MMA News
Floyd Mayweather responds to Khabib Nurmagomedov's callout: 'Get the checkbook out'
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018
On Sunday evening, undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov made a callout of another undefeated fighter — boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. In his callout of Mayweather, Nurmagomedov reminded that he was able to drop Conor McGregor with a punch at UFC 229, but Floyd Mayweather was not able to drop the Irishman in their 2017 boxing mega fight.
Coach: Conor McGregor vs. Paulie Malignaggi boxing match is 'absolutely not out of the realm of possibilities'
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018
We’re now more than a week removed from Conor McGregor’s submission loss to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the Irish MMA star’s future is as nebulous as ever. Although he has plenty of interesting options in both MMA and boxing, it’s hard to say which — if any — of those options he might pick for his next contest. One of the many options for Conor McGregor is a boxing match with Paulie Malignaggi. While Malignaggi was originally supposed to serve as a training partner for McGregor ahead of his massive 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, the pair’s relationship quickly curdled and ultimately devolved into a fierce and virulent rivalry.
EXCLUSIVE | Jorge Masvidal on short-notice Nate Diaz fight: 'It would've been two fighting dogs just throwing down'
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018
When Dustin Poirier was forced out of his UFC 230 lightweight showdown with Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal offered to step in and fight Diaz in his place. Although Masvidal had just wrapped up a reality television stint, he felt confident that he was in good enough shape to fight. He just needed Diaz to agree to fight at 170 pounds, rather than 155. Unfortunately, this veritable dream matchup never came to fruition. Even though it was clearly a fight that most fans were drooling over, the UFC instead pulled Diaz from the UFC 230 lineup altogether.
Yoel Romero responds to Luke Rockhold's call for light heavyweight rematch
Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018
Over the weekend, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold announced that he’d like to fight long-time middleweight contender Yoel Romero again in the future — at light heavyweight. To remind, Rockhold and Romero fought earlier this year. In this first meeting, Romero won by knockout. Unfortunately, Romero missed weight for this bout, which made it a tough defeat for Rockhold to swallow.
Complete ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS Card Revealed For Myanmar Show
BJPENN.COM Staff - October 15, 2018
On October 26, from Thuwanna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, ONE Championship will present ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS. Headlining the card is ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Aung La N Sang, “The Burmese Python” will defend his 185-pound title against Lebanon’s Mohammad Karaki. Whenever Aung La performs in front of his countrymen in Myanmar, the atmosphere is electric. Expect the energy in the building to be amazing for this one as well. Karaki is 9-0 in his career as a professional. He’s finished all but one of his opponents. Karaki is making his promotional debut and he’s immediately being dropped into one of the most difficult situations to perform. Before he takes his first swipe at Aung La, he must first prove he can handle an atmosphere that will be rooting for the local legend to maintain his title.
After UFC 229 brawl, Artem Lobov now faces "The Menace" at UFC Moncton
Chris Taylor - October 14, 2018
UFC featherweight Artem Lobov (13-14-1 MMA) will still be fighting later this month at UFC Fight Night 138 event in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. According to a report from “The Mac Life“, Artem Lobov will now be fighting veteran Michael Johnson at the October 27 event.
VIDEO | Khabib Nurmagomedov challenges Floyd Mayweather
Chris Taylor - October 14, 2018
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has issued a challenge to undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. The undefeated Russian, Nurmagomedov (27-0 MMA), called out Mayweather (50-0 Boxing) during a recent interview (Courtesy of BiteTV):
BJPENN.COM Radio Ep. 101 // Angela Lee | Jorge Masvidal
Jason Kindschy - October 14, 2018
BJPENN.COM Radio is back, Penn Nation!
Scott Coker responds to 'rubbish' fight-fixing questions after Bellator 208 main event
Cole Shelton - October 14, 2018
Chael Sonnen vs. Fedor Emelianenko, which headlined Bellator 208 on Saturday, was a fight that many fans were looking forward to, and it lived up to most expectations. Though it was not a long fight, it was a fun one until Emelianenko finished Sonnen off with a storm of first-round ground strikes. Unfortunately, this fun fight is being somewhat overshadowed by fight-fixing allegations. Some fans have speculated that Sonnen didn’t try in that fight, or that he even lost on purpose.
Chael Sonnen claims he once 'fought Georges St-Pierre in a basement in LA'
Cole Shelton - October 14, 2018
At Bellator 208, Chael Sonnen was taking on arguably the best heavyweight in MMA history, Fedor Emelianenko. Ultimately, Emelianenko’s power proved to be too much for the former middleweight and natural light heavyweight. Emelianenko dropped Sonnen multiple times during the fight and got the TKO win in the first round. However, even with this loss to Emelianenko, Sonnen can take pride in having fought the best of the best throughout his career. He competed in title fights against the arguable middleweight GOAT in Anderson Silva, and the consensus light heavyweight GOAT in Jon Jones.
VIDEO | Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen exchange backstage handshakes, gifts after Bellator 208 scrap
Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018
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Benson Henderson lectures Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor in impassioned post-fight speech
Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018
On Saturday night, in the co-main event of the action-packed Bellator 208 card, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson picked up a dominant decision win over longtime Bellator lightweight contender Saad Awad. In his post-fight interview with Bellator MMA commentator John McCarthy, Benson Henderson could have taken a moment to call for another Bellator title shot, or perhaps a rematch with fellow lightweight contender Patricky Freire. Instead, however, the former champion used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to admonish UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor for their infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl.
Luke Rockhold eyes light heavyweight rematch with "cheap" Yoel Romero
James Lynch - October 14, 2018
Ryan Bader discusses upcoming showdown with Fedor Emelianenko: 'It's kind of surreal'
Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018
Over the weekend, Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko both won their Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal bouts, defeating Matt Mitrione and Chael Sonnen respectively. With these wins, the pair will now fight each other sometime in the new year, and the winner will be crowned the Bellator heavyweight champion. For Ryan Bader, the chance to fight the legendary Fedor Emelianenko is obviously an exciting opportunity. Yet while he admits it’s a little surreal to fight such an icon of the sport, he assures he’s approaching it like any other fight.
Chronicling Aung La N Sang's incredible dominance In Myanmar
BJPENN.COM Staff - October 14, 2018
Few martial artists captivate an entire country the way Aung La N Sang does whenever he competes in his native Myanmar. The country and the arena comes alive when the ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion comes to the ring, and as we’ve seen, he’s been unbeatable in this environment. At ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS, Mohammad Karaki will be the latest to try and best Aung La in Myanmar. If he can emerge victoriously, he will be the new champion at 185 pounds. A total of six opponents have tried and failed to beat Aung La in The Land of the Golden Pagodas.
Coach John Kavanagh feels ring rust was a factor for Conor McGregor at UFC 229
Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018
Conor McGregor was not able to reclaim the UFC lightweight title from his arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov. Although McGregor had some success in his UFC 229 mega fight with Nurmagomedov, he just couldn’t keep up with his destructive foe. His head coach John Kavanagh believes that might have something to do with his lengthy absence from MMA competition.
Chael Sonnen praises Fedor Emelianenko after Bellator 208: I've never 'been ground-and-pounded like that'
Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018
On Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator 208, former UFC light heavyweight and middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen came up short to heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. Although Sonnen had some success in this short but thrilling fight, landing a handful of takedowns, he had no answer for Emelianenko’s legendary power and ground and pound. “I would call him explosive,” Sonnen told the media of Emelianenko’s skill (via MMA Fighting). “With his punches, there wasn’t a ton of set-ups, they just came and they came hard. Even on the ground, I had some good positions on him and he would just explode. It weren’t exactly technique-based. It was impressive. He’s an impressive athlete.”
Shinya Aoki could become a two-time lightweight champion, but a former nemesis might stand in his way
BJPENN.COM Staff - October 14, 2018
Shinya Aoki’s road back to the ONE Lightweight World Title might require him to defeat the opponent who took the very same belt from him via TKO two years ago. While Eduard Folayang still has work to do at ONE: CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS in his homeland of the Philippines against Amir Khan, a second showdown with Aoki could be on deck. Folayang and Khan’s bout is for the now vacant lightweight title, but Aoki’s win guaranteed he’d receive the first shot at the newly crowned champion.
Ronda Rousey gives her take on UFC 229 brawl, doesn't think Khabib or McGregor should get 'special treatment'
Tom Taylor - October 14, 2018
Pretty much everybody has an opinion on the wild, post-fight brawl that occurred shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event last weekend. Former women’s bantamweight champion and current WWE star Ronda Rousey certainly does. In Rousey’s opinion, this post-fight brawl is the kind of thing the UFC should work hard to avoid in the future.