MMA News

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2018

From the sounds of it, UFC 230 will be headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks. That being said, it also sounds like the card was nearly headlined by a welterweight title fight between interim champion Colby Covington and undisputed champion Tyron Woodley. This per Colby Covington himself, who discussed his negotiations for a UFC 230 fight on episode 100 of BJPENN.COM Radio.

Cole Shelton - October 5, 2018

Leslie Smith has been fighting professionally since 2009. However, the former UFC bantamweight contender hasn’t fought since July 2017. Smith, who is on a two-fight winning streak with victories over Irene Aldana and Amanda Lemos, was set to take on Aspen Ladd at UFC Fight Night 128 in April, but unfortunately, this plan was derailed. At the weigh-ins for the fight, Ladd missed weight. With Ladd missing her mark, it was reported that she was offering Smith $5,000 dollars in addition to 20% of her purse as incentive to accept a catch weight. Unfortunately, the UFC then opted to pay Smith her show and win money and cancel the fight. Having been paid, Smith was then released by the UFC.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2018

This Saturday night, in the co-main event of UFC 229, Tony Ferguson will return from a nasty LCL injury to take on former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis in a key lightweight contender bout. According to Ferguson’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Eddie Bravo, this brutal LCL injury is now soundly in the rear-view mirror. We won’t be seeing any lingering side-effects of it come fight time.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2018

Tomorrow night, in the main event of UFC 229, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor will return to the cage to battle undefeated lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nate Diaz, who is 1-1 with Conor McGregor across two previous bouts, is bound to be watching this fight with particular interest. Speaking to TMZ, Nate Diaz weighed in on this UFC 229 main event showdown. It sounds like he’s leaning toward McGregor.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 5, 2018

The stage is set for the ONE Championship’s first-ever boxing match tomorrow night as WBC Super Flyweight World Champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand and challenger Iran “MagnifiKO” Diaz of Mexico have both made the contracted weight limit at today’s official weigh-in Srisaket tipped the scales officially at 52kgs (114.6lbs), while Diaz comfortably came in for the first world title contest of his professional career at 52.1kgs (114.8lbs).

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 5, 2018

Shinya Aoki hasn’t won every bout he’s been in, but he has embraced the challenge throughout his martial arts career, and he’s earned the right to be called a legend. The 35-year-old Japanese submission specialist has had 50 professional martial arts bouts, and he’s already had one reign as the ONE Lightweight World Champion. During that reign, Aoki successfully defended his title three times.

Cole Shelton - October 4, 2018

Everyone knows Conor McGregor made a ton of money in his last fight. His last fight, however, was not in the Octagon, rather in a boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather. Boxers typically make more money than mixed martial artists, but that is slowly changing. The UFC superstar McGregor claims he will be making around $50 million for his Saturday night fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Mike Straus - October 4, 2018

Perhaps no fighter is a better example of what fighting at a more natural weight class can do for your fighting career than Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith. Smith has had a career rebirth so to speak this year. The 30-year-old fighter from Omaha, Nebraska has typically been a middleweight fighter in his career. Lately, however, Smith has decided that cutting down to 185 pounds and then ballooning back up to 230 pounds just isn’t worth it anymore. Let alone the damage that does to your body.

Thomas Taylor - October 4, 2018

https://twitter.com/SubmissionRadio/status/1047980356853354497 This Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 229, Conor McGregor will attempt to reclaim the UFC lightweight title from undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Whatever the outcome of this massive title fight, there’s much speculation as to what might come next for the Irish megastar.

Thomas Taylor - October 4, 2018

https://twitter.com/aaronbronsteter/status/1047973584784646144 On Thursday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, UFC 229 headliners Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were set to appear on stage for a final pre-fight press conference. Unfortunately, McGregor was late for this event, which did not go over well with Nurmagomedov.

Thomas Taylor - October 4, 2018

The UFC 229 pre-fight press conference, featuring UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor is now underway.

Drake Riggs - October 4, 2018

Poland’s most accomplished mixed martial artist of all time also happens to be one of MMA’s most accomplished champions of all time. That, of course, is none other than the former strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Jedrzejczyk entered the UFC as an undefeated 6-0 rising contender in 2014 who was fresh off a big second-round knockout over the experienced Rosi Sexton.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2018

Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor has been compared to late boxing legend Muhammad Ali at several points over the course of his career, most notably by UFC President Dana White. These comparisons are generally based on McGregor’s confidence, showmanship and proficiency at mental warfare — traits Ali was famous for. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: He’s better [at mental warfare] than anybody,” Dana White told the media of McGregor shortly after the first press conference for UFC 229 (via MMAjunkie). “Even Ali. You don’t want to say anybody’s better than Ali, but I think when it comes to the mental war game in this sport, or any other sport, Conor McGregor is the best ever.”

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2018

Earlier this week, it was announced that UFC 230, which will go down on November 3 in New York City, will be headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks. To say the fan reaction to this news was negative would be an understatement. All over social media, fans shared their disappointment with this main event, many of whom suggested the card should have just been headlined by the Dustin Poirier vs. Nate Diaz fight that is currently serving as the co-main event. Even UFC commentator Joe Rogan seemed to share this opinion, admitting that he doesn’t actually know how Sijara Eubanks is.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2018

Over the last few weeks, a seemingly endless list of fighters have called for the UFC to abolish the traditional 170-pound welterweight division and replace it with new 165-pound and 175-pound divisions. There was even buzz about the possibility of Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier battling for the inaugural 165-pound title in the UFC 230 main event this November 3. While this seems like a great idea in theory, however, UFC President Dana White isn’t interested. He explained why in a recent interview with ESPN.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2018

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who will attempt to reclaim that latter title from Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 this Saturday, is far and away the biggest star in UFC history. But why is that? According to UFC President Dana White, there is a multitude of reasons. The simplest, though, is that Conor McGregor is a real fighter.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2018

UFC 229 is now mere days away. In these final days between us and the mammoth fight card, the UFC has released the third episode of UFC Embedded for it.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2018

Conor McGregor is anticipating a violent and decisive triumph when he steps into the cage with Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 229 this Saturday. Although the Irish soothsayer ‘Mystic Mac’ did not pick a specific round as he has in the past, he is confidently predicting the knockout, and from the sounds of it, he’s expecting it to happen early. “Devastating KO,” a fired up Conor McGregor told the crowd at Wednesday’s open workouts (transcript via MMA Fighting). “[He’s] too easy to hit, too flat-footed, too predictable. I’m gonna knock him clean out.”