MMA News
Breaking! UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell will return to the octagon in March!
Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019
Perennial UFC heavyweight contender “Big” Ben Rothwell will return to the octagon for the first time in nearly three years in March of 2019. According to Bulgarian MMA website MMA.bg, Ben Rothwell will square off with former Bellator champion Blagoy Ivanov in March.
Conor McGregor celebrates the birth of his second child to kickoff 2019
Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019
Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor kicked off the 2019 year by celebrating the birth of his second child. The Irish superstar and his longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin welcomed a baby girl to their family.
PHOTO | T.J. Dillashaw reveals his new flyweight physique
Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019
Current UFC bantamweight kingpin T.J. Dillashaw (16-3 MMA) will be dropping down to flyweight to challenge newly crowned 125-pound champ Henry Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 143 on January 19 in Brooklyn. 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.
UFC on FOX 31 Fighter Salaries: Charles Oliveira tops the list!
Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019
UFC lightweight fighter Charles Oliveira took home the largest paycheck from last month’s UFC on FOX 31 event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “Do Bronx” avenged his previous loss to Jim Miller at the December 15 event, submitting the New Jersey native in the very first-round with a rear-naked choke.
Luke Rockhold sends a message to 'beatable' Jon Jones
Chris Taylor - January 5, 2019
Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is confident that he has the skillset required to dethrone current UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones. Rockhold recently spoke with TMZ Sports where he revealed that his decision to move up to light heavyweight spawned from a desire to “get after” Jon Jones.
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao goes for gold at ONE: Clash of Legends in Bangkok
BJPENN.COM Staff - January 5, 2019
On 16 February, a ONE Super Series Muay Thai Bantamweight World Champion will be crowned. ONE Championship recently announced that Muay Thai legend Nong-O Gaiyanghadao of Thailand will take on Han Zi Hao of China for the ONE Super Series strap. The bout serves as the main event of ONE: Clash of Legends, set for 16 February at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Anthony Pettis expresses interest in welterweight fight with Stephen Thompson
Drake Riggs - January 4, 2019
When it comes to top strikers in MMA, there are few that are quite as unique as former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. A matchup between the two is something that would only have been thought of as pure fantasy… Prior to today, that is.
VIDEO | Cain Velasquez shares what has kept him out of action since UFC 200
Drake Riggs - January 4, 2019
Where has Cain Velasquez (@cainmma) been for the past 2+ years? Allow the former UFC heavyweight champ to explain. #UFCPhoenix https://t.co/xdXxemvPhF pic.twitter.com/81HjKp0JaY — MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 4, 2019
Jon Jones hints at upcoming fight with Anthony Smith: 'This is going to be fun'
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
Having defeated Alexander Gustafsson by third-round TKO in the main event of UFC 232 in late December, Jon Jones is once again the UFC light heavyweight champion. And now that he’s reclaimed the divisional throne, it’s time for himto direct his focus to his next title challenger. From the sounds of it, that challenger could be streaking light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith.
Geje Eustaquio looks to end to rivalry with Adriano Moraes in Manila
BJPENN.COM Staff - January 4, 2019
Reigning ONE flyweight king Geje Eustaquio is preparing to end his long-standing rivalry with former champion Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes. Each man has a win over the other, and the two are now scheduled to face off in one of the most anticipated rubber matches in ONE Championship history. They will collide for a third time in the main event of ONE: Hero’s Ascent, to be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines on January 25. The bout will be for Eustaquio’s flyweight strap.
Henry Cejudo manager doubts TJ Dillashaw will make weight for flyweight title fight
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
On January 19, in the main event of the UFC’s first card on ESPN+, reigning UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will drop down to the flyweight division to battle divisional king Henry Cejudo for his title. First, of course, TJ Dillashaw will have to successfully cut down to the flyweight limit of 125 pounds. Henry Cejudo’s manager Ali Abdelaziz has some serious doubts that that will happen.
First two bouts of ONE Championship Lightweight Grand Prix set
BJPENN.COM Staff - January 4, 2019
The highly-anticipated ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix will be underway beginning January 25 at ONE Championship’s anticipated return to Manila. It was announced earlier by the promotion that Team Lakay veteran Honorio “The Rock” Banario will be taking on undefeated American Lowen Tynanes of Hawaii in the quarterfinal. Two months later, former UFC lightweight champion Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez takes his first swipe at the tournament against Russia’s Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE’s first event in Tokyo on March 31.
VIDEO | Watch Joe Rogan react to Amanda Nunes KOing Cris Cyborg
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
When UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes knocked out UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg in the co-main event of UFC 232, it left pretty much everybody’s jaw on the floor. That includes UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. In the UFC 232 instalment of the UFC’s popular post-fight series The Thrill and the Agony, we get a close-up look of how Joe Rogan reacted to this massive upset win. We also get to see how Dominick Cruz and Jon Anik reacted too — safe to say they were also surprised.
EXCLUSIVE | Sean O'Connell: A regular dude with a gold belt
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
Sean O’Connell has two black eyes and a couple of scrapes criss-crossing his face. For now, The Salt Lake City resident still has the mug of a prizefighter, but as of a few days ago, he isn’t one. O’Connell ended his fighting career on New Years Eve, moments after he thumped Vinny Magalhaes to win the Professional Fighters League (PFL) light heavyweight title and a million-dollar prize.
Jon Jones labeled as betting favorite over Daniel Cormier, Brock Lesnar and Stipe Miocic
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
If reigning UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones and reigning UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier fight for a third time, the former will enter the cage as a significant betting favorite. The online sportsbook Bovada has updated the odds for this potential trilogy fight after Jones’ UFC 232 defeat of Alexander Gustafsson, and Jones has been pegged as a -265 betting favorite over his arch rival. This means that a successful bet of $265 on Jones would win you $100. Cormier, meanwhile, is now a +205 underdog, meaning a successful $100 bet on him would earn you $205.
Coach believes Dana White will persuade Daniel Cormier to delay retirement plans
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has long planned to retire in March of 2019, when he turns 40. From the sounds of it, however, the champ might just delay his retirement plans as fights Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar, and Stipe Miocic all loom on the horizon. UFC President Dana White recently said that he’d like to see Daniel Cormier delay his retirement plans to allow time for some of these fights. According to Cormier’s long-time coach Javier Mendez, it’s very possible that the UFC boss gets his way.
PFL's Kayla Harrison still hoping to fight Cris Cyborg
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
Rising PFL star Kayla Harrison is often compared to fellow Olympic judoka Ronda Rousey. Yet she says one of the main differences between her and Rousey is that she actually wants to fight Cris Cyborg. “That’s always been the difference between me and Ronda Rousey,” Harrison told ESPN recently. “She never wanted to fight Cyborg. I was always like, ‘I can’t wait to fight Cyborg.’
Amanda Nunes says Cris Cyborg had 'no power at all,' shares terms for rematch
Tom Taylor - January 4, 2019
UFC bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes didn’t just beat featherweight champ Cris Cyborg at UFC 232, she knocked her out in 51 seconds. The moment the fight was waved on, Nunes charged forward, wading through Cyborg’s offense to land power shots of her own. And suddenly, Cyborg was down.