MMA News

Justin Golightly - August 17, 2017

It’s time for a quick survey: Are you caught up on Japanese pro wrestling? Do you like to spend your days covered in grease, tinkering with badass American muscle cars? On a Friday night, are you more likely to be drinking from a goblet and playing Magic the Gathering than out at a club? Have you ever powerbombed someone? If you asked yes to any of the above questions, you came to the right place. If you answered yes to all of these questions, you’re probably Josh Barnett. Former UFC champion and battle-proven Warmaster, Barnett is a notorious metal head. When he’s not running commentary for New Japan Pro Wrestling or doing a million other things, you could see him at your favorite band’s show sacrificing people off the stage to the writhing mosh pit below. Thanks to the wonders of technology, Barnett has painstakingly put together “The World’s Most Metal Playlist” on Spotify and made it public.

Tom Taylor - August 17, 2017

Pretty much very everybody has a prediction for the upcoming boxing mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. That includes pop sensation Justin Bieber. Bieber made his prediction during a recent chat with TMZ, explaining that while he is “team Mayweather”, he doesn’t expect the undefeated pugilist to win by knockout.

Justin Golightly - August 17, 2017

The UFC did everything they could to stop Max Holloway. People have fought less talent and received a title shot, but Holloway was never that lucky. Whether it was just the draw of the cards, or the UFC stalling to see how the featherweight division lives without Conor McGregor, they put opponent after opponent in front of the young Hawaiian until he took them all out. After a long journey to the very top of the challenge tower, it’s finally the Blessed Era. He has more victories on his record than former champ Jose Aldo has fights in the UFC. Now, since Conor McGregor opened his mouth on yesterday’s May/Mac conference call, Holloway would like to set one of his losses right. I guess with #WinOrLearn a “loss” is the new “dismantle” #2015champ @TheNotoriousMMA pic.twitter.com/TxxQm2FWKa

Tom Taylor - August 17, 2017

Last night, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor appeared on the Conan O’Brien show to discuss his August 26 boxing match with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather. As always, McGregor was pure confidence and bravado. “I said [I’d win inside] four [rounds], but that’s me being humble,” the champ told Conan O’Brien (h/t MMAFighting.com). “I don’t believe he will even exit the first round, but I’m trying to be humble on national TV. So I say four — inside four.”

Tom Taylor - August 17, 2017

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who also contended for the title at middleweight, has not been seen in the cage since June of 2015, when he was smashed to a third-round TKO by the ever-dangerous Yoel Romero. The reason for the former champ’s prolonged absence is an unfortunate USADA-administered suspension stemming from his admitted but inadvertent use of the banned substance 7-Keto-DHEA. Luckily, Machida’s 18-month sit has almost reached its expiration date, and as such, his return is reportedly in the works. According to a report from Combate, a bout between Machida and fellow middleweight contender Derek Brunson is in the works for an October 28 Fight Night card in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The report also says that, if signed, the fight would serve as the main event.

Tom Taylor - August 17, 2017

It’s official. UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will attempt the very first defense of his bantamweight title at UFC 217, this November 4 in New York City, New York. His opponent will be his arch rival, former champion TJ DIllashaw. Though this bout has long been expected to occur at this November card, which goes down inside Madison Square Garden, it was only just set in stone by the UFC. The promotion announced the fight on UFC Tonight, then on social media. It’s finally coming down!!! @Cody_NoLove vs @TJDillashaw at #UFC217 🎟🎟 Sept. 15

Chris Taylor - August 16, 2017

Former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva will throw down with perennial division contender Kelvin Gastelum on November 25 in Shanghai, China. Kelvin Gastelum just took to Instagram where he announced the fight as official.

Chris Taylor - August 16, 2017

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez will return to welterweight on November 11 when he meets “The Immortal” Matt Brown at UFC Fight Night 120 in Norfolk, Virginia. UFC officials just announced the scrap.

Russell Ess - August 16, 2017

Picture this: The richest fight in combat sports history ending in the most shocking way possible with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor knocking Floyd Mayweather out in their boxing match with an illegal head kick. It would be one of the wildest outcomes to the fight that would surely break the Internet and be a moment never to be forgotten in the history of sports.

Jason Kindschy - August 16, 2017

BJPENN Radio is back tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more of what you crave! 8:15PM ET- Kicking off the show tonight we are joined by 9th ranked light-heavyweight, Misha Cirkunov. Following the announcement that Misha will be facing off against Glover Texeira at UFC Fight Night 119 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, we’ll be previewing the matchup with Misha and getting his thoughts on Glover as an opponent. As both men focus on getting back in the win column and back to potential contender status, we’ll hear from Misha on the importance of this fight and what a big win could do for his career.

Justin Golightly - August 16, 2017

Last week, Dan Hardy got brought into the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fray and he quickly proved his worth breaking down the glove issue. The former UFC welterweight title challenger is back this week, analyzing the vast difference between the type of stance each fighter is going to come out with. We all know how uncanny Mayweather is, but is McGregor’s wide, Karate stance something that could actually frustrate Floyd? It seems silly, but Hardy doubles down that it can. For all the talk of reach/unorthodox, @danhardymma is alone is pointing this out 👇🏻 Full column here https://t.co/LqTEWmlRqd pic.twitter.com/3y5tdGJ620

Russell Ess - August 16, 2017

News erupted on Tuesday when UFC President Dana White announced that Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee will be fighting for the UFC interim lightweight title at UFC 216. Many were wondering what happened to the #1 UFC ranked lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov. White addressed the question regarding “The Eagle” when he revealed the fight between Ferguson and Lee and said that Nurmagomedov simply isn’t ready to return to competition yet.

Russell Ess - August 16, 2017

If the beef wasn’t enough between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi, bring in Dana White. White was the one to release a couple short clips of McGregor and Malignaggi’s second sparring match, which included the highly debated knockdown/push down. To follow things up after White posted the clips to his social media, the UFC President went on to say that Malignaggi left the camp “for his health because it was a 12-round, straight ass-whooping.”

Justin Golightly - August 16, 2017

While a constant double-edged sword, the internet is a wonderful tool. Since the announcement of Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather, the gears have been turning and steam blowing out of everyone’s hard drives. You could waste an entire year of your life perusing through all the hot takes involving this freak show boxing bout. Anyone can waste their time debating a faceless avatar on Twitter on the nuances of upcoming fight, but some put their time to good use. An R/MMA user on Reddit named Trap_City_Bitch analyzed the stats through the last 10 of Mayweather’s fights, resulting in some simply intimidating numbers.

Justin Golightly - August 16, 2017

The mission has been accomplished. Floyd Mayweather played the system to get the gloves changed to a smaller size to push the betting lines, since he’s betting on himself. Conor McGregor gets the 8oz gloves to push the lore of his mystical and mutant power. All parties are happy, even McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh. In a statement released to The Mac Life, McGregor celebrates the change as his coach takes to Twitter with an excellent GIF choice. pic.twitter.com/l1TUV175Sm

Justin Golightly - August 16, 2017

As the spectacle of Conor McGregor boxing Floyd Mayweather draws near, the media parade heats up. Mayweather is fresh from his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live to talk about the fight and said some interesting things. Despite talks of the fight not selling as well as people thought, Mayweather says it’s on track to beat the numbers his fight with Manny Pacquiao generated. As far as McGregor, Mayweather is so confident he will win that he guaranteed Kimmel he would pay back his bet if he lost. It will be interesting to see where the lines shift with the announcement of their fight’s glove change. “Whatever you bet [on me], and if you don’t win, I’l give it back to you. You’ve got my word.”

Tom Taylor - August 16, 2017

The contracted weight for Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor‘s August 26 boxing match is 154 pounds. That said, neither man is likely to weigh exactly that much on fight night. Instead, McGregor is sure to be a little over, while Mayweather should tip the scales slightly below the fight’s 154-pound cap. The expected fight weights of both athletes were revealed by their representatives during Wednesday afternoon’s NAC meeting, during which the fight’s referee and judges were announced, and the long-awaited decision on glove size was also made.

Justin Golightly - August 16, 2017

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor is a circus show with many rides and many moving pieces. The latest merry-go-round is the contested glove size. Originally, the glove size was set at 10oz because all boxing bouts contested at 154lbs wear that size. Floyd Mayweather, whose last six fights were fought wearing the smaller gloves, brought up the exception to box McGregor with 8 gloves on social media. There was a long debate on every aspect of the glove change. However, in the end the rules or previous boxing history didn’t matter. The commissioner of the NAC, even though he was pissed off about feeling this was the center of a ploy to garner sales, finally decided he would allow a one-time use of 8oz gloves. Marnell: I do not like the NSAC being used as a pawn in a social media battle. It pisses me off.