MMA News

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

Shortly after he defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone by decision in the main of UFC Singapore, Leon Edwards called for a fight with long-time welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal.

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.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

Tito Ortiz is expecting to make some serious money for his much-discussed trilogy fight with Chuck Liddell, which is likely to occur in Oscar De La Hoya’s new Golden Boy MMA promotion sometime later this year. “I think Chuck’s kind of holding out, trying to make more money out of it, which it just doesn’t make sense because this deal is pretty much a cut and dry contract,” Ortiz said of the fight on Submission Radio (transcribed Jed Meshew for MMA Fighting). “We’re both partners. De La Hoya wants his 40 percent and me and Chuck Liddell get to split 30 percent. So that’s on complete revenue of the whole fight in general. And this is the whole thing that I’ve been waiting for for such a long time in mixed martial arts, to really make a difference, and we’re gonna do that with De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions.”

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

On Thursday morning, Donald Cerrone took to Instagram with a post that seemed to imply that he’s returning to the UFC lightweight division after a lengthy stint at welterweight. The one drawback of Cerrone’s famously busy schedule is that it means he’s already fought many of the lightweight division’s top players. The good news is that there are still a few lightweight stars Cerrone has yet to meet in the cage, including several that have risen to prominence during his sojourn in the welterweight division.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2018

Australian light heavyweight contender Tyson Pedro had former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux in trouble early in their UFC Singapore co-main event battle. Unfortunately for him, Saint Preux was ultimately able to recover and turn things around irrecoverably with a first-round submission victory. While this loss to Saint Preux was understandably very disappointing for Pedro, he’s determined to get right back into the cage, where he hopes to right his ship. He will not, however, be heeding the advice of the countless armchair coaches that offered him advice on social media post-fight.

Drake Riggs - June 28, 2018

In a scarce light heavyweight division and their champion off to challenge for the heavyweight crown, the top of the heap is left in limbo. Seemingly alone as the peak contender is the Swede, two-time title challenger, Alexander Gustafsson.

Jason Kindschy - June 28, 2018

A new episode of BJPENN.COM Radio is here, Penn Nation! Our first guest is good friend of the show and one of the realest guys in the business, Jorge Masvidal. “Gamebred” is back to discuss a recent callout by Leon Edwards. Masvidal has been planning to make his return to action this summer and has been seeking a dance partner. Is Leon Edwards the fight Masvidal is after? Not exactly. But “Gamebred” is more than willing to face the Englishmen and we’ll get an update on his plans moving forward. We’ll also get Jorge’s reaction to his longtime friend and team-mate Colby Covington capturing the interim title at UFC 225.

Drake Riggs - June 28, 2018

Now that they are set to do battle, the war before the war inside the Octagon has begun between the men in UFC Lincoln’s main event. Late last night, it was announced that Gaethje’s original opponent for the UFC’s first time in Nebraska, ‘Ragin’ Al Iaquinta has pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons.

Drake Riggs - June 28, 2018

It looks like things will end up working out for “The Irish Dragon” Paul Felder who was looking like he would be missing out on his second fight in a row. At UFC 223, Felder was planned to take on Al Iaquinta to kick off the evening’s main card. However, after UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway was pulled from the night’s main event with Khabib Nurmagomedov due to not being able to make weight, a replacement was needed.

Drake Riggs - June 28, 2018

Love him or hate him, as long as you talked about him. After three big-name retirements these past two weeks, we now have a third. That third being one of the original cast members from the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Josh Koscheck.

Drake Riggs - June 28, 2018

The fight fallouts continue, unfortunately. The day after we lost out on Justin Gaethje vs Al Iaquinta, we’ve lost another fun fight. A highly anticipated welterweight scrap was set to take place at UFC 226 on July 7th between Mike Perry and Yancy Medeiros. MMAJunkie has now reported that Medeiros is out of the fight due to a rib injury and the UFC is now in search of a replacement.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2018

If you look at Stephen Thompson’s recent record, you will see he’s recently fought Tyron Woodley to a draw, given up a decision in a rematch with Woodley, and given up a decision to Darren Till. In the eyes of some fans — and of course Thompson’s team — he should have won all of those fights. In order to avoid disappointing judges’ decisions going forward, Thompson says he plans to adjust his fighting style in an effort to improve his chances of scoring a stoppage.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2018

The year 2018 has not been particularly kind to UFC lightweight contender Paul Felder. After a strong 2017 campaign, Felder looked to kickstart the new year with an April showdown with ranked lightweight contender Al Iaquinta. The bout was supposed to occur at UFC 223. Unfortunately for Felder, Iaquinta got the call to step in against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the card’s last-minute minute main event. And just like that, he was without a fight. His first bout of 2018 had been deferred indefinitely.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2018

Donald Cerrone’s first four fights in the UFC welterweight division could not have gone better, as he delivered decisive stoppage wins over game foes in Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, Rick Story, and Matt Brown. Unfortunately, his subsequent time in the division hasn’t gone as he hoped, as he’s sandwiched a knockout defeat of Yancy Medeiros between knockout losses to Jorge Masvidal and Darren Till, and decision defeats to Robbie Lawler and Leon Edwards. Having gone 1-4 in his last five welterweight bouts, it sounds as though “Cowboy” is now plotting a return to the lightweight division, where his UFC career began. He hinted at this lightweight return in a Thursday morning post to Instagram.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2018

From the sounds of it, Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell will in fact fight for a third time. Speaking on Submission Radio this week, Ortiz divulged that he’s in shape, and that he’s just waiting for Liddell to sign his contract. “I’ve bounced back faster than I expected, which is great,” Ortiz said (transcribed by Jim Edwards for MMANytt). “But I feel good, man, I’m anxious. I’m just waiting on Chuck Liddell’s side to kind of sign the contract, get this done. So, it’s just a matter of time.”

Drake Riggs - June 27, 2018

Well, the search for Justin Gaethje’s new UFC Lincoln opponent didn’t last long. Late Wednesday night it was reported that Al Iaquinta had pulled out of his upcoming main event bout with the former WSOF champion, Gaethje that was set to take place on August 25th.

Drake Riggs - June 27, 2018

Off then on and now off again apparently for good, UFC Lincoln is in need of a new main event and opponent for ‘The Highlight’ Justin Gaethje. The former WSOF lightweight king, Gaethje and The Ultimate Fighter 15 finalist, Al Iaquinta were scheduled to square off in UFC Lincoln’s headliner on August 25th. The uber fan-friendly will now have to be put on hold as ESPN is reporting that Iaquinta has pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons.