MMA News

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones met with the CSAC, where he was handed his punishment for his latest failed drug test. The commission pulled no punches, revoking his license, and fining him 40% of his UFC 214 fight purse. Because Jones is still awaiting a suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), one can be quite confident that it’ll be a long time before we see him back in the cage. Given his status as one of MMA’s true greats, this is undeniably unfortunate.

Justin Golightly - February 28, 2018

After a long back-and-forth, these two top bantamweights are finally fighting each other for real. The whole thing played out in front of us all on Twitter, complete with trash talk and even public contract posting. Jimmie Rivera said he was moving on from Marlon Moraes and concentrating on Dominick Cruz, but it looks like plans have changed. The two will clash in the main event of UFC Utica on the very first of June. Utica, your main event is SET❗

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

Over the weekend, UFC President Dana White shared a picture of himself and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar on social media. Given that Lesnar’s WWE contract is winding down, this post created immediate speculation that maybe, just maybe, he was plotting a return to the UFC. 😃 pic.twitter.com/2AVR6HmAjR

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

On April 7, in the main event of the stacked UFC 223, interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov will vie for the undisputed title (which is expected to be vacated by Conor McGregor in the coming weeks). As one of the lightweight division’s fastest rising contenders, Sweden’s David Teymur will be watching this fight closely. Already 4-0 in the perilous lightweight division, he could easily find himself in the cage with the fight’s winner in the future. So who does Teymur expect to win this Ferguson-Nurmagomedov bout? He’s leaning toward Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

Starting with UFC 222 this weekend, you’ll have a brand new way to buy UFC pay-per-views: through Amazon. The obvious perk here, of course, is that by going through Amazon, you won’t need a pre-existing cable or satellite provider to order the pay-per-view. According to John Ourand of sportsbusinessdaily.com, UFC pay-per-views will be available through Amazon Prime Video, though no Amazon Prime account will be required. That means a simple, flat rate of $64.99.

Justin Golightly - February 28, 2018

Right before Summer heats up, the premier Japanese fighting organization will put on their first fiery card of 2018 on May 6th. Perched atop of the card will be two former UFC fighters going at it in what may be the highest level of MMA to take place within the RIZIN ring. Newly crowned RIZIN bantamweight grand prix champion Kyoji Horiguchi will take on former UFC flyweight title challenger Ian McCall. Respectful Horiguchi is eager to test his skills. “This will be my first fight in Fukuoka against a top fighter Ian McCall. I would like to put on a good performance to show the greatness of fighting. I would like to take on challenges this year, and would like start this year 2018 by winning against Ian McCall in a good way. Manel Kape versus Ian McCall was an accident, I don’t take anything away from Ian because of that fight.”

Jason Kindschy - February 28, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio returns with an early edition of the show, followed by a live episode tonight! First we are joined by UFC strawweight and pioneer of women’s MMA, Jessica Aguilar. As the anticipation was building for her return to competition at UFC Austin, her opponent Livia Souza, was forced to withdraw from the bout and the UFC was unable to find “JAG” a late replacement. Now Jessica is eager to get a fight booked for the coming months and put together a win streak that would move her into title contention. We’ll discuss the frustrations of being away from action, who she’d like to fight in the division, and the goals she still plans to accomplish in the UFC.

Justin Golightly - February 28, 2018

Conor McGregor supposedly was not only going to step in to fight Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, but it was allegedly going to be for a brand new 165-pound title on top of that. The info about the title was leaked out by Edgar’s manager himself, although he disputes that they were ever offered a fight. McGregor teammate Artem Lobov recently confirmed that the fight and belt was a go. In response, Max Holloway let it leak that he too was in talks to fight for a new belt. “One more update Ariel Helwani. After I was pulled from UFC 222, I offered to amputate my leg and fight for a 115lb belt against Demetrious Johnson. It was very, very close. Plans were in place. But I was told there wasn’t enough time. Stay blessed: The DEFENDING Champ. No need to trademark what he can’t claim.”— Max Holloway via his official Twitter.

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

Former World Series of Fighting champ Jessica Aguilar has fought just twice since she signed with the UFC in 2015, and unfortunately, both of her Octagon appearances have resulted in losses. Understandably, the strawweight veteran is keen to get back in there ASAP, and return to the kind of form that saw her collect 10-straight wins between 2010 and 2014.

Jordan Colbert - February 28, 2018

Julian Marquez made his UFC debut at UFC on FOX 26 after delivering one of the most brutal knockout finishes Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series has seen to date. Following a Fight of the Night performance in his UFC debut, Marquez is looking to get back in the cage ASAP. In an exclusive interview with BJPenn.com, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” detailed his time before the UFC, his performance thus far under the UFC banner, as well as what may be next for him. I want to start out with your time before the UFC. The lone loss in your career was your Bellator debut fight. Can you take me through that fight and your feelings following the loss as well as how you went on to change your career trajectory?

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

At this point, oddsmakers favor undefeated lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov to beat all of his rivals – that includes Conor McGregor. In the opinion of lightweight contender Kevin Lee, however, McGregor actually stands a good chance of knocking Nurmagomedov out. This, Lee says, is based more on the holes in Nurmagomedov’s game than McGregor’s skill. Lee gave his assessment of this fight in a chat with Jim Edwards and Danny Austin of MMANytt.com.

Drake Riggs - February 27, 2018

The buzz was generated with one simple picture. Over the weekend, UFC president, Dana White posted to his social media a picture of himself with former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE Universal champion, Brock Lesnar. If that alone wasn’t enough to stir up the rumor mill of a Lesnar return, he was also wearing a UFC t-shirt. White has now stated that there are some very good chances that the former champion will return at some point…

Drake Riggs - February 27, 2018

“The idea that someone as big as Conor McGregor, with as much to lose and would take a fight against Frankie Edgar on short notice, is unlikely. I mean, you want to pimp him coming back for as many months as you possibly could and he knows that, the idea that, ‘oh I was willing to step in on short notice and not give the UFC and myself the time to maximize this opportunity’ is unlikely. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I’m sure it’s possible.”

Drake Riggs - February 27, 2018

“If he [Colby Covington] crossed it [the line] enough for the UFC to set up the fight and get me the opportunity at the #3 spot in the welterweight division, i’d take it. Give me sixty days to prepare and heal, and i’d love to fight Colby Covington. I don’t back down from anybody, I don’t care what he has to say because i’m not any of those things and the internet is showing my girl much love and telling her how beautiful she is. Not like she needed to be reminded, she already knows that.

Justin Golightly - February 27, 2018

If you didn’t know who Sean O’Malley was after his performance on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series and the post-fight blunt sharing with Snoop Dogg, then you most likely found out about him in December of last year when he made his impressive UFC debut. He’ll get another chance to shine this weekend against former CES MMA bantamweight champion Andre Soukhamthath. In case you were wondering, O’Malley isn’t sweating it. “I feel like I’m gonna go out there, perform really well, and I don’t know if they’re gonna want to fight me. They’re gonna see how well-rounded my game is and I’m not gonna feel like I have a target on my back. Maybe a couple guys will be calling me out, but I haven’t really thought about it. A lot of people show up confident to fight me. They see me on TV, they see me in person, and they think, ‘Oh, he’s pretty fast.’ But once you stand in front of me, it’s a different level of speed that you just don’t understand. I told Terrion [Ware] before walking out, ‘I’m too fast, you’re gonna feel too slow.’ And at the end of the first round in his corner, he told his coach, ‘I feel slow.'”

Justin Golightly - February 27, 2018

For those who are wanting to see Darren Till back in action, they may get their wish soon. The UFC are coming back to Dublin in May and coach John Kavanagh dropped a big hint at what the main event might be. It looks like Till may finally get to fight Gunnar Nelson on May 27th. Not only is Till not worried about the potential fight, but he wants to put two — yes, two — divisions on notice that they should be terrified of his evil self. “I couldn’t give a sh-t about the welterweight division. I could care less. At the end of the day, the title is coming to me no matter what. It’s coming to me. I’m not worried about the welterweight title or the middleweight title. I’m worried about the light heavyweight title. I know I’m gonna get the welterweight title. […] I’m not scared of Gunnar [Nelson]’s grappling, I’m not scared of [Kamaru] Usman’s wrestling, I’m not scared of [Tyron] Woodley’s power, and I’m not scared of [Stephen] Thompson’s karate. I don’t give a f-ck about any of them. I’m not scared of any of them. They should be f-cking scared of me because I’m a vicious little c-nt, that’s what I am.”

Justin Golightly - February 27, 2018

This is what we’ve been waiting for since August of last year. Jon Jones sat in with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) today to go through his case after his recent run-in with USADA following his UFC 214 fight with Daniel Cormier. The purpose of the hearing was to finally receive the word on the consequences Jon Jones will face. The CSAC are letting USADA handle the suspension, but they are revoking his license which could put him out of the sport for a year. As far as fines, the CSAC wants 40-percent of Jones’ $500K purse from UFC 214 plus an addition $5K. Reason for the revocation of a license in lieu of a suspension, is that after a year is up, Jon Jones will have to appear before the CSAC to show ‘evidence of rehabilitation’ for license approval. They estimate USADA will suspend him 18 months to 2 years on top of that.

Tom Taylor - February 27, 2018

In a career that spans 28 bouts against some of the best fighters on earth, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has never been finished. Of all the monsters he’s fought, not one has found a way to put him down for good. Jim Miller and Sean Sherk couldn’t do it. Neither could Gray Maynard or BJ Penn, who fought Edgar three times each. Benson Henderson and Jose Aldo couldn’t find a way, even when the fought Edgar for a second time. Charles Oliveira couldn’t do it. Cub Swanson couldn’t do it. Urijah Faber couldn’t do it. Chad Mendes couldn’t do it. Jeremy Stephens couldn’t do it. Yair Rodriguez couldn’t do it. You get the damn picture.