MMA News

Drake Riggs - September 27, 2018

At Bellator 206 this Saturday night, the highly skilled counterpart to Gilbert Melendez, Keri Melendez welcomes newcomer Dakota Zimmerman to the ranks of the pros. Although Melendez is only 2-0 in her professional MMA career, she has built up a solid reputation as a kickboxer thus earning her a deserved spotlight.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

This weekend, in the main event of Bellator 206, Bellator middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi will attempt to defend his title against the promotion’s welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. Although Gegard Mousasi will be the bigger, heavier fighter in the cage on Saturday night, he’s not expecting that advantage to play all that much of a role in the fight. Smaller fighters, after all, have defeated larger fighters on many occasions. Mousasi himself is proof of this fact.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

The UFC bantamweight division is ruled by three men, all of whom have worn the divisional belt in the last few years. One is TJ Dillashaw, the reigning champion. The second is former champion Dominick Cruz, who is the last man to defeat Dillashaw. The other is former champion Cody Garbrandt, who ended Cruz’s title reign, but had his own reign ended by Dillashaw. Given their ability and the way they match up with each other, it’s conceivable that Dillashaw, Cruz and Garbrandt could battle at the top of the bantamweight division for years, swapping the title every few fights. Jimmie Rivera is hoping he can stop that from happening.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

Earlier this year, Bellator MMA began a very public courtship of rapper 50 Cent. The rapper was introduced to Bellator fighters, invited to Bellator events, and lots more. Why, however, was not exactly clear. Now we know.

Cole Shelton - September 27, 2018

It was reported earlier that UFC President Dana White is pursuing a Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson matchup for UFC 232. The matchup would presumably be for the interim light heavyweight title, but another layer to the matchmaking process has now been revealed. Before working on this Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson rematch, the UFC wanted to book a heavyweight title fight between Jones and reigning champion Daniel Cormier. This per ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

The UFC 229 press conference, which featured UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his upcoming opponent Conor McGregor, produced all of the trash talk and saber-rattling we anticipated. Most of that trash talk, of course, came from McGregor, who is as known for his gift of gab as he is for his fistic proficiency. While Conor McGregor is infamous for his trash talk, many fans feel he crossed some lines at this UFC 229 press conference, as he targeted Nurmagomedov’s entourage, his family, and even his religion.

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

Aaron Pico (3-1) has only been competing as a professional mixed martial artist for a little over a year. Yet in this short timeframe, the American wrestler has managed to establish himself as one of the most promising prospects on the Bellator roster — and he’s done so with a trio of thunderous knockout wins, showing he’s far more than just a wrestler. This Saturday, on the main card of the stacked Bellator 206 card, Aaron Pico will take on the biggest test of his career thus far, as he battles an exponentially more experienced foe in former Bellator bantamweight title challenger Leandro Higo (18-4).

Tom Taylor - September 27, 2018

For a time, it sounded as though former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was headed north to the UFC light heavyweight division. Ultimately, however, Rockhold was booked for a rematch with Chris Weidman, the very man he took the middleweight title from in 2015. The pair’s rematch will go down at UFC 230 this November 3 in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Jason Kindschy - September 26, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio is back, Penn Nation!

Thomas Taylor - September 26, 2018

Former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor is far and away the biggest star in MMA history. He’s been an absolute gold mine for the UFC, having headlined a great many of the promotion’s biggest pay-per-views. Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up this week, UFC President Dana White admitted that, because Conor McGregor is such a valuable asset to the UFC, he gets away with more than any of his peers would. You know, like throwing dollies through bus windows and injuring other fighters severely enough that they’re forced to withdraw from their fights.

Drake Riggs - September 26, 2018

Very dark and disturbing news has come to light surrounding the promising UFC welterweight prospect Abdul Razak Alhassan. It has been reported by the Star-Telegram (more detail inside) that Alhassan has been indicted on charges for sexual assault and accused of driving two intoxicated women home from the Varsity Tavern where he worked as a bouncer in March, then raped both women inside one of their homes. Alhassan was set free from the arrest in April on a $20,000 bond.

Tom Taylor - September 26, 2018

In his last fight, which went down January, Douglas Lima surrendered the Bellator welterweight title to reigning champion Rory MacDonald, losing a close decision to the Canadian. So long as he performs well in his upcoming Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix matchups, starting with his Bellator 206, scrap with Andrey Koreshkov, Lima could easily have the chance to reclaim the title from MacDonald in the near future. If Douglas Lima gets this chance, he will apply the lessons he learned from his first with MacDonald to their second fight. The key takeaway from this first fight, he says, is that he needs to continue fighting ferociously for the bout’s duration. In hindsight, he feels he let his foot off the gas a little too much in the latter phases of the first fight.

Tom Taylor - September 26, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has experienced very little in the way of adversity inside the cage. In fact, the former champ has really only been truly tested once. That was in 2013, when he met Swedish light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC 165 in Toronto. On that night, Jones had to fight tooth and nail to escape with his title. And while he ultimately managed to win this wild war by decision, many fans feel Gustafsson did enough to win the belt. Today, when Jon Jones’ 15-month USADA suspension is almost complete, and Alexander Gustafsson remains one of the very top players in the UFC light heavyweight division, it seems very possible that the two rivals could meet again in the near future.

Tom Taylor - September 26, 2018

That UFC 230 main event we’ve been waiting for? Apparently, it’s in the works, and it’s an undeniably surprising one. According to a report from Ariel Helwani, the UFC is looking at booking a light heavyweight showdown between Alexander Gustafsson and Yoel Romero for the card. If the fight is indeed booked, it will reportedly be for a title, though it’s not certain whether the pair would be fighting for an interim or undisputed title.

Tom Taylor - September 26, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will reportedly return to the cage at UFC Adelaide on December 2, where he’ll take on Australia’s own Tyson Pedro in a compelling light heavyweight showdown. This matchup was first reported by ESPN.

Tom Taylor - September 26, 2018

Bellator’s anticipated Welterweight Grand Prix, which will see Rory MacDonald, Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Jon Fitch, Paul Daley, Michael Page, Neiman Gracie and Ed Ruth battle for welterweight gold, is almost here. The first tournament bout occurs on the main card of the stacked Bellator 206 on September 29, when former champions Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov collide in a tie-breaking trilogy fight.

Drake Riggs - September 26, 2018

The strange news has followed Italian UFC flyweight Mara Romero Borella this month and it just continues to get a bit stranger. On September 13, Borella received the loftiest of suspensions imaginable in the sports world. That being a 26-year suspension from the Italian Anti Doping Agency.

Drake Riggs - September 25, 2018

If there is one thing that is frustrating for everyone, regardless of what’s being involved…it’s when someone can’t seem to do their job right. This happened to be a case at the recent UFC Moscow event. In said recent case, UFC veteran CB Dollaway took on the debuting Khalid Murtazaliev.