MMA News
EXCLUSIVE | Kyle Nelson will remain in UFC after stepping in on short notice at UFC 231
Cole Shelton - December 23, 2018
Canadian Kyle Nelson will indeed be a UFC fighter for the foreseeable future. Nelson stepped in on short notice to fight Diego Ferreira at UFC 231. However, he lost the fight in the second round by TKO. Even though he lost the fight, Nelson was satisfied with his performance.
Alexander Gustafsson explains why he's 'not a fan' of Jon Jones
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
Alexander Gustafsson is not a fan of Jon Jones, who he’ll battle for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 232 on December 29. The Swedish contender believes professional fighters should be role models, and that Jones’s actions outside the cage make him anything but. “I’m not a fan,” Gustafsson said at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas earlier this week (via MMAjunkie). “We’re all role models here. We have to represent the sport good. I’m not a fan at all. But we’re not here to be friends. We’re here to compete.”
5 super fights the UFC could make in 2019
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
2018 was a big year for the UFC, but with stars like Conor McGregor, Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez all ready to return to active competition, and champions like Max Holloway and Khabib Nurmagomedov becoming ever more popular, 2019 could be even bigger. In fact, the UFC is in a position to book some pretty epic super fights in the New Year, any number of which could helm blockbuster pay-per-view cards.
PHOTO | TJ Dillashaw looks shredded ahead of flyweight debut
Tom Taylor - December 23, 2018
On January 19, in the main event of the UFC’s first card on the streaming service ESPN+, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will drop down to flyweight to challenge divisional champ Henry Cejudo for his belt. Heading into this fight, one of the biggest challenges TJ Dillashaw is expected to face is the weight cut down to the 125-pound flyweight limit itself. He tends to look pretty buff when he fights in the 135-pound bantamweight division, and some fans have a hard time envisioning him safely making the cut down to flyweight.
VIDEO | Dillian Whyte scores Knockout of the Year contender over Dereck Chisora
Thomas Taylor - December 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/streetfitebanch/status/1076620770036645889 On Saturday night, heavyweight boxing once again took center stage, as British big men Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora stepped into the ring for an anticipated rematch.
ONE Championship: Breakout Stars To Watch In 2019
BJPENN.COM Staff - December 22, 2018
The biggest stars in ONE Championship aren’t hard to find. Angela Lee, Aung La N Sang, Martin Nguyen and even newcomers like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez are household names who currently carry the torch for the promotion. As great as those martial artists are, they won’t reign forever. We took a look at performers who really stood out in 2018 and came up with five young and talented martial artists ready to break out in 2019.
EXCLUSIVE | UFC veteran Matt Brown looks back on his career
Cole Shelton - December 22, 2018
Matt Brown has been fighting in the UFC since 2008. During that time, Brown developed into a perennial contender in the UFC’s stacked welterweight division. Ultimately, however, Brown fell just short in his bid to fight for UFC gold. Nonetheless, Matt was fighting some of the top names in the sport, in the likes of Robbie Lawler, Stephen Thompson, Johnny Hendricks, Donald Cerrone, Demian Maia, among others. There is no question that Matt Brown has seen a lot in his storied career. Even with that, ‘The Immortal’ doesn’t really reflect on who he has fought in his career, because for him, it is just a fight no matter who the opponent is.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has reportedly received a mega offer to rematch Conor McGregor
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has reportedly received a huge offer to rematch former UFC two-division champ Conor McGregor in 2019. The bitter rivals, Conor and Khabib, first met two months ago in the headliner of October’s UFC 229 event, with “The Eagle” emerging victorious by way of fourth-round submission.
Jon Jones fires back at his critics: "Who said that’s what a champion has to be?"
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will return to the octagon at next Saturday’s UFC 232 event for a title fight rematch with Alexander Gustafsson. Jones and Gustafsson originally collided at UFC 165 in Toronto and produced one of the greatest fights in UFC history.
UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 Fight Card and Start Times
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
The octagon will return to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas next Saturday for the promotions UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 fight card. Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson first met at UFC 165 in Toronto and produced arguably the greatest fight in light heavyweight history.
Let's have some fun: Nate Diaz vs. Max Holloway at lightweight
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Max Holloway handed Brian Ortega the first loss of his professional career earlier this month at UFC 231 and made it look easy. The current UFC featherweight kingpin, Holloway battered “T-City” with a record-setting number of significant strikes on route to a fourth-round TKO victory.
Frank Mir wants rematch with Javy Ayala to determine if he should continue fighting
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (18-13 MMA) is looking to book a rematch with Javy Ayala in order to determine his future in the fight game. Mir suffered the first submission defeat of his storied mixed martial arts career to Ayala at Bellator 212 in Honolulu earlier this month.
Cain Velasquez signs a new four-fight deal with the UFC and will return to the octagon February 17
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC and will return tot he octagon on February 17 in Phoenix, Arizona. The news of Cain’s new four-fight contract came via ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, who posted the following on Twitter.
Heavy Lies The Crown: Max Holloway Edition
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
In this week’s “Heavy Lies the Crown” feature, BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor takes a look at the dangerous challenges awaiting current UFC featherweight king Max Holloway. “Blessed” defended his 145-pound title in stunning fashion earlier this month at UFC 231, scoring a lopsided TKO victory over an insanely tough Brian Ortega in Toronto.
VIDEO | Nick Diaz goes off on bizarre rant, but what does it mean?
Chris Taylor - December 22, 2018
If you follow former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz on Instagram, then you know he likes to post a lot of short selfie videos detailing what he is smoking and where he is currently partying. Diaz recently posted a ton of video content on his Instagram, which was later compiled into one long video by BloodyElbow’s Anton Tabuena.
Dana White claims that the UFC puts on 'the best live event in all of sports'
Drake Riggs - December 21, 2018
2018 was a big year for the top MMA promotion in the world. And according to the boss himself, the live experience of the UFC product is simply unmatched. Having been the UFC President since 2001, Dana White has seen it all when it comes to the fight business. White, an avid sports fan of all kinds, recently made an appearance on the Barstool Sports podcast where he made some bold claims.
Michael Chiesa wants 'all profits made' by Conor McGregor at UFC 229 from 'pre-meditated publicity stunt' bus attack
Drake Riggs - December 21, 2018
Next Saturday night, season 15 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael ‘Maverick’ Chiesa makes his return to the cage at UFC 232 to take on Carlos Condit in his UFC welterweight debut. However, Chiesa continues to fight his fight outside the MMA world as well.
EXCLUSIVE | Jinh Yu Frey: 'Old guard' atop the mountain
Drake Riggs - December 21, 2018
Becoming a champion is never an easy thing to achieve no matter the sport. In MMA however, it may be even harder than most as the fighters are simply relying on themselves to get their jobs done.