MMA News

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2018

When Conor McGregor returns to the cage — if Conor McGregor returns to the cage — two of his best options in terms of opponents are current UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, and former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre are two of the most dominant fighters in MMA history. St-Pierre has lost just twice in 28 fights, and avenged both of those losses in decisive fashion. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, has never lost a fight, and currently sits at a flawless 26-0 overall.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2018

Forget Jon Jones, forget Alexander Gustafsson, forget Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, forget Anderson Silva. Forget Dan Henderson and Josh Barnett and Frank Mir. Of all the world-class fighters UFC light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier has met in the cage, he considers his UFC 226 opponent, UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, to be the best of the bunch. “I think he’ll be the best,” Cormier said on the UFC 226 conference call this week (transcribed by Damon Martin for MMANytt). “He is who he is for that reason that he’s the baddest man on the planet. They call the heavyweight champ the baddest man on the planet and for a long time, guys got to have that title for a short period of time because they would get knocked off.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2018

Back in January, in the main event of UFC 220, hulking French-Cameroonian heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou stepped into the cage with divisional champ Stipe Miocic, and promptly attempted to take his head off. Ngannou swung like he wanted to send Miocic’s head to settle amongst the mess of dead satellites in earth’s orbit, and when that failed do so, he swung some more. Then, he got tired — which gave the champ Miocic to opportunity to get to work with his boxing and wrestling, and ultimately, capture a lopsided unanimous decision victory from his exhausted foe.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2018

At present, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has his crosshairs locked on undefeated challenger Brian Ortega, who he will fight at UFC 226 on July 7. While this featherweight title fight is at the forefront of Holloway’s mind, however, the featherweight division is not his permanent home.

Chris Taylor - June 30, 2018

Current UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will be fighting for more than just the promotions heavyweight title when he squares off with Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 226 this July in Las Vegas. “DC” has the opportunity to join a group of fellow octagon legends in Randy Couture, BJ Penn, Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre who are currently the only fighters to have ever captured UFC titles in two different weight classes.

Chris Taylor - June 30, 2018

UFC 226: Miocic vs. Cormier – How Do You Want To Be Remembered? The octagon will once again take center stage at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 7 for the promotions UFC 226 fight card.

Drake Riggs - June 30, 2018

We’re already halfway through 2018! And with that has come plenty of great moments inside the many MMA enclosures around the world. These are our BJPenn.com staff awards for the half-way point of 2018.

Chris Taylor - June 30, 2018

Andre Pederneiras is no longer the leader of Brazil’s famed Nova Uniao team. Pederneiras announced that he was stepping down as the teams leader on social media earlier today, this following an initial report from Combate.com.

Chris Taylor - June 30, 2018

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort (26-14 MMA) might not be done with fighting after all. The mixed martial arts legend, who retired from the sport following his brutal knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 224, recently took to social media where he delivered the following message which hints at a possible comeback.

Chris Taylor - June 30, 2018

UFC welterweight standout “Platinum” Mike Perry (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Max Griffin this past February in his hometown of Orlando. The loss served as Perry’s second in a row as he had previously been defeated by Santiago Ponzinibbio via decision at UFC on FOX 26 in Winnipeg.

Chris Taylor - June 30, 2018

Juan Archuleta improved his record to a sensational 19-1 at last night’s Bellator 201 event scoring a brutal third-round knockout victory over Robbie Peralta. The fight began with an absolutely wild pace as both men were throwing bombs in hopes of scoring an early finish.

Thomas Taylor - June 30, 2018

Thiago Tavares’ PFL 2 fight could not have gone much worse for him. After absorbing a low blow in the second round, he was given five minutes to recover. When he still wasn’t ready after five minutes, the bout was then ruled a TKO win for his opponent Robert Watley. Had the fight occurred pretty much anywhere but Illinois, the bout would have been ruled a no-contest, but the bizarre Illinois rules meant a loss for Tavares. The good news is that Tavares escaped the bout without any serious damage to the contents of his cup. This is something he was worried about after the blow landed.

Drake Riggs - June 29, 2018

Two of the biggest fights in UFC history are linked to the American Kickboxing Academy. That should tell you all you need to know about their talent. One of those fights is actually taking place next Saturday at UFC 226 as the UFC light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier will go up to challenge for Stipe Miocic’s heavyweight crown in a super fight for the ages.

Drake Riggs - June 29, 2018

After the whole fiasco that took place at UFC Atlantic City, Leslie Smith is starting to take some steps in the right direction. Riding a two-fight winning streak (three at bantamweight), Smith was headed into the last fight on her contract at UFC Atlantic City in April when she was to take on Aspen Ladd. However, Ladd would end up missing weight and the fight would be called off.

Drake Riggs - June 29, 2018

If the assumptions weren’t good enough already, then we may have just gotten the signal that the final nail in the coffin is drawing closer for The Ultimate Fighter. It’s no secret that one of the most unique ideas in MMA history, The Ultimate Fighter reality series has began to ran its course.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

Curtis Blaydes has looked unstoppable of late, but his rise through the UFC ranks has not been entirely flawless. In his first UFC bout, Blaydes experienced a tough, doctor stoppage loss to Francis Ngannou — and it’s a fight he’s wanted to get back ever since. “I’m not really a fan of short camps or late notice fights,” Blaydes explained on a recent episode of BJPENN.COM Radio. “I won’t blame my loss to Ngannou on anything besides he was a better man that day, but I do feel I would have been better prepared had I had a full six to eight week camp as opposed to the three weeks I was given.”

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

If things had gone according to the original plan, Mike Perry would have stepped into the cage with Yancy Medeiros at UFC 226 on July 7. Regrettably, Medeiros was sidelined with an injury just days out from the fight, which left Perry without an opponent, and the UFC with the frantic task of finding him a new dance partner.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

Dominick Reyes is perhaps the fastest rising contender in the UFC light heavyweight division. In just three UFC bouts, he’s already usurped the number-11 spot in the divisional rankings, and now, he’s hoping to take another big step up the ladder with a win over a top-10 foe. More specifically, he wants Ovince Saint Preux, who recently won big with a submission defeat of Tyson Pedro.