MMA News

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2018

Invicta FC has lost two consecutive bantamweight champions to the UFC. And they will both have left to fight for the UFC featherweight crown against Cris Cyborg(who happens to be a former Invicta champ herself). First, it was the dominant, Tonya Evinger who finally made her UFC debut at UFC 214 as she fought for the vacant 145-pound title. Cyborg would end up walking away with the title then go on to make her first title defense against Holly Holm at UFC 219 just roughly three months ago.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2018

“Cat Zingano is a bit unpredictable. She moves forward all the time, always going after the win and that’s why we’re focused and working on trying to counter and catcher her when she’s not expecting. Sometimes she exposes herself too much, so we’re focusing on the physical aspect. I think that age is not a huge factor, but it is a factor that will help me recover quickly in between rounds.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2018

UFC 225 in Chicago, Illinois looks to be getting a literally massive fight added to it. BJPenn.com’s own Tom Taylor is confirming that top five heavyweights, Alistair Overeem and Curtis Blaydes will potentially be squaring off at the June 9th event. Can now confirm that a heavyweight bout between Alistair Overeem and Curtis Blaydes is being targeted for #UFC225 in Chicago.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2018

Team Alpha Male has long been one of the very best gyms in the world for lower weight class fighters. They have had multiple head coaches over the years ranging from the likes of Martin Kampmann, Master Thong, Duane Ludwig and most recently, Justin Buchholz. Buchholz was a UFC lightweight before he ever became a coach. He fought from 2008 to 2010 with the promotion and going 1-4 before finishing his career (to this point) at 16-10.

Justin Golightly - February 28, 2018

While we all are still waiting for the final verdict on Jon Jones, some aren’t as eager for him to comeback. There are countless fans who just want what could very well be the greatest fighter of all-time to return to the Octagon, but for every t-shirt wearing ‘Bones’ supporter, there is one who has just been burned too many times. Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate sounds like one of those fans. “The thing is, I don’t really care at this point if [Jon Jones] comes back because I’ve lost the motivation and the interest, and the faith that I have in Jon Jones has been lost. Now maybe in three, four years, if he gets a great suspension [from the USADA], if he gets the book thrown at him and he really does make those changes, maybe he has a chance at restoring [his legacy], but at this point I just don’t care anymore. I don’t care. I’m over Jon Jones. I’m done with it.

Jason Kindschy - February 28, 2018

BJPENN.COM Radio is live at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT! Kicking things off we are joined by Alan “The Brahma” Jouban. Coming off a highlight knockout over Ben Saunders at UFC Orlando over the weekend, Jouban is happy to be back in the win column and take home another fight bonus. Although Alan did break his foot during the scrap, he’s hopeful that fighting four times this year is realistic, as well as being involved in the title conversation by the end of 2018. We’ll discuss what the win meant for Jouban both in and outside the cage, the struggle of having to fight a friend in Ben Saunders, and who he wants next after his foot heals up.

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

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.

Justin Golightly - February 28, 2018

Dana White has been teasing big things for 2018, which is the UFC’s 25th anniversary year. We’ve already got Stipe Miocic fighting Daniel Cormier in a superfight of all superfights, but now a Brock Lesnar return looms in the distance. Not only did White meet with the former UFC heavyweight champion, but Michael Bisping now is certain that he’ll fight in the UFC. He even knows the opponent and texted it to his host Luis Gomez, who proceeded to freak out. “Brock Lesnar is definitely, definitely, definitely, definitely gonna fight in the UFC. I’m telling you right now, Brock Lesnar will fight in the UFC and I’m hearing — in fact I’m not going to say it. I don’t want to do an Ariel Helwani. But yeah, I’m hearing that he’s fighting in the UFC. I don’t know who. I don’t know that he’s definitely signing, but I’m aware of a potential fight. Somebody wants to fight him, that’s what I’m aware of.” – Michael Bisping speaking on his Believe You Me podcast.

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.”

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

Kamaru Usman wants to fight Colby Covington. At this point, that could not be any more clear. “The Nigerian Nightmare” has made countless callouts of his welterweight rival on Twitter over the last few weeks. That little bitch don’t want this work. That’s why he won’t say my name. I’ve been waiting on him @seanshelby @danawhite @AliAbdelaziz00 https://t.co/XoVYoQxFwl

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?

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

It’s right back to work at UFC 222 this Saturday for the reigning featherweight queen, Cris Cyborg. Cyborg last fought and defended her title on the year-end card of 2017 at UFC 219 when she defeated former UFC bantamweight champion, Holly Holm. This quick turn around wasn’t the plan, but Cyborg wasn’t going to turn down the UFC in their time of need as she explained to The Sports Journal: