MMA News
Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes trade verbal jabs after Reyes' callout
Drake Riggs - December 3, 2018
The light heavyweight division has recently begun to see some new talents emerge and leading the charge are the likes of the experienced Anthony “Lionheart” Smith and the young rising contender, Dominick Reyes. After Smith’s biggest win of his career over the previously No. 2 ranked Volkan Oezdemir in October, Smith now finds himself poised for another big fight but also with a target on his back.
Joe Rogan opens up on the amount of fighting he watches day-to-day
Thomas Taylor - December 3, 2018
As a long-time color commentator for the UFC, Joe Rogan watches a lot of fights. Even when he’s not on duty for UFC cards, he often watches the events for his Fight Companion podcasts. And then, of course, there’s his passion for Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai and kickboxing, which also takes up a lot of his attention… Really, it’s hard to comprehend how Joe Rogan has time to do anything but watch fights.
Scott Coker details current Bellator and RIZIN collaboration, expects more cross-promotional battles in the future
Drake Riggs - December 3, 2018
Capping off 2018’s MMA calendar will be RIZIN 14 on New Year’s Eve. With the full lineup now revealed, there is plenty to look forward to. Among the announced bouts, for most, the most anticipated will be the fantasy bout that will be fought over the inaugural RIZIN bantamweight title. That fight will feature none other than the current Bellator 135-pound champion, Darrion ‘The Wolf’ Caldwell as he goes to Japan to challenge one of their biggest stars in Kyoji Horiguchi.
Dana White shuts down recent claims of 165-pound division coming in after UFC 233
Drake Riggs - December 3, 2018
If we are indeed soon to be getting a new 165-pound weight class in the UFC, UFC President Dana White will do everything in his power to make sure that it’s kept a secret. With the recent rumblings of the 125-pound flyweight division’s dissolving, it has led many to believe that a new division will be coming in to replace it. And the only one that has been teased over the last few months is one that would fit between lightweight and welterweight.
EXCLUSIVE | Jimmie Rivera calls out Cody Garbrandt for refusing to fight
Mike Pendleton - December 3, 2018
Jimmie Rivera is looking for a fight, but he can’t seem to find a willing opponent. As current UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw prepares to fight Henry Cejudo for the flyweight title at UFC 233, Rivera has been angling for a fight with former champion Cody Garbrandt.
EXCLUSIVE | Sayif Saud and Fortis MMA are no longer flying under the radar
Cole Shelton - December 3, 2018
When MMA fans think of the top gyms in the sport, they think of American Top Team, JacksonWink MMA, Team Alpha Male, The MMA Lab, and many others. And rightfully so. However, not many fans seem to think of Fortis MMA. Some fans might not have even have heard of the gym. But that could soon change. Fortis MMA and its head coach Sayif Saud are no longer flying under the radar. That is because over the past year all the gym’s fighters have done is win and collect championships. Fortis MMA is based out of Dallas Texas, and has only been around for about two years. In that two years though, Saud built the program up. He initially had no fighters in the UFC or any top promotion for that matter under his roof. Instead, he took on fighters who were either amateurs or only had one or two professional fights.
Luis Regis seeks major upset in ONE: Destiny of Champions main event
BJPENN.COM Staff - December 3, 2018
Luis Regis is confident he can pull off a major upset in his ONE Championship debut this Friday night in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Friday morning North America). Clashing with Thailand’s Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex the main event at ONE: Destiny of Champions inside the Axiata Arena, the Australian Muay Thai champion Regis believes he is capable of stopping the multiple world champion.
Undefeated UFC middleweight Trevin Giles took 2018 off for police career, gives timeframe for Octagon return
James Lynch - December 3, 2018
If you haven’t heard Trevin Giles’s name in a while there’s a good reason for that. The undefeated UFC middleweight hasn’t competed since a Dec. 2017 TKO win over Antônio Braga Neto at UFC Fight Night 123. Instead, the 26-year-old has been working on his career as a police officer this past year, but he still plans on fighting in the UFC in 2019.
VIDEO | UFC pays tribute to Mark Hunt after his final fight in the Octagon
Tom Taylor - December 3, 2018
Mark Hunt has fought his last fight in the Octagon. Last weekend, on the main card of UFC Adelaide, “The Super Samoan” gave up a decision to rising prospect in Justin Willis, and provided he sticks to his earlier comments, he’ll fight out the remainder of his career outside the UFC’s Octagon.
Tito Ortiz calls out Chael Sonnen: 'I'm going to beat you down'
Tom Taylor - December 3, 2018
Shortly after he knocked out his arch rival Chuck Liddell in the main event of the first-ever Golden Boy MMA card late last month, former UFC light heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz announced that he planned to retire from MMA for good and focus on his burgeoning career as a fight promotor. “I’m done.” Ortiz said when asked if he’d be retiring. “There is nobody left I want to fight. I just want to continue to help the sports grow as a promoter. I want to help give back to the fighters.”
Rafael dos Anjos issues statement on loss to Kamaru Usman
Tom Taylor - December 3, 2018
Last Friday night, in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos stepped into the cage with streaking welterweight contender Kamaru Usman. Although dos Anjos put forth an admirable effort in this fight, he was not able to withstand Usman’s relentless attack, and ultimately gave up a unanimous decision to his dangerous foe as a result.
Joe Rogan points out the main flaw in Chuck Liddell's fighting style
Tom Taylor - December 3, 2018
Chuck Liddell’s long-discussed return to the cage did not go as planned. Instead, the former UFC light heavyweight champion was knocked out by Tito Ortiz — a man he’d bested twice previously — in the very first round. With this outcome, the 48-year-old Chuck Liddell has now been knocked out in his last four fights. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes he knows why this has happened. He believes that, at the height of his career, Liddell was able to rely on the strength of his chin when chasing his own knockout victories. When his chin began to weaken, however, he did not adjust his style, and thusly found himself on the receiving end of violent knockouts more and more frequently.
Report | Jose Aldo slated to return at January's UFC 233 event in Anaheim for rematch with Cub Swanson
Chris Taylor - December 2, 2018
The UFC is in the process of booking a rematch between former UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo and fan favorite Cub Swanson. The report comes from Brazilian MMA news outlet Combate, claiming Aldo and Swanson will rematch at January’s UFC 233 event in Anaheim.
EXCLUSIVE | After being jumped by former manager, Stergos Mikkios urges young fighters to take caution
Thomas Taylor - December 2, 2018
Today, Stergos Mikkios proudly calls himself a member of the ONE Championship roster. Yet if things had unfolded just a little bit differently for the Greek Muay Thai specialist, he might not have made it to the bright lights of the Singapore-based promotion. In fact, he might not be alive at all.
Ariane Lipski vs Joanne Calderwood moved from UFC 233 to UFC Brooklyn
Drake Riggs - December 2, 2018
The stacked UFC 233 card that will kick off the UFC’s 2019 pay-per-view cards has been forced to share the love as a highly anticipated bout has been moved to an earlier date. On January 26 at the Anaheim, California event, the former KSW champion and consensus top 10 worldwide flyweight, “The Violence Queen” Ariane Lipski (11-3) was set to make her long-awaited debut against the always entertaining and resurgent Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood (12-3).
Justin Willis responds to Tai Tuivasa's callout
Tom Taylor - December 2, 2018
On Friday, at the weigh-ins for UFC Adelaide, Justin Willis and his opponent Mark Hunt had a pretty tense staredown, capped off by a bit of trash talk. This did not go over well with Hunt’s training partner and friend Tai Tuivasa, who battled Junior Dos Santos in the UFC Adelaide main event. Shortly after he came up short to Dos Santos in the main event, Tai Tuivasa called for a fight with Willis.
Fighters react to tonight's Mark Hunt vs. Justin Willlis fight at UFC Adelaide
Chris Taylor - December 1, 2018
Heavyweights Mark Hunt and Justin Willis collided on the main card of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 142 event in Adelaide, Australia. Mark Hunt entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering back-to-back setbacks to opponents Curtis Blaydes and Alexey Oleynik in his most recent fights. Prior to that, “The Super Samoan” had scored a TKO victory over recent division title challenger Derrick Lewis.
Fighters react to Shogun Rua stopping Tyson Pedro in Round 3
Chris Taylor - December 1, 2018
A light heavyweight contest featuring former division champion Mauricio Shogun Rua taking on perennial contender Tyson Pedro took place at tonight’s UFC Adelaide event. Shogun Rua entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering a first-round knockout loss to surging division contender Anthony Smith in his most recent octagon appearance at UFC Fight Night 134.