MMA News
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.
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.
RIZIN 14 full fight card revealed, Bellator champ Darrion Caldwell heads to Japan to face Kyoji Horiguchi
Drake Riggs - November 28, 2018
The wait is now over as RIZIN Fighting Federation has finally released the full card for their big New Year’s Eve show this year, RIZIN 14 on December 31. With big things already expected after the announcement of the card’s headliner between boxing legend, Floyd Mayweather and superstar kickboxing prodigy Tenshin Nasukawa, it has only gotten better.
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.
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 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.
Joseph Benavidez believes flyweight division is 'more exciting than ever'
Drake Riggs - November 28, 2018
It’s been a bit of a wild time for the UFC’s lightest men’s division of flyweight. Seemingly doing away with the division overall, the weight class’ title will still be fought over come early next year which has left many confused.
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.
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.
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.
Cynthia Calvillo to take on Cortney Casey at UFC 233
Drake Riggs - November 28, 2018
It’s no secret that Cynthia Calvillo likes to stay active with her MMA career and after losing out on some fight time due to a suspension, she’s ready to make up for the time that’s been lost. Calvillo made her professional debut in August 2016…she’s amassed a record of 7-1 since then and five of those fights came in 2017 (four in the UFC).
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.
Renato Moicano to serve as alternate for Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega fight
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018
If UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway or undefeated challenger Brian Ortega isn’t able to make it to the cage for their anticipated UFC 231 main event title fight, Renato Moicano will be called up to step in and replace the absent fighter. The streaking Brazilian featherweight contender will fly to Toronto, the card’s host city, and weigh-in as an understudy, according to ESPN. Moicano was originally expected to battle Mirsad Bektic on this anticipated card, but unfortunately, this bout was nixed when Bektic sustained an injury. Though the promotion apparently sought a replacement opponent for him, they ultimately decided to simply fly him into Toronto as an understudy.
Conor McGregor loses driving privileges for six months
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018
You won’t be seeing former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ Conor McGregor behind the wheel any time soon — at least not in Ireland. The Irish MMA star has had his driving privileges suspended for six months after being booked for excessive speeding near his home city of Dublin. He was also fined 1,000 euros ($1136.62) for this incident.
Anderson Silva scolds Georges St-Pierre for ducking 'big challenges'
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018
MMA fans have been dying to see former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva fight for years. That was true at the height of their title reigns, when St-Pierre guarded the welterweight strap and Silva simultaneously sat in the middleweight throne, and it’s true today, when Silva is a mere middleweight contender and St-Pierre appears to have once again retired. Unfortunately, the fight has never materialized, and Anderson Silva assures that’s no fault of his own. Speaking to ESPN recently, the former middleweight champion shared his belief that Georges St-Pierre is only interested in taking easy fights, rather than truly challenging himself.
Jon Jones says he would have left UFC if USADA issued four-year ban
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018
In the end, the United States Anti-Doping Agency handed Jon Jones a 15-month suspension for the failed drug test that caused his July, 2017 win over Daniel Cormier to be overturned. That being said, the agency was apparently contemplating a much more severe punishment: a four-year ban. Speaking to ESPN earlier this week, Jon Jones admitted that, had USADA issued this four-year suspension, he would have asked to be released from his UFC contract so that he could fight overseas, outside the jurisdiction of the anti-doping agency.
With UFC contract almost up, Mark Hunt shares plans for the next chapter of his career
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018
When Mark Hunt battles Justin Willis in the co-main event of UFC Adelaide this weekend, it will mark the final obligation on his current UFC contract. Do not expect him to re-sign with the promotion. Speaking to MMAjunkie ahead of his fight, Hunt explained that he’s happy to be parting ways with the UFC, and that he will continue to fight outside the promotion.
Tito Ortiz responds to Dana White's recent rant: 'This is not about you'
Tom Taylor - November 28, 2018
Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered podcast this week, UFC President Dana White unleashed a virulent tirade targeting Oscar De La Hoya and Tito Ortiz for allowing Chuck Liddell to fight again — and ultimately be knocked out again. “Listen, I love Chuck Liddell and I don’t ever want to badmouth Chuck Liddell,” White said (transcript via MMANytt). “People do think I’m badmouthing Chuck Liddell , but the reality is, first of all, let’s says this first, I heard last week that the cokehead, ‘Oscar Del La Weirdo’ is talking s***, that I don’t have any place to tell guys when to retire. First of all, it’s called friendship you f***ing cokehead. I’ve been friends with Chuck Liddell for 20 years and the reality is that Chuck Liddell retired when he should’ve retired, 8 or 9 years ago, whenever it was.