MMA News

Drake Riggs - February 7, 2018

“I think that should be my next fight [TJ Dillashaw]. But…they(the UFC) play weird games where, they want to give TJ Dillashaw a little bit of an easier fight because he doesn’t want to fight somebody hard right after he won the title, he wants the easy fight. He wants to fight someone that he knows he can keep the belt a little longer before he gets a really hard fight. Whereas I go TJ Dillashaw, Urijah Faber, Cody Garbrandt and then I lose the belt.

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

A lot of talk gets thrown around about the trilogies in MMA. There have been plenty of them, with more sure to come. But what about quadrilogies? That’s right, four fights with the same rival. If Quinton Jackson had his way, he’d get another fight with legend Wanderlei Silva. The Axe Murderer took out Rampage twice with knees, before Jackson got his payback. Evidently it wasn’t enough though, because Jackson claims he still owes him an ass whooping. “I owe Wanderlei [Silva] another ass whooping, I’ll tell you that. I know he’s not a heavyweight. The last time I fought him I knocked him out of the weight class. But he beat me twice. I only beat him once. I think I owe him another ass whooping. I probably could get down to 205, but I don’t know. I’m walking around at 250, 260. That’s a big one. If I had my way [it’d be at heavyweight] but like I said, Wanderlei is not a heavyweight. I probably could get down to 205 now that I’ve got my nutritionist. My motivation is still the heavyweight belt. Even if I’m out of the tournament, whoever wins that belt I’m gonna challenge him right away.” — Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson speaking on The MMA Hour.

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

There has been a lot on mixed opinions and controversy since Valentina Shevchenko’s domination against Priscila Cachoeira at UFC Belem. So much so, that Shevchenko’s amazing performance has taken a back seat to referee and corner criticism. Rose Namajunas has put in many hours with ‘The Bullet’ so she was watching the fight closely. She recently opened up about her thoughts on if they fight should have been stopped or not. If it was her? She definitely would have wanted the towel threw in. “That [late stoppage is] a touchy subject. I think clearly you saw that [Priscila Cachoeira] wasn’t going to improve her position [against Valentina Shevchenko]. So, you could definitely make the argument for that was a little too long.  […] I told my corner [Trevor Whitman] that if I’m lookin’ like that in a fight, the just throw in the towel for me, but that’s my personal choice. Those strikes on the canvas – in certain positions they weren’t that bad – but when you’re in full mount and somebody is raining down punches on you, your head is hitting the canvas too so it’s like double impact.”

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

After UFC 222 was put in major jeopardy with Max Holloway’s leg injury, the UFC was scrambling 100mph in order to save the card. They were trying to get TJ Dillashaw to defend his title against Cody Garbrandt, while keeping Frankie Edgar on the card as the co-main in a non-title fight. Even Nate Diaz was in the running to jump on. It looks like now the UFC are trying to throw Cris Cyborg on the card to defend her women’s UFC featherweight title against former Invicta FC bantamweight champ Yana Kunitskaya. There are deals in place to have Cris Cyborg vs. Yana Kunitskaya for the women’s 145 belt headline UFC 222 on 3/3 w/ Frankie Edgar vs. Brian Ortega as the co-main, per multiple sources. Not 100% finalized but that’s the current direction and it’s looking promising at the moment.

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

It’s fight night. You’re sitting at home watching all the violence and drama, scrolling through Twitter. A crack echoes through the arena and after your fire emoji reactions to the knockout eventually disappear down your feed, the photos roll in and you relive it all over again. It all goes down in a blur of flesh and blood for the fighters in the cage, but the camera freezes the blip in time. They are both extremely different and unique experiences. In the Venn diagram of fighting and combat photography, UFC’s Mike Jackson exists right in the overlap. “I loved taking pictures as a kid. After some time in fighting, I knew I couldn’t compete forever and needed something to fall back on. I knew I wanted to work in combat sports but my degree is in a different field. Thinking more like an artist — I do feel fighting is an art — I picked up my camera and started shooting.” — Mike Jackson speaking to BJ PENN’s own Justin Golightly.

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2018

Last night, long-time UFC lightweight contender Nate Diaz spoke with ESPN‘s Brett Okamoto, confirming that he is interested in a showdown with UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Apparently, however, Diaz discussed far more than just a fight with Woodley.

Russell Sai - February 7, 2018

For Nate Diaz fans, it seems like things are looking good for a return to the Octagon. With Nate’s last fight taking place in August 2016, which was his rematch with Conor McGregor, it has been far too long for many fans and it seems like the younger Diaz brother’s hunger for more competition is getting to be too much. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto caught up with Nate on Tuesday night and the man who proudly represents the 209 shared the latest on where things are at for a return.

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2018

Earlier this month, the UFC announced its plans for an April 21 return to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Though the card is still some distance away, it’s already starting to come together. The latest bout that’s reportedly in the works for this Atlantic City date is a middleweight scrap between knockout artists Uriah Hall and Paulo Costa. This bout was first reported by Raphael Marinho of Combate.

bjpenndotcom - February 7, 2018

var isDesktop = document.documentElement.clientWidth > 768; var player; if (isDesktop){ player = "https://content.jwplatform.com/players/qvd6RWUa-YTQFP9LQ.js"; } else { player = "https://content.jwplatform.com/players/qvd6RWUa-bT8DYt4D.js"; } document.write(''); Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 221, Chicago’s Curtis Blaydes burst into heavyweight title contention with an impressive, unanimous decision win over veteran knockout artist Mark Hunt.

Justin Golightly - February 7, 2018

The UFC’s middleweight division has been a mess that no one has been able to clean up, but Luke Rockhold think it may be its white knight. From Michael Bisping to Georges St-Pierre, then to Robert Whittaker, now an interim title created due to his laundry list of ailments, it’s hard to keep track of the gold belt. No matter what though, Rockhold maintains that if he takes out Romero this weekend in emphatic fashion, that he won’t be just an interim champ, but you can go ahead and call him the real deal. “Slight difference but this was bound to happen one way or the other. [Robert] Whittaker would have been first, Yoel [Romero] would’ve been second. Yoel’s first, so Whittaker will be second. I’m up for the task. I’m not lacking in any way. I’m prepared to fight the best guys in the world. It’s a shame it’s not gonna be for the undisputed title but Whittaker beat Yoel to be the interim champion. I’m gonna beat Yoel to be the interim champion. It’s a matter of who did it better is gonna be the real champion at the end of this thing. So that’s the way I see it.”

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2018

Yesterday afternoon, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley once again expressed interest in a showdown with long-time lightweight contender Nate Diaz. “I think that fight will happen,” Woodley told ESPN. “I think it will happen this year. I think it’s way more likely than people realize. There are conversations about Nate and I fighting in July. The UFC has offered Nate that fight. They just have to make it worth his while.

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2018

It’s no secret that UFC President Dana White is an extremely wealthy man, and that’s he’s willing to drop serious sums of money when the mood strikes. White’s latest extravagant purchase was documented on the show Pawn Stars. On a recent episode, the UFC boss enters the famous pawn shop in search of weapons for his new “weapons room.”

Tom Taylor - February 7, 2018

Last Saturday, in the co-main event of the UFC’s trip to Belem, Brazilian flyweight Priscila Cachoeira stepped into the Octagon for the first time. Despite the fact she was making her UFC debut with just 8 pro fights behind her, her opponent was the vastly more experienced Valentina Shevchenko, who is widely regarded as one of the best female fighters on earth. In the end, Cachoeira’s experiential deficit manifested itself in a truly lopsided win for Shevchenko. The Kyrgyzstani contender out-landed her young Brazilian adversary by an insane 230-3 margin en route to a second-round submission win. It was one of the most brutal beatdowns to hit our screens in a long, long time .

Chris Taylor - February 6, 2018

Tyron Woodley: “Stephen Thompson is today’s Jon Fitch” Earlier today UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he was targeting a summer return and would likely be fighting former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz in his next bout.

Drake Riggs - February 6, 2018

If you’re a fan of Bellator, then you know exactly who Jimmy Smith is. Many have called him “Bellator’s Joe Rogan”, but they can’t call him that anymore! Bellator’s longtime color commentator, Smith recently parted ways with the organization that he was the voice of. He now finds himself with yep…you guessed it, the UFC. At UFC 221 in Perth, Australia this Saturday, Smith will make his UFC commentary debut and in the main event is a big middleweight matchup between Yoel Romero and the former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. The winner takes with them the interim title which inevitably leads to a meeting with the undisputed champion, Robert Whittaker.

Drake Riggs - February 6, 2018

Last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 125 from Belem, Brazil lost it’s co-main event just a day before the event took place. Originally, the co-main was supposed to be a top bantamweight clash between submission specialist, Pedro Munhoz and former two-time flyweight title challenger and season 14 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, John Dodson. That was until Munhoz missed weight by four pounds, resulting in a cancellation. It was discussed whether or not the UFC would try and rebook the fight or not but now MMAFighting reports that UFC officials have confirmed that they have moved the fight to UFC 222 in Las Vegas.

Drake Riggs - February 6, 2018

 It’s no secret who top UFC  welterweight, Colby “Chaos” Covington has his eyes on for his next fight.

Justin Golightly - February 6, 2018

The Black Beast Derrick Lewis is set to return against Marcin Tybura at UFC Austin, but he’s still on a mission to flame Francis Ngannou and his muscles. Ngannou had his biggest test ever in his short career and came up short in an exhausting performance against Stipe Miocic. Even though he loss, he’s one of the very few heavyweights out of huge names not to be knocked out by the heavy-handed firefighter. It was a huge learning experience for the fighter, but Lewis claims history is bound to repeat itself unless Ngannou does something about his body. “I watched the highlights of the Francis [Ngannou] fight. I didn’t watch the fight cause I didn’t want to give Francis my money and pay for his pay-per-view. I seen the highlights and Stipe [Miocic] had him against the cage and Francis is on his knees and Stipe wasn’t putting that much pressure on him. All Francis had to do was stand straight up, and Francis couldn’t even stand straight up. I know I wouldn’t just let Stipe hold me down like that. I knew he wasn’t going to walk through Stipe. It was a five-round fight and Stipe is a good wrestler. I knew that’s what Stipe was going to go in there and do. Ngannou had too much muscle. He was going to gas out quick as hell.”