MMA News

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

The UFC debut of former NFL player Greg Hardy was always going to be controversial, given his history of domestic violence. Yet it’s hard to imagine the UFC making a more controversial choice than scheduling Hardy’s debut for UFC on ESPN+, which will also include Rachael Ostovich, who was the victim of domestic violence mere weeks ago. On this January 19 card, the former football player Greg Hardy is expected to battle Allen Crowder, who recently lost his UFC debut to Justin Willis. Like many members of the MMA community, Crowder has a hard time comprehending the UFC’s choice to put Hardy on the same card as Ostovich.

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

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.

Drake Riggs - December 5, 2018

It’s been no secret that top UFC flyweight contender Sijara Eubanks has had her struggles with the scale since entering the division. That, however, will no longer be a likely issue as ESPN has confirmed that she will be moving back up to her old home of 135-pounds. The BJJ black belt Eubanks made her MMA debut in Invicta FC as a bantamweight before she quickly decided to try her hand at flyweight. After losing her debut at 125-pounds, Eubanks would return to 135 as well as the win column.

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

“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.

Mike Straus - December 5, 2018

The UFC returns to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for a stacked two-title fight UFC 231 card this Saturday. Pragmatists, as always, we have four reasons why you should tune in this weekend. The Scotiabank Arena will host the evening’s festivities that feature 13 fights in total. Two championship title fights will headline the night and plenty of top 10 talent across multiple divisions will be on display throughout the night.

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

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2018

If things had gone according to plan, Canadian lightweight Jesse Ronson would have battled Carlos Diego Ferreira at this weekend’s UFC 231 card in Toronto. Unfortunately, it now sounds as though the Canadian fighter will never fight in the UFC again.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 5, 2018

Luis Regis has put his life on hold to chase his dreams in ONE Championship. Set for his promotional debut against Thailand’s Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex at ONE: Destiny of Champions in Kuala Lumpur on Friday night, the Australian Muay Thai champion Regis said he has turned to his wife to take on the bulk of family duties at home while he prepares for the main event.

Mike Pendleton - December 5, 2018

When Eryk Anders steps into the Octagon at UFC 231 against Elias Theodorou — a fight that he’s been chasing for some time — he’s looking to make a statement to the entire middleweight division. Coming off a loss to Thiago Santos, which he took on short-notice and in the unfamiliar light heavyweight division, Anders is looking to use lessons learned to help propel him in the middleweight division. In an interview with BJPenn.com, Eryk Anders opened up about what he’s looking to do against Theodorou, why he’s happy this fight is finally happening, and what he learned from his fight against Thiago Santos.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2018

Yesterday, Combate Americas announced two changes to the lineup for its much-anticipated, biggest event of the year – the “COPA COMBATE” one-night, eight-man, $100,000 grand prize Mixed Martial Arts featherweight (145 pounds) showdown – as well as the tournament brackets for the event that takes place at Save Mart Center on Friday, Dec. 7. The second annual “COPA COMBATE” extravaganza airs live in its entirety in English in the U.S. and Canada on DAZN (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), and live on television in Spanish in the U.S. on both Univision (12 a.m. ET/PT) and Univision Deportes Network (UDN) (12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT).

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2018

Last night, ESPN reported that former NFL star Greg Hardy is likely to make his long-discussed UFC debut on January 19 in Brooklyn, New York, when the UFC makes its first appearance on ESPN+. Hardy’s seemingly inevitable move to the UFC has always been the subject of controversy, as he was previously found guilty on two charges of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend (though those charges were later dropped when his victim did not appear in court). That said, it’s hard to imagine the UFC handling the controversial former NFL’s debut any worse.

Tom Taylor - December 5, 2018

If UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley battles his arch nemesis Colby Covington in the New Year as expected, he’s expecting to have to fend off some takedown attempt. So many takedown attempts, in fact, that he recently made Covington a little wager on the topic. “I’ll bet you $10,000 every single time you touch my leg for a (takedown) shot, you’ve got to pay me $10,000,” Woodley said on his Hollywood Beatdown show. “I want people to see it for what it is.”