MMA News
VIDEO | Before Mamed Khalidov vs Tomasz Narkun 2 at KSW 46, take a look back at their epic first encounter
Drake Riggs - November 30, 2018
https://youtu.be/3Hl5WCIUHfs KSW 46 goes down tomorrow, December 1. And it’s headlined by one of the best matchups of the year.
Conor McGregor coach Owen Roddy announces departure from SBG in Dublin
Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018
Owen Roddy, one of the long-time coaches of former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor, has announced that he will no longer be working at SBG Ireland in Dublin, and that he is instead moving to the gym’s Charleston location. Roddy made this announcement on his official Instagram page on Friday afternoon.
Michael Page, Paul Daley booked for long-awaited Bellator grudge match in February
Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018
British knockout artists Paul Daley and Michael Page have been chomping at the bit to fight each other for years. They will finally have that opportunity in the New Year. According to a report from ESPN, the pair will collide in Uncasville, Connecticut — not in the United Kingdom — on February 16.
EXCLUSIVE | Jared Gordon discusses move to Roufusport: 'It's a perfect fit for me'
Mike Pendleton - November 30, 2018
UFC lightweight Jared Gordon is preparing to return from a 10-month layoff and is doing so with a new team behind him. Gordon took his first loss in the UFC when he came up short to Carlos Diego Ferreira at UFC Fight Night 126 back in February. Following the loss, Gordon decided to pack up from his New York home and move to Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Roufusport is home to plenty of UFC stars, including Anthony and Sergio Pettis, Paul Felder, John Makdessi and Belal Muhammad just to name a few.
Robert Whittaker responds to Dana White saying he doesn't like doing media obligations
Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018
Earlier this month, UFC President Dana White claimed that UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was not a fan of the PR side of this sport. “We’re still talking about Rob becoming mainstream in his own country,” White said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. “But from what I hear from my people here, Rob doesn’t love doing PR. But while you may not always remember what he says, you never forget the way he fights.
Artem Lobov calls out Renato Moicano for short-notice UFC 231 scrap
Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018
Earlier this week, it was announced that streaking UFC featherweight contender Renato Moicano will be flown into Toronto for UFC 231, and kept at the ready in the event that featherweight champ Max Holloway or undefeated challenger Brian Ortega is unable to make it to the cage for the card’s headlining bout. While this means it’s possible that Moicano could get a surprise title shot, it’s more likely that he winds up sitting cage-side as Holloway and Ortega fight as planned. Artem Lobov is offering him a different option. Instead of flying Toronto and hoping for a short-notice fight, Artem Lobov says Renato Moicano should fly to Toronto and fight him. While Lobov recognizes Moicano is currently situated quite a distance above him in the rankings, he believes he still has something very valuable to offer the Brazilian: publicity.
EXCLUSIVE | Demetrious Johnson opens up on the potential closure of UFC flyweight division
Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018
It’s a strange and worrying time for the UFC flyweight division. The former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has been traded to ONE Championship in exchange for welterweight talent Ben Askren. A procession of long-time UFC flyweights have been released from their contracts, including Justin Scoggins, Jared Brooks, Roberto Sanchez, and most recently, Ulka Sasaki. Rumors that the promotion plans to close the division have been rampant, and when pressed about these rumors, UFC President Dana White hasn’t exactly provided cause for optimism… “The flyweight division just never took off, it never caught on,” White said on a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “Even with a dominant champion like Demetrious, it just never caught on. People didn’t care. I battled for a long time, I tried to keep it alive and obviously, it’s still going on now. We still have fights going on in that division, but we’ll see what the future holds for it.”
Israel Adesanya responds to Anderson Silva critics: 'He's not Chuck Liddell'
Tom Taylor - November 30, 2018
It was recently announced that UFC 234 will feature a middleweight showdown between streaking contender Israel Adesanya and former middleweight champ Anderson Silva. While some fans are thrilled about this clash of legendary strikers, others feel it’s irresponsible matchmaking; a chance to feed the aging legend Anderson Silva to a hyped-up young fighter. Israel Adesanya has heard these criticisms. While he agrees that Anderson Silva is perhaps not the fighter he once was, he assures he’s not Chuck Liddell, who was knocked out by Tito Ortiz last weekend.
Report | Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 was a PPV disaster
Christopher Taylor - November 29, 2018
Last weekend’s controversial Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 event failed to produce in the pay-per-view department. This according to the LA Times Lance Pugmire who recently reported that Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 buys could be as low as 30,000.
Tecia Torres vs Weili Zhang official for UFC 235
Drake Riggs - November 29, 2018
The UFC strawweight division is deeper and better than it’s ever been right now and leading the new wave of talent is China’s Weili Zhang (18-1). Holding quite the impressive record of 18-1 in her 19 career bouts, Zhang’s lone loss came in her pro debut. Having not looked back since, Zhang has dominated her competition on route to 16 finishes (10 KO/TKOs, six submissions) and six titles in Kunlun Fight MMA.
VIDEO | Conor McGregor pokes fun at recent driving ban, finds 'new driver'
Thomas Taylor - November 29, 2018
Earlier this week, news surfaced that former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor had been handed a six-month driving ban. This ban is due to the former champ’s excessive speeding near his home city of Dublin. He was also fined 1,000 euro ($1136.62) for the incident. According to a report from the BBC, Conor McGregor “admitted to driving his Range Rover at 154kph (96mph) in a 100kph (62mph) zone near Kill, County Kildare, in October 2017.” This latest infraction follows a significant 12 other traffic violations that reportedly date back to his teenage years.
BREAKING: Demian Maia will return to action on February 2 to take on former Bellator champ Lyman Good
Cole Shelton - November 29, 2018
A welterweight fight is going down in Brazil on February 2. Following an initial report from Combate, BJPENN.com has confirmed that Brazilian Demian Maia will be taking on former Bellator champion Lyman Good.
EXCLUSIVE | PFL fighter Ray Cooper III believes MMA tournaments are the future of the sport
Cole Shelton - November 29, 2018
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is about to finish their first season on New Year’s Eve. PFL decided to take MMA back to where it started by doing a tournament format. The tournament was structured like most other professional sports leagues, with a regular season, playoffs and then the finals. Ray Cooper III took part in the PFL’s first season and will be taking on Magomed Magomedkerimov in the welterweight final for the $1 million prize money. Ultimately, the first season of PFL can be chalked up as a success. It brought a fresh new feel to MMA. As well, fighters didn’t have to call for their title shots, rather simply earn them. That is something that intrigued Cooper III to take part in the PFL.
VIDEO | Rachael Ostovich explains why she's still fighting at UFC Brooklyn
Drake Riggs - November 29, 2018
EXCLUSIVE: #UFC’s Rachael Ostovich speaks publicly for first time since hospitalization https://t.co/SfUHb41zQm pic.twitter.com/0pjxRXWvHX — Rob DeMello (@RobDeMelloKHON) November 29, 2018
EXCLUSIVE | BJ PENN: "I was honored to spend a week with Kid Yamamoto before he passed"
Christopher Taylor - November 29, 2018
The mixed martial arts community is still grieving after losing legendary Japanese fighter Kid Yamamoto to cancer this past September. Norifumi had announced that he was battling the disease back on August 26 via his official Instagram.
Anderson Silva says a title shot follows a win in 'best fight in the sport' vs Israel Adesanya at UFC 234
Drake Riggs - November 29, 2018
The middleweight division is getting the return of its old king as Anderson Silva takes on Israel Adesanya at UFC 234 in Melbourne, Australia on February 10. When just glancing at this bout, the initial reaction may be, ‘Why would Anderson Silva take this fight?’
Raphael Assuncao and Marlon Moraes to rematch in main event of UFC Fortaleza
Drake Riggs - November 29, 2018
With the UFC’s bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw chasing other division’s titles, his own division has to move on and it now begins to start doing so. After winning the title for the second time by defeating arch-rival, Cody Garbrandt, Dillashaw would defend it successfully against his foe in their immediate rematch at UFC 227.
EXCLUSIVE | Luis Pena explains why he is moving down to featherweight and calling out Artem Lobov
Cole Shelton - November 29, 2018
Luis Pena was an undefeated lightweight up until his last fight, when he came up short against TUF 27 winner Mike Trizano. Then, after the fight, the man they call ‘Violent Bob Ross’ announced that he would be moving down to the featherweight division. This news came as a bit of a shock to some, given that Pena is 6’3″. Pena himself, however, feels it’s the right move.