MMA News

Drake Riggs - November 9, 2018

"I'd rather be the people's champion than the UFC champion. Win the crowd, win your freedom, right?" – Germaine de Randamie

Cole Shelton - November 9, 2018

Just a few weeks ago, the UFC and ONE Championship did something no one thought was possible. They agreed to a trade that sent Demetrious Johnson to ONE and Ben Askren to the UFC. However, before that trade happened, ONE Championship reached out to Bellator to see if they would co-promote with them in a deal that would see Askren back in his old home of Bellator. Bellator president Scott Coker was speaking on The Fight Guys podcast where he revealed the news.

James Lynch - November 9, 2018

According to former UFC flyweight Justin Scoggins, he was slated to fight this Saturday on short notice against Mark De La Rosa at UFC Denver. The match-up was slated to take place in the bantamweight division. De La Rosa was initially set to face Jordan Espinosa before an injury forced the Contender Series winner off the card. https://twitter.com/combatcobain/status/1060543685367095296

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2018

Miesha Tate is the latest high profile mixed martial arts star to sign with Singapore’s ONE Championship — but she will not be fighting for the promotion. Instead, the former UFC bantamweight champion will be working as a ONE Championship executive and color commentator. Tate was in attendance at ONE Championship’s ONE: HEART OF THE LION card in Singapore on Friday, and despite having just arrived in the city and being plagued by jet-lag, graciously fielded a few questions from the media in attendance.

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2018

On Friday evening (Friday morning in the North America), ONE Championship returned to the Singapore Indoor Arena with ONE: HEART OF THE LION. The card was originally expected to be headlined by a ONE Women’s Strawweight Title Fight between divisional champ Xiong Jing Nan and reigning atomweight Champ Angela Lee. Unfortunately, however, this bout was nixed when Lee was forced off the card with an injury.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 8, 2018

One of Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson’s dreams as a martial artist is set to become a reality when ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced at the press conference of ONE: HEART OF THE LION at the Marina Bay Sands last Wednesday, 7 November the eight-man Flyweight World Grand Prix, which will be composed of eight of the best flyweights of the stacked ONE flyweight division. Though Sityodtong has yet to reveal the detailed set up of the tournaments, one thing is for sure, the winner will determine the undisputed champion one way or another.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier has accomplished incredible things in the UFC. He’s one of just two fighters to wear titles in two divisions concurrently, and is the only fighter in UFC history to actively defend two separate titles. Earlier this week, Daniel Cormier showed off the fruits of his labor, flaunting his many UFC belts in a photo he posted to social media.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

We can now add another name to the list of flyweight fighters ostracized by the UFC. As the UFC’s purported closure of the division bears down, UFC flyweight Roberto Sanchez has joined Jared Brooks, Justin Scoggins and Jose Torres among those to be released from the promotion. Roberto Sanchez made this announcement on Instagram, sharing his disappointment but also thanking the UFC for the opportunity they gave him.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has brought his wife and children to his last three fights. All three of these fights, of course, wound up being dominant stoppage victories for the two-division champ, which his family, and particularly his children, were very excited about. Apparently, however, Daniel Cormier’s daughter as a tough time watching her Dad beat people up. Speaking on MMAjunkie Radio recently, Cormier divulged that his daughter felt bad for his latest opponent, Derrick Lewis, and had a tough time stomaching the whole scene.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Artem Lobov was originally supposed to fight Zubaira Tukhugov at the UFC’s recent UFC Moncton card. After Tukhugov got involved in the infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl, however, he was removed from this bout. After a brief scramble, the UFC was able to find a replacement opponent for Artem Lobov in former UFC lightweight contender Michael Johnson. Unfortunately, however, Johnson was unable to make weight for this fight, and was forced to cough up 20% of his fight purse, which was then paid to Lobov.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

23-year-old Malaysian bantamweight Muhammad Aiman is known for his unpredictable style inside the cage. One moment, he might be biding his time, and the next, you might catch him throwing back-to-back cartwheel kicks or leaping onto his foe’s back chasing a rear-naked choke. Outside the cage, however, “Jungle Cat” is not nearly as wild.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

The first pay-per-view of the year may have its headliner. According to MMAFighting, Henry Cejudo vs. TJ Dillashaw is targeted for the card in Anaheim, California on January 26. What weight class that the bout will be at is unknown right now. However, it seems to make the most sense to have the fight at bantamweight given the fact it is reported that the UFC is closing the flyweight division.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Earlier this week, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor released a rather bizarre Tweet that seemed to blame ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong for the UFC’s choice to close down its flyweight division. You must now take all the 125lbers that have been let go, Chatri.You talk all of this Martial Art and respect talk, yet your greed has directly cost more than half a fighting division it’s chance to earn income for their family. Have respect @YODCHATRI. Sign the division.

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 8, 2018

Mixed martial arts stars Eduard Folayang, Angela Lee, and Aung La N Sang were among the big winners at the 2018 Global Martial Arts Awards, held Thursday, 8 November at the JW Marriot in Singapore. The Awards night featured a who’s who of martial arts talent from across the world and the awards were presented by 18 leading broadcasters from all over.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

At UFC 230 Jared Cannonier stepped in on short notice to face top 10 middleweight David Branch. It would be Cannonier’s toughest fight to date. Making it even harder was the fact that it was Cannonier’s middleweight debut and he was riding a two-fight losing streak. To beat Branch by knockout in the second round and look as good as Cannonier did was impressive, to say the least. Although the win was impressive, it was an important win for Cannonier who did not want to go on a three-fight losing streak.

Drake Riggs - November 8, 2018

In wake of his most recent loss that saw him suffer a broken arm in the PFL welterweight tournament quarter-finals, former UFC veteran Rick “The Horror” Story is calling it a career. The former top 10 UFC contender took to Twitter today to announce the news.

Drake Riggs - November 8, 2018

Every fight announcement for UFC 233 so far has been an eyebrow raiser and that trend just continues with “The Violence Queen” Ariane Lipski (11-3) getting her new UFC debut. Initially, Lipski was to be making her debut on short notice as the replacement for Veronica Macedo at UFC Argentina against Maryna Moroz. Unfortunately, Moroz would suffer a broken foot that left Lipski without an opponent and led to her removal from the card.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

Ever since Demetrious Johnson was traded to ONE Championship there was talk that the UFC would soon be closing the flyweight division. Reports came out yesterday that that was indeed the case. Several flyweights have tweeted that they have been cut and Jarred Brooks was one of them as he told BJPENN.com. Several fighters are now out of a job and Conor McGregor knows someone who should sign them all.