MMA News

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

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. Because of their status as two of the UFC’s biggest and most valuable stars, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will not be released by the promotion for their role in this wild brawl. Tukhugov, however, could be — especially after he bragged about slapping McGregor on social media after the riot. 

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.

Cole Shelton - October 10, 2018

Bellator is getting back in the business of tournaments. With Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix in the semi-finals this weekend, the Welterweight Grand Prix just started the opening round. One of the eight fighters in the tournament is UFC veteran and former WSOF champion, Jon Fitch. Fitch will be taking on current Bellator 170-pound champion Rory MacDonald in the opening round of the tournament. If Fitch is to win, not only will he advance but he will become the new Bellator welterweight champion.

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.

Drake Riggs - October 10, 2018

The last big Fox show for the UFC will take place on December 15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As the card takes shape, we now know the headliner. In February 2014, at UFC 169 a young prospect by the name of Kevin Lee (17-3) made his UFC debut with a perfect 7-0 record. Standing across from him would be The Ultimate Fighter season 15 finalist, “Ragin'” Al Iaquinta (13-4-1).

Drake Riggs - October 10, 2018

Getting to UFC 230, in general, has just been one of the more wilder rides that the MMA community has witnessed as it’s gotten closer. After waiting a whole lot longer than we could have imagined, fans and pundits alike began to start just hoping that the event’s big lightweight co-main event between top-ranked contender Dustin Poirier and the returning Nate Diaz should have just gotten promoted up to the headliner.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 10, 2018

Vice President of Medical Services of ONE Championship, Dr. Warren Wang, M.D., is the man behind the scenes of the global Home of Martial Arts, where he puts his knowledge and expertise to good use by making martial arts contests safer for all athletes. An experienced doctor and physician in the field of Emergency Medicine, Wang has over a decade of knowledge and practice. He joined ONE Championship in 2015 but has been with the company in smaller capacities even prior.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov defended the UFC lightweight title with a fourth-round submission of Conor McGregor, he leapt over the side of the Octagon and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, inciting a riot between his and McGregor’s teams. As you can probably imagine, UFC President Dana White was not too impressed by this chaotic scene. In fact, the UFC boss was so upset with Khabib Nurmagomedov that he did not initially put the UFC lightweight title around the champ’s waist.

Cole Shelton - October 10, 2018

One of the biggest rivalries in MMA over the past few years has been TJ Dillashaw’s rivalry with his former camp Team Alpha Male and its top fighter, Cody Garbrandt. After losing the UFC bantamweight belt to Dominick Cruz, Dillashaw spent months grinding away against top bantamweight contenders before finally getting a title shot against his arch rival Garbrandt at UFC 217.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

On December 2, on the main card of UFC Adelaide, Australian light heavyweight prospect Tyson Pedro will step into the cage with a legend of the sport: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. As you can probably imagine, the opportunity to battle an MMA legend in front of his Australian fans is an opportunity that Tyson Pedro is thrilled about.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

Stephen Thompson has long stood out as one of the UFC’s premier welterweights. That being said, he’s failed to claim the divisional title in his two previous title shots, and at 35 years old, would seem to be running a little short on time in his hunt for UFC gold. Well, he doesn’t see it that way.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

Daniel Cormier will attempt his first defense of the UFC heavyweight title against hulking knockout artist Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 on November 3. That’s thanks to some last-minute scrambling from the UFC brass, who had been struggling to create a fan-friendly main event for the card for weeks. While fans seem to be pretty excited about this undeniably surprising Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis fight, former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is not. Ever since he surrendered the heavyweight title to Cormier in July, he’s been adamant that he deserves a rematch on the basis of his record-breaking three-straight title defenses.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Saturday night victory over Conor McGregor wasn’t exactly close. The Russian champion dominated his Irish adversary for the vast majority of the fight, and submitted him in the fourth round. That being said, there have already been calls for a rematch between the two stars. After their post-fight brawl, there’s still plenty of lingering animus between them. Furthermore, many fans feel the long-absent McGregor would perform better in a do-over. And finally, there’s the fact that, even in defeat, McGregor remains the sport’s biggest attraction.