MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, and JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico are two of the biggest and most successful MMA gyms in the world. Both gyms have produced a long list of UFC champions, and countless UFC contenders. Unfortunately, both are currently without Instagram accounts thanks to the UFC.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

At long last, Valentina Shevchenko has captured the thing she’s been chasing: The UFC flyweight belt. Shevchenko earned this title with a dominant decision victory over former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 231 earlier this month. Looking back on the fight, Valentina Shevchenko says she’s pleased not only with her own performance, but with Jedrzejczyk’s. She believes that, together, they showcased the true art of fighting.

James Lynch - December 18, 2018

Jon Jones will step back into the cage for the first time this year when he faces Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch on Dec. 29 at UFC 232. The lack of cage time is no surprise to those who have followed Jones’ career over the last few years. Drug testing suspensions and a hit-and-run accident have kept the 31-year-old limited to just one fight a year since 2014 and also cost him his light heavyweight title.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has a lot of respect for former welterweight and middleweight champ Georges St-Pierre, but he feels that St-Pierre is averse to high-risk challenges. Anderson Silva gave his assessment of Georges St-Pierre at a press conference at his new Spider Kick gym on Monday.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 18, 2018

With over 20 exciting events throughout 2018, ONE Championship had its share of memorable bouts. With matches across a variety of disciplines, we’ve taken a look at all of the cards and bouts of the year and selected the following five as the most significant. We start with ONE: Unstoppable Dreams from May. Angela Lee def. Mei Yamaguchi to Retain ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship This bout was a rematch of a 2016 clash at ONE: Ascent to Power. Lee won that bout via unanimous decision, but the Japanese veteran came prepared to take things to the next level in the rematch.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

UFC President Dana White recently suggested that the winner of Anderson Silva and Israel Adesanya’s UFC 234 middleweight fight will get the next crack at the middleweight belt. Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, who has been chasing a UFC title shot since he arrived in the UFC in 2013, was not happy to hear this. Speaking to the Brazilian website PVT last week, Jacare shared his belief that neither Silva nor Adesanya deserves a title shot.

Tom Taylor - December 18, 2018

After watching his fighter Al Iaquinta defeat Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC Milwaukee last weekend, Coach Ray Longo is hoping for an Iaquinta vs. Conor McGregor fight next. The renowned coached explained the appeal of this fight on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Thomas Taylor - December 17, 2018

It definitely seems like former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor is planning on fighting again in 2019. On Monday evening, the MMA superstar took to Twitter with a hint that he’ll be throwing more of his patented rocket-fuelled punches in the New Year.

Drake Riggs - December 17, 2018

One of if not the brightest prospect to come from Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series is the bantamweight division’s ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. Unfortunately for the 24-year old star in the making, he’s been sidelined since March with injury as well as a suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Thomas Taylor - December 17, 2018

Vitor Belfort is retired no longer. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on Monday afternoon, the Brazilian MMA legend announced his intentions to end his retirement. Belfort has not yet signed with a promotion, so details on the date and opponent for his comeback are still a mystery.

Cole Shelton - December 17, 2018

Geoff Neal may very well have earned the 2018 Knockout of the Year honors with his UFC 228 head-kick knockout of Frank Camacho, but he’s not resting on his laurels. On January 19, when the UFC debuts on ESPN+ in Brooklyn, New York, Neal will take a big step up in competition as he battles Belal Muhammad. Muhammad is currently 14-2 as a professional, and there is no question that this will be Neal’s toughest fight to date.

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz was briefly expected to make his return to the cage opposite John Lineker at the now-cancelled UFC 233 on January 26. Unfortunately, Cruz was sidelined with yet another unfortunate injury. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show this week, the former champion opened up on the severity of this injury and how he sustained it.

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

UFC welterweight star Colby Covington has long flirted with the idea of a move to the WWE ring, but these days, when he’s having an increasingly difficult time getting his long-desired title fight with Tyron Woodley, he’s finding a move to the pro wrestling world more appealing than ever. He’s spoken to his training partner Bobby Lashley, as well as other WWE stars like Ronda Rousey and Paul Heyman, and he’s heard that the organization treats its athletes with great respect.

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

Conor McGregor is still dealing with a six-month driving ban for repeated speeding infractions, but he was able to dodge another driving-related charge in court in Dublin on Monday. The Irish MMA superstar was appearing court after being accused of driving without a license or insurance when stopped by the police in July. Because he was unable to produce these documents when he was pulled over, he was charged with driving without documentation. McGregor, of course, was licensed at the time, and was able to produce all the required documents and paperwork to indicate this fact ahead of his hearing. As a result, all charges were dropped (h/t RT.com).

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley are the two halves of arguably the most heated rivalry in MMA today. The two top welterweights, who used to share a training space at American Top Team, are now sworn enemies. Yet there is one thing they can agree on: they want to fight each other next. Covington and Woodley’s mutual desire to be locked in the cage together is particularly pertinent lately, given that the UFC has recently moved to give Kamaru Usman the next shot at Woodley’s title. Usman has even received a bout agreement for the fight.

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

Speaking at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards over the weekend, undefeated heavyweight boxing star Tyson Fury delivered yet another inspiring message related to his recent mental health struggles. In a rousing speech, the boxer said that he hopes that by answering the referee’s 10-count after being floored by a 12th-round punch in his recent battle with Deontay Wilder, he showed people that anything is possible.

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

On Saturday night in Milwaukee, veteran UFC lightweight Bobby Green stepped into the cage with dangerous prospect Drakkar Klose. Despite a solid effort, Green ultimately gave up a unanimous decision loss to his foe. Shortly after this defeat, Bobby Green took Instagram, where he announced his retirement from MMA — though this post has since been deleted.

Christopher Taylor - December 16, 2018

A fight between current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and former Strikeforce title holder Nick Diaz has been rumored to be in the works in the past. Unfortunately for fight fans, the proposed Woodley vs. Diaz contest never came to fruition.