MMA News

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

Heading into 2018, the middleweight division has been basically returned back to normal, but there is still a big mysterious cloud surrounding Georges St-Pierre. He came, he saw, he conquered, but now no one has any idea what his plans are. The only thing certain, is that he will not be coming back to middleweight after his diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. Fans aren’t the only ones unclear of what St-Pierre’s plans are, Dana White thinks it was a cash grab and he’s out for good. “There is no status [update on Georges St-Pierre]. I knew what he was doing. That’s why I put [a mandatory title defense] into his contract. We both knew what was going on. I don’t know, man. I don’t think the guy wants to fight. I think he jumped in, grabbed some cash and went back to Canada. He ain’t fighting Conor McGregor. If he wants to come back, [UFC welterweight champion] Tyron Woodley or [middleweight champion] Robert Whittaker is waiting for him. They’re both waiting, if Georges wants to come back.” — Dana White speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.

Jason Kindschy - December 27, 2017

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more of what you crave! 8:15PM ET- We kick things off  with “The Texicutioner” James Vick. Arguably a future champion in the UFC’s lightweight division and a very tough matchup for anyone at 155 pounds, Vick has gone 9-1 in the UFC and believes he has earned a top-ranked opponent. However, news broke yesterday that Donald Cerrone and Yancy Medeiros are slated to headline UFC Fight Night 126 in Austin, Texas. James went to social media to protest the matchup and the UFC’s decision to snub Vick from the headlining bout on the card. We’ll be discussing the entire situation in depth.

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

There were no fights. Old Man Winter was nipping at everyone’s ears. The stockings were hung on the mantle. Hopefully, all the shopping was done and you were ready to sip hot cocoa with your loved ones and wait for Santa. That sounds like a great way to spend the holidays. However, some people spent it getting shot at by Demetrious Johnson. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Johnson hooked up with his Mighty Squad and hit PlayerUnknown’s Batllegrounds. From hiding behind doors playing a brutal version of a game from The Price is Right, to sniping people while sporting a Santa hat, Mighty Mouse had his share of literal hits and misses during his festive streams. The highlight of the video is his stand on the bridge, picking off players and they try and drive down it. That is, until he was ran over.

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

We are just a few days away from the biggest women’s MMA fight since Holly Holm first took the bantamweight title away from Ronda Rousey back in 2015. Holm will take on Cris Cyborg in a huge main event with the featherweight title on the line. The comparisons to the approaching moment has not been lost on the Jackson Wink fighter or her coaches. A win here not only would make Holly Holm a two-division UFC champion, but also the best female fighter in the world. Even if there was no belt on the line, that’s what means more to her. “I want to do things in this world and in my life that haven’t been done before. If there’s no female that’s done it before, guess what? I want to do it. That’s something that’s always driven me. I’m a driven person. That’s something that really drives me. On the flip side of that coin, I would still want to beat [Cris Cyborg] just as badly even if it wasn’t for the belt. Yes, to be a champion in two divisions is huge but just to win against one of the most highly respected fighters, that’s where the real pride is.”

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

There is quite a bit of mystery surrounding the next fight of UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. In the opinion of lightweight contender Kevin Lee, however, McGregor will probably return to the Octagon to battle interim champion Tony Ferguson in the new year. “I think he comes back, he fights Tony,” Lee said on a recent episode of MMA Junkie Radio. “He don’t want to, but I feel like at some point they’re going to force him to. Either that, or something crazy is going to happen there. But at least I think everything that I’ve seen and all the little whispers that I’ve heard, he comes back, he fights Tony.”

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

We can now add another item to former UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s long list of accolades, achievements and awards. The striking specialist will carry the Olympic torch for her home country of Poland in the lead up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Jedrzejczyk announced this news on a recent radio appearance, as reported by sportowefakty.wp.pl.

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

Darren Till has still been running hot after his first-round finish over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone back at UFC Gdansk. The only problem is that the surging welterweight can’t capitalize on it because he’s been unable to get a fight. He’s called out nearly the entire division, but not one has signed on the dotted line yet for one reason or another. Moving into 2018, the Scouser is obviously frustrated and took to Twitter to vent. Kickboxing legend John Wayne Parr saw his post and took time out to show some respect to the young UFC fighter. Rankings rankings rankings… blah blah blah… just fucking fight!!!!!!! Perry, usman, wonderboy all the fucking same… 🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 219, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will attempt to defend her title against former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm. Though the ever-destructive Cyborg is generally regarded as a sure-thing against most of her opponents, this is not the case leading up to this fight Holm. In fact, Holm is being given a very real chance by many members of the MMA community. Holm’s coach Mike Winkeljohn even believes his student will finish Cyborg.

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

Over the last few years, the UFC has hosted several major, multi-fighter press conferences is an effort to promote its upcoming shows. These press conferences, which have included names like Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, and Jon Jones, have produced some truly memorable promotional material, and even a few skirmishes. From the sounds of it, we’ll get another one of these massive press conferences to hype the promotion’s early 2018 shows, and we won’t have to wait long for it. According to Ariel Helwani, this star-studded event will go down this Friday in Las Vegas, ahead of Saturday’s end of the year card.

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

Originally, streaking bantamweight contender Jimmie Rivera was expected to take on former champ Dominick Cruz at UFC 219 on December 30. Regrettably, though, Cruz was forced out of this fight with an injury. From there, Cruz was replaced my the ever-dangerous John Lineker. Yet once again, bad luck struck, as Lineker was forced out of the fight just days ahead of time. With Lineker out, Rivera began a frantic search for a replacement opponent, having trained through Thanksgiving and flown to Las Vegas over Christmas. And while it looked like he might meet fellow bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes at a TBD catchweight, that option is now off the table.

Tom Taylor - December 27, 2017

Over the years, former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping has swapped trash talk with many of his peers. One of the latest fighters he’s engaged with is current UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal.  Recently, however, Bisping made an effort to end this beef, after a heated exchanged on Instagram.

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2017

Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez knows a thing or two about fighting. He has been one of the Lightweight division’s very best for the better half of the last ten years. Primarily known as the king of Strikeforce, Melendez defended a Strikeforce title six times overall and was a three-time champion. He also was the very first ever WEC champion. Nowadays, Melendez has been trying his hand as an analyst and has been doing a great job. Since it’s the week of UFC 219 which is headlined by the big Featherweight title fight that pits Cris Cyborg against Holly Holm, Melendez took the time to share his thoughts with ESPN on how Holm can defeat the seemingly unbeatable, Cyborg.

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2017

The current Light Heavyweight king has gone by one name since May of 2015 and that name is Daniel Cormier. Since he defeated Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC 187 to become the champion, Cormier has won three fights accompanied by one no contest. That no contest coming in his last outing when he took on bitter rival Jon Jones in a highly anticipated rematch that headlined UFC 214. The fight’s initial result was a third-round knockout loss for the champion, Cormier. But not too soon after the night of the event, Jones was busted for steroids and the result was overturned. After a recent interview with FloCombat, Cormier opened up a bit more about his feelings on the fight among other things.

Drake Riggs - December 26, 2017

The UFC’s biggest star from Switzerland, Volkan Oezdemir burst onto the scene at 205 lbs this year when he quickly defeated the likes of Ovince Saint Preux, Misha Cirkunov, and Jimi Manuwa to earn himself a title shot next month. Unfortunately for Oezdemir, he’s in a bit of some trouble as of late in regards to a battery charge that he was arrested for on November 19. According to  Oezdemir’s attorney, Bruce A. Zimet, the Coconut Creek, Florida resident, Oezdemir was not the incident’s aggressor and therefore his actions were justifiable. Oezdemir, a Switzerland native, surrendered his passport to the court temporarily and he plead not guilty on November 29. The details of the incident are that of such: Oezdemir inflicted injury/harm or disability, which is a second-degree felony. Since then this has been reduced down to felony battery inflicting great injury/harm, a third-degree felony. Accusations towards Oezdemir are that of him striking and knocking out a Fort Lauderdale bargoer(male) outside the bar in August.

Justin Golightly - December 26, 2017

Welterweight is absolutely insane right now, with Tyron Woodley as the undisputed king and Colby Covington causing chaos at every turn. Former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos upset former welterweight belt holder Robbie Lawler, supposedly earning a title shot. However, that’s not the direction the UFC is going in according to Chael Sonnen. It looks like the report of Woodley possibly coaching the newest season of The Ultimate Fighter along with Covington is still going around, giving Covington the shot he’s rallied for relentlessly.

Russell Ess - December 26, 2017

It has been over one year since we have seen Khabib Nurmagomedov compete in the Octagon. The current number 2 UFC ranked lightweight last fought at UFC 205 against Michael Johnson winning with a kimura submission in the third round. Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson for the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 209 in March. However, Nurmagomedov was taken to the hospital “due to weight management medical issues” just before the weigh-ins took place and the fight had to be canceled.

Christine Allen - December 26, 2017

“I don’t really fit the profile of a UFC Champion, but they have to do (business) with me, even though they’re never going to promote me to a level like they did Ronda Rousey or Holly Holm.” Current female bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes ruffled feathers earlier this year when she declared to FloCombat.com that the UFC machine had failed to push her like it has other more aesthetically pleasing female fighters.

Justin Golightly - December 26, 2017

Leading up to the suspenseful weigh-ins approaching quickly on Friday, we already had a roller coaster of emotions kicking into UFC 219 fight week just after Christmas. Jimmie Rivera has been going back-and-forth with Marlon Moraes about being his replacement this Saturday, but despite multiple attempts to agree on increasingly higher catchweights, it never worked out. It all started when his former opponent John Lineker had to pull out of their fight with a serious tooth infection. Speaking recently to Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, Lineker opened up about the situation. “I noticed this when I came to Las Vegas earlier. I didn’t know how bad it was a week ago. I started to feel the pain, but I thought it was something related to the root canal treatment I did three weeks ago. When I talked to a second doctor — the first one didn’t have an answer for the pain — they found this infection. I kept training hard despite the pain, but the pain kept getting worse a week before fight week. I decided to go to Vegas early so the UFC doctor could see how I was because I wanted to fight no matter what, but he saw that I wasn’t fit to fight and would have to do something about it.”