MMA News

Luis Pena
Luis Pena

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.

Conor McGregor
UFC

VIDEO | Conor McGregor trains alongside his father and his son

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

When Conor McGregor is gearing up for a fight, he sharpens his tools alongside dangerous fighters like Artem Lobov, Dillon Danis, and Gunnar Nelson. In a recent video clip uploaded to his official Instagram account, however, he can be seen training alongside some new faces: his father Tony and his young son Conor Jr. See it below:

Jim Crute, UFC 234
Jimmy Crute

EXCLUSIVE | Jim Crute hopes to be in light heavyweight top-10 with three wins — starting with Paul Craig at UFC Adelaide

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

Back in July, undefeated Australian light heavyweight prospect Jim Crute earned himself a UFC contract with a first-round destruction of Chris Birchler on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. This Sunday in Adelaide, Australia (Saturday in North America), he’ll make his long-awaited UFC debut against Scotland’s Paul Craig. The last time Paul Craig was in action, he dazzled the MMA community with an epic comeback win, dodging near-certain defeat by submitting Magomed Ankalaev with a single second remaining in their fight. Jim Crute saw this fight, and he was as impressed as the rest of us. That being said, he assures Paul Craig will have no such victory at UFC Adelaide.

Juan Archuleta
Exclusive MMA Interviews

EXCLUSIVE | Juan Archuleta plans to take out Jeremy Spoon, earn title shots in three Bellator divisions

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

Juan Archuleta has long stood out as one of the most exciting prospects in the Bellator featherweight division. In his Friday night Bellator 210 fight with Jeremy Spoon, he’ll look to take another big step toward divisional champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. To say Archuleta is excited for this looming test would be an understatement.

Yoshihiro Akiyama, ONE Championship
Yoshihiro Akiyama

ONE Championship signs UFC veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

ONE Championship just got a whole lot sexier. Chatri Sityodtong, the chairman and CEO of the Singapore-based promotion, announced early Thursday morning that he’s signed UFC veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama — better known by his hilarious nickname “Sexyama.” I'm thrilled to announce that JMMA Korean-Japanese Legend Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama (15-6) (otherwise known as Choo Sung-Hoon) has officially signed with ONE Championship!

Max Holloway
Max Holloway

Max Holloway willing to fight Renato Moicano on an hour's notice if Brian Ortega doesn't show up

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, it was announced that Brazil’s Renato Moicano will be the standby fighter for the UFC 231 main event. He will be called to arms in the event that UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway or undefeated challenger Brian Ortega isn’t able to show up. Apparently, Moicano is very ready for the opportunity. In fact, he advised Max Holloway to just stay home.

Alexander-Gustafsson-Jon-Jones
Jon Jones

Jon Jones calls Alexander Gustafsson a 'knockoff version' of himself

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

In September of 2013, in the main event of UFC 165, Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson gave Jon Jones the toughest fight of his career, battling the long-time light heavyweight champion to a razor close decision. While Gustafsson did not leave Toronto with Jones’ belt, many fans felt he should have. Speaking on a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Jon Jones once again claimed that he was not in the right headspace heading into this first fight with Alexander Gustafsson. In fact, he says he felt like he was about to fight an off-brand version of himself.

Tito Ortiz, Oscar De La Hoya, Dana White
Golden Boy Promotions

Oscar De La Hoya issues scathing response to 'threatened' Dana White

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2018

UFC President Dana White was not impressed by Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell’s third fight, which was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions over the weekend. Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, the UFC boss unleashed a virulent tirade against the retired boxer De La Hoya and the product he promotes. “I love Chuck Liddell and I don’t ever want to bad mouth Chuck Liddell,” White said Tuesday. “People even think I’m remotely bad mouthing Chuck Liddell, but the reality is — first of all, I heard last week the cokehead ‘Oscar De La Weirdo’ is talking shit that I don’t have any place to tell guys when to retire. First of all, it’s called ‘friendship’ you f*cking cokehead.

Colby Covington
Juan Archuleta

BJPENN.COM Radio Ep. 106 // Juan Archuleta | Ray Cooper III | Jimmy Crute

Jason Kindschy - November 28, 2018

Juan Archuleta returns to preview his showdown against Jeremy Spoon at Bellator 210 in Thackersville, Oklahoma this Friday. Still undefeated since joining the promotion, “The Spaniard” looks to put on another great performance and show the world why he is more than ready to prove himself against the elite in the division. With big plans ahead for 2019 and beyond, we’ll discuss Archuleta’s continued campaign for titles in multiple weight classes, and who he plans to face after dispatching Spoon on Friday. We’ll also get Juan’s take on upcoming matchups featuring his teammates at the Treigning Lab, and much more.

Five reasons
TUF 28 Finale

Five Reasons To Watch The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale

Mike Straus - November 28, 2018

The Ultimate Fighter draws to an end in its historic 28th season. It will be the last of its kind. Here are five reasons to watch the TUF 28 Finale. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) TV reality show has given fight fans a brief look into the crazy world that is mixed martial arts. Not to mention the countless stars that used the show as a catalyst to start their own career(s). Nate Diaz, Michael Bisping, and Forrest Griffen come to mind.

BJ Penn
Exclusive MMA Interviews

EXCLUSIVE | BJ Penn is "ready to go" after returning to his roots in Brazil

Chris Taylor - November 28, 2018

Former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn will return to the octagon on December 29 to battle Ryan Hall in a lightweight contest at UFC 232. “The Prodigy” has returned to his roots for this fight, training under his original jiu-jitsu coach Andre Pederneiras at Brazil’s famous Nova Uniao gym.

Mark Hunt, UFC Adelaide
UFC

Mark Hunt thinks that a union would bring legitimacy to MMA

Drake Riggs - November 28, 2018

This Saturday night at UFC Adelaide, the legendary ‘Super Samoan’ Mark Hunt will make his final walk to the Octagon when he faces Justin Willis. The 44-year old Hunt isn’t calling it a career just yet though, he’s just planning to fight out of his UFC contract.

Aaron Pico
Bellator

EXCLUSIVE | Aaron Pico confident ahead of Henry Corrales fight

Cole Shelton - November 28, 2018

Aaron Pico (4-1 MMA) is a future superstar. The 22-year-old is currently riding a four-fight win streak, with all four of those victories coming by way of first-round knockout. However, for Pico, arguably the best attribute of his game is his wrestling and so far he hasn’t had to use it.

Matt Hume, Sage Northcutt
ONE Championship

Chatri Sityodtong praises Sage Northcutt following UFC departure

Drake Riggs - November 28, 2018

Sage Northcutt is a free agent, free to roam and find a new home. Speculation as to where the welterweight prospect may wind up began the week of ONE Championship’s big ONE: Heart of the Lion event. Obviously, the brunt of the speculation was that Northcutt was going to or discussing signing with ONE. Which, we would find out that weekend was the idea of his visit to Singapore.

Conor McGregor
UFC

Conor McGregor fans are buying empty Proper No. Twelve bottles for outrageous prices on eBay

Thomas Taylor - November 28, 2018

Conor McGregor fans are a passionate bunch. They show up in droves whenever the Irishman fights, be it in Dublin, New York City or Las Vegas. They fill arenas with pro-McGregor chants and seas of Irish flags. They get tattoos of him. And according to a report from the Irish Sun, some of them are buying empty bottles of the MMA star’s popular Irish whiskey, Proper No. Twelve, on eBay. Apparently, empty bottles of Proper No. Twelve have been listed on eBay for prices as high as $90 — though it’s possible some do still contain whiskey.

Ben Askren, Bjorn Rebney, Conor McGregor
Robbie Lawler

Breaking! Ben Askren will make his octagon debut at January's UFC 233 event against Robbie Lawler

Christopher Taylor - November 28, 2018

Late last month it was announced that undefeated welterweight Ben Askren would be joining the UFC as part of a historic trade that sent pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship. Four weeks later and we now know who the former Bellator and ONE title holder, Ben Askren, will be facing in his highly anticipated octagon debut.

Golden Boy MMA, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz
Golden Boy Promotions

Chuck Liddell receives indefinite medical suspension following KO loss to Tito Ortiz

Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018

Last weekend, former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Chuck Liddell returned from a hiatus of eight years to battle a fellow former champion in Tito Ortiz — a man he’d beaten twice before. Unfortunately for his fans, the 48-year old Chuck Liddell did not win this third fight, and was instead felled by a first-round punch. Heading into this contest, there was widespread discourse suggesting Chuck Liddell should not be allowed to fight — that he was too old, that he’d been out too long, that he’d received enough punishment, including the three knockout losses that originally drove him into retirement.

Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Joe Rogan
Exclusive MMA Interviews

EXCLUSIVE | Khabib's training partner Luis Pena explains how a rematch against McGregor would play out

Cole Shelton - November 28, 2018

At UFC 229, Conor McGregor made his long-awaited return to the Octagon. He took on Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title. Ahead of the fight, not many people knew how it would turn out. Some people believed McGregor would be able to catch Nurmagomedov and knock him out. Others thought Nurmagomedov would just take McGregor down and ground and pound him or submit him, which ultimately is what happened.