MMA News

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.

Justin Golightly - November 29, 2017

Fabricio Werdum has won three of his last four fights, but everything other than his fighting has seemed to be a rocky road. While he’s never strayed away from a little controversy, he recently almost had a scuffle with interim UFC lightweight champ Tony Ferguson, which he paired with a crazy boomerang attack on Colby Covington. Dana White recently opened up about the confrontation and his bad relationship with Werdum. “Me and [Fabricio] Werdum do not have a good relationship. At all. At all. [The altercation in Austrailia] is just a continued — this is what this guy does. He almost fights Tony Ferguson at the media luncheon. There’s a laundry list of me and Werdum. When I was driving here today to meet you guys, Werdum texted me and said ‘I wanna come out, I wanna meet, I wanna sit down.’ I haven’t been willing to meet with him for a while now. And I texted him back and said ‘let’s do it.’ So me and Werdum are gonna sit down, try to hug and make up. No, I don’t laugh [at Werdum throwing a boomerang at Colby Covington], that’s not funny. Believe me, I get it, I get it that Colby disrespected Brazil and all the Brazilian people. I know how Brazilians get about that stuff. You just can’t go around assaulting people, you know? You just can’t do it. It’s bad.” — Dana White during his recent media scrum.

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.

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

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Fresh off a first-round drubbing of former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, Derek Brunson says his next fight has already been signed. Speaking to ESPN, Brunson revealed that he’s inked a contract for a bout with former Strikeforce middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and he believes Souza has signed a bout agreement too. The fight is expected to go down on January 27, in the main event of a UFC on Fox card in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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

Even though Dana White recently spoke out and said the fight was never offered, it seems like some negotiations were going on between Nate Diaz’s team and Tyron Woodley. The fight seemed to come out of nowhere and then faded away almost as quickly. The UFC welterweight champ hasn’t been shy about calling out Diaz on his problematic negotiation tactics, even coming up with a $10 million split between the two, but it all fell on deaf ears. Finally, Woodley officially says the fight is dead and he’ll be moving on with surgery and the many other business opportunities on his plate. “Well, I’m fired up because I know you booked some hotel rooms and Nate Diaz is obviously scared, homie. When someone says, ‘Hey, I want to get paid $15 million’ to fight a fighter and they’ve never received that — not even to fight Conor McGregor — that’s a nice way of saying no, I don’t want to fight them. That’s like me saying, ‘Hey, yeah. I’ll fight f-cking Stipe Miocic. Just pay me $35 million.’ That’s basically saying no. So, unfortunately, it would have been a crazy card December 30th in Las Vegas and it would have been a crazy end-of-the-year, unfortunately it’s not taking place. I’m not fighting Nate Diaz. That’s how the cookie crumbles, man. [He missed out on] a huge payday, man. He can’t run forever.”

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Chael Sonnen is very familiar with rising UFC middleweight contender Kelvin Gastelum, having coached him on season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter. That said, Sonnen claims that for a long time, he couldn’t actually identify the one thing that made Gastelum so good. While it was clear the young fighter had few weaknesses, his true strength was difficult to identify. “I would watch him every day in practice,” Sonnen said in the latest episode of Beyond the Fight. “I would tell him, ‘Kelvin, I don’t know what it is you’re good at, but I also don’t know what your weaknesses are.’ He was just naturally in very, very good position. He naturally would follow the basics. Hands up, chin down. He naturally was a little bit shorter for the weight class, and it was harder for guys to get underneath him. He naturally just didn’t mind pushing the pace and competing, which is a really big part of it. It’s not just the punches and the kicks. You’ve got to have a competitor, man, you’ve got have a guy who’s got some dog inside of him. He just had all of these things. But I just kept telling him that, and it almost turned into a laughable moment. I’d keep saying that, every time he’d fight, and I was congratulating him, but I’d say ‘man, I’m not positive what it is you’re good at. I just sure can’t find your weakness.’ The guy was impossible to submit, so hard to take down, wouldn’t give up, powerful hands, buried his chin so he could take a shot…”

Justin Golightly - November 29, 2017

A couple of days ago on The MMA Hour, Matt Mitrione talked about steroid abusers and rampant performance enhancing drug use in MMA. He went so far as to saw that fighters caught on PEDs should be charged with attempted murder. Shane Carwin got wind of this and had a lot to say about the former UFC fighter’s comments. He’s been looking for a way into the Bellator heavyweight grand prix ever since it was announced and he was probably trying on his 5XL gloves directly after he wrote these scathing comments. “Meathead [Matt Mitrione] brought up an interesting topic about fighter safety. When you are on the receiving end of beatings I can see the concern. My concern is bigger. Is he just dumb or did he take too many blows to the head? I would be worried about the trauma you have sustained and not go searching for the ass beating of your life. Here I am, call your bosses at Bellator MMA. I will knock the silly out of you and my name out of your mouth. If you want to have a serious talk about PED use we can. Yet you left the organization or got cut and signed your name to a tournament full of people who have TUE’s [Therapeutic Use Exemptions] and positive test.”

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Last September, CM Punk, a pro wrestling star with essentially zero legitimate martial arts experience, stepped into the UFC’s Octagon for a battle with young prospect Mickey Gall. As so many expected, Punk was blown out of the water by his more experienced foe, losing via first-round submission. While this fight itself was a veritable disaster for Punk, it earned him the respect of many fight fans who had previously doubted him. He clearly had some major deficits in the skill department, but it was also clear that he had heart abound.

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

The downward spiral of Jason “Mayhem” Miller – a veteran of the UFC and Strikeforce cages, and the former star of the reality show Bully Beatdown – continues. On Tuesday, TMZ reported that the troubled MMA veteran had pled guilty to domestic violence charges stemming from a series of ugly incidents with three different girlfriends between 2015 and 2017.

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor – inarguably the biggest star MMA has ever produced – has recently been getting into all kinds of trouble outside the cage. One day, he’s getting physical with a referee. The next, it seems he’s punching an associate of the Irish cartel. Needless to say, the Irish star seems to be going off the rails a bit, and it has all cast a shadow over his fighting future.

Tom Taylor - November 29, 2017

Earlier this month, we learned that UFC light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir had been arrested ad charged with “aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability.”After a brief stay in the Broward County jail in Florida, his surety bond was set at $10,000.  According to a report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which includes video of Oezdemir’s court appearance, the light heavyweight contender’s arrest stems from an August 12 fight with a man named Kevin Cohen, which occurred at a yet-unidentified bar in Fort Lauderdale. During Oezdemir’s hearing, it was explained that Cohen sustained swelling and several cuts as a result of this altercation. 

Russell Ess - November 28, 2017

According to Dana White, there were plans for Conor McGregor to fight on the last pay-per-view card of the year at UFC 219. However, McGregor’s incident in the Bellator cage that brought a lot of attention to the UFC’s main competitor had him nixed from the event for shoving the referee and slapping a Bellator staff member. Now, rumors are swirling around that “The Notorious” punched a man in a bar in Crumlin, Ireland. Reports have been circulating in Irish media that the man McGregor hit has ties to the mob in Ireland.

Adam Conklin - November 28, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ExCc3_Odkg  

Adam Conklin - November 28, 2017

  One of the more surprising announcement made by the UFC in 2017 was that of the signing of kickboxing champion Gökhan Saki to their light heavyweight division. The news broke this past May and his debut was surrounded by speculation, especially in a year whose theme within the combat sports world could be, ‘crossover’.