MMA News

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

All things come full circle. We’ve been awaiting Conor McGregor’s triumphant return to the UFC, but way back before the sweat dried from his boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather, Nate Diaz was expected to be his opponent when he came back. A lot has gone on since then, but now it seems the interest has been renewed along with Diaz’s anticipated return as well. However, there is a catch. While McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh would love a giant conclusion to their trilogy, he says that the winner between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson is next in line. “There’s a beautiful relationship between Conor [McGregor] and Nate [Diaz], in terms of there [being] a great back and forth between them outside of the cage and inside of the cage. It’s a lovely fight. His five-round rematch is still one of my favorite fights. That being said, I did assume that Nate would be as busy, or busier, than Conor. You know, Conor’s had an MMA fight and a boxing fight since. We haven’t seen Nate since so I started changing. You could see it among the fans who, I’ve always said and I still do believe, are the most important factor because they pay for the pay-per-views they want to see.”

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

With as many awesome things that happened at UFC 221, it’s still hard to move on from that absolutely egregious eye gouge that Li Jingliang did to Jake Matthews to get out of a guillotine choke. While Matthews was all class about it after the fact, it hasn’t stopped fans, media and other fighters from scolding Jingliang for the foul. Joe Rogan recently spoke up about it on his recent show and wasn’t happy about what he did in the very least. “I thought it was f-cking bullsh-t. You can’t let a guy get away with that, or he’s going to do it again. […] You don’t do it that way. You tap. It’s straight up cheating; it’s not just shady. It’s cheating. They should tell him, ‘If this ever happens again, if you ever think you’re going to do this again, we’re going to kick you out of the league.’ You can’t do that. You can’t gouge someone’s eye when they’re choking you. It felt like the fingers were in long enough for him to know the fingers were in there. The referee f-cked up. The UFC should do something. Someone should do something.”

Jason Kindschy - February 15, 2018

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 9PM ET/6PM PT! 
 9:15PM ET- Our guest tonight is one of the biggest victors coming out of UFC 221 over the weekend, Curtis “Razor” Blaydes. After taking some huge punches from Mark Hunt in the first round, Curtis was able to implement his game plan and dominate the “Super Samoan” for the remainder of the bout. With the win Down Under, Blaydes now cracks the top 5 in the heavyweight rankings and puts himself another step closer to UFC gold. We’ll recap the fight, discuss the show of heart to weather the early storm, the backlash from the fans over the outcome, how he plans to celebrate his 27th birthday, and what’s next for this surging contender. All that and much more with Mr. “Razor” Blaydes!

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

After an awesome battle with Luke Rockhold and an even more incredible finish, the worry was that Yoel Romero had a broken leg coming out of the fight at UFC 221. However, the good news is that it is just a deep bruise that is expected to heal rather quickly, which puts Romero back to work on his road to gold. After already being punished for missing weight, he’s expected to face Robert Whittaker later this year. Romero has said he’d like the bout to take place in Miami, but manager Malki Kawa just said UFC 225 in Chicago may be a possibility. “[Yoel Romero] almost pulled out of the fight. The man re-hydrated, went to sleep the next morning, and still he wasn’t feeling the best. He even told me, ‘I’m not 100-percent.’ He could have fooled me. Nobody that I know wants to lose $100,000 over three pounds. The man wasn’t trying to do that. He tried, and he couldn’t do it. He paid the penalty.”

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

This Friday night, Bellator MMA will return to our screens with Bellator 194. On Thursday, the 24 fighters on the card took to the scale to weigh in for the respective battles. Unfortunately, the card’s weigh-ins were not without mishaps, as boxing transplant Heather Hardy missed weighed for her anticipated flyweight bout with fellow boxer Ana Julaton. To make matters worse, this unfortunate hiccup was due to a misunderstanding, as Hardy weighed in and, believing she’d hit her mark, began rehydrating. Only then was she told she’d missed she’d actually weighed in above the flyweight division’s 126-pound limit. Though this unfortunate miss was accidental and minuscule, Hardy will surrender 20% of her fight purse to Julaton all the same.

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

Why are MMA tournaments awesome? #Bellator194 headliner and grand-prix participant @roynelsonmma explains. Full story: https://t.co/sk0ip6v0GN pic.twitter.com/WKmJWvo7fb — MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) February 15, 2018

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

The UFC 223 lineup continues to get better and better. This anticipated card, which goes down on April 7 in Brooklyn, New York, has now been improved by a clash of ranked featherweights, as 15th-ranked contender Calvin Kattar will battle Brazil’s Renato Moicano, who is ranked 11th.

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

Frank Fertitta – brother of Lorenzo Fertitta – made a killing selling his stake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship last year. Billions and billions of dollars, to be more precise, and that sum was merely added to his already significant pile of gold. In the wake of this insanely massive transaction, Frank has made a number of extravagant purchases, like a $70 million penthouse in Manhattan.

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

For a few months, it looked as though former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping would partake in the final fight of his illustrious career in the main event of the UFC’s March 17 stop in London, England. At the time, it looked as though his opponent would be a fellow veteran and long-time friend in former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. Eventually, however, this plan fell through. Bisping’s retirement plans were moved to the back burner, and Evans was left without an opponent.

Justin Golightly - February 15, 2018

While it’s good for his bank account, some fans despise the idea of another Conor McGregor fight simply for the spectacle of it all. Maybe if he didn’t still hold the UFC lightweight title, they’d be more lenient. Some just want to see him back in the UFC, whether he defends his title or not. No question the organization needs a little McGregor boost, which is why these superfights are being put together. However, coach John Kavanagh may have found a solution. What if McGregor actually fights Floyd Mayweather in MMA, but has a ‘real fight’ later that same night? “I’m kind of reminded of early last year when I was asked about the boxing fight and I was doubtful as anybody, and I actually went as far as to stupidly tweet that I’ll do the Irish river dance naked if Floyd steps in the Octagon. Now, I’m going to be honest, I’m practicing Irish dancing, and I’m getting nervous about that. In all seriousness, it’s a crazy world we live in. The fight that could never happen happened. And now this is a fight [in MMA] that can never happen, and it seems to be getting, I don’t know, there seems to be something forming there. I would absolutely love it.”

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

Such a potty mouth, that @SuperSageNorthcutt! #UFCAustin 😂 A post shared by ufc (@ufc) on Feb 14, 2018 at 8:35am PST

Tom Taylor - February 15, 2018

Over the weekend, the UFC debuted in Perth, Western Australia with UFC 221. In the main event of this card, a fearsome Yoel Romero took out former champion Luke Rockhold with a brutal barrage of third-round punches. Shortly after the referee waved off the fight, Romero cornered Rockhold for a brief post-fight embrace – and a quick peck on the cheek that was promptly immortalized as an MMA meme.

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2018

When entering the UFC in 2016 as the 18-1 Bellator lightweight champion, “Ill” Will Brooks had plenty of hype surrounding him(as most champions from outside organizations do). Brooks was on an impressive eight-fight winning streak that included two wins over the former champion, Michael Chandler. Brooks made his debut against Ross Pearson and was able to come away with the unanimous decision victory…and it turns out that it will end up being his only one with the UFC. Brooks announced today on his Instagram account that he has been released by the UFC and will now be joining the Professional Fighters League and will participate in their million dollar lightweight tournament.

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2018

UFC light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson are no strangers to one another. The two men met in one of the 205-pound weight classes greatest fights at UFC 192. The bout would go the distance and it would be Cormier who came out on top with the split decision victory and his first career title defense. Since the two fought, they haven’t lost. Cormier has gone 3-0 while Gustafsson 2-0. Cormier just recently defended his title against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 and his longtime friend and teammate, Luke Rockhold just very recently attempted to recapture some gold of his own at UFC 221. However, Rockhold was unable to come away with the win and prior to this fight, he had talked about going up to the 205-pound division. A statement that prompted a warning from Gustafsson.

Drake Riggs - February 14, 2018

One of the oldest matchups, if not the oldest matchup in the strawweight division’s history is set to take place and hopefully happen this time. The UFC announced on Wednesday that the perennial top five strawweight contender and former title challenger, Claudia Gadelha is expected to make her return at UFC 225 when she takes on the inaugural UFC champion and former Invicta FC champion, Carla Esparza. JUST ANNOUNCED: @ClaudiaGadelha_ takes on @CarlaEsparza1 in the Windy City at #UFC225❗️ pic.twitter.com/Z6AdLjnpwW

Justin Golightly - February 14, 2018

From steroid allegations to body shaming, Derrick Lewis has been all over Francis Ngannou after he came up short in his fight against Stipe Miocic. He was already criticizing the fighter, but this only intensified after Lewis found out Ngannou’s pay in the main event title fight at UC 220. If Lewis is able to beat Marcin Tybura on Sunday, it sounds like he’ll be looking for a title shot himself, even if it’s just to drink beer and gas out. “For sure, that’s all I really care about [is money]. Now that I’ve seen that – what’s his name, Francis [Ngannou]? – he got $500,000 just fighting for the belt. Let me fight for the belt next. They can give me $500,000. Sh-t, I’m going to gas out too. Guaranteed $500,000? You don’t have to worry about me training before a camp. I’ll be drinking a beer right after weigh-ins.”

Justin Golightly - February 14, 2018

Everyone is still talking about Yoel Romero’s finish — and his post-fight kiss — of Luke Rockhold from UFC 221. Despite missing weight, the consensus seems that he’ll still get the title shot against Robert Whittaker. After already being fined and losing out on a win bonus, he has been punished and did win the fight. It’s hard to argue who else would be deserving of a shot, but former champion Chris Weidman thinks it is him. Michael Bisping had a chuckle over it and broke down the fight he believes the UFC will do. “You know what’s funny? Chris Weidman, he’s saying that he should get a title shot. I think that’s kind of laughable, Chris. I don’t want to get into a whole beef with Chris Weidman, but you did get knocked out in three of your last four fights. I don’t think that makes you eligible for a title shot. I don’t think he has any case to get a title shot. I think the correct fight — and Dana [White] has announced — [is] Yoel Romero versus Robert Whittaker. I think that’s going to be a different fight. That fight was only six months ago, something like that.

Tom Taylor - February 14, 2018

This weekend, in the main event of Bellator 194, former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione will return to the Bellator cage, where he will attempt to avenge a 2012 loss to Roy Nelson and advance to the second round of the promotion’s exciting Heavyweight Grand Prix. Now firmly embedded as a member of the Bellator MMA heavyweight roster, Mitrione has a unique perspective when comparing Bellator to the UFC. He did just that on the latest edition of The MMA Hour, singing Bellator’s praises and simultaneously criticizing the UFC’s treatment of its fighters.