MMA News

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz’s trilogy fight is now allegedly official — though certain key details like the date and venue of the fight are still unknown. No matter the setting of this fight, which will be promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, it’s likely to be the subject of much controversy. Ortiz, after all, is 43, while Liddell is 48 years old. Liddell also hasn’t fought since 2010, when he retired on the heels of three-straight knockout losses.

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Over the last few weeks, former two division World Series of Fighting champion David Branch has been chasing a fight with former Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. Branch’s first callout of Jacare was short and sweet, and simply stated that he’d signed a contract to fight the Brazilian. https://twitter.com/DavidcBranchMMA/status/1004886659018747904

Tom Taylor - July 4, 2018

Yoel Romero has dazzled fans in his first two bouts of 2018, first clubbing former champ Luke Rockhold into unconsciousness in February, then engaging current champ Robert Whittaker in one of the year’s best fights in June. Unfortunately, both of Romero’s 2018 bouts have been served with a side of controversy, as he failed to make weight on both occasions. It’s for this reason that surging middleweight contender Israel Adesanya has found it hard to root for him. In Adesanya’s eyes, Romero’s repeated failure to make weight is encroaching on cheating.

Drake Riggs - July 3, 2018

We might not hear him speak up often, but when he does Gegard Mousasi doesn’t hold back. And he didn’t yesterday when speaking of one of his old foes. Recently signed to Bellator was the MMA legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion, Lyoto Machida.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

There is a special place in the heart of every MMA fan for a good, old-fashioned scrap… Those frenetic fights like Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua I, Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald II, and Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi, that hammer their way into our memories and never leave. At the end of each month, BJPENN.COM honors the best scraps of the month, from the UFC’s Octagon, to the Rizin ring, to the cages of regional promotions all over the world.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson didn’t have to fly across the Atlantic to battle rising prospect Darren Till in his hometown of Liverpool, and he sure as heck didn’t have to fight Till after he missed weight for the fight. But he did, and for that, UFC President Dana White was very thankful. In fact, White even assured post-fight that the UFC would “do everything we can to give [Thompson] what he wants” in return for his sacrifices. Thompson is hoping Dana White and the UFC will keep their word. He’s hoping to cash in the favor he’s owed, and bring the UFC to his home state of South Carolina — an unexplored territory for the promotion. If he can bring the UFC to South Carolina — particularly to the city of Greenville — he’s hoping to battle former champion Robbie Lawler in the main event.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

This Saturday, in the main event of the absurdly stacked UFC 226 card, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will attempt to defend his title against reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. From a competitive standpoint, this is far and away one of the biggest fights of Miocic’s illustrious career. According to the man himself, it’s also the biggest fights from a financial standpoint. This is good news, considering Miocic has been frustrated with his paydays in the past.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

Renowned MMA coach John Kavanagh, who is the man behind stars like Conor McGregor, Gunnar Nelson, James Gallagher and Dillon Danis, has a bone to pick with the UFC. The Irish coach is currently in Las Vegas to corner his SBG Ireland fighters Richie Smullen and Brad Katona, the latter of whom is a finalist on the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter. Both fight at the Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale this Friday.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

Last week, former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks joined Michal Bisping, Rashad Evans, Ian McCall and Josh Koscheck in the pool of big-name fighters to recently announce their retirement from MMA.  Speaking on Monday’s edition of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Hendricks explained why he opted to hang up the gloves. From the sounds of it, the former champ, who will now serve as a wrestling coach at Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, simply fell out of love with fighting.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2018

UFC 226, which goes down this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be headlined by a bona fide super fight, as UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier moves up to heavyweight to battle divisional champion Stipe Miocic for gold. Yet according to UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway, who battles Brian Ortega in the co-main event, that’s not the only superfight on the bill. Speaking to Yahoo Sports  this week, Holloway explained what it means to him to fight on such a big card, and assured this his fight with Ortega is every bit a super fight too.

Drake Riggs - July 2, 2018

Earlier today, it was announced that Volkan Oezdemir would be backing out of his UFC Hamburg headliner with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Why did he back out? To take a higher profile bout with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 on August 4th in Los Angeles.

Drake Riggs - July 2, 2018

To say that last month’s No. 1 spot lived up to the hype would be an understatement. Here’s to hoping July gives us those same amazing moments. Few months in recent memory have been as jam-packed with as many world-class competitors as July 2018 and it will be a complete shock if we aren’t treated to great action week in and week out.

Drake Riggs - July 2, 2018

Alexander ‘The Mauler’ Gustafsson’s search for an opponent at UFC 227 on August 4th appears to have come to a surprising end. The perennial top-ranked UFC light heavyweight contender was initially expected to possibly be getting a fight with the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold at the Los Angeles event. But all possibilities of that fell through after Rockhold injured his leg and needed to get surgery to repair it.

Thomas Taylor - July 2, 2018

Over the weekend, 100-fight MMA veteran Jonathan Ivey stepped into the cage with 300-fight veteran Travis Fulton — a man he considers a personal hero. In the midst of the first round, Ivey sent Fulton crashing to the mat with a punch, then followed to the canvas, where he unleashed a storm of ground-and-pound. But then, in an inexplicable twist, Ivey stood up, and tapped out, essentially throwing away the win. 

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2018

Bellator’s exciting Heavyweight Grand Prix is expected to continue in October, when Fedor Emelianenko and Chael Sonnen, and Matt Mitrione and Ryan Bader are expected to meet in a pair of semifinal bouts. No official dates have been locked down for these fights just yet, but they will occur close together on the calendar. This news was first reported by MMAjunkie, who spoke to Bellator President Scott Coker after Bellator 201 in Temecula, California last weekend.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2018

Initially, Al Iaquinta was expected to battle former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC Lincoln on August 25. But then, Iaquinta was removed from the matchup without explanation, and replaced by James Vick. After Iaquinta was pulled from the fight, there was quite a bit of speculation as to why it happened. Given Iaquinta’s long history of butting heads with the UFC, some wondered if perhaps he’d found himself in another disagreement with the promotion — or perhaps even been given the Leslie Smith treatment and sent packing.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2018

It’s happening. Former UFC light heavyweight champions and irrefutable MMA legends Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz are going to fight for a third time later this year, in the first offering from Oscar De La Hoya’s new Golden Boy MMA promotion. A date for the fight, which will air on pay-per-view, has not been set, but both parties have agreed to the fight. News of this fight’s fruition comes from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2018

Riding high on impressive defeats of former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Kelvin Gastelum feels he’s earned the next shot at reigning UFC middleweight champ Robert Whittaker. Unfortunately, he feels that Whittaker is attempting to steer clear of the matchup. “I know that he’s been offered the fight against me twice and he has not been wanting to fight me,” Gastelum said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour (transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting). “And I think that’s for good reason. I think I give him the most difficult time if we step in the cage and I think he knows that. In my opinion, I match up horribly for him.”