MMA News

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2018

If you ask UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is probably the best heavyweight in MMA history. Rogan got talking about Velasquez, and what makes him so special, after a discussion about the ideal weight for a heavyweight mixed martial artist on The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. “There’s a thought with the 265-pound weight class and the consensus thought seems to be that somewhere around 240 pounds is the magic number,” Joe Rogan said of Cain Velasquez (transcript via MMA Fighting). “That’s what they think. They think that 240 pounds is the amount of weight that you have where you’re strong enough that you can knock out any man but you have more endurance than a man that maybe weighs 265 or heavier and cuts down to 265. Now this has not been substantiated. The problem is, there hasn’t been a super powerful world championship athlete that weighed 265 pounds…

Christopher Taylor - November 14, 2018

Joe Rogan believes that there is only one man who deserves the next shot at current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. According to the longtime UFC commentator, Tony Ferguson is the obvious choice to be the next man to challenge “The Eagle”.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone vs Conor McGregor? Maybe…it seems like the American is definitely interested in sharing the Octagon with the former UFC two-division champion. Following Cerrone’s win over Mike Perry at UFC Denver this past Saturday, Cerrone reiterated that he would be going back down to his old home of 155-pounds. Along with that, he told reporters that he and the UFC already have an opponent in mind. Cowboy described that opponent as a ‘very exciting’ fighter and McGregor is exactly that.

Drake Riggs - November 13, 2018

Better late than never. Fights taking place in the state of Nevada will now be contested under the new unified rules of MMA. According to MMAFighting, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) approved the adoption of the new rules this past month.

Drake Riggs - November 13, 2018

Since UFC 227, there hasn’t been a whole lot going on atop the UFC’s stacked bantamweight division. But that looks to be changing very soon. With the recent announcements of Dominick Cruz’ return at UFC 233 vs John Lineker along with champion TJ Dillashaw going down to challenge for Henry Cejudo’s flyweight title, the division remains feeling held up.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

Former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will continue to fight in Bellator for the foreseeable future. The news of Henderson re-signing was first reported by MMAJunkie. It is being reported that Henderson’s contract is an “exclusive, long-term deal” with Bellator. However, it is not known how many fights the contract is for or when Henderson will return to the cage.

Drake Riggs - November 13, 2018

Ask and you shall receive. That appears to be the case now as the former UFC champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis (21-8) gets the fight he was interested in for his next time out. After a war in his last fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 229 that saw him suffer a broken hand, it would seem safe to assume that Pettis wouldn’t be rushing back too quickly to get another dangerous fight. Well, guess again.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 13, 2018

It might be time to acknowledge that Indonesia’s Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol (4-3) could be the hardest working athlete in ONE Championship. Lumban Gaol is scheduled to take part in her sixth match of the year on Saturday 17 November. The wushu specialist will go head to head with Filipina Angelie Sabanal at ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM, which will take place at Jakarta’s Stadium Istora.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018

Fearsome UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero has made several callouts of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the past, and apparently, it’s still a fight he’s interested in — especially now that his planned 2019 matchup with the undefeated Paulo Costa is off the table. The appeal of this fight with Anderson Silva, Yoel Romero explains, is that it would give him a clear sense of the level he’s at. If he can beat the middleweight legend, well then he’s right where he wants to be. If he can’t, then it might be time to reassess.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018

The year 2018 has not been kind to Francis Ngannou. Though the hulking Cameroonian-French heavyweight began the year as perhaps the UFC’s most hyped fighter, he was then dominated in his anticipated title fight with Stipe Miocic, and defeated by Derrick Lewis in one of the most disappointing fights ever. After this tough run in 2018, Ngannou’s next opponent Curtis Blaydes isn’t sure what to expect when they meet in the main event of UFC Beijing on November 24. “He’s probably in a hole right now,” Curtis Blaydes said during a recent media scrum (via MMAjunkie). “0-2 after being the hotshot? That’s got to be a dark, dark place. I want him to be his best. I don’t want any excuses out of his camp or the fans or the company. I want him at his best. I’ll beat him 10 out of 10 times.”

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 13, 2018

There is something about a Grand Prix tournament that gets the pulse of every mixed martial arts fan racing. So it came as no surprise that when ONE Championship announced it would be holding not one but two Grands Prix in 2019, the news spread like wildfire across the internet. These eight-man tournaments will take place in two of the most stacked divisions in the promotion: lightweight and flyweight.They will run throughout the year and the winners will walk out of the cage with the prefix ONE World Champion attached to their name.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a place for fighters to try and reach their goal of fighting in the UFC. The rules are simple, win the season, get a UFC contract. Along with that, the fighters all live in a house together where arguments and drama often take place. But at times, the house has also created friendships. That’s just what happened this season as teammates Maurice Greene and Justin Frazier created a lifelong friendship inside the house. The two immediately bonded at tryouts where both of them believed they would be in the house together.

James Lynch - November 13, 2018

The UFC rankings have been updated after an entertaining card last Saturday in Denver, Colorado. Following one of the best knockouts in UFC history, Yair Rodriguez jumped four spots in the featherweight division, and is now sitting at #11. His opponent “Korean Zombie” Chang Sung Jung fell two spots to #12, while Alexander Volkanovski (who is slated to face Chad Mendes at UFC 232) moved up one spot to #10. Meanwhile in the women’s bantamweight division, Germaine de Randamie reminded her fellow 135-pound fighters that she is here to stay after dominant performance over Raquel Pennington. “Iron Lady” moved up three spots to #2, just behind Holly Holm and current champion Amanda Nunes.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

On January 26, at UFC 233, UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw will move down to flyweight to take on divisional champ Henry Cejudo. If Dillashaw wins this fight, he will become one of just a few fighters to hold titles in two UFC weight classes concurrently. It could also spell the end of the flyweight division. Yet Cejudo isn’t sure that’s the way things will go down. He knows the cut down to 125 pounds will be tough on Dillashaw, and also believes he possesses a skillset unlike anyone Dillashaw has fought before.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018

Former UFC strawweight contender Paige VanZant is currently gearing up for a January flyweight scrap with Hawaii’s Rachael Ostovich. The bout will be part of the UFC’s first-ever card on ESPN+. This contest will be VanZant’s second in the UFC flyweight division, where the cut is much less taxing for her.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018

There are not a lot of featherweights out there who are openly calling for a fight with dangerous Russian contender Zabit Magomedsharipov. Michael Johnson, however, is all for the matchup.

Mike Straus - November 12, 2018

One of several Roufusport fighters poised to make a run is the ‘Native Psycho’ Jordan Griffin who is ready to take the UFC’s featherweight division by storm. Before Griffin can unleash his brand of violence upon the UFC’s 145-pound division he must first make his debut. He will do so on December 15 as he takes on Dan Ige in his official first UFC bout which takes place in his own backyard of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Christopher Taylor - November 12, 2018

Joe Rogan may not have been in attendance at UFC Denver, but he did get to watch Yair Rodriguez score a spectacular last-second knockout victory over The Korean Zombie. The featherweight standouts, Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung, went to war in the headliner of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 139 event in Denver.