MMA News

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.”

Justin Golightly - March 13, 2018

The combat sports universe moves at the speed of light, but even with the infinite treadmill of social media and face-punch dates being booked, it’s hard to forget Rose Namajunas dethroning UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217. The unexpected result was juxtaposed by the former champ’s signature pre-fight scare tactics. …But they didn’t work. Now Jedrzejczyk seeks to take back what’s hers and is righting wrongs along the way. “That night I was not one hundred percent competitor for [Rose Namajunas]. […] I am sure that there will be no negligence before the return from Namajunas. After what happened in November, my eyes and ears are open even wider. I am even more demanding not only to myself, but also to my colleagues, to people, who are creating my team. And at the same time I trust them very much. My ties with coaches Katel Kubis and Mike Brown, ties with sparring partners, as well as with the owner of ATT, have tightened considerably.”

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

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

On May 12, in what is expected to be the main event of UFC 224 in Brazil, Raquel Pennington will get her long-awaited crack at the UFC women’s bantamweight title, as she takes on champion Amanda Nunes. While this fight is now official there was a stretch when it looked like the UFC would go in another direction. The plan, it seemed, was to pit Nunes against dominating UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.

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!

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

News broke today that has completely shaken up the Bellator 196 card that takes place on April 6th in Budapest, Hungary. Originally slated to be a featherweight confrontation between young Irish prospect, James Gallagher vs Adam Borics has now turned into the exact opposite: A clash of former grizzled UFC veterans.

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

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

After an unsuccessful, two-fight run in the UFC middleweight division, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans will return to the light heavyweight division. Though the former champ was briefly linked to a showdown with former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping, he will instead welcome former middleweight Anthony Smith to the light heavyweight division at UFC 225, on June 9 in Chicago. This bout was first reported by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. In his two fights in the UFC middleweight division, Evans lost controversial split decisions to Sam Alvey and Dan Kelly. His two next most recent bouts, which occurred at light heavyweight, also resulted in losses, as he was knocked out by Glover Teixeira and decisioned by current Bellator champ Ryan Bader. Evans’s last win occurred in November of 2013, when he defeated current Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix competitor Chael Sonnen by first-round TKO. Evans is 19-7-1 overall.

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.

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

Over the last few years of his career, UFC superstar Conor McGregor has given us several reasons to believe he might one day get involved in Irish politics. ”As I get older at 29 years of age, I find that I am becoming more and more interested in where much of the money in my home state has gone,” McGregor said in an Instagram post earlier this year. “And where it actually goes when it comes in. There are more and more things I see daily that don’t add up. I see many things I do not like and I see many things that I feel can be easily amended under correct instruction. We shall see.”

Tom Taylor - March 12, 2018

On May 25, at Bellator 200, heavyweight MMA legend Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic will make his debut in the Bellator cage opposite Roy Nelson. Interestingly, however, Cro Cop should still technically be banned by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after failing a drug test in his latest UFC run. Cro Cop’s USADA two-year suspension was retroactive to November 9, 2015, which meant he should have been eligible to compete again by November of last year. Yet in July of 2016, his contract with the UFC was terminated, at which point he moved to the ring of Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation, which meant that a portion of his USADA suspension went unserved.