MMA News

Justin Golightly - November 30, 2017

After a long time of negotiations and build-up, we finally have the UFC women’s featherweight title fight that many believed we should have gotten all along. Cris Cyborg will defend her title against Holly Holm in just a month to also contend her status as the best female fighter in the world. Cyborg’s coach thinks Holm’s last fight is telling on how the scrap at UFC 219 will go, but thinks even the best Holly Holm will have no choice but to fall at Cyborg’s hands. “When I watched Holly Holm’s last fight against Bethe Correia or whatever it was, that Bethe girl, Bethe, her level of striking is at the lowest level of the game, the lowest level of the game! And I watched her f-cking batter around for three rounds, Holly trying to get her out of there. Did she finally get her out of there with the head kick? Yes. Should that have happened in the first minute of the first round of the level that both of them are at? Yes. She should have knocked her – look at what Ronda Rousey did to that girl. Ronda Rousey, again, the lowest level of striking in the MMA game, went out and knocked Bethe Correia the f-ck out in the first fucking minute of their god damn fight. And styles make fights, there’s no math on that and I get it, I get it, but Bethe Correia is very ordinary, very ordinary with a low skill-level in striking. Sorry Bethe if you hear this interview, it’s no disrespect to you but it’s just a fact. It is what it is. And I didn’t see the Holly Holm that fought Ronda Rousey out there when she fought Bethe. If there was, she probably would have smoked her a little sooner now wouldn’t she?”

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Conor McGregor @TheNotoriousMMA drives away from court, saying ‘Come and get me’ pic.twitter.com/ee41k2WYwK — RTÉ News (@rtenews) November 30, 2017

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Unfortunately, UFC 219 has been dealt yet another blow. Kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki – perhaps one of the most hyped prospects on the UFC roster – has been forced out of his planned bout with fellow slugger Khalil Rountree. On Wednesday, the former kickboxer posted to Instagram with more information on the injury that forced him off this card. More importantly, he made a very exciting promise with respect to the year 2018.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

In 2018, Bellator MMA will crown a heavyweight champion by way of an action-packed heavyweight Grand Prix. This headline-dominating tournament will kick off on January 20, when three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen takes on former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Then, in the subsequent months, we’ll witness matchups between Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir, and lastly, Ryan Bader and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. In the opinion of Chael Sonnen, any one of these dangerous competitors has a real shot at winning it all.

Chris Taylor - November 30, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley warns Conor McGregor that he is not invincible and should consider taking a seat for at least a little while. The UFC’s undisputed lightweight champion, McGregor, has been making headlines over the past month for all the wrong reasons.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Conor McGregor’s future in mixed martial arts is as mysterious as ever. While he and various members of his team have recently discussed potential scraps with stars like Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz, his recent troubles outside the cage have casted some real doubt on his fighting career. As it turns out, McGregor’s recent indiscretions outside the cage aren’t the only thing that are likely to hold up his Octagon return. BJPenn.com’s own Chris Taylor has learned that McGregor has some pretty exceptional demands concerning a potential return to the cage. Apparently, the Irish star wants to be certain that no other UFC champions or pay-per-view earning fighters participate on the card that features his comeback. In other words, he’s hoping to keep as much of the pay-per-view pie as he can for himself.

Adam Conklin - November 29, 2017

Chris Taylor - November 29, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will not be fighting Nate Diaz or any other opponent at December’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. The Diaz vs. Woodley bout was first reported to be in the works earlier this month. Unfortunately, Nate’s financial demands for the fight proved to be too much and the proposed bout was eventually scrapped entirely.

Russell Ess - November 29, 2017

Last year many people caught wind of what seemed to be a Twitter beef between UFC commentator Joe Rogan and bodybuilder C.T. Fletcher. Rogan was talking about how the physique of Tyron Woodley could be detrimental in a five-round title fight against Robbie Lawler saying that all the muscle “The Chosen One” carries around could lead to him getting gassed out in the championship rounds of the fight.

Adam Conklin - November 29, 2017

  The long-awaited Bellator debut for former UFC bantamweight Michael McDonald was made official on Wednesday in a press release sent out by the promotion.

Adam Conklin - November 29, 2017

  It looks like Shane Carwin won’t be returning to MMA after all. Despite on-going talks with Bellator regarding a return, potentially as a replacement or alternate in their upcoming heavyweight tournament, Carwin announced via Reddit that he will be retiring from MMA competition. He cites terms of a potential contract with Bellator as his reason for confirming that he would retire:

Justin Golightly - November 29, 2017

Ever since Volkan Oezdemir won a social media poll put on by Daniel Cormier, he’s been slated to get the UFC light heavyweight title shot. It was teased and talked about until finally it was reported to be in the works for UFC 220 by MMA Kings. Everything seemed like it was set until Oezdemir had an altercation at a bar that seemed to put everything in jeopardy. Dana White assured us that the plan was to keep on trucking with the event as planned and it looked like everything worked out. Just a few minutes ago on UFC Tonight, Daniel Cormier opened up the broadcast with the official announcement.

Jason Kindschy - November 29, 2017

BJPENN Radio is back at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more of what you crave! 8:15PM ET- Our first guest is the man they call “Hot Chocolate,” Danny Roberts. As UFC on FOX 26 draws near, we’ll preview Danny’s showdown with Sheldon Westcott in Winnipeg on December 16th. After working past some personal issues outside of competition, Roberts aims to show the world his true potential and climb the ranks in the talent-rich welterweight division. We’ll get “Hot Chocolate’s” opinion on the current landscape of 170, where he fits into the battle for ranked status, and we’ll also discuss some of MMA hot topics.

Justin Golightly - November 29, 2017

Francis Ngannou is just a couple of days away from fighting Alistair Overeem in the biggest fight of his career. It’s a story as old as the UFC itself: Two heavyweights, one a young lion trying to get to the top against a veteran who intends to keep his stop at the top. It just so happens that this fight takes place in the UFC’s largest division, where pretty much anyone can knock anyone else out. Especially when one of those guys is a K-1 champion and the other just set the record for the hardest punch. Joe Rogan marked out for the young Ngannou recently on his podcast. “He’s fighting this weekend and Francis Ngannou just broke the world record for the most power ever shown in a punch. They have this machine that they use worldwide. It’s widely accepted that it’s one of the best way to measure a punch. It’s this large pad and you hit it with full power and it generates it. Francis Ngannou beat the second place by some insane amount of power. He’s a ridiculously powerful dude. He scares the sh-t out of everybody. It shows what the original world record was, then Ngannou broke it by like 3000-pounds or some sh-t. He’s terrifying. You know they found this dude, he was a homeless guy. He was homeless living in France and he made his way into a gym. I believe he wanted to box and when they brought him in.”

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Over the weekend, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor was involved in yet another SNAFU outside the cage, this time getting into a fight at The Black Forge Inn in Dublin. While this drunken donnybrook alone would justify a serious finger-wag, it seems that McGregor is in far more trouble than initially thought, as one of the men he punched in this scuffle is believed to be a close associate of of convicted Irish drug dealer Graham ‘The Wig’ Whelan.  While credible information on this wild ordeal has been difficult to sniff out, veteran crime reporter Paul Williams claims that the UFC star is in serious danger. Here’s what Williams had to say on a recent episode of Newstalk Breakfast (transcription via Balls.Ie). 

Justin Golightly - November 29, 2017

If you follow Diego Sanchez on social media, you may have seen him working with his friend [Isaac “The Shermanator” Marquez. Whether it’s working the pads, teaching some new secret moves, or practicing some ground and pound, Sanchez has been by Marquez’s side ever since he graced the doors of Jackson Wink. However, it was always more than a friendship and more than just having fun, Sanchez has been working towards fulfilling a dream for the young man and the work has finally paid off. UFC vet Diego Sanchez will be Marquez’s opponent for his big MMA debut. @isaacmarquezabq gets his big fight!he is dedicating it to his mom who died of dementia. This champion is on of the most positive motivating men that I have ever crossed paths with! MMA IS HIS PASSION AND HE LOVES @UFC come watch him fight me

Russell Ess - November 29, 2017

If you saw UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson outside of training or competing in the Octagon, it’s likely that you would never guess that she beats people up for a living. With a nickname like the “Karate Hottie,” Waterson is known for her good looks and also for her skills as a professional MMA fighter.

Justin Golightly - November 29, 2017

It seems the UFC has sort of backed themselves into a corner. Robert Whittaker fought the guy no one wanted to and beat Yoel Romero fair and square to win the interim UFC middleweight title. Instead of pairing Michael Bisping up with Whittaker to unify, the UFC opted to have Georges St-Pierre swoop down in an illustrious return and he ended up taking that title at UFC 217 in dramatic fashion. However, now St-Pierre’s plans are up in the air and Dana White is absolutely not having it. “[Georges St-Pierre] looked at [Michael] Bisping like he was a tune-up [fight]. You got your tune-up, there’s nothing but f-king animals at 185 and 170. Luke Rockhold is massive, he’s massive when he cuts weight. There’s no good options. To sit there and try to handpick people, or where you want to go and everything else, you can’t in this f-king sport. They’re all nasty. You’re a fighter, get in there and see who you can f-king beat. You wanted to f-king come back, welcome back. I don’t even know if Perth [UFC 221 against Robert Whittaker] is what I want for him yet, so we’re gonna’ talk today and figure it out. I don’t wanna’ hear [about St-Pierre dropping back down to welterweight]. That’s not what I wanna’ hear. I wanna’ hear he’s gonna’ defend the 185-pound title. That’s the agreement we made. That’s the deal we made when we made the deal.” — Dana White during his recent media scrum.