MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2018

Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 232, Valentina Shevchenko captured the vacant UFC women’s flyweight title with a dominant decision defeat of former UFC strawweight Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Speaking on The MMA Hour with Luke Thomas on Monday, the new champion broke down this victory.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2018

Jon Jones has officially been removed from the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) suspension list, clearing him to fight Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 232 this December 29 in Las Vegas. Jones received this positive news at a CSAC hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 11, 2018

World champion Joshua Pacio will be out for redemption when he puts his ONE Championship belt on the line next year. Pacio (16-2-0), the undisputed ONE Strawweight World Champion, bids to avenge his only defeat in almost 500 days when he takes on Japan’s Hayato Suzuki (20-1-2) in Indonesia. The pair will square off in the main event at ONE: Eternal Glory, set for Istora Senayan in Jakarta on 19 January.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2018

UFC 233, the first pay-per-view of 2019, is just over a month away and it still doesn’t have a main event. That was not initially the case, as a flyweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Henry Cejudo was originally supposed to headline the card. However, when that fight was moved up a week to headline the first ESPN card in Brooklyn, UFC 233 was left without a main event. Now, with the majority of champions booked, injured or recovering from recent fights, the UFC finds itself in a tough situation. There are not a lot of viable options left available for the UFC 233 main event — especially if the promotion wants to compete with Bellator 214, which will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Ryan Bader, and airs the same night.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2018

Surging UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier was expected to return to the cage opposite Nate Diaz at UFC 230 in early November. Regrettably, the New Orleans native was forced out of this fight with an injury and sidelined for several weeks. Now back in fighting shape, Dustin Poirier is getting antsy. He wants to fight, and fight soon. But with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor both tied up with imminent Nevada State Athletic Commission punishments, he’s low on viable options.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2018

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder fought an incredible fight against Tyson Fury. In fact, The American titleholder very nearly finished the resurgent British fighter in the 12th round, scoring a ring-shaking knockdown that would have left lesser men glued to the canvas for minutes. Miraculously, however, Fury was able to return to his feet and survive to the final bell, at which point the ring-side judges ruled the fight a draw.

James Lynch - December 11, 2018

Bellator MMA announced in a press release that James Gallagher will headline Bellator 218 in Dublin, Ireland on Feb. 23. Gallagher (7-1) will look to bounce back from the first loss of his career as he’s set to face Steven Graham in a bantamweight bout. The 22-year-old is coming off a first-round TKO loss to former CFFC champion Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 204 in August. Losing for the first time in his career was especially tough for Gallagher who had engaged in a lot of trash talk leading up until the bout. The highlight reel head kick made it’s way on SportsCenter and did big numbers on social media.

Tom Taylor - December 11, 2018

UFC 231, which went down last Saturday night in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, produced some thrilling wars and decisive stoppages. There was featherweight champ Max Holloway’s bludgeoning of Brian Ortega in the main event. There was Gunnar Nelson’s submission defeat of Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira, which was set up by a chasmal slice across Oliveira’s forehead. There was Thiago Santos and Jimi Manuwa‘s wild war, which saw both men absorb heavy artillery until the former hit the canvas for good. It was a wild and violent card, and as such, the kind of card that produced some lengthy medical suspensions — including a potential six-month sit for the vanquished Brian Ortega.

Christopher Taylor - December 10, 2018

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was expected to challenge Max Holloway for the promotions featherweight title at UFC 222. Unfortunately for fight fans, that contest failed to come to fruition after “Blessed” suffered an injury in training.

Drake Riggs - December 10, 2018

Former two-time Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has undeniably established himself as one of the best fighters outside of the UFC. At Bellator 212, he looks to reclaim the title that he controversially lost.

Christopher Taylor - December 10, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will return to the octagon at UFC 232 on December 29, where he will rematch Alexander Gustafsson for the promotions interim 205-pound title. “Bones” has not stepped foot inside the cage since defeating Daniel Cormier via third-round knockout in the main event of UFC 214 in July of 2017.

Thomas Taylor - December 10, 2018

Reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former champion Conor McGregor were expected to appear in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) today to face the music for their infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl. Unfortunately, both fighters were granted continuances, meaning they will not be disciplined until at least January 29. In other words, neither man is going to be fighting for quite some time. For top lightweight contenders like Dustin Poirier and Tony Ferguson, this is understandably frustrating new. Luckily, Poirier has a solution that the fans will surely love.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2018

Last Saturday night, on the undercard of UFC 231 in Toronto, Eryk Anders got his long-awaited fight with Canada’s Elias Theodorou. While Anders had Theodorou visibly hurt in the second round — perhaps even enough to justify a 10-8 score — Theodorou was ultimately awarded a split decision win on the basis of his success his success in the first and third frames. While Eryk Anders has been classy in the wake of this loss, he recently announced his intention to fight in America for his next few fights, where he’s less likely to face any sort of judging bias.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2018

After a long career as a WEC and UFC bantamweight contender, Brad Pickett retired in 2017 and is now focusing on coaching and managing fighters. Picket always knew he would get into coaching. While he was a UFC fighter he loved helping out the younger fighters improve and show them what it takes to make it to the UFC. Although he was helping the fighters back then, he says it’s been different to focus exclusively on coaching.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2018

SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh isn’t sure if his star pupil Conor McGregor will fight again. If the Irish MMA superstar does elect to fight again, however, Kavanagh will have to be convinced to train him for the bout. John Kavanagh explained why he feels this way in a recent interview with The Irish Independent.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2018

There are plenty of interesting options on the table for the next fight of former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. In the opinion of UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, however, there is one matchup that stands out from the rest: A trilogy fight with Nate Diaz. McGregor and Diaz have met twice previously, earning a win apiece, and Rogan believes the timing couldn’t be better for a tie-breaking trilogy fight.

Tom Taylor - December 10, 2018

Over the weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 231, former UFC strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk came up short in a flyweight title fight with the fearsome Valentina Shevchenko. Having watched this fight, UFC President Dana White believes Jedrzejczyk is better suited for the strawweight division than she is for the flyweight division. “I love her, she’s such a great fighter and such a good person,” Dana White said at the UFC 231 post-fight press conference (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I actually consider her a friend. I want her to take some time off, go spend some time with her family and then we’ll get together and talk about it. But I’d like to see her stay at [115 pounds]. “

Mike Straus - December 10, 2018

UFC 231 from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada sure lived up the hype. With a bevy of exciting fights, here are the three biggest winners and losers. When the world leader in mixed martial arts comes to Canada they don’t hold back. Two title fights sat atop a 13-fight card and nearly every fight was entertaining.