MMA News

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2018

Back in July, 26-year-old heavyweight prospect Juan Adams (4-0) earned himself a UFC contract by knocking out Shawn Teed on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. After a few months of waiting — a little longer than he’d hoped — the hulking heavyweight finisher is now set to make his UFC debut opposite Chris De La Rocha at UFC on Fox 31 on December 15 in Milwaukee. Heading into this UFC debut, Juan Adams is eager to introduce himself to UFC fans with another highlight reel victory. He believes that he is the next big thing in the UFC heavyweight division — both in terms of athletic ability and marketability — and he’s excited to prove it.

Cole Shelton - October 22, 2018

With the UFC leaving Fox and entering the ESPN era, changes were expected. One big question heading into this transition is how the UFC broadcast team would be affected. Well, at the very least, UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik will be staying on board. According to MMAJunkie, Jon Anik will be calling UFC fights for at least the next four years.

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.

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.

Tom Taylor - October 22, 2018

UFC 230 was originally expected to be co-headlined by a lightweight contender bout between the streaking Dustin Poirier and the long-absent fan favorite Nate Diaz. Unfortunately, this fight fell apart after Poirier sustained an injury. While it was an injury that ultimately nixed this incredible matchup, Dustin Poirier says the bout almost fizzled out numerous times during the initial negotiations. That, he says, is because Nate Diaz is incredibly “hard to deal with.”

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.

Jason Kindschy - October 21, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio is back, Penn Nation!

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

Last weekend, in the main event of Bellator 208, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen was stopped in the first round by heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. Post-fight Sonnen was quick to offer praise to Emelianenko. In fact, Sonnen says he considers Fedor Emelianenko the best heavyweight in MMA history, while he also considers Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett frontrunners in that debate.

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.

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.

James Lynch - October 21, 2018

When UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk for a second time this past April, it seemingly closed the door on their rivalry….for now. According to “Thug Rose” that’s more satisfying than winning a UFC championship as she mentioned in recent interview with UFC.com.

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

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.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2018

UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier is set to defend his title against Derrick Lewis in the main event of UFC 230 on November 3 in New York. Cormier accepted this fight on short notice, agreeing to headlining honors after the UFC struggled for weeks to lock down a suitable main event for the card. Apparently, Daniel Cormier actually had some pretty interesting stuff going on too — stuff he put off to take this UFC 230 fight with Derrick Lewis.