MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2018

Conor McGregor brought in a lot of top talent to help him prepare for his UFC 229 title fight with undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. One fixture of McGregor’s past training camps that wasn’t a part of these preparations for the Russian champion, however, was Icelandic welterweight contender Gunnar Nelson. Speaking to the media ahead of his UFC 231 fight with Alex Oliveira, Gunnar Nelson explained why he wasn’t a part of Conor McGregor’s training for Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Drake Riggs - December 6, 2018

“So here’s the situation, we wanted to go eat and the worker comes up like, ‘Yo! Dude!’ he’s like, ‘Bro! Anybody ever told you you look like Tony Ferguson?’ And I kinda just like waved it off and [was] like, ‘Yeah, cool.’ He’s like, ‘Yo, man you don’t know what UFC is?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know what UFC is. Actually, that’s funny cause a lot of people tell me that when they talk about UFC, I look like Max Holloway. You know the champ guy?’

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2018

The future of the UFC flyweight division is still shrouded in mystery. One the one hand, the promotion recently booked arguably the biggest fight in the division’s history, as reigning champion Henry Cejudo is set to defend his title against slimmed-down UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN+1 on January 19. On the other hand, there’s been a prevalence of rumors suggesting the UFC will soon disband the division, which have been spurred on by the promotion’s choice to part ways with fighters like Demetrious Johnson, Jose Torres, Jared Brooks, Roberto Sanchez, Ulka Sasaki, and Justin Scoggins.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2018

Earlier this week, we learned that former NFL star Greg Hardy, who has a history of domestic violence, will be sharing the Jan. 19 UFC on ESPN+ 1 card with Rachael Ostovich, who is a very recent survivor of domestic violence. This news was met with immediate backlash, as many members of the MMA community criticized the UFC for putting the two fighters on the same card. On Thursday afternoon, TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter asked UFC President Dana White about the controversial decision to put Greg Hardy and Rachael Ostovich on the same card.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2018

This Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 231 in Toronto, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will collide with undefeated challenger Brian Ortega. Ahead of the UFC 231 card, this long-awaited Holloway vs. Ortega fight is being hailed as one of the best matchups ever — at least on paper. The two 27-year-old stars possess some of the most versatile and dangerous skillsets in the game — something they’ve proven on their respective win streaks.

Cole Shelton - December 6, 2018

This Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 231, streaking UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will attempt to defend his title against undefeated challenger Brian Ortega. Heading into this fight, fans are divided in their predictions. As it turns out, professional fighters are also treading both sides of the fence.

Mike Straus - December 6, 2018

Two-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler is on a mission to get his title back. And he is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal. Chandler, 32, is one of the best 155-pound fighters in the world. He is arguably Bellator MMA’s best athlete and has been the promotions go-to guy for the last few years. And boy does he want his lightweight title back.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2018

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has found himself in hot water after making controversial comments about female fighters at an event in Saudi Arabia. At this event, the champion was asked what advice he has for up-and-coming female fighters. Here’s how he responded:

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2018

Max Holloway and Brian Ortega are two of the most dangerous and versatile young fighters in MMA, and this Saturday, in the main event of UFC 231, they’ll fight. Heading into this fight, which will see Holloway attempt to defend his featherweight title against Ortega, fans are divided in their predictions.

Christopher Taylor - December 5, 2018

Mixed martial arts legend Mirko Cro Cop will make make his Bellator debut on February 16 in Uncasville, Connecticut against Roy Nelson. This according to ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani, who recently shared the report on social media.

Christopher Taylor - December 5, 2018

Long time UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes it would be a great idea for the UFC to implement a new men’s 165-pound division. This past Saturday, former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson revealed that the UFC is planning to introduce a new men’s 165-pound weight class in 2019.

Drake Riggs - December 5, 2018

This Saturday night in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the second ever UFC women’s flyweight champion will be crowned. Battling it out will be the former 135-pound title challenger, Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko and the former strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk as they vie for the vacant crown.

Cole Shelton - December 5, 2018

UFC 233 will no longer be headlined by TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo for the flyweight title. According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, that fight has been moved to January 19 to headline ESPN+ in Brooklyn, New York. The UFC was hoping to start off the ESPN-era with a great card but struggled to find an adequate main attraction. After weeks of searching, they inevitably decided to move the Dillashaw vs. Cejudo Flyweight title fight to the January 19 fight card.

Cole Shelton - December 5, 2018

The Ultimate Fighter 28 featured men’s heavyweights and women’s featherweights, arguably the two weakest divisions in the UFC. The hope was it would add fighters to the respective divisions and possible title contenders. It appears the UFC may have gotten that in Macy Chiasson. Inside the house, Chiasson had a noticeable height and weight advantage. Chiasson is a natural featherweight while most of the other girls competing on the show were natural bantamweights. That was a big help to Chiasson during the fights.

Cole Shelton - December 5, 2018

“I’m going to go out there and knock out Colby Covington. That right now is the fight. The UFC just called and they offered us that fight, they said Colby Covington in January. You know what I am going to do, of course, I have accepted. For the fifth time, I have accepted the fight. Right now we are just waiting on him.”

Drake Riggs - December 5, 2018

ONE Championship has recently made a big effort to further put themselves on the radars of MMA fans around the world. Thanks to acquisitions of Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, Miesha Tate, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Sage Northcutt, the Singapore based promotion is looking to have its biggest year yet in 2019.

Cole Shelton - December 5, 2018

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will finally make his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 233. The promotion made the bout official on Twitter on Wednesday. Cruz is back!@DominickCruz returns to face 'Hands of Stone' @JohnLineker at #UFC233 in Anaheim on Jan. 26! pic.twitter.com/SunaIvoev9

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 5, 2018

ONE Championship welterweight Agilan Thani has the chance to end 2018 on a high note when he competes this Friday at ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS, inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Thani will take on Kyrgyzstan’s Kiamrian Abbasov in the evening’s co-main event, and while the Malaysian athlete is aware of the danger Abbasov poses, the 23-year-old is backing himself to get the win in front of his home crowd.