MMA News

Tom Taylor - November 23, 2018

On Friday night (Friday morning in the North America), ONE Championship took over Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena with the stacked ONE: Conquest of Champions card. This ONE: Conquest of Champions bill was topped by a heavyweight title fight between long-absent Filipino-American champion Brandon Vera, and debuting Cage Warriors champion Mauro Cerilli.

Chris Taylor - November 22, 2018

Former two-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen is not supporting this weekend’s third fight between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. “The American Gangster” recently took to Twitter where he referred to both men, Ortiz and Liddell, as “has beens”.

Drake Riggs - November 22, 2018

The fighters have hit the scales for the UFC’s return to China and all but one of them hit the mark and are ready to go. The main and co-main event both feature the big men as at the top bill we get a big-time rematch between the contenders, Curtis “Razor” Blaydes and Francis “The Predator” Ngannou. In the fight directly before it, we’ll see Alistair Overeem look to snap his two-fight losing streak against the promotional newcomer, the undefeated former Fight Nights Global champion, Sergey Pavlovich.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 22, 2018

ONE Championship’s Honorio Banario barely had time to wallow in self pity and he was back in the game. Digesting the news of Dae Sung Park’s withdrawal from the blockbuster ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS card in Manila on Friday night, the smile soon returned to Banario’s face when he realised he had a new challenger.

Chris Taylor - November 22, 2018

Cynthia Calvillo defeated Joanne Calderwood via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 113 in July of 2017. If you recall, “Jojo” missed weight for that contest (118lbs) and ultimately made the move up to flyweight following the defeat.

Cole Shelton - November 22, 2018

Israel Adesanya is a rising star in the UFC. The New Zealander signed with the promotion early in 2018 and has had a phenomenal year. The 29-year-old went 4-0 in 2018 and is the favorite to win breakthrough fighter of the year. Adesanya went from a virtual unknown to being ranked sixth in the middleweight division in only a matter of a couple months. In his most recent effort, Adesanya defeated Derrick Brunson at UFC 230 which put him into the top ten of the rankings. Following his stoppage victory over Brunson, Adesanya stated his desire to fight for the title in his next octagon appearance. However, with Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum booked for early in 2019, Adesanya will most likely have to win another fight before being granted that opportunity.

Christopher Taylor - November 22, 2018

Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor (21-4 MMA) is the self proclaimed “King” of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While that may come off as sounding arrogant, there is no denying that “Mystic Mac” is the biggest star to ever emerge from the sport of mixed martial arts.

Drake Riggs - November 22, 2018

When people see or hear the term ‘mental warfare’, especially in combat sports, they’re generally going to assume that trash talking is being referenced. But in reality, there is a very different form of mental warfare that every athlete faces day in and day out that is discussed far less than the former.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

This Saturday night, former UFC light heavyweight champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will battle for a third time. While some members of the MMA community have been critical of this fight between the two UFC Hall of Famers, who are 48 and 43 years old respectively, their fellow UFC legend Randy Couture is happy for them. Randy Couture gave his take on this Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz rematch on a recent episode of Submission Radio.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

Francis Ngannou began the year 2018 as arguably the most hyped fighter on the UFC roster. Unfortunately, the year hasn’t gone quite the way he planned. Currently riding back-to-back losses to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, the hulking Cameroonian-French knockout artist will enter his Saturday, UFC Beijing rematch with Curtis Blaydes in a must-win scenario. From the sounds of it, however, he’s in a good place mentally as this crucial contest bears down.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

Floyd Mayweather isn’t the only combat sports superstar to receive lucrative offers to partake in exhibition fights with kickboxers overseas. Apparently, his former opponent Conor McGregor received a very similar proposition, as he was recently offered $5 million to battle a Chinese kickboxer in a three-round contest. “I’ll give you a funny one,” McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh said during a recent appearance on The True Geordie Podcast (transcript via Express). “I had a guy message me just a few days ago – a Chinese kickboxer [who] wanted to do three rounds with Conor for $5 million.”

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

The story of Floyd Mayweather and Tenshin Nasukawa’s New Years Eve showdown has been a strange one. The contest was first announced earlier this month, but the excitement was promptly stomped out by Floyd Mayweather, who claimed he’d been ‘blindsided’ by the bout’s promoter, Rizin Fighting Federation.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

During a recent event from Ascendancy Fighting Championship (AFC), in Des Moines, Iowa, UFC and Bellator veteran Josh Neer was involved in a backstage with fellow fighter Brian Green. The pair reportedly collided while the card’s Cory Simpson vs. Jonathan Thomson main event was unfolding.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

Former pro wrestler CM Punk has now fought twice in the UFC’s Octagon, but neither fight has worked out the way he planned. While he showed immeasurable heart in both contests, it was clear that his ability was not quite up to snuff, as he was first stopped by Mickey Gall, and then thumped to a decision by Mike Jackson. All the same, CM Punk says he is still under contract with the UFC, and that he is still undergoing testing through the promotion’s anti-doping partner the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2018

This Saturday, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will return to the cage for a high-stakes trilogy fight with one of the key rivals of his career, Tito Ortiz. The pair will meet in the main event of the first MMA card promoted by long-time boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya. Heading into this fight, Chuck Liddell has frequently been noncommittal when asked if there could be other fights in his future. As the bout has drawn closer, however, he’s admitted that he will probably want to fight again if he’s victorious.

Chris Taylor - November 21, 2018

WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts joined UFC commentator Joe Rogan in studio for this week’s episode of the Joe Rogan Experience. During their fascinating conversation on the JRE Podcast, Jake Roberts brought up Rogan’s fighting past and questioned how many teeth the UFC commentator had lost during his battles.

Drake Riggs - November 21, 2018

Making her debut at UFC 233 on January 26 will be the former KSW champion, the ‘Violence Queen’ Ariane Lipski. Welcoming her to the Octagon will be none other than Scotland’s finest, Joanne ‘JoJo’ Calderwood. For Calderwood, she has officially turned the page on her career in her opinion as she is now ‘JoJo 2.0’ after returning to the flyweight division under the tutelage of John Wood at Syndicate MMA.

Thomas Taylor - November 21, 2018

Conor McGregor is more than just a fantastic fighter. The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ is also a tremendous self-promoter, as evidenced by his many record-breaking paydays. Given McGregor’s gift for self promotion, many sports fans have wondered how he might fare in the world of pro wrestling — namely in the WWE ring.