MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 10, 2018

When Gunnar Nelson was forced out of his UFC Liverpool co-main event showdown with Neil Magny, Jorge Masvidal offered to step in and replace him. Masvidal only asked that this short-notice bout with Magny be contested at 180 pounds, as he would have difficult making the welterweight limit’s 170-pound with an abridged training camp.

Tom Taylor - May 10, 2018

Back in November, in the co-main event of UFC 217, TJ Dillashaw stepped into the cage with Cody Garbrandt in an attempt to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title. In the second round, Dillashaw succeeded on this mission, putting his rival down with a crackling combination.

Tom Taylor - May 10, 2018

Several months ago, on a March episode of BJ Penn Radio, Jorge Masvidal shared a story of yet another heated run-in with former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping (read that here). During this incident, which occurred in Shanghai, China, Masvidal alleges that Bisping went off on him, blasting him with a profanity-laced tirade. This week, on the latest episode of The MMA Hour, Masvidal once again recounted this story. Not long thereafter, Bisping shared his side of the encounter on his podcast Believe You Me.

Jason Kindschy - May 9, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio is back in action, Penn Nation! We kick things off with UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw. Last time the champ joined us, the super-fight against “Mighty Mouse” was all but finalized. Since then, the matchup has been shelved and TJ now faces former champion and rival Cody Garbrandt in a rematch at UFC 227 on August 4th. We’ll get TJ’s perspective on what went wrong with negotiations to fight Demetrious and if he feels that fight will eventually materialize. We’ll also preview the second bout with Cody, get TJ’s pick for the Lomachenko vs Linares fight this weekend, and much more.

Drake Riggs - May 9, 2018

“You could just kind of tell by my performance [if the incident messed me up]. Everything I said after in the press conference, is kind of like, you know, my feelings on the issue.

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

Kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki, who made his UFC debut in September with a first-round demolition of Henrique da Silva, might just be the most accomplished striker to ever set foot in the Octagon. As such, his opinions on the UFC’s other striking specialists are particularly interesting. In a Wednesday interview with BJPenn.com’s Jason Kindschy, Saki was asked to size up the UFC’s other striking experts. Let’s just say his answer reflected his tremendous confidence in his own abilities.

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has been trying to find a suitable opponent for his retirement fight for some time, but seems to be having a little bit of difficulty doing so. Kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki, who is now firmly embedded as a member of the UFC light heavyweight roster, is hoping to make the search a little easier for the former middleweight champ. Shortly after Bisping took to Twitter to ask the fans who they wanted to see him fight in his final bout, Saki threw his own name in the hat.

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

After a lengthy stint in the UFC’s Octagon, Australian strawweight-turned-flyweight Bec Rawlings has parted ways with the promotion. That, of course, does not mean her combat sports career is over. While Rawlings will continue to make her living in the perilous world of prizefighting, she will be making a foray into a different realm of combat. The Australian talent is now poised to try her hand at bareknuckle boxing, and will debut under the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) banner on June 2.

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

Last night, rapper 50 Cent took to social media to make a bizarre callout of Bellator light heavyweight and heavyweight star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. 50 made his callout of Rampage in an Instagram post that has since been deleted. https://twitter.com/alex_scaffidi/status/994041547422289920

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

Originally, Frankie Edgar was expected to get a crack at Max Holloway and the UFC featherweight title at UFC 222 back in March. When Holloway was forced out of the bout with an injury, however, Edgar instead fought late-notice replacement Brian Ortega, who knocked him out in the first round. Having sustained this tough knockout loss, Edgar’s featherweight title dreams were briefly dashed, while Ortega earned the chance to battle Holloway for gold at UFC 226 this July. Luckily, however, Edgar was able to rebound with an April win over Cub Swanson, and now appears to be on the cusp of a title shot once again. In fact, UFC President Dana White says Edgar is the next man in line for that shot, and that he could also be called on if Holloway or Ortega is forced off the UFC 226 bill.

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

Last night, footage of Darren Till teeing off on a sparring partner hit the ‘net. While Till looks absolutely vicious in this footage, it did not take long for fans and pundits to begin criticizing him for taking things too far with a seemingly outmatched stablemate. https://www.instagram.com/p/BihuSvGFRH5/

Tom Taylor - May 9, 2018

Chuck Liddell has been toying with the idea of a comeback for quite some time, and now it sounds as though he’s closer than ever to pulling the trigger. Speaking to TMZ Sports, retired boxing legend and long-time promoter Oscar De La Hoya announced that he’s close to finalizing contracts that will see Liddell compete in his new MMA promotion — probably against his biggest rival, Tito Ortiz.

Drake Riggs - May 8, 2018

Did you think that it was only the UFC that was providing us with an MMA circus recently? Then you must not have been paying attention to Bellator…at least that’s how it may seem. Bellator has already been known for putting on various “legends” fights ranging from Stephan Bonnar vs Tito Ortiz and Royce Gracie vs Ken Shamrock 3 to Kimbo Slice vs DaDa 5000…we’ll just ignore that last one though.

Drake Riggs - May 8, 2018

Looking for a prospect battle? Well, one that has fans more interested than almost any other fight right now is the proposed Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Yair Rodriguez fight after Magomedsharipov called Rodriguez out after his recent win at UFC 223. It’s now been a full month since UFC 223 and according to UFC president, Dana White via Lance Pugmire, the fight is on for UFC 227 in Los Angeles, California on August 4th.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2018

The UFC’s upcoming stop in Boise, Idaho, which is scheduled for July 14, keeps getting better. The latest bout to be tacked onto the bill is a dynamite featherweight matchup between all-heart Team Alpha Male star Darren Elkins and surging Australian prospect Alexander Volkanovski. This bout was first reported by BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2018

When Gunnar Nelson was forced out of his UFC Liverpool co-main event showdown with Neil Magny, sixth-ranked UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal offered to step in and replace him. He only asked that this short-notice bout with Magny be contested at a 180-pound catchweight, as he wouldn’t be able to make the welterweight division’s 170-pound limit in time for the card. Regrettably, it seems as though this fight won’t be happening.  Masvidal gave his side of things on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2018

Former UFC strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who is now 0-2 against reigning champ Rose Namajunas, will look to get back on track when she battles Tecia Torres at UFC on Fox 30 this July 28. If she wins this fight, she expects to be rewarded with another crack at the title. “I am very happy to fight Tecia,” Jedrzejczyk said of the matchup with Torres on The MMA Hour this week (transcribed by Adam Guillen Jr. for MMAMania). “The good thing is she fought Jessica Andrade in her last fight, she lost that fight. But Jessica Andrade is going to be the challenger for Rose Namajunas. So I am very happy to face Tecia Torres and get the title shot after this fight.”

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2018

Late last month, BJJ ace and Conor McGregor training partner Dillon Danis made a successful MMA debut, tapping Kyle Walker with a first-round toe-hold on the main card of Bellator 198. Shortly thereafter, former Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler took to Twitter to share his thoughts on Danis. Just catching up to #bellator198 @dillondanis said he was the “highest paid fighter in @BellatorMMA” but I think he meant to say “most un-athletic fighter in Bellator” and that was against a man with a losing record. #cringe #slow #sloth #bellator198