MMA News

Tom Taylor - October 12, 2018

Earlier this week, the MMA community was rocked by the unfortunate news that Dustin Poirier had been forced out of his UFC 230 scrap with Nate Diaz. Shortly thereafter, we learned that the UFC would not be giving Diaz a replacement opponent for the November 3 card, and that he was off the card too. Given that this was arguably the best fight on the UFC 230 bill, this was massively disappointing news. Speaking on Twitter on Thursday evening, Dustin Poirier issued his first statement since his withdrawal from the card. While he did not specify what kind of injury he sustained, he assured he considers this a “minor” setback, and that he’s working hard to heal up quickly.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 12, 2018

The job of a promotional matchmaker is a tough one. Matching comparable opponents who have the potential to generate an exciting bout–while also maintaining a level of fairness –is at times an unenviable task. The ONE Championship events scheduled for the rest of 2018 are packed with interesting matchups. As we look at the shifting dynamics in some weight classes, and mainstays of other divisions, the following five matches are bouts that should be at or near the top of a future show.

Drake Riggs - October 11, 2018

It’s definitely safe to say to that 2018 has been the year of the champion vs champion fights and as it continues to unwind, we aren’t done getting them. I mean, let’s just look at things a bit closer here. The term “super fight” has absolutely been thrown around far too loosely this year as just because a fight may be champion vs champion, it doesn’t always make it a super fight. But that’s a different debate.

Chris Taylor - October 11, 2018

Moments after scoring a fourth-round submission victory over Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov proceeded to leap out of the octagon and onto Dillon Danis. The victorious UFC lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov, proceeded to throw punches with the McGregor’s jiu-jitsu coach (Danis) until security was able to step in and separate the heated rivals.

Drake Riggs - October 11, 2018

Getting to UFC 230’s big return to Madison Square Garden on November 9 has been quite the mess. But everything appears to all be squared away. Coming to the surprise of pretty much everyone, the new and final main event is now set to be a heavyweight title bout that will feature the champion Daniel Cormier taking on Derrick Lewis.

Chris Taylor - October 11, 2018

All hell broke loose following the conclusion of last weekend’s UFC 229 main event between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. After improving his professional record to a perfect 27-0 by defeating Conor McGregor via fourth-round submission (neck crank), Khabib Nurmagomedov proceed to hop the octagon cage and leap into the audience in attempt to attack the Irishman’s teammate Dillon Danis.

Mike Straus - October 11, 2018

UFC President Dana White had predicted big numbers heading into UFC 229 but his estimates may prove to be conservative as MMA Fighting has more recently suggested worldwide pay-per-view numbers closer to 2.4 million. UFC 229 featured the returning Conor McGregor, the unquestioned king of pay-per-view draws and the promotion’s leading box office draw. His opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov is the unbeaten Dagestani wrecking machine, that oh, by the way, holds the lightweight title.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2018

After Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor at UFC 229, a post-fight brawl ensued. Nurmagomedov went after Bellator welterweight Dillon Danis, who was in McGregor’s corner. While that was happening, some of Nurmagomedov’s teammate’s attacked McGregor inside the Octagon. Since Saturday night, Nurmagomedov still has not received his fight purse. And, UFC President Dana White said if any of the people who attacked McGregor inside the Octagon are UFC fighters they would no longer be apart of the company.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

Shortly after UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event last Saturday, his and McGregor’s teams engaged in a wild brawl, inside and outside of the Octagon. One of the fighters involved in this brawl was Nurmagomedov’s friend and training partner, UFC featherweight Zubaira Tukhugov, who was booked for a UFC Moncton scrap with McGregor training partner Artem Lobov at the time.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

Conor McGregor’s long awaited return to the Octagon, which headlined UFC 229 last Saturday night in Las Vegas, didn’t go the way he planned. Instead, he was pummelled by his opponent Khabib Nurmagomedov and ultimately submitted in the fourth round. That, of course, is not the way McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh envisioned the fight going. Kavanagh and his fellow coaches had worked out a detailed game plan for the Irish MMA star, but unfortunately things just didn’t work out.

James Lynch - October 11, 2018

Contender Series winner Domingo Pilarte will have to wait a bit longer to make his UFC debut. According to his UFC 230 opponent Brian Kelleher in a recent interview with The Terphouse, Pilarte has been removed from the card due to undisclosed reasons. Instead Kelleher will face another Contender Series alum in Montel Jackson on Nov. 3 at Madison Square Garden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b3zl5oR3mA

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

At long last, UFC 230 finally has a main event. The card will be headlined by a last-minute heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Cormier and streaking challenger Derrick Lewis. Not everybody, however, is happy about this title fight. Some members of the MMA community feel that Lewis is jumping the heavyweight contendership line, and that the next crack at Cormier’s title should have gone to Stipe Miocic, the man Cormier defeated to win the title.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

On December 15, Bellator will touch down in Honolulu, Hawaii with Bellator 211. The card will be headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between Hawaiian champ Ilima-Lei MacFarlane, and co-headlined by a middleweight scrap between former UFC champ Lyoto Machida and former Bellator champ Rafael Carvalho. Amazingly, this stacked card is not all that Bellator is offering the fans in Hawaii, who have been waiting years for major MMA show. The night before this card, in the very same Honolulu venue, the promotion will honor the military with a card titled ‘Salute the Troops,’ which will be free for members of the US armed forces and their friends and families.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 229 last Saturday night, a frenzied brawl between the pair’s teams began. Nurmagomedov leapt out of the cage and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, while McGregor scrapped with several of Nurmagomedov’s compatriots inside the cage. It was pure chaos, and the MMA community has been struggling to assign the blame ever since. Apparently, some fans have been blaming Dillon Danis for starting this riot, suggesting that he was making negative comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s faith through the cage before the bedlam began. Danis is not happy about these accusations, and insists they’re nothing but a smear campaign.

Tom Taylor - October 11, 2018

The year 2018 has not been particularly kind to UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway. The Hawaiian champ has been scheduled for three fights — a title defense against Frankie Edgar, a last-minute lightweight fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, and a title defense against Brian Ortega — but not one has come to fruition. Speaking on Good Show with Ben Ennis & JD Bunkis on Wednesday, Holloway divulged that in the wake of this string of cancelled fights, he’s been battling depression.

Drake Riggs - October 10, 2018

There aren’t too many fighters out there that are clamoring for title shots against Cris Cyborg that are already in the UFC. But there is one who recently spoke out. That being none other than the former bantamweight title challenger “Alpha” Cat Zingano.

Drake Riggs - October 10, 2018

#Putin meets and congratulates #KhabibNurmagomedov on #UFC229 win over #ConorMcGregor https://t.co/GVe5meQroN pic.twitter.com/Xy3wTM3vhP — RT (@RT_com) October 10, 2018

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 10, 2018

There are a plethora of intriguing bouts to make within the ONE Championship promotion, but sometimes it’s fun to think about what would happen if the best martial artists from ONE competed against some of the top competition from other organizations. Let’s look at five of the most intriguing fantasy matchups that we’d love to see.