MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of the stacked UFC 219, Dagestani lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up yet another dominant win, violating the dangerous Edson Barboza for three, lopsided rounds, and ultimately capturing a clear unanimous decision. With this win, Nurmagomedov is now an insane 25-0 overall, and could very easily be the best lightweight on earth. UFC undisputed lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, of course, will likely have something to say about that.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2017

Last night, the UFC closed out the year 2017 with UFC 219, a stacked card that went down in glimmering Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event of this anticipated pay-per-view, UFC women’s featherweight queen Cris Cyborg attempted her first title defense opposite former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm. In advance of this fight, Holm was considered one of the toughest tests of Cyborg’s incredible career thus far, and as it turns out, these suspicions proved accurate. Despite Cyborg’s fight-ending power and vaunted aggression, Holm hung in there for five, fun rounds, even popping the champ with solid strikes of her own on a few occasions. In the eyes of some fans, she even won a few rounds. In the end, however, Cyborg’s patience, volume, aggression and cage control earned her a just unanimous decision win.

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2017

While UFC 219 dominated the MMA spotlight on Saturday night, it was not the only major event going down. Across the Pacific, Rizin Fighting Federation hosted its stacked, year-end card, which was highlighted by the finals of its action-packed bantamweight Grand Prix. The quarterfinals of this Grand Prix went down two nights ago, when Manel Kape defeated UFC veteran Ian McCall with a bizarre, ring-rope induced stoppage, Takafumi Otsuka tapped formerly undefeated prospect Khalid Taha, Shintaro Ishiwatari brutally KO’d Kevin Petshi, and UFC veteran Kyoji Horiguchi snuffed Gabriel Oliveira. 

Tom Taylor - December 31, 2017

Last night, the UFC closed out the year 2017 with UFC 219, a stacked card out of Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event of this anticipated pay-per-view, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg attempted her first title defense opposite former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm. In advance of this fight, Holm was considered one of the toughest tests of Cyborg’s incredible career thus far, and as it turns out, these suspicions proved accurate.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

Pros react to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dominant victory over Edson Barboza! Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up a dominant decision victory over Edson Barboza in the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 219 fight card in Las Vegas.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A women’s featherweight title fight between current champion Cris Cyborg and former bantamweight title holder Holly Holm served as the main event of tonight’s UFC 219 fight card in Las Vegas. HERE WE GO!!#UFC219 pic.twitter.com/mNFW134MAk

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A key lightweight scrap between top division contenders Edson Barboza and Khabib Nurmagomedov served as the co-main event of tonight’s UFC 219 fight card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Barboza lands a nasty inside leg kick to start. He lands another. Khabib is applying a lot of pressure trying to prevent Edson from throwing those kicks. “The Eagle” shoots in but Barboza is able to scramble free. Khabib with a right hand as he chases after Edson, he presses Barboza against the fence but cannot secure the takedown. Edson breaks free. He lands a low kick and then a hook. Khabib eats the strikes and continues to press forward. He gets inside and scores a trip takedown. Khabib working from top position now. He lands a big elbow and then some hard punches. Barboza is trying to kick Khabib off of him but it doesn’t work. Another massive shot from Nurmagomedov. He moves to side control and then mount. Barboza is in a bad spot here. Khabib with full mount now. He begins raining down big left hands from the top. He switches to right hands and this is getting ugly quickly. Barboza attempts to scramble but Khabib won’t let him go. More shots from the top by Khabib. He lands a nasty elbo and then works the body. Nurmagomedov with another big punch. He tries to take Edson’s neck but Barboza survives to see round two.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A lightweight scrap between exciting fighters Marc Diakiese and Dan Hooker took place on the main card of tonight’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Diakiese quickly takes the center of the octagon. Hooker throws a jab that misses. He circles around the outside. Marc throws a side kick that misses. Both men are very cautious early here. Hooker feints with a low kick. Diakiese throws a side kick to the thigh that lands. Hooker with a low kick and then just misses with a high kick. Marc circles along the fence. He steps in with a side kick that partially connects. Hooker with a right hand and then slips a straight right from Marc. Hooker with a kick to the body and then catches a spinning back kick from Diakiese. Dan is doing an excellent job early here. He lands a crisp jab. Diakiese misses with a low kick. Hooker connects with one of his own. Marc circles and then lands a nice switch kick. One minute remains in round one. Hooker throws a low kick but Diakiese catches it and then lands a low kick of his own. Hooker leaps in with a nice body kick. Diakiese attempts to shoot for a takedown but Hooker sweeps him and winds up in top position. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A welterweight scrap between former interim title holder Carlos Condit and perennial contender Neil Magny kicked off tonight’s UFC 219 pay-per-view card in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Magny comes forward quickly. Condit catches him with a nice leg kick. Carlos attempts a head kick but it misses the mark. Condit lands a leg kick but Magny catches it and forces Carlos to the ground. Condit immediately rolls for a knee and tries to scramble back up to his feet. Neil prevents Condit from getting up and takes full guard. Condit quickly scrambles to his feet but Magny immediately drags him back to the floor. Another scramble and Condit is back up. He presses Magny against the cage and lands a knee. The fighters break and Condit throws another kick. Once again Magny catches it but this time he cannot use the limb to score a takedown. Neil wth a nice jab. Under two minutes remain. Condit misses with a combination. He lands an outside low kick. Magny just misses with a straight right hand. Condit circles out. He is having a hard time finding his rang here. Magny with a nice jab to the body. Condit leaps in with a combination. Magny avoids any significant strikes and dives in on a single leg. Condit avoids the takedown attempt and circles out. Condit with a nice left hand and then a body kick. “The Natural Born Killer” lands a spinning back kick. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

The salaries for tonight’s UFC 219 main card fighters are in! The pay-per-view event is headlined by a women’s featherweight title fight featuring current champion Cris Cyborg taking on former women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

It appears that plans for a super fight between UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and T.J. Dillashaw are officially underway. Earlier tonight the UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was live streaming on Twitch when a conversation between UFC executives was recorded that appears to detail promotional plans for a “Mighty Mouse” vs. Dillashaw super fight.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A middleweight scrap between Omari Akhmedov and Marvin Vettori took place during tonight’s UFC 219 prelims from Las Vegas. Round one begins and Akhmedov lands a hard inside low kick to start. Marvin presses forward. He briefly switches his stances and then misses with a jab. Another low kick from Omari. Vettori replies with a hard body kick. Omari did not like that. Akhmedov presses forward and then misses with a wild right hand. Vettori with a nice knee followed by a right. Omari catches him with a counter left hook. That seems to have stunned the Italian who is now on the retreat. Omari with another big hook. He misses with a follow up uppercut. Vettori is backed up against the fence. He desperately shoots in for a takedown but it is not there. Marvin is finally able to circle out. He lands a low kick. Omari replies with a big right hook. Marvin side steps and then lands a knee. He follows that up with a nice jab. Omari charges forward and unleashes some uppercuts. He throws everything with full power. Omari shoots in for a takedown. Vettori is able to defend the shot. Akhmedov misses with a pair of right hands. Vettori lands an inside low kick. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

A bantamweight scrap between former flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott and UFC newcomer Mark Delarosa kicked off tonight’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. Round one begins and Elliott presses forward quickly. Mark grabs a hold of his neck and drops for a guillotine. Elliott is able to escape and winds up in side control. He drops down a hammer fist. Delarosa rolls and throws up and armbar attempt. It looks deep. Tim is in some trouble here. Elliott is able to step over and escape. Mark attempts to scramble up but gives up his back to Elliott. Tim drops down some big shots from the position. Delarosa rolls and winds upon the bottom with Elliott in full guard. More shots from Elliott now. He grabs a hold of guillotine choke and proceeds to move to full mount position. Somehow Mark escapes the submission attempt and winds up back in half guard. Another scramble and round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

UFC 219 Live Results Thread Unable to catch tonight’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas? BJPENN.com has you covered! Stay glued to this page for up to the minute live results from all of tonight’s action.

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

Earlier today rumors surfaced that former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn would be returning to the octagon this February to battle promotional newcomer Suman Mokhtarian at UFC 221. If this poster is real or not, doesn't matter. @Suman_att will be the talk leading up to #UFC219 & BJ Penn is probably somewhere thinking do I got a fight in Perth. #postergate #MMA pic.twitter.com/BLtJ8PvHb8

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

Whether you’re working in MMA media or just a fan, fights can be stressful. We always have our favorites and we all get invested. It’s easy to log on to Twitter and talk as much (or more) trash to ‘haters’ of the fighter we root for, spouting off encyclopedic facts or quality of opponents and skill clashes. Now imagine that you’re in a relationship with one of those fighters. Not just in any organization, but fighting in the co-main event sport for a UFC pay-per-view. Bruna Barboza, Edson Barboza’s wife, recently gave some candid insight into what that is like. “[Edson Barboza]’s unbearable when he’s cutting weight [laughs]. Before we had [our son] Noah, I used to go with him to every fight. We flew on a Tuesday and he didn’t eat anything before the fight. We wouldn’t talk because he was unbearable. One day I ate a cereal bar and he said, ‘Why are you eating this in front of me? Are you trying to piss me off?’ Imagine if I was eating a brownie [laughs]. I can’t speak with him on fight week, not even a ‘hi’ or ‘good morning. I don’t watch the fight if I don’t go to the arena because I think it’s horrible. I don’t know what will happen, if he’s going to get hurt, and I won’t be there to help.”

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

When the UFC released a video about Max ‘Blue Carnage’ Carlyle, needless to say that a lot of people were confused. We learned about Carlyle’s struggles and his journey to achieve his dream of becoming the first Orc to ever fight in the Octagon. Dana White dismissed the idea that his kind would ever step foot into the UFC, much like he did when asked if women would ever fight for the organization.  Of course, all of this ended up being an elaborate tie-in to Will Smith’s new film Bright which debuted on Netflix. The teaser promised we’d see the rest of the story and today the conclusion dropped. Watch me face off with @travisbrowneMMA 12/30. Only on @UFC. pic.twitter.com/RyERr65R1g

Justin Golightly - December 30, 2017

The main and co-main event of UFC 219 are some of the best fights all year, with the match-ups that we’ve had in 2017, that’s high praise. Cris Cyborg defending her women’s UFC featherweight title against Holly Holm is arguably the biggest female fight of all-time. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov makes his triumphant return to fight against top contender and dangerous striker Edson Barboza in a war for title contention. It’s interesting to see Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh’s outlook on the match-ups — especially the co-main event — seeing as how he could still be a future opponent for McGregor, especially if he does end up ever fighting in Russia. “Khabib [Nurmagomedov] by stoppage in the championship rounds. He will be hit in the first but wrestling, in particular his body lock, will break [ Edson] Barboza as fight progresses. Ground-and-pound stoppage in fourth or fifth round. [Holly] Holm by stoppage within three rounds. The lack of size advantage [for Cris Cybog] plus Holm’s technical ability in striking will decide this. Cyborg relies on strength and intimidation a lot, she wont have that here.” – John Kavanagh via his Twitter.