MMA News
UFC rankings update: Daniel Cormier is named pound-for-pound king
Tom Taylor - July 12, 2018
Sorry, Demetrious Johnson. According to the new UFC rankings, which have been updated in the wake of Saturday’s UFC 226 card, Daniel Cormier is the UFC’s new pound-for-pound king. These updated UFC rankings also featured some other interesting changes.
Cris Cyborg agrees to potential bout with Amanda Nunes for UFC 228
Drake Riggs - July 11, 2018
From the biggest super fight between men in MMA to the biggest super fight between women? It certainly appears to be a possibility. In the early stages of UFC 226’s coming together, it was looking like there was a possibility for the card to be the “super fight card” by playing host to three epic champion encounters.
Daniel Cormier responds to Yoel Romero's recent fight request
Drake Riggs - July 11, 2018
Daniel Cormier is currently the hottest commodity in the MMA world. And after becoming a dual-division champion at UFC 226, rightfully so. Everyone has their eyes on the light heavyweight and heavyweight titleholder and that ranges from fans to fighters. Some of which being former fighters looking to return like Brock Lesnar and currently active fighters looking to enter into one of Cormier’s divisions.
BJPENN.COM Radio Ep. 88 // Colby Covington
Jason Kindschy - July 11, 2018
BJPENN.COM Radio is back again, Penn Nation! Our guest for this episode is one of the most talked about and polarizing athletes in the sport today, a good friend the show and the UFC’s interim welterweight champ, Colby “Chaos” Covington. Currently on a victory lap back home in Oregon after defeating Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225, Colby is now solely focused on unifying the titles against his arch rival Tyron Woodley. However, as he always does, Covington has plenty to say on a variety of topics to share with us as. We’ll get an update on the looming fight against Woodley, his reaction to UFC 226, his beef with recent UFC Hall of Fame inductee Matt Serra, and when we can expect to see Colby at the Whitehouse shaking hands with Donald Trump. All that and much more!
VIDEO | Colby Covington talks Daniel Cormier's big win, 'He just passed me up for No. 1 pound-4-pound'
Drake Riggs - July 11, 2018
Colby Covington calls Daniel Cormier the greatest fighter of all time… pic.twitter.com/UUs0yM7DMn — Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) July 11, 2018
Jeremy Stephens accuses Brian Ortega of ducking him
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
When UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was removed from last Saturday’s UFC 226 bill, his opponent Brian Ortega was offered a last-minute replacement fight with surging featherweight knockout artist Jeremy Stephens. Ortega turned this fight down. While Ortega has since explained his reasoning, Stephens still feels he was ducked by the undefeated contender.
Israel Adesanya says Paulo Costa probably isn't next, but expects to fight him multiple times
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
Israel Adesanya, who thumped Brad Tavares in the TUF 27 Finale main event, and Paulo Costa, who smoked Uriah Hall on the UFC 226 undercard, are two of the fastest rising stars in the UFC middleweight division. In fact, they’re two of the fastest rising stars in any UFC division. Given that they both picked up decisive wins over established UFC middleweights last weekend, many fans and pundits began calling for a matchup between them. Apparently, however, any potential fight between the pair is likely to occur later on.
Brian Ortega feels UFC featherweight title should be vacated if Holloway is facing lengthy absence
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
Undefeated featherweight contender Brian Ortega was supposed to battle divisional champ Max Holloway for the title in the co-main event of last weekend’s stacked UFC 226 card. Regrettably, this plan was derailed when Holloway was forced off the card at the last minute — allegedly with concussion-like symptoms, though UFC President Dana White has suggested other issues could have been at play. “It’s a weird situation,” White said at the UFC 226 pre-fight press conference. “Some people think it’s concussion-related and some people think it’s weight-cut related.
Brian Ortega is fighting to get paid for cancelled UFC 226 bout
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
Brian Ortega did everything he was supposed to do with respect to his planned UFC 226 featherweight title fight with champ Max Holloway. He trained his butt off. He dieted. He navigated an extensive schedule of media obligations. He showed up in Las Vegas. He participated in the open workouts. Unfortunately for him, Holloway was forced off the card at the last minute, which meant the fight itself didn’t happen. Apparently, that also means Ortega might not get paid…
Early PPV estimates for UFC 226 are not great
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
Despite its being one of the most stacked cards of the year thus far, it seems that UFC 226 did not sell as well as expected. According to a report from MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, who is an expert on such things, early estimates suggest the Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic headlined card sold something in the area of 400,000 pay-per-views — far from a home run.
PHOTOS | Conor McGregor to receive £50,000 marble statue of himself for his birthday
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
Conor McGregor will receive a pretty impressive present for his 30th birthday: a massive, marble and silicone statue of himself, valued at over £50,000 (approximately $66,350). This statue, titled ATLAS, was carved by Birmingham-based, Lithuanian-born “hyperrealistic interpretative sculptor” Edgar Askelovic. Weighing in at more than 200 pounds, this statue will be displayed at London, England’s JD Malat Gallery from July 14 to September 30. It will then be gifted to McGregor, who has already accepted the gift.
Khabib Nurmagomedov discusses options if he doesn't fight McGregor or GSP next
Tom Taylor - July 11, 2018
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov would like to fight Conor McGregor or Georges St-Pierre next. If neither of these stars are available, however, there are thankfully some other options on the menu. One option, Nurmagomedov says, is the winner of Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez’s rematch, which headlines UFC Calgary on July 28.
Nick Diaz gets hit with two additional charges
Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018
Nick Diaz’s legal situation has gotten amply worse. According to a report from MMAjunkie, the former Strikeforce welterweight champ and UFC welterweight title challenger has been hit with two new charges in an amended complaint filed by prosecutors from the Clark County District Attorney’s office. They are: “an additional felony count of battery constituting domestic violence by strangulation, and felony battery domestic violence resulting in substantial bodily harm.”
Alexander Gustafsson to Daniel Cormier: "fight me or let the belt go"
Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018
When UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier opted to move up to heavyweight to challenge Stipe Miocic for gold, he deprived light heavyweight number-one contender Alexander Gustafsson of the title shot most feel he’s earned. When Cormier defeated Miocic and set his sights on a heavyweight money fight with Brock Lesnar, he ensured that Gustafsson will have to go even longer before he gets a crack at the light heavyweight title. It probably goes without saying, but Gustafsson is not happy about this. Although he’s currently scheduled for a UFC 227 fight with Volkan Oezdemir, Gustafsson feels that, if Cormier plans on staying at heavyweight for some time, he should vacate the light heavyweight title. At the very least, he thinks his UFC 227 clash with Oezdemir should be deemed an interim title fight.
VIDEO | Watch Cain Velasquez and other AKA teammates react to Daniel Cormier's heavyweight title win
Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018
Saturday was a great night, but not just for me at the @americankickboxingacademy we are a family. Here is @officialcainvelasquez , @slikbxr and @iamthebay watching the fight in the locker room. I love my team ! The best gym in the world AKA! Go to @iamthebay YouTube page for bts pic.twitter.com/VoQGohclW0 — Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) July 10, 2018
Jon Jones sends word of encouragement to Francis Ngannou after disappointing UFC 226 loss
Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018
Francis Ngannou’s UFC 226 battle with Derrick Lewis was an undeniable disappointment, as he failed to mount any meaningful offense over the course of the three-round fight, and ultimately lost a unanimous decision as a result. After a brief period of silence, a disappointed Ngannou took to social media to explain his performance. Apparently, he let the residual nerves from his last fight — a decisive decision loss to Stipe Miocic — affect the way he fought at UFC 226.
Jon Jones' manager optimistic USADA decision could be made by "end of this month"
Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018
It feels like we’ve been waiting for the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to hand Jon Jones a punishment for his 2016 failed drug test forever. At this point, we all just want to know what the future holds for the MMA great, one way or another. From the sounds of it, we’ll probably know soon. According to Jones’ manager Malki Kawa, who appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN on Monday, USADA’s decision is coming soon — perhaps as early as the end of this month.
Curtis Blaydes points out a key difference between himself and Brock Lesnar
Tom Taylor - July 10, 2018
News that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will get the next shot at new heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier generated backlash from a big portion of the MMA community. A giant segment of fans were immediately furious that Lesnar had been granted the opportunity, despite the fact that he hasn’t legitimately won a fight since 2010. Of all the people unhappy about Lesnar’s title shot, however, it’s arguable that none are quite as ticked as Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes, after all, could well have gotten the next heavyweight title shot had Lesnar not cut the line. Since news of Lesnar’s return was announced, Blaydes has shared his frustration on social media on several occasions.