MMA News

Chris Taylor - October 28, 2017

A flyweight scrap between Jarred Brooks and Deiveson Figueiredo served as the featured bout of tonight’s UFC Fight Night 119 fight pass prelims in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Round one begins and Figueiredo misses with a wild spinning back kick to start. Brooks circles and then comes forward. Figueiredo grabs a hold of him but Brooks is able to break free. More circling from Brooks. He shoots in but cannot secure a takedown. The fighters battle in the clinch and Figueiredo presses Brooks against the cage. Good knees from the Brazilian. Brooks switches the position and then shoots in for a takedown. He lifts up his opponent and slams him to the canvas. Brooks is working from full guard here. He postures up and lands a couple of left hands. Figueiredo attempts to scramble free and is able to get back up to his feet. He presses forward and lands a right hand. Brooks is circling a lot. Figueiredo is trying his best to cut him off. Brooks shoots in and scores another slam takedown. Brooks presses Figueiredo against the cage. He begins working some good shots. 30 seconds remain in the opening round. Good elbows now from Brooks. The horn sounds to end round one.

Chris Taylor - October 28, 2017

A heavyweight scrap between Christian Colombo and undefeated newcomer Marcelo Golm kicked off tonight’s UFC Fight Night 119 event in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Round one begins and Golm fires off a combination. He lands a low kick followed by a left hand. Golm is pressing the action here. He lands another combination. A big right hand score for Golm. Colombo appears to be hurt. Golm takes him to the floor and immediately moves to mount. He begins raining down punches. Colombo is busted up. He attempts to scramble but gives up his back. Golm looks to lock in a rear-naked choke. He squeezes and this one is all over! What an impressive debut from Golm.

Chris Taylor - October 28, 2017

Unable to catch tonight’s UFC Fight Night 119 event in Sao Paulo, Brazil? BJPENN.com has you covered! Stay glued to this page for up to the minute live results from tonight’s action. UFC Fight Night 119 is headlined by a middleweight scrap featuring former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida taking on perennial contender Derek Brunson.

Justin Golightly - October 28, 2017

Besides the return of MMA legend Lyoto Machida, the eyes will be on the co-main event at Sao Paulo when Colby Covington takes on a humongous test in grappling wizard Demian Maia. It was just back at UFC 214 that Maia finally got his shot at a UFC welterweight title, only to be bested by champion Tyron Woodley. Covington feels that Maia is the only guy that stands in the way of him knocking on gold’s door as well. He not only thinks he can do it, but thinks he can put on a better performance against Maia that Woodley. “It’s a pretty easy fight to train for [against Demian Maia]. To be honest, I’m training for Tyron Woodley. I’m gonna’ finish Demian Maia. I’m gonna dominate, dismantle Demian Maia. The different between me and Tyron Woodley is that Tyron Woodley fights nervous, he fights scared. He doesn’t wanna get tired, so the thing with Tyron Woodley is the he doesn’t know how to push the pace, he doesn’t have cardio. He doesn’t have heart. He has a heart, but he doesn’t have heart. There’s a difference.”

Justin Golightly - October 28, 2017

Michael Bisping has said everything he can in the lead up to UFC 217 to tear down Georges St-Pierre as an opponent. He’s brought up stories and controversies from many years ago, he’s poked holes in his record, and he’s accused him of using steroids. All is fair in love and war, right? Georges St-Pierre’s coach Firas Zahabi recently spoke out about Bisping’s comments and refuted them. He insists he’s drug free and just that good. “[Michael Bisping is making steroid accusations] because Georges [St-Pierre]. About 10 to 20 percent of the population is naturally ripped. Georges just happens to be one of those people. You look at him as he was growing up, he’s just naturally ripped. He’s been tested, he’s volunteered to be tested, and he’s paid out of his own pocket to be tested and for his opponent to be tested. He’s never failed one single test. Just because somebody’s lean and extremely competent in fighting doesn’t mean they’re on drugs. That’s the truth.”

Justin Golightly - October 28, 2017

Multiple weight submission grappling champion Garry Tonon has recently signed on to ONE to make his MMA debut, while the time for Dillon Danis to make his debut is drawing near. The brash young jiu jitsu black belt signed on with Bellator and is currently prepping for the steep transition. He’s not wanting to take it easy in the MMA game though, in fact he already has his eyes set on gold. Dillon Danis recently revealed details about his Bellator debut to the guys over at Submission Radio. “I think I’m gonna make my [Bellator] debut maybe January. I was planning on December before this whole surgery thing happened, but I want to focus a lot more on my hands and stuff like that. But yeah, I think I’m going to go full in now to MMA and maybe still do some jiu jitsu matches or maybe focus a little bit more on jiu jitsu and then do both. I don’t know. I’m trying to figure everything out now honestly. It’s rough, you know? […] I think 170 is going to be good for me. I was talking to [George] Lockhart about it, he was saying 170. But honestly, I feel like I can make 155, but maybe later on in my career. For now, I mean, 170 I think will be good for me. I like to eat, so I like to enjoy some food. At 170 it will be hard but it won’t be too crazy. 155 will be like super hard but I think I can get it done, but I want to start with 170 for sure.”

Justin Golightly - October 28, 2017

You may remember that Joe Duffy is a former opponent of Conor McGregor, the UFC used this fact as promotion when they first signed the Irish lightweight. Up until meeting Nate Diaz, Duffy was the last man to not only submit McGregor, but beat him in MMA. That was seven years ago back in Cage Warriors, but Duffy still can’t escape being forever entwined with McGregor. He was recently asked who the champ champ should fight next. His answer, like many others, is Tony Ferguson. “I think for the ranking’s sake, I think obviously Conor [McGregor] against [Tony] Ferguson is the right match. It kind of legitimizes the rankings again. I believe that’s probably the right match at the minute. It will stabilize the division again and at least we’ll have a pecking order again so you know where you stand and what you need to do to get to the top of the pecking order.”

Justin Golightly - October 28, 2017

While we’ve been waiting along with Khabib Nurmagomedov on the sidelines for an announcement, we got our wish yesterday. A fight with Edson Barboza was made official to fight at UFC 219. This is a time for celebration, but fans and media can’t help but have painful flashbacks to the fights Nurmagomedov has had to pull out of. For most of 2016, we were hyped Tony Ferguson would fight Khabib, but it never materialized. Barboza isn’t worried about all that though, he’s just happy to finally fight one of the best in the world. “Khabib [Nurmagomedov] is a great fighter. He’s a true fighter. I knew if this contract comes on his head, he’s signing. This is an opportunity to have the two best lightweights in the world fighting. He definitely want the best and is one of the best and it makes me very excited for this fight. Definitely not [worried about Nurmagomedov not showing up]. I know Injuries happen all the time. I never fight 100% in my body in my life. Always every fighter have some injuries. Maybe I can get hurt in my camp. This happens to everybody and I’m not scared about this. […] He train so hard. I think for sure he train very hard. Sometimes it happens. I can’t do nothing. If you don’t train, you not get hurt. But me I train hard all the time, he trains hard all the time. I hope it doesn’t happen with me and him.”

Russell Ess - October 27, 2017

Joe Rogan has a ton of fans with his wealth of knowledge not just in mixed martial arts but in life in general. The comedian and UFC commentator has built a huge following on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast that covers a wide variety of topics and guests that stretch far beyond combat sports. Here, we get a glimpse at the humorous side of Rogan and his buddies and fellow comedians Bert Kreischer, Ari Shaffir, and Tom Segura.

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

It was on an episode of The MMA Hour earlier this month, that Edson Barboza confirmed that he was offered a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The lightweight contender said he had not agreed or was even offered the fight, but there was clear some things were going on due to posts on Nurmagomedov and Barboza’s social media a few days before the show. Today the rumors and talk were put to rest, as the UFC confirmed that Barboza will fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 219 on December 30th. Khabib on Insta has said his next fight will be Dec 30@SecretMovesMMA saw Barboza delete a tweet about a Dec bout

Russell Ess - October 27, 2017

It has been over one year since Phil Brooks, better known as CM Punk made his Octagon debut. It wasn’t the outcome Punk or his coach Duke Roufus was hoping for, but it did serve as experience as the former WWE star’s first professional MMA fight. Now, a little over a year since his debut and with more training under his belt, there are talks of Brooks getting his second UFC fight, according to Roufus.

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

Last year, Derek Brunson squared off with hard-hitting Aussie Robert Whittaker and it didn’t exactly go his way. He came out like a man possessed, desperately wanting to get his fifth knockout in a row and the title shot that would come with it. Instead, he got his lights turned off by Robert Whittaker and the rest is history. Now Whittaker has an interim middleweight belt and will be waiting to unify against either Michael Bisping or Georges St-Pierre. It’s a loss that still haunts Brunson, who still believes he has what it takes to get the W against the interim champ. “I like to be aggressive, I like to finish fights. But I’ve been doing a better job of finding that balance. I’m a very smart guy also, when it comes to learning how to be more strategic and not pretty much destroy your hand in one fight. I think the one fight that cost me the most was the [Robert] Whittaker fight when I was super aggressive, but you look at that fight, I had him rocked the whole time. I’m sure he knows I could put him away also, but you don’t want to put yourself in those fifty-fifty positions. Let your skills be on show. I still wanna keep my aggressive ways and let mu skills be on display.”

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

Everyone doubted Darren Till but himself and his coaches, now he’s put his detractors and the entire welterweight division on notice. He’s skyrocketed in the rankings and has his eyes on potential fights with Mike Perry and Stephen Thompson, but it doesn’t stop there. Darren Till may eventually be destined for a jump all the way to light heavyweight. We’d never call his bluff after his performance against Donald Cerrone, but joking or not, Till is a big welterweight. “I don’t really know how to take the welterweight division at the moment, mate. I’m half considering going to light heavyweight because the welterweight division — they are just all, they’re just too easy. I don’t know, mate. […] I was just telling [Mike Perry at UFC Gdansk] that he’s a little tiny lightweight and to get back to his own division. Stop trying to mess with these light heavyweights. Back and forth, innit? I love causing mayhem. I love having beef with everyone.”

Russell Ess - October 27, 2017

The Emelianenko brothers seem to be quite the opposites and it shows with their current relationship. According to Alexander who spoke with sovsport.ru recently, the two MMA siblings have not spoken to each other in the last 10 years. The tattooed Alexander recently made a return to MMA competition in September following an 18-month prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault. After a successful return to MMA, Alexander opened up on his relationship with his older brother.

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

Just yesterday, there was a report of Georges St-Pierre saying that the UFC’s new early weigh-in policy is having the opposite affect of its original intentions. He even went on to say that it was the ‘worst thing they could do.’ Well, you know what they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Just this morning, Deiveson Figueiredo seemed to be going through an absolutely brutal cut. This was evident as he started weeping throughout the entire procedure.  How difficult is the fight before the fight? Deiveson Figueiredo made it painfully evident.

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

It may be new information to some people about just how big of the man Georges St-Pierre was back in the day. There are tons of new UFC fans and more are drawn every day due to the sport’s rapid growth throughout the years. From 2008 to 2013, the UFC’s welterweight division was St-Pierre’s. He ruled over it with a machine gun jab, a battering ram of a Superman punch, and suffocating wrestling. He beat all comers, but Michael Bisping thinks us old fans are looking back at his record with rose-colored glasses.     “[Georges St-Pierre]’s fought a lot of the same people over that period. He’s fought them multiple times. And if you go through the opponents. I mean, BJ Penn, who he fought twice or three times, he’s a featherweight, right? Johny Hendricks, I mean look at Johny Hendricks these days. But still, Nick Diaz is a welterweight. Carlos Condit, oh, that’s a good win. Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy, Thiago Alves — lightweight. BJ Penn — featherweight. Matt Serra — lightweight. These are all smaller guys.”

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

Back at UFC 210 in New York, Gegard Mousasi stopped Chris Weidman with a vicious knee and won the fight. Of course, some didn’t see it that way. Internet fans, media and even officials disagreed on if Mousasi’s controversial strike was legal or not. What complicated matters, was that instant replay was not legal to better determine what actually went down so referee Herb Dean was only able to go on what he saw initially. This new policy by the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) looks to change that, by allowing for instant replay for MMA. “This policy sets forth a process for the use of instant replay at ringside, adding clarity, transparency and predictability. Providing clarity to the MMA community through adoption of a written process was the right thing to do, and we are glad to have the policy on the books.” – An NYSAC spokesperson speaking to Newsday.

Justin Golightly - October 27, 2017

Max Holloway came back like a man possessed after losing a decision to Conor McGregor early in his career. He hasn’t lost since. Holloway miraculously knocked off each and every contender that the UFC put in front of him, until he was no longer denied a shot at a belt. Now that he’s dethroned the former featherweight king Jose Aldo, he can reap the benefits of being a UFC champion. With his newfound fame and cash flow, he decided to bless his mom with a new truck. Via @Procast: That feeling when moms gets emotional when you “bless” her with a gift… 😭😭😭