MMA News

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2018

Brandon Vera has been a ONE Championship fighter since 2014. In the years since he joined the ONE Championship roster, he’s fought in his ancestral homeland of The Philippines, become one of the promotion’s biggest stars, and even captured its heavyweight title. To say Brandon Vera has enjoyed his time with ONE would be understatement. Speaking on episode 102 of BJPENN.COM Radio, Vera heaped praised on the Asian MMA powerhouse.

James Lynch - October 22, 2018

According to MMANytt’s Damon Martin, a lightweight bout between Joe Duffy and The Ultimate Fighter 9 winner Ross Pearson in the works for UFC Fight Night in Adelaide on Dec. 2. Joe Duffy (16-3) hasn’t competed since UFC 217 in Nov. 2017 where he was knocked out for the first time in his career, courtesy of James Vick. The setback snapped the 30-year-old’s two-fight win streak. He’s currently 2-2 in his last four fights and 4-2 in the octagon. Duffy holds wins over UFC veteran Norman Parke, Reza Madadi. and of course, Conor McGregor. The Tristar Gym product has never lost back-to-back fights in his career.

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2018

Siyar Bahadurzada has not fought since April, when he crumpled Luan Chagas with a kick to the body and a followup punch. He’s hoping that changes soon. The Afghan-born Dutchman, who is currently riding a three-fight win-streak, is hoping to welcome the long-absent Jorge Masvidal back to the Octagon, perhaps at UFC 232 on December 29.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 22, 2018

Angela Lee, Aung La N Sang, Bibiano Fernandes, Ben Askren, and Martin Nguyen are the names most synonymous with ONE Championship today. There is no end in sight for most of them, but top-tier talent continues to make its way into the organization. The current champions and most recognizable figures will likely have to make room for the next wave of superstars. Obviously, anything can happen in martial arts, but there are at least four competitors with a good chance to become the next main-event level members of ONE Championship’s roster.

Christopher Taylor - October 21, 2018

Bare Knuckle FC 3 took place this past Saturday in Biloxi, Mississippi and featured a handful of MMA veterans including Kendall Grove and Joe Riggs. The pay-per-view event was headlined by a heavyweight championship fight between tournament finalists Arnold Adams and Sam Shewmaker.

Christopher Taylor - October 21, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones will make his highly anticipated return to the octagon on December 29 when he rematches Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232. BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor was first to report that the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson rematch was in the works for the December 29 fight card in Las Vegas, that news was later confirmed by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

Chris Taylor - October 21, 2018

The octagon will make its debut in Moncton, New Brunswick on October 27 for the promotions UFC Fight Night 138: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Anthony Smith event. The fight card is headlined by a key light heavyweight matchup featuring former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir taking on surging contender Anthony Smith.

Jason Kindschy - October 21, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio is back, Penn Nation!

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor is currently on tour across the United States, promoting his new Proper No. 12 Irish whiskey and taking in the sites. During a recent stop in Boston, the Irish MMA star attended the latest fight of Irish boxer Katie Taylor. Shortly after Katie Taylor defended her WBA and IBF lightweight titles with a lopsided unanimous decision defeat of Cindy Serrano, she met with McGregor backstage. The pair exchanged a few laughs and well-wishes, and of course, posed for some pictures.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

BJJ blackbelt Dillon Danis, who recently won his first professional MMA bout with a first-round submission of Kyle Walker under the Bellator banner, is a world-class grappler. There’s no denying that. Yet if you ask Danis himself, he’s more than just a world-class grappler. He’s the best grappler competing in MMA period — and it’s not even close. Speaking in a Sunday afternoon Instagram post, Dillon Danis proclaimed his status as the sport’s best grappler and assured that there’s not even a close second in that debate.

Cole Shelton - October 21, 2018

At UFC 232, the rematch is on. Alexander Gustafsson will take on Jon Jones for the undisputed light heavyweight belt. Jones is making his return to the Octagon after a lengthy suspension courtesy of USADA, while Gustafsson will make his first trip to the Octagon in 2018. Both fighters have fought for the belt in the past, but only Jones has won it. However, at UFC 165, Alexander Gustafsson took on Jones in a bout that is widely considered one of the greatest fights in UFC history. It was a back-and-forth affair for five rounds with Jones defeating Gustafsson by decision.

James Lynch - October 21, 2018

UFC Fight Night 139 kicks off next month and will now feature a strawweight matchup pitting two female fighters making their promotional debuts. TUF 26 competitor Maia Stevenson has been removed from the card due to undisclosed reasons and as a result, Maycee Barber will now face newcomer Hannah Cifers. Barber revealed the news in a recent interview with Fightful.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC 229, streaking heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis picked up one of the biggest wins of his career, surging back after two tough rounds to knock Alexander Volkov senseless late in the third. The knockout itself wasn’t the only reason this fight was significant for Lewis, however. During his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan, Derrick Lewis stripped down to his underwear and announced unabashedly that his “balls was hot.”

Cole Shelton - October 21, 2018

Ever since Conor McGregor transitioned to boxing to fight Floyd Mayweather, other MMA fighters have been calling out boxers. One of the latest to do so is former Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz, who is now calling out decorated boxing champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. The payday associated with this potential fight would be huge for Nick Diaz. He also believes it’d be an easy night of work.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

Former World Series of Fighting middleweight and light heavyweight champ David Branch campaigned long and hard for a fight with former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. While Souza didn’t initially take the bait, the Brazilian grappling ace ultimately agreed to meet Branch in the cage at UFC 230 on November 3 in New York. At long last, David Branch had received the opportunity he’d been chasing. Unfortunately for him, this UFC 230 scrap with Jacare was not meant to be. Just weeks ahead of the event, Luke Rockhold was forced out of his co-main event rematch with Chris Weidman. Jacare was then summoned from his bout with Branch and assigned as Weidman’s new opponent. Branch, who is riding high on an impressive KO of Thiago Santos, was then given a new opponent in former light heavyweight and heavyweight Jared Cannonier.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is set to defend his title opposite Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC 230 on November 3. If Cormier wins this fight, he’s expected to compete in an ultra-lucrative showdown with former champ and current WWE star Brock Lesnar in his next fight. That being said, any number of cruel twists of fate could deprive Daniel Cormier of this chance. He could lose his fight with Derrick Lewis. Worse still, his arch rival Jon Jones could defeat Alexander Gustafsson this December and move up to heavyweight for his own fight with Lesnar. Jones, after all, has campaigned for a fight with Lesnar in the past.

Chris Taylor - October 20, 2018

Ray Cooper lll dominated at tonight’s PFL 10 event in DC, scoring a pair of first-round TKO victories over opponents Jake Shields and Handesson Ferreira to advance to the tournaments welterweight championship. Cooper will now face fellow finalist Magomed Magomedkerimov, who defeated opponents Pavlo Kusch and then Bojan Velickovic at tonight’s event.

Chris Taylor - October 20, 2018

The octagon will return to Denver’s Pepsi Center on November 10 for the promotions 25th anniversary show UFC Fight Night 139. The historic event is headlined by a key featherweight bout featuring former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar taking on “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.