MMA News
Sean O'Malley gives timeframe for Octagon return
Tom Taylor - June 7, 2018
It sounds like “Suga” Sean O’Malley could be back in our lives quite soon. O’Malley, who has emerged as one of the hottest prospects in the talent-packed bantamweight division, last fought at UFC 222, when he picked up a decision win over Andre Soukhamthath. While this win was impressive, it did come with a catch: he badly injured his foot in the third round, to the point that he was just about immobile by the time the fight ended.
BREAKING | UFC Lincoln to be headlined by Justin Gaethje vs Al Iaquinta
Drake Riggs - June 6, 2018
It looks like Dana White has denied the truth once again. After White’s ‘shutting down’ of the possibility of a fantastic lightweight matchup between Al Iaquinta and former World Series of Fighting champion, Justin Gaethje, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto has now confirmed that the bout will headline UFC Lincoln on August 25th.
Mickey Gall explains why he's picking CM Punk to beat Mike Jackson at UFC 225
Thomas Taylor - June 6, 2018
This Saturday night, in the first bout of the stacked UFC 225 main card, former pro wrestler CM Punk will compete in his second mixed martial arts bout. His opponent in this sophomore effort will be Mike “The Truth” Jackson. Heading into this fight, Punk and Jackson are both 0-1 as professional mixed martial artists. Both of their losses, interestingly, came courtesy of the same man: one Mickey Gall.
Report | Demetrious Johnson vs Henry Cejudo 2 close to finalization for UFC 227
Drake Riggs - June 6, 2018
MMA fans were hopeful that we would be getting both champions, TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson at UFC 227 in Los Angeles on August 4th. And it looks like we very well might be…they just won’t be going against each other. Negotiations were underway for a potential super fight between the flyweight and bantamweight champions, Johnson and Dillashaw but according to Johnson’s manager, despite both accepting their offers, Dillashaw was given a new contract that resulted in him rematching Cody Garbrandt in UFC 227’s main event.
Dana White shuts down Al Iaquinta vs. Justin Gaethje rumors
Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018
On a recent episode of his Call Me Al podcast, UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta suggested that a bout with fellow fan favorite Justin Gaethje was in the works for this summer. “We’re hoping for sometime in August,” Iaquinta said. “August, September. I think they wanted it to be sooner, but like, that guy needs a rest. I was looking out for his health with that one. He needs a break for a minute.”
Coach Duke Roufus says CM Punk has a quality that some UFC fighters lack
Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018
According to renowned MMA coach Duke Roufus, CM Punk has vastly improved since his failed UFC debut, in which he was thumped to a first-round submission loss by Mickey Gall. “Way better,” Roufus told MMAjunkie this week, when asked ho much Punk has improved since his bout with Gall. “The first [fight] is a roll of the dice. You’ve got to take a gamble and see how your guy’s going to react in there and deal with a real fist fight. That being said, Mickey Gall was a very tough opponent. It was a tough first out. But I’m glad he got someone like Mickey Gall because when someone will take the licks that he did and the setbacks and want to come back for more, I know he’s made of something special.”
EXCLUSIVE | Colby Covington plans to become a three-sport champion
Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018
At UFC 225, which goes down in Chicago this Saturday, Colby Covington plans to take out Rafael dos Anjos to capture the UFC interim welterweight title. From there, he plans on defeating undisputed champion Tyron Woodley to unify the welterweight title. Then, somewhere down the road, he’d like to challenge both middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to become a three-division UFC champion.
VIDEO | PFL 1 live weigh-ins
Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018
Tomorrow night, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) will kickstart its inaugural season with PFL 1, inside the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Ahead of this exciting night of fights, which will feature first-round heavyweight and featherweight tournament bouts, the 24 fighters on the bill will weigh in for their respective battles. Watch these PFL 1 weigh-ins live, right here, on BJPENN.COM at 4:00pm ET. The stacked PFL 1 card will feature a host of MMA notables, from former World Series of Fighting and Bellator champions, to UFC veterans.
EXCLUSIVE | Colby Covington expects to corner Tyron Woodley with win at UFC 225
Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018
If Colby Covington defeats Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225, he will become the UFC’s interim welterweight champion. It’s Covington’s belief that capturing this interim title will leave undisputed welterweight champ Tyron Woodley with no choice but to accept a fight with him.
Tyron Woodley plans to take out top welterweight contenders, retire as middleweight champ
Tom Taylor - June 6, 2018
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is almost fighting fit again, and he’s itching to return to the cage. More specifically, he’s keen to return at UFC 227, on August 4th in Los Angeles — whether against the winner of Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington’s UFC 225 interim title fight, or somebody else. “I’m not really concerned with who’s ready, who’s next,” Woodley recently told MMA Junkie. “You’ve got to realize there are certain rights you deserve as a champion. When I’m ready to fight, now it’s time to fight. Whoever they got for me to fight at this time, come get this work. I don’t want to sit back and say, ‘Oh, I want to sit and wait to see what happens with this fight.’ I’m the champion. I want to fight.”
Under the MMA Microscope | How big of a deal is card fight placement?
Drake Riggs - June 5, 2018
Regardless of what Dana White tells everyone, the numbers don’t lie. And the numbers say that the UFC’s pay-per-view numbers were not their best last year. But why is that? Surely putting on shows without your biggest stars like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey are bound to do less than any other event(which they did), but they don’t go on every single card and when they were around, the buys for events that excluded them were still good sales wise.
CM Punk gets lawsuit settled, relieved to not be 'forced to work through concussions anymore'
Drake Riggs - June 5, 2018
It’s definitely not the situation you want to be in just days away from a fight. But that it was for Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks. The former WWE star, CM Punk was sided with by jurors today in his defamation lawsuit that was filed by WWE doctor, Christopher Amann for comments that CM Punk made about him on a podcast.
Clay Guida wasn't surprised by 'coward' Bobby Green dropping out of their fight
Drake Riggs - June 5, 2018
The UFC is returning to Chicago, Illinois. One of the hometown fighters fighting on the UFC 225 card is none other than ‘The Carpenter’ Clay Guida. Guida was originally supposed to be taking on Bobby ‘King’ Green in his first fight in Chicago since 2013.
Eddie Alvarez is not happy about Dana White's plan to end early weigh-ins
Thomas Taylor - June 5, 2018
On the latest episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast, UFC President Dana White announced that he plans to work with athletic commissions to end the practice of early weigh-ins. In his eyes, this practice is a major driver in the recent trend of fighters missing weight. “Yes, I do think it’s [the early weigh-ins that are causing failed weight cuts], and guess what? We’re getting rid of it,” White said on the show. “We’re looking at taking the weigh-ins back to the way they used to be. So when the guys weigh in there, at the [evening weigh-ins], that will be it.”
Recently retired Michael Bisping discusses ventures outside the cage
Tom Taylor - June 5, 2018
Speaking to ESPN this week, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping elaborated on his recent choice to retire from competition. The Brit says he had originally hoped to retire after defending the middleweight title three times, but had to reevaluate after losing the title to Georges St-Pierre in second defense.
Conor McGregor nabs #4 spot on Forbes list of highest-paid athletes
Tom Taylor - June 5, 2018
According to Forbes, Conor McGregor is the fourth highest-paid athlete in sports today. On the latest iteration of their annual highest-paid athletes list, the publication placed the Irish MMA star ahead of NBA stars LeBron James and Stephen Curry, footballer Neymar, and Tennis player Roger Federer. See the list’s top-10, alongside each athlete’s 2017 earnings, below:
Despite reconciliation with Yair Rodriguez, Dana White says more fighters will be cut for turning down fights
Tom Taylor - June 5, 2018
Last month, the UFC caused a tidal wave of controversy by cutting highly-regarded featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez, citing the fact that he had allegedly turned down consecutive fights with Ricardo Lamas and Zabit Magomedsharipov as the reason. In the end, of course, Rodriguez and the UFC were able to patch things up, and the Mexican featherweight is now expected to battle Magomedsharipov at UFC 228 this September. All the same, UFC President Dana White assures that, should any other fighters turn down multiple bout offers in the future, they can expect similar treatment.
Dana White updates on Artem Lobov's status in the UFC
Tom Taylor - June 5, 2018
Back in April, on the eve of UFC 223, Conor McGregor arrived in Brooklyn, and promptly went ballistic, throwing a dolly through the window of a shuttle bus carrying a number of the card’s fighters. While McGregor has been the main target of fan backlash following this incident, however, he did not act alone. He was accompanied by his long-time training partner Artem Lobov, who was subsequently pulled from his UFC 223 fight with Alex Caceres as a result. In the wake of this unfortunate incident, there was much speculation as to what the future would hold for Artem Lobov, who has lost his last two bouts in the Octagon. Some members of the MMA community have expected him to be released from the promotion.