down to bantamweight for her next fight, which will pit her against Gina Mazany at UFC 235 on March 2. This is a rather interesting move for Chiasson given the fact she has fought her entire career at 145 and won TUF at featherweight. Yet after talking to her coaches and working with the UFC Performance Institute, she decided the timing was right to move down a division.

Mike Straus - January 6, 2019

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) seasonal format offers a unique alternative to the matchmaking style used by other major promotions like the UFC and Bellator. Season one middleweight champ Louis Taylor took full advantage of this format. The inaugural season of the PFL concluded on New Year’s Eve with the promotion handing out six million-dollar checks. It was the picture perfect way for Taylor to close out the best year of his career.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

After weeks of speculation, a welterweight title fight between champ Tyron Woodley and challenger Kamaru Usman is reportedly a done deal for UFC 235 on March 2, per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. The fight is slated to serve as the card’s co-main event, co-headlining under a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith, provided Jones is able to achieve licensure in Nevada.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

On December 8, in the main event of UFC 231 in Toronto, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway defended his title with a dominant defeat of formerly undefeated challenger Brian Ortega. As if Holloway’s victory over Ortega wasn’t already impressive enough, a fan on Twitter has pointed out that the featherweight champ seemed to be giving his foe advice in the middle of the fight. Mid-way through the fourth round, Holloway can be seen hoisting Ortega’s arm upward, seemingly reminding him to keep his hands up.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

On January 19, in the main event of the UFC’s first card on ESPN+, UFC bantamweight king TJ Dillashaw will drop down to the flyweight division to battle divisional champ Henry Cejudo for his belt. First, however, TJ Dillashaw will have to successfully cut down to the flyweight limit of 125 pounds. Henry Cejudo’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has doubts that that will happen.

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

After his thrilling UFC 232 defeat of Chad Mendes, Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski is right on the cusp of a shot at the UFC featherweight title. Speaking on Twitter this weekend, however, the surging featherweight contender issued a callout of UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Prior to his success in MMA, Volkanovski was a rugby player. During his rugby days, he apparently weighed more than 210 pounds — pretty incredible considering he hit the 145-pound mark at the UFC 232 weigh ins.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 6, 2019

Brandon “The Truth” Vera is the reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion. The 41-year-old Filipino is one of five Filipino champions under the promotion’s banner. While Vera is a champion today, he has had to endure some significant hardships on his way to his current spot. Overcoming Adversity

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2019

Last night UFC President Dana White told TMZ that Jon Jones will return to the cage at UFC 235 on March 2, where he will attempt the first title defense of his latest reign as UFC light heavyweight champion against streaking contender Anthony Smith — provided he can attain licensure from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). Not long after this news surfaced, Anthony Smith took to Twitter with this first reaction to the fight.

Christopher Taylor - January 5, 2019

The Dallas Cowboys successfully advanced to the divisional round of this seasons NFL Playoffs earlier this evening and former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor couldn’t be happier. “Mystic Mac” had taken to his official Instagram prior to kickoff wishing his favorite team the best of luck.

Cole Shelton - January 5, 2019

Zak Cummings is a veteran of the sport. He is 34-years-old and has 28 professional fights to his credit. When he joined the UFC ranks in 2013, Zak Cummings spent his entire time at welterweight so that he could be bigger than everyone else. However, after struggling with hard weight cuts for years, Cummings eventually had enough and decided to move up to middleweight.

Christopher Taylor - January 5, 2019

In this week’s “Heavy Lies the Crown” feature, BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor takes a look at the dangerous challenges awaiting current UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones. Jon Jones reclaimed the UFC light heavyweight title last weekend in Los Angeles by defeating Alexander Gustafsson via third-round knockout.

Christopher Taylor - January 5, 2019

Former UFC heavyweight title holder Brock Lesnar is expected to make his octagon return this year against reigning division champion Daniel Cormier. However, before Brock can square off with “DC” he will have to pay the $250,000 fine he still owes the Nevada State Athletic Commission from his failed drug test at UFC 200.

Cole Shelton - January 5, 2019

Javy Ayala took on former UFC heavyweight champion and mixed martial arts legend Frank Mir at December’s Bellator Hawaii: Salute The Troops event. Many fans and analysts expected that Mir would emerge victorious when his bout with Ayala was first announced.

Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019

The octagon will return to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on January 19 for the UFC’s debut event on ESPN which is headlined by a flyweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo. TJ Dillashaw will enter his title fight with the former Olympic Gold medalist on a four-fight win streak. TJ’s most recent wins came against Cody Garbrandt who he knocked out at both UFC 217 and UFC 227.