MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

Ronda Rousey is now firmly embedded as a member of the WWE roster. That said, she never officially retired from MMA, which has given her fans hope that, perhaps one day, she will return to the cage. During an appearance on The Ellen Show this week, however, Rousey updated on her future in MMA, and it didn’t sound promising. Instead, she said a return to MMA is about as likely as a return to the Olympics, where she once medalled in judo.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On July 7, in the main event of UFC 226, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will return to his former haunts in the heavyweight division, where he will challenge heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for the title. While this fight is one of the most anticipated on the UFC calendar, it has left the light heavyweight division’s top contenders without a champion to gun for. Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson is one of those contenders. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Gustafsson expressed his frustration with Cormier’s departure from the division – even if it’s only temporary.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

In the middle of the afternoon yesterday, CM Punk dropped one of his signature pipe bombs, only he wasn’t sitting crossed-legged on top of a WWE entrance ramp. Instead, Punk dropped news on Twitter that he’d fighting at UFC 225. While there was some rumors about CM Punk fighting Floyd Mayweather, let’s be honest: Fighting Mike ‘The Truth’ Jackson is far more likely and he’s been pushing it like nobody else. “I haven’t been in contact with [the UFC] directly. I have several close personal friends in the organization, including UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard and some other affiliates. We’ve had brief conversations, nothing is set in stone. For me, it’s just a waiting game. […] I’ve been in contact with his coach Duke Roufus. It was very small, but when I talked to him I told him I was going to smack his man in his face for talking a little reckless.”

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

While everyone but Georges St-Pierre contemplates his next opponent, Ben Askren has been campaigning for this fight mostly because people won’t stop asking him about it. The UFC on FOX account seems to mention him bi-weekly now and Askren is shrugging and RTing every time it happens. On the latest editions of The MMA Hour, he not only thinks the fight goes down in 2019, but runs play-by-play on exactly how he defeats the two-division UFC champion. “Here’s what I think happens, because the one thing I have over [Georges St-Pierre] is I have the wrestling advantage and I don’t get tired, and that’s usually what he’s relied on in the last, say, 10 to 12 fights or so. I think he’s very tough to take down early. I think he’s very tough. I think he’s probably going to win the striking battle, but one of the things, I never take a lot of damage. I just don’t get hit a lot. That’s what I’m good at.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

In her next fight, Raquel Pennington will challenge Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. This title fight is scheduled for UFC 224, which goes down on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Nunes’ backyard. While Pennington will be in hostile territory for this fight, she’s not worried about being booed by the crowd in attendance in Rio. As long as she’s got her usual group of supporters, she’s fine. Besides, she’s had a Crown Royal Bottle thrown at her in a previous fight, so a little bit of booing isn’t particularly daunting anymore.

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

When Georges St-Pierre was set to appear on The MMA Hour, we all thought we may have an announcement about his next fight. Instead, the two-division champion looked down a long list of possible huge opponents and didn’t really seem too thrilled with any of them. While he may not know his exact plan of attack on his return, Rory MacDonald believes St-Pierre’s career is far from over. “Even if [Georges St-Pierre] lost five in a row, still I don’t think it would taint what he’s done. He’s done some of the most amazing stuff in the sport so far, so I’m really happy for him. If he feels he has more left in the tank, then I think absolutely he should get in there and do his thing. I don’t think any top fighter like that should feel like he left the game early.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

Dominick Reyes is one of the fastest rising talents in the UFC light heavyweight division. That said, the undefeated fighter is content to take his time rising through the UFC ranks, allowing himself to evolve into a complete mixed martial artist before he starts mixing it up with the division’s top dogs. All the same, Reyes is hoping to fight one top light heavyweight in particular in the future: Alexander Gustafsson. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Reyes admitted that he draws quite a bit of inspiration from Gustafsson, and that he’d like to share the Octagon with him somewhere down the line.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

While nothing is official just yet, it’s still looking like UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson’s next title challenger could be a slimmed-down version of UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. As one of the flyweight division’s long-time contenders, John Moraga would watch this fight very closely. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Moraga shared his interest in this fight.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

Having gone 2-0 since joining the UFC, stopping both Joachim Christensen and Jeremy Kimball in the first round, undefeated light heavyweight prospect Dominick Reyes feels he’s earned a top-15 opponent. To that end, he believes Jared Cannonier and Gian Villante would both be solid options – though the latter was recently linked to a bout with Sam Alvey. “I’m thinking either May or June,” Reyes said of his next fight on the latest stacked episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I tried to get on a card in Utica, but it didn’t work out. So I’m still working to get that fight. I’d like to fight Villante, maybe then Cannonier, and get in the top-15, man. That’s what I’m looking at right now.”

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2018

On March 10, BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor reported that UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Yoel Romero will rematch at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago, Illinois. Breaking! Per sources Yoel Romero vs Robert Whittaker 2 is a done deal for #UFC225. The title fight rematch is expected to serve as the main event in Chicago!

Drake Riggs - March 12, 2018

The fight may be over, but the war of words appears to be far from it. As the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix continues on, it does so without Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson as he was defeated by Matt Mitrione at Bellator 194 in their rematch of a 2012 UFC bout. But the result didn’t come without some controversy.

Jason Kindschy - March 12, 2018

Another episode of BJPENN.COM Radio is here Penn Nation! First up we are joined by one of the most talked about and incredibly talented light-heavyweight prospects in the UFC, Dominick Reyes. With two devastating finishes in just two UFC bouts, Reyes is looking to continue that momentum against his next opponent. We’ll be discussing possible matchups moving forward, his goals as a martial artist, what he thinks of the other athletes in the division, and how he intends to bring back quality sportsmanship while also being a good role model.

Drake Riggs - March 12, 2018

The CM Punk MMA show isn’t over just yet. As expected, the former professional wrestling superstar for the WWE, Phil “CM Punk” Brooks will be giving MMA another go after his dreadful debut back at UFC 203 in September of 2016.

Drake Riggs - March 12, 2018

What do fighters do? The simple answer: they fight. Though the deeper you dig, it’s much more than that and everything that leads up to the moment they’ve been working their whole lives for, is not so simple.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson explained that he’s still interested in defending his title against slimmed down version of UFC bantamweight TJ Dillashaw. “That’s the fight that I want,” he said. “That’s the fight that I believe… it should go down. Obviously, the UFC knows what I want.”

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

Earlier this year, rumors of a possible Demetrious Johnson vs. TJ Dillashaw superfight were rampant. More recently, however, the buzz surrounding this potential fight has quieted down. Luckily, it sounds like the fight is still very possible in the near future. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the flyweight champ Johnson reaffirmed that this is still the fight he wants.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

Paul Daley vs. Michael “Venom” Page is just one of those fights. The fans want it, Bellator MMA wants it, and both fighters claim to want it, yet the relevant parties just can’t seem to come to an agreement to make it happen. When it comes to this fight’s failure to come to fruition, we’ve seen the blame tossed around like a hot potato. The latest recipient of this blame was Daley, who was recently named as the reason the fight hasn’t been booked yet by Bellator president Scott Coker.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

Gegard Mousasi is currently gearing up for a Bellator 200 middleweight title fight with destructive champion Rafael Carvalho, but that didn’t stop him from calling out Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald late last week. “He didn’t have a great performance [against Douglas Lima], but I’m not going to go on Twitter and say stupid shit,” Mousasi said of MacDonald on the last episode of The MMA Hour.