MMA News

Drake Riggs - July 17, 2018

Bellator 204 is just a month away and the full card is starting to shape up. BJPenn.com’s own Drake Riggs confirmed today that a showdown between featherweight prospects Tywan Claxton and Cris “Sunshine” Williams has been added to the main card which takes place in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Drake Riggs - July 17, 2018

Last month we were treated to several big-name retirements ranging from the likes of Rashad Evans, Johny Hendricks, and Josh Koscheck. Mid-way through this month…we’re getting an unretirement.

Drake Riggs - July 17, 2018

One of the most discussed decisions of the year took place at the UFC’s first visit to Liverpool, England and many believe that the wrong man won. The fight in reference is the main event which pitted top welterweight strikers Darren Till against the two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson.

Thomas Taylor - July 17, 2018

For kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki, there’s nothing quite like fighting, whether its in the UFC’s Octagon or the kickboxing ring. Though life as a fighter can be tremendously taxing — physically and mentally — it’s also beautifully straightforward. Life outside the cage, however, is not always so black and white.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

Earlier this summer, Bellator MMA announced plans for an eight-man welterweight tournament, much like the heavyweight Grand Prix the organization is currently promoting. At the time, the details of his eight-man tournament were scarce. While Bellator Scott Coker suggested many of Bellator’s big-name welterweights would be involved, it was not clear who exactly.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

The official UFC rankings have been updated in the wake of last Saturday’s exciting UFC Boise card. The biggest changes in these latest UFC rankings occurred at featherweight, where the long-absent Chad Mendes re-entered the top-15 after his UFC Boise win over Myles Jury, and Alexander Volkanovski made his long-awaited debut in the rankings after his domination of Darren Elkins.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw believes that another win over Cody “No Love” Garbrandt, who he knocked out at UFC 217 in November, will solidify his status the best bantamweight ever. “It puts me at the top [of the list as the all-time greatest bantamweight],” Dillashaw said on the latest episode of The MMA Hour (transcribed by Peter Carroll for MMA Fighting). “I know I’m the best bantamweight ever. I’ve got a split decision loss to Dominick Cruz and that changed everything — a fight that I thought I won. That changed everything, but I am the best bantamweight in the world.”

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is as polarizing as UFC fighters get. Whether you love him or hate him, however, you’re likely to tune into his fights, which means his schtick is working. In the eyes of current Bellator star Chael Sonnen, one of MMA’s most legendary heels, we’re likely to see many fighters attempt to follow in Covington’s footsteps going forward — not just in terms of Covington’s bad guy gimmick, but in terms of his ceaseless self promotion.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is a sought-after man. After being called out by Stipe Miocic, Yoel Romero, Anthony Smith, and more, he’s now been called out by surging light heavyweight talent Ilir Latifi. The Swedish behemoth made his callout of Cormier on Instagram over the weekend. He’s hoping to battle the champ when the UFC returns to New York City’s Madison Square Garden this November.

Tom Taylor - July 17, 2018

Both UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former champ Conor McGregor were in attendance at Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final in Russia. Given that the pair have repeatedly been linked to a blockbuster title fight, and that there is a long history of heated confrontations between them, many fans were hoping they’d cross paths. After all, what better way to expedite fight negotiations than a little skirmish? In the end, however, Nurmagomedov and McGregor did not meet in Russia. And according to Khabib Nurmagomedov, that was probably for the best. Though the Russian star expected to see the Irishman in the stadium, he doesn’t feel a meeting under those circumstances would be fruitful.

Drake Riggs - July 17, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s52H5IHxZUY “There’s a reason [that] after I launched that tweet, that Instagram comment… There’s a reason why I had…I mean tons of fighters reach out to me. Tons of UFC employees reach out to me. Tons of employees from Reebok reach out to me, former fighters, media members. Why do you think that is? Cause everyone’s thinkin’ this: [Dana White] motivates by fear. That’s not a way to run a business. That’s not the way to do things, it’s 2018. You just can’t do that.

Drake Riggs - July 16, 2018

The UFC’s middleweight king Robert Whittaker can’t catch a break when it comes to injuries. Now he expects he won’t fight until next year at the earliest. Despite breaking his hand once again in his second encounter with Yoel Romero at UFC 225, Whittaker was has been announced as one of the coaches for season 28 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Drake Riggs - July 16, 2018

UFC 226 was full of great fights. With the exception of one of the most anticipated ones not panning out at all how we expected. That fight being, of course, the heavyweight clash between usual knockout artists, Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou.

Drake Riggs - July 16, 2018

There were several big winners on July 7th at UFC 226. Two of which were lightweight fighters who could potentially cross paths one day. In fact, that’s exactly what Dan Hooker’s coach Eugene Bareman hopes happens next for his fighter.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2018

Kelvin Gastelum has won the middleweight title shot sweepstakes, sprinting ahead of his fellow middleweight contenders in the race to the next crack at divisional champion Robert Whittaker. Gastelum will battle Whittaker sometime later this year, but first, the pair will serve as the coaches of the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. For Gastelum, Whittaker represents and undeniably tough test. That said, Gastelum wonders if Whittaker might be a different fighter after his last two bouts, a pair of absolute wars with the fearsome Yoel Romero.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2018

Earlier this month, in the main event of UFC 226, Stipe Miocic’s reign as the UFC’s most dominant heavyweight champion came to a skittering halt, as he was put down by a thunderous first-round punch from Daniel Cormier. In the ensuing fallout of this title loss, Miocic planned to ask for an immediate rematch with Cormier. This, after all is, is an opportunity that many dominant UFC champions have been awarded in the past. See Anderson Silva, Ronda Rousey, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, etc.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2018

UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington’s days as the UFC’s biggest heel could soon be over. Ahead of his title-unifying showdown with undisputed champ Tyron Woodley, which is not yet scheduled, Covington claims that fans are so disappointed with Woodley’s reign as champ, that he might turn face just to give them somebody to root for. “Woodley’s in his little safe space,” Covington said of Woodley on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio. “Hollywood’s made him softer, so we’re gonna see each other across the Octagon, and I’m gonna retire him for good. There’s no more talk of Tyron Woodley. [To] all the fans, I’m supposed to be the bad guy. I’m selling this like I’m the bad guy, but I can’t even be the bad guy, ’cause anytime Tyron Woodley opens his mouth, he immediately becomes the bad guy. He’s trying to act like a good guy, but he’s talking about things that only bad guys talk about. So, Woodley… he needs to shut his mouth and just let me sell the fight. No one cares about him, he’s not a draw. That’s why he had to piggy back off Conor [McGregor], and he had to piggy back off Jon Jones to get pay per view points and make money.

Tom Taylor - July 16, 2018

Alexander Gustafsson, who is currently the top contender in the UFC light heavyweight division, wasn’t particularly pleased when UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier moved up to heavyweight to battle divisional champion Stipe Miocic. Despite his frustrations with Cormier leaving the division, however, Gustafsson admits he was very impressed with the way Cormier ultimately defeated Miocic. “He did great. I’m impressed,” Gustafsson told Luke Thomas on the latest edition of The MMA Hour (transcribed by Peter Carroll for MMA Fighting). “I was impressed by the way he finished Stipe and how he won the fight. I’m very impressed by the guy, he did great.”