MMA News

Drake Riggs - February 9, 2018

If it weren’t for Robert Whittaker suffering the knee injury he did prior to and in the Yoel Romero fight at UFC 213, it’s very highly unlikely that Georges St-Pierre would have had his middleweight title shot at UFC 217. When Whittaker and Romero fought, it was for the interim championship as the undisputed champ at the time, Michael Bisping has been sidelined himself. But after Whittaker’s big victory, he was unable to follow up with the unification title fight with Bisping which led to GSP’s return and taking of the title in an incredible performance.

Drake Riggs - February 9, 2018

It’s a little bit mind-blowingly looking back at how things have unfolded for Johny Hendricks since he first fought for the UFC welterweight championship at UFC 167 in 2013. Hendricks was the last man that Georges St-Pierre defended his welterweight crown against before retiring for four years. A fight that very many people believe that Hendricks was robbed of a victory in. St-Pierre would go on to retire as mentioned, thus vacating the belt and giving Hendricks another shot in his fight after facing St-Pierre. Hendricks would battle it out with Robbie Lawler in one of the welterweight division’s greatest championship fights. The Fortworth, Texas native, Hendricks would win the fight and become the champion only to lose it in the rematch with Lawler that followed. This was also yet another very controversial decision loss.

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

One of the best middleweight fights anyone could ever put together goes down on Saturday at UFC 221, but Luke Rockhold’s hyped match-up with Yoel Romero may take a backseat to the knowledge Rockhold recently dropped. With Daniel Cormier ready to retire and Father Time working on the middleweight contender’s body, Luke Rockhold is going to be switching weight classes sooner rather than later. That’s right, Rockhold is moving up to light heavyweight. “[The weight cut] never gets any easier. I’m getting older and my bones are getting thicker and it gets harder to get down to this weight. Having this open workout on a Friday, it’s tough, but I feel good. I’ve got a great team around me with [George] Lockhart and [Dan] Leith, they’ve got my nutrition down to a science. I’m ahead of schedule this time around and I’ll be fine, but 205 [pounds] is imminent. [Daniel Cormier is] moving up to heavyweight. He’s not coming back, so I’ll be up there soon. Yes, I’ve mentioned that [to him] many times [that I’m moving to light heavyweight]. It’s imminent. I’ll be up there soon.” – Luke Rockhold after the UFC 221 open workouts.

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

With a slew of wild superfights down the pipeline for 2018, the fights at UFC 223 are still so crazy that they shine through the chaos. Not only is Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting Tony Ferguson in the main event, the co-main will be Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s highly anticipated rematch with Rose Namajunas. The stoic Thug Rose boxed up the dominant champion and shocked the world at UFC 217, now they run it back. This time, Namajunas thinks she’ll get the submission and cement herself as the best strawweight on the planet beating Jedrzejczyk back-to-back like Max Holloway did to Jose Aldo. “It’s probably the most exciting fight that everybody can look forward to. I think that’s a big part of [Joanna Jedrzejczyk getting the immediate rematch], but also I don’t see anybody else that can really challenge at this point. You’ve got Jessica Andrade and Tecia [Torres] will probably be the only other one, maybe Claudia Gadelha but I thought she was injured. Joanna’s beaten all those girls, other than Tecia obviously, but she’s way far ahead of those other girls. […] I had a perfect gampelan for everything that [Jedrzejczyk] was doing. I knew exactly where she was going to be, where she was, I’ve been studying her for many years and knew exactly what she was going to do before she did it.”

bjpenndotcom - February 9, 2018

Unable to catch tomorrow night’s UFC 221 event in Perth, Australia? BJPenn.com has you covered with all the UFC 221 Live Results. Tune in to “Play By Play Radio” for up to the second results. Play By Play Radio” will be hosted by 2X UFC Hall of Fame Champion BJ Penn.

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

Every step in Yoel Romero’s career has led to this. After a war with Robert Whittaker ended in a decision that halted Romero’s eight-fight win streak, fate seemed to favor the former Olympian. The title switches and changes have been almost as dizzying as the flying knees which Romero launches at unsuspecting opponents. Yet, here he is again fighting for an interim middleweight belt. Luke Rockhold and coaches have said the only thing that would lead to their defeat is a ‘lucky strike’, but it seems like luck is on the side of Yoel Romero. “First of all [in response that Luke Rockhold saying he’s better then me in every aspect of the fight], the Philistines said Goliath had to kill David because he was a great warrior and David was just an average man. Who won that fight? I feel like the Son of God and I believe it’s a blessing for me to feel this way. I respect this [opinion that Rockhold can out grapple me] but the whole world has the right to talk, but it’s God that’s got to shed the light so, I’m going to shed the light in those dark places that Luke talks about it. I will be the light that God gives me in that moment. I feel blessed [to be in an interim title fight]. The strength of my work, the amount of work that I put in, the amount of work my team has put it in, the support that I have for my family, this is what drives me.”

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

Most fighters hope their style gets labeled as something that resembles a killer like Jon Jones or strikes comparisons to the legend Anderson Silva, but not ‘Style Bender’ Israel Adesanya. While he may fit the body type and skill set, he’d rather you not disrespect them — or him for that matter — by constructing mental Venn diagrams of him and them. Going into his UFC debut tomorrow, he wants to showcase something completely new. He wants to showcase himself. “Don’t insult [Jon Jones, Anderson Silva or Michael ‘Venom’ Page] or me by comparing us. I know what they’re trying to do, I know what they’re trying to say, but we’re different people. I watched Anderson Silva at UFC 90. I think it was my first pay-per-view I watched of him. Before that I watched some DVDs, but then UFC 90 I watched him live fight Patrick Cote. He used — probably in the first round — 10 different styles and then in the second round used telekinesis to dismantle [Cote’s] knee. I was like, who’s this skinny black guy?”

Justin Golightly - February 9, 2018

Rafael dos Anjos and Tyron Woodley have gone back and forth since Nate Diaz strutted back into fight talks with his signature scowling face. It’s easy to see why, of course. Dos Anjos wants the title shot promised to him, while Tyron Woodley ‘just wants to make money’ according to the former UFC lightweight champion. …But isn’t that what prize fighting is about? Not to dos Anjos it is not. To be fair, Tyron Woodley was willing to fight Diaz at a catchweight with no title on the line, but dos Anjos thinks either that that this match-up is against all logic. “Tyron Woodley is only thinking about money. Of course that everybody wants to make money and needs money, but he’s running away from logic. He’s trying to force his hand and making a fight that makes no sense. [Nate Diaz] can’t fight in this weight class and Woodley is trying to force this fight. He was willing to fight Nate Diaz while injured, needing to undergo surgery, because he knows it’s an easy fight and he can win without one arm. I think it’s wrong to hold the entire division like this. He’s trying to get an easy fight and stay on his TV and radio shows as a champion, he wants this status.”

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2018

“I think i’m one or two fights away [from a title shot]. I think [Valentina] Shevchenko will fight for the title next and I would like to fight her for the title. So however many I need to have between now and then, that’s what i’m working towards 100%.

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2018

It was announced yesterday that UFC 222 had been saved. Initially what was supposed to be Max Holloway attempting to make his second featherweight title defense against Frankie Edgar turned into…well, another featherweight title fight actually but instead with the other champ! Cris Cyborg will now be headlining the event as she defends against the Invicta FC bantamweight champion, Yana Kunitskaya. As for Edgar, he will remain on the card and take on the quickly rising contender, Brian Ortega in the co-main event. While some are happy that the event was saved at all, that doesn’t mean everyone liked what it was saved with. And among those include former Strikeforce and UFC 135-pound champ, Miesha Tate who had this to say about the change on MMA on SiriusXM:

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2018

When you bring up the discussion of best female flyweight fighters in the world today, very few if any will say that Invicta FC champion, Jennifer Maia isn’t #1. The Curitiba, Brazil native, Maia has defended her title twice and is currently on a six-fight winning streak that includes wins over Vanessa Porto, Agnieszka Niedzwiedz, and Roxanne Modaferri. Around the time that the UFC was ready to crown their inaugural 125-pound champion after a season of The Ultimate Fighter, Maia was ready to defend her title the week after. As one might imagine, Maia should have been a part of the tournament to decide the UFC’s first flyweight champion. Instead, Maia turned down the offer to participate on the show and as she told MMAFighting, it was for a pretty understandable reason:

Drake Riggs - February 8, 2018

The UFC touches down in Glendale, Arizona this April and the card is really shaping up to be a great one. The event is already topped off with two all-violence level matchups featuring Dustin Poirier against Justin Gaethje in the main event and Matt Brown vs Carlos Condit in the co-main. And now the UFC has brought the ladies into the mix as AZCentral reports that the former Invicta FC Atomweight champion, Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson will be taking on MMA Lab product, Cortney Casey.

Justin Golightly - February 8, 2018

After Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson got on The MMA Hour and said he wanted a fourth — yes, fourth — fight with PRIDE and UFC veteran Wanderlei Silva, we had no idea what to think. However, all that really matters is what Bellator and Silva himself thinks. He caught wind of the offer and is all for the quadrilogy with Quinton Jackson, that is only if it takes place in the Brazilian’s hometown of Curitiba. ”I will [talk to Bellator president Scott Coker about the fight], but I want to do this rematch with ‘Rampage’ [Quinton Jackson] at Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba [Brazil]. I’ll put this as a condition, to be in my hometown. Then it would be worth the effort. Money alone isn’t worth it, it has to be something more, and that would be fighting in front of my friends in Curitiba. I’m kind of big, too, with 229 pounds. I’m training a bit stronger.”

Jason Kindschy - February 8, 2018

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT! 8:15PM ET- Our guest for the evening is “Bullet” Valentina Shevchenko. Following what can only be described as one of the most dominant wins in recent MMA history over Priscila Cachoeria this past weekend, Valentina has been the hottest topic in the combat sports headlines. With this impressive and authoritative victory, Shevchenko claimed the No. 1 spot in the women’s flyweight rankings and struck fear into the hearts of everyone in the division. Now eyeing gold in her new weight class, we’ll recap her incredible performance and discuss the looming title fight against current champ, Nicco Montano. Valentina will also share her thoughts on the backlash against referee Mario Yamasaki for not stopping the fight earlier, what she has planned for the remainder of 2018, and the likelihood that she battles Amanda Nunes once again before the end of the year. All that and much more with “Bullet!”

Justin Golightly - February 8, 2018

Demetrious Johnson versus TJ Dillashaw. The UFC flyweight champion fighting the UFC bantamweight champion in an ultra high level MMA double title fight. It’s a match-up that everyone has been clamoring for, but still some people aren’t in favor of it. Although, it’s easy to see why Dominick Cruz isn’t keen on the idea. If you count the WEC bantamweight title which the UFC absorbed, Cruz was the bantamweight king from 2010 until he was stripped due to injuries in 2014. A title he nearly immediately got back upon his return from Dillashaw himself. The very same title he wants back. “I think [the bantamweight championship] should be my next fight, but they play weird games where they want to give TJ Dillashaw an easier fight because he doesn’t want to fight somebody hard right after he won the title. He wants an easy fight. So, he wants to fight somebody that he knows he can keep the belt a little longer before he knows he gets a really hard fight, whereas I went TJ Dillashaw, Urijah Faber, Cody Garbrandt and then I lose the belt. Let’s go TJ. I beat you. Don’t you want to get that back? Stop going down and looking for little baby boys at 125. Silly Dilly, that’s what I call him.”

Justin Golightly - February 8, 2018

Everyone loves a stylish fighter. Anthony Pettis will forever be remembered from walking up the cage at WEC and flying across the canvas to kick Benson Henderson in the face. You could flip the channel on your TV right now and chances are you may find a highlight of Anderson Silva putting Forrest Griffin in the Matrix. Israel Adesanya will look to turn heads with another knockout worthy of his reel this Saturday in his UFC debut. He believes it’s his destiny as a ‘Style Bender’. “F-ck that. I gave myself the nickname [Style Bender]. People say, ‘Oh, you can’t give yourself a nickname.’ But I was like, why? I make my own destiny. I don’t want my destiny to be in someone else’s hands. It made sense to me, because Aang the Avatar had to realize his potential of being the Avatar by mastering all the elements, which is water, fire, earth and air. And I have to realize my destiny of master all the elements of martial arts to be here [in the UFC].”

Tom Taylor - February 8, 2018

Last month, in the main event of UFC 220, the hype train of Francis Ngannou came to an abrupt halt at the hands of UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. For five rounds, the champ out-fought the challenger, exposing major deficits in his wrestling and his cardio in the process. Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan (one of the biggest drivers of Ngannou’s hype train before UFC 220) discussed the outcome of the UFC 220 main event.

Justin Golightly - February 8, 2018

Matt Brown comes back soon against Carlos Condit at UFC Glendale in April, which is a fight we’ll all praising the MMA gods for bestowing upon us. However, it’s not his opponent that he’s trashing publicly like some other fighters, he’s continuing a beef he has with Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series commentator Snoop Dogg. Matt Brown is still heated for the wild Instagram video Snoop posted insulting Conor McGregor after his boxing loss to Floyd Mayweather. Brown went as far to say if he caught him on the street, he’d catch these hands fashizzle. “Snoop Dogg, that piece of sh-t. I’ll call him out. He called out Conor [McGregor]. Remember, he called him a b-tch? That’s not cool, man. I don’t care [if he was f-cked up]. He put it out in public. He could have apologized, deleted it, whatever. If I go to the UFC PI [Performance Institute] I might just punch him. If I see him there. I’m cool with that. I’m just saying. That really offends me, man.”