MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 22, 2018

Curtis Blaydes is one of the fastest-rising contenders in the UFC heavyweight division, and Duane Ludwig has played a definite role in the wrestling specialist’s emergence as such.

Justin Golightly - March 22, 2018

Flashback to UFC 221 and it’s hard to forget the weigh-in drama that kept most of us up late into the night trying to find out what was going to happen. Yoel Romero missed weight and Luke Rockhold entered into negotiations with the UFC, until finally deciding to move forward with the bout. Robert Whittaker, who was supposed to fight Rockhold that night, recently spoke up to say he wouldn’t have taken the fight with Romero that night. “Why would you [take that fight]? I don’t understand anyone who takes fights when their opponent doesn’t make weight. It’s like, if you rock up at 87 kilos, which is what [Yoel] Romero did – It was like 86 kilos or something like that – then why don’t I rock up at 95? What’s the difference? We’re both not making weight, we’re both not professional enough to do it, you know? And the weight cut is directly influential to the fight itself. I think not making weight is the most unprofessional thing you can do. It’s as bad as just not showing up for the fight itself. So, if you don’t make weight, I’m not fighting you. I’ll give the shot to someone else who can make the weight, who can do their freaking job.”

Tom Taylor - March 22, 2018

On April 7, in the main event of UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will battle for the UFC lightweight title. The winner of this fight is then likely to battle the current lightweight champion Conor McGregor – who will probably be stripped in the coming weeks – somewhere down the line.

Tom Taylor - March 22, 2018

As the owner of ONE Championship’s lightweight and featherweight titles, Martin Nguyen is already a two-division champion. For the man they call “The Situ-Asian,” however, two titles is simply not enough.

Tom Taylor - March 22, 2018

SBG Ireland’s Artem Lobov is currently on a two-fight losing-streak, having recently given up decisions to dangerous foes in Cub Swanson and Andre Fili.

Jason Kindschy - March 22, 2018

Another STACKED episode of BJPENN.COM Radio has arrived, Penn Nation! We kick things off with our good friend, Duane Ludwig. “Bang” will give us his thoughts on the stalled negotiations for a super-fight between TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson, how he plans to help Curtis Blaydes prepare for Alistair Overeem, and we’ll also hear the latest in his journey of instructing martial arts students and helping them rise to their full potential.

Tom Taylor - March 22, 2018

Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s exciting trip to London, England, former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov stepped into the cage with former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. This bout stood out as one of the toughest tests of Volkov’s career thus far, not just because Werdum is such a dangerous foe, but because he is one of Volkov’s former training partners. Ahead of his September 2016 rematch with the towering Travis Browne, Werdum invited the 6’8 Volkov to join his camp and help him prepare. The pair came to be friends during this period of preparation, which added an interesting x-factor to their UFC London scrap.

Drake Riggs - March 21, 2018

https://twitter.com/MMAFighting/status/976546940027457536 “I haven’t even got married yet. I think that those are future plans [to have a child]. Nina [Ansaroff] is getting closer to the ranking and I think she has a great chance of also being a champion. So she wants another couple of opportunities to see where she can get in the rankings and then we’ll decide about getting married and having kids.

Drake Riggs - March 21, 2018

.@TWooodley hops on @UFCtonight and dishes on his shoulder, training @FloydMayweather and there being no real #1 contenders in his division! pic.twitter.com/C5IyDuF9e0 — FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) March 22, 2018

Drake Riggs - March 21, 2018

A UFC debut can’t get much rougher than the one that new UFC flyweight, Priscila Cachoeira had to go through last month. The undefeated Brazilian newcomer, Cachoeira entered the octagon for the very first time in her home country…but in the end, that was about the only good memory to come of that night in Belem. Her opponent would be none other than the recent bantamweight title challenger and multiple time Muay Thai champion, Valentina Shevchenko.

Jordan Colbert - March 21, 2018

Former NFL’er Greg Hardy is off to a fantastic start as a mixed martial artist, having recently improved his amateur record to 3-0 with a 14-second stoppage of Ryan Chester under the LFA banner. This week, Greg Hardy took time out of his busy training schedule to update us on his progress in the sport, his goals as a fighter, and much more.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2018

The UFC’s upcoming debut in Chile, which is scheduled for May 19, will feature one hell of a light heavyweight showdown as former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has been booked opposite recent light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. This bout was announced on the UFC’s official social media channels on Wednesday evening.

Justin Golightly - March 21, 2018

Kicking off with April, the UFC has an insane line-up of fights that will eventually lead up to a huge UFC 226 card headlined by Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier. Rising contender Curtis Blaydes, who is fresh off his win over Mark Hunt, trained years back with the UFC heavyweight champion. While it’s tough to choose, Blaydes believes Miocic has the edge over the Olympian light heavyweight belt-holder. “It is a tough one. This is another great match-up. Daniel Cormier, who is I think undefeated as a heavyweight, to put him against, as you said, possibly the greatest heavyweight champion we’ve had, I think it’s a great match-up. I’m going with Stipe [Miocic]. I think it’s going to be a banger. I think it’s going to be five rounds, just like Jon Jones’ last fight, not his last one against DC but their first fight against each other. I think it’s gonna go like that. They’re both gonna get rocked, they’re both gonna get taken down, they’re both gonna get cut and have bruises and what not, but I think Stipe’s length and his boxing [will be too much].“

Justin Golightly - March 21, 2018

Despite not being able to fight twice now, Max Holloway isn’t through with Frankie Edgar. Both seem to be moving on – Holloway defending against Brian Ortega, with Edgar in talks to fight Cub Swanson – but Holloway is confident they’ll meet eventually. He also went on record in defense of the former UFC lightweight champion, as well as Jose Aldo. “Me and Frankie [Edgar] still got unfinished business. Everyone is talking about Frankie and [Jose] Aldo like they’re two dead guys. They say, ‘Too washed up.’ They’re still animals. They’ve been at the top of the heap. They’ve been top-five, top-three in any division they were in, forever. People keep talking about how these guys are old; we’ll see. You can’t speak on it yet. It’s a couple losses. It’s MMA.”

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2018

Sean O’Malley, one of the UFC bantamweight division’s brightest young stars, is now 2-0 in the perilous Octagon. From the sounds of it, he’ll be rewarded for this success with his first main event spot. Speaking to Niall McGrath on this week’s Talking Brawls Podcast, The MMA Lab fighter divulged that the UFC has offered him the headlining spot of an upcoming TUF Finale card.

Justin Golightly - March 21, 2018

Back in February, Lyoto Machida got back in the winners column after a three-fight losing streak. The 39-year old veteran isn’t close to slowing down, as he is booked to fight another legend in the sport, Vitor Belfort at UFC 224. Not that the pressure is off, he’s looking forward to leaving it all out in the Octagon in Rio and holding nothing back. “They want to retire me, but I don’t want to be retired. I have more fights. I have more years. I believe that. Because the verb that I like to say here, it’s not about ‘can,’ but about ‘want.’ If you want something, you can get it. That’s what I put in my mind. It’s different because I feel more confident now. I feel like I can give my best. Because, when you have no options – only victory – you feel a lot of pressure over your shoulders. But once you release everything, it’s showtime. It’s time to show everything I have.”

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2018

When Californian featherweight Brian Ortega knocked out Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, he usurped the New Jersey native’s spot as the division’s number one contender. Ortega is now poised to challenge reigning featherweight champion Max Holloway for the title, just as soon as the champ is fighting fit. Speaking on The MMA Hour this week, Holloway explained that, while he’s very excited to fight the undefeated Ortega, he can also envision a world where Edgar racks up a few wins  and earns another title shot.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2018

UFC women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes and top flyweight contender Valentina Shevchenko have previously engaged in two competitive scraps, with Nunes’ emerging the victor by a narrow margin on both occasions. While the grounds for a third fight would certainly seem to be there as a result, this is not something Nunes is interested in. “I don’t care about [Shevchenko],” Nunes told MMAJunkie this week. “She’s, like, only Valentina. She’s going to talk about me. I’m the best, you know? That’s why she talks about me.”