MMA News

Justin Golightly - November 1, 2017

If it’s attention Colby Covington wanted, attention he got. He took out former UFC welterweight title challenger Demian Maia, trashed Brazil, called out Tyron Woodley, and later spoke out against American Top Team co-founder Ricardo Liborio. Ben Saunders, fellow welterweight and ATT member, didn’t take too kindly to any of Covington’s comments. Matter of fact, he got super heated and decided to get some stuff off his chest. This resulted in a profanity-laced video that would make any bleep button sound like a Morse code distress message.  “Killa B” Ben Saunders with an emotionally charged message for Colby Covington. https://t.co/UMUtglv0Xi pic.twitter.com/pepuWQY5WS

Justin Golightly - November 1, 2017

It seems like forever since Conor McGregor dominated Eddie Alvarez at UFC’s history Madison Square Garden debut, then hoisted two world titles above his head. Infamously screaming that the double champ does whatever he wants, McGregor went on to prove just that by boxing Floyd Mayweather. Even losing, McGregor catapulted his already gargantuan brand to new heights, while pocketing more cash than he’s ever had before. It left us all wondering just what he would do next. Tony Ferguson seems to be the front-runner in all of this, but Conor McGregor has some familiar demands. “We’ll see. We’re currently in contract negotiations. There’s a couple of opponents, of course, different sports now in play with the boxing game also clawing to get me in. So, we’re in the contract negotiation stage. They’ve got to entice me now, because I came from a billion dollar fight. They’ve got to entice me with something. I want equity, I want ownership, I want partnered, I want to be true partners with the UFC similar to the way I was with the Floyd [Mayweather] fight.”

Jason Kindschy - November 1, 2017

BJPENN Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more great guests! 8:15PM ET– Kicking things off, we are joined by a man stealing all the headlines this week, Colby Covington. Following the biggest win of his career over the weekend against Demian Maia, and the post-fight interview that made “Chaos” the most talked about guy in MMA right now, we’ll be recapping the fight and discussing all the controversy.

Justin Golightly - November 1, 2017

The UFC is coming back to Australia in February for UFC 221. According to a report by Perth Now, Robert Whittaker is scheduled to appear, which definitely makes sense for the hard-hitting Aussie. It was natural to assume that UFC interim middleweight champ Whittaker and whoever comes out the actual middleweight champion at UFC 217, would attempt to unify the titles at UFC 221. However, Michael Bisping put a cork in those plans if he’s still got the strap after this Saturday. “Yeah, yeah [UFC 221 on February 11th is a quick turnaround]. I’m not awfully keen on fighting down in Australia. I mean, my wife’s Australian. I’ve fought in Australia three or four times already from one career. My next fight, if I have any say in it, is going to be in Manchester. Obviously, I don’t own the UFC, but If I beat Georges [St-Pierre] I’d like to think I still get a bit of say in it. I’d like that to be in Manchester, but we’ll see.”

Justin Golightly - November 1, 2017

Earlier this month, we got a sneak peak behind the scenes of the new EA Sports UFC 3 video game thanks to Angela Hill in a motion capture suit. Other than that, we haven’t gotten much news about the third installment in the EA UFC franchise. For those who wanted more, a new teaser dropped today letting us know that we have a full trailer to look forward to this Friday. We get flashes of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Conor McGregor. It also gives us reason to put on our tinfoil hats regarding a very interesting freeze frame. Get Ready for Round 3 #EAUFC3

Russell Ess - November 1, 2017

UFC superstar Conor McGregor isn’t only focused on his career in combat sports. With all the money and fame that he has gotten from his career in fighting, it is only opening more doors for opportunities in business for the Dublin native. Speaking recently with entertainment.ie, McGregor spoke of his relationship with Dana White and revealed that he is still seeking the advice of Lorenzo Fertitta in all of his business endeavors.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2017

For months, UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal and UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping have exchanged venomous trash talk in interviews and on social media. Given that they’re both scheduled to fight at UFC 217 in New York City this Saturday, it seemed like a matter of time before they crossed paths in person and all hell broke loose. Well, it finally happened.

Justin Golightly - November 1, 2017

Leading up to UFC 217, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has been her most intimidating yet. Her entire language has leveled up from its usual confidence, to near super villain levels. She’s out here tearing her long sleeve shirts with elbows in training and declaring her dominance will never endure so much as a hiccup. Some people may be writing her challenger Rose Namajunas out, but Jedrzejczyk is preparing like she’s about to fight a war. In startling contrast to this, the UFC strawweight champ answered 25 of Us Magazine‘s questions on everything from hip hope music and weird habits.  1. My fans always pump me up before a fight, so I like to see them right before I go out and I fight for them.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2017

Here’s a preview of what to expect on November 4th at #UFC217. Thanks to @BudLightCA for making it happen. #sponsor pic.twitter.com/rEiTeJUaCX — Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) November 1, 2017

Justin Golightly - November 1, 2017

No matter what crazy stuff he said, you can’t deny that Colby Covington backed it up by taking out Demian Maia at UFC Sao Paulo. He may be in some hot water, but he made the most out of his time on the mic and called out Tyron Woodley to challenge for his UFC welterweight title. Woodley is out with a shoulder injury and is slated to fight the winner between Robbie Lawler and Rafael dos Anjos, but didn’t hesitate to throw some shade at Covington. “My shoulder’s not what it should be, but this past weekend there was a couple of people bumping their gums about fighting and I was like, you know what? I could actually beat this person with my shoulder the way that it is. So, could I fight and compete? Yes. Would it be very smart especially with your belt on the line, you know, with several figures on the line? Probably not. So, I was trying to go the route of maybe doing a stem cell, doing a PRP [platelet-rich plasma injection] instead of the surgery and just kind of rehabbing it, seeing how strong I can get it first so I can make that decision.”

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2017

This weekend, the UFC will return to New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden with the stacked UFC 217. In the main event of this massive card, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will return from a multi-year hiatus to battle reigning UFC middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping. The co-main event of the card, finally, will see bantamweight champ Cody Garbrandt and challenger TJ Dillashaw settle a long-standing beef, while the card will also feature a third title fight as strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk attempts to defend her strap against Rose Namajunas.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2017

This weekend, in the main event of the stacked UFC 217 card, former UFC welterweight king Georges St-Pierre will return from a hiatus of some four years to battle reigning middleweight champ Michael Bisping. While plenty of people are confident St-Pierre will be as sharp as ever in his return, others are worried that he will be effected by ring rust. His coach Firas Zahabi, however, doesn’t think this will be an issue.

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2017

Jon Jones is currently awaiting sentencing for his latest, gut-wrenching brush with the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Whatever happens, he seems to be in good spirits, as he recently posted a brief training clip to Instagram, suggesting it is time to “pick himself and start again.” UFC President Dana White doesn’t share Jones optimism. On a recent episode of The Jim Rome Show, White went off on Jones for his party habits, and suggested the former champ might be “unfixable.”

Tom Taylor - November 1, 2017

Jon Jones had a turbulent few years. Though he is, without debate, one of the most talented fighters to ever step into the cage, his career has been marred by substance abuse problems, brushes with the law, and most recently, a procession of failed drug tests. News of Jones’ latest failed drug test broke just days after his head-kick knockout win over his arch rival, Daniel Cormier. This test was administered the night before the fight. As a result of this failed test, Jones’ win was overturned, and the UFC light heavyweight strap was returned to Cormier.

Justin Golightly - October 31, 2017

Aside from the announcement of Khabib Nurmagomedov fighting Edson Barboza at UFC 219, news has been quiet for the supposed end-of-the-year super card. If Raquel Pennington hadn’t of broken her leg, we would have already had the card’s first title fight booked. The plan was to have Amanda Nunes defend her belt against fourth-ranked Pennington. Her management team has moved on, stating Nunes will take the rest of the year off and citing a lack of logical challengers. However, Nunes may have her eye on sixth-ranked Cat Zingano after she comes back and grabs a win. I would really like a rematch with you… I feel one more win would put you there

Justin Golightly - October 31, 2017

UFC 217 is one of those cards where every single fight will be a battle for a spotlight. The second fight on the television prelims features Ovince Saint Preux, if that gives you any indication of the scope we’re talking about. Not to be buried beneath the three title fights on the card, Stephen Thompson will throwdown with Jorge Masvidal right before Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends her title against Rose Namajunas. After fighting welterweight champ Tyron Woodley twice, Thompson seems pumped about a refreshing match-up with Masvidal.   “This fight has fireworks written all over it. I’ve been training for Tyron Woodley for almost a year now and this [fight with Jorge Masvidal] gives me somebody different to break down, somebody different to get ready for. The media obligations aren’t there. When I was fighting Tyron, especially with it being a title fight, it was kind of crazy. With this, I can just sit back and focus on the fight, train, train when I want to train and not have to go all over the place to do the media. It’s nice to be able to sit back and just think about the fight. I’m excited, I’m energized, I can relax a little bit more. The energy level is truly up.”

Russell Ess - October 31, 2017

Conor McGregor fans are surely curious as to who and when the current UFC lightweight champion will be fighting next. With Dana White saying that newly crowned UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is the next match to make for McGregor, the UFC President is hoping for “The Notorious” to return to the Octagon before the end of the year. However, it all likely comes down to what Conor McGregor wants to do.

Justin Golightly - October 31, 2017

Everyone has been talking about it since UFC 216. Many prominent figures involved and not involved directly with Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson has said that the belts must be unified. The manager of both fighters has revealed he believes their confrontation is ‘inevitable’, that it is only a matter of time. According to McGregor himself, this may be sooner rather than later. He just dropped a bombshell that, not only does he feel Ferguson is next, but they are currently negotiating the contract. “I’ve got everyone clawing at me, trying to get at me, and that’s from multiple sports, multiple organizations, multiple everything. It’s been like that for a long, long time, I feel, so it’s just another day for me. I know there are many contenders in the UFC. There are many boxing contenders as well. What interests me is certainly a UFC bout, certainly a defense of my lightweight title. There is a fighter with the interim lightweight belt. I feel that [Tony Ferguson] will be next. We’ll see how negotiations go.”