MMA News

Russell Ess - August 3, 2017

The UFC rankings have been updated following UFC 214 and Jon Jones is once again the #1 pound-for-pound king after reclaiming the UFC light heavyweight title from Daniel Cormier in their main event fight. Jones finished Cormier in the third round by KO. Cris Cyborg also won UFC gold in her first UFC title fight for the vacant women’s featherweight title beating Tonya Evinger in the third round by TKO. Cyborg also made her way on to the pound-for-pound rankings coming in at #13 and will look to climb those ranks as the women’s featherweight division comes evolves.

Russell Ess - August 3, 2017

Now that the UFC middleweight title fight between Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre is back on the radar, odds makers have released the opening betting lines for the highly anticipated return of the former UFC welterweight champion. Bovada opened up the betting lines between Bisping and St-Pierre with St-Pierre coming out as the favorite after nearly four years away from competition.

Russell Ess - August 3, 2017

There is no doubt that Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will make a ton of money from their superfight scheduled to take place on August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White had estimated prior to the fight being officially announced that Mayweather would make north of $100 million for his role in the mega-million dollar match while McGregor would make $75 million. This is all depending on how the fight ends up selling as pay-per-view points will surely play a big role on how much money gets spread around to all the players involved in the fight.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

On September 16, when the UFC touches down in Pittsburgh, PA, ever entertaining welterweight “Platinum” Mike Perry will step onto the canvas with former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves. Alves, of course, has long stood out as one of the welterweight division’s most exciting – and dangerous  – fighters. The one knock against the Brazilian star, however, is that he’s had some real difficulty making weight in the past. To recount, Alves has missed weight for welterweight fights with Matt Hughes and Jon Fitch, and for his lone attempt at making lightweight, when he tipped the scales at 162 pounds rather than the mandated 155. And while he seemed to have his weight under control for his last fight – an exciting decision defeat of Patrick Cote – there seems to be an ever-present possibility that he misses again.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

On September 16, all-action welterweight “Platinum” Mike Perry will step into the Octagon with former title challenger Thiago Alves. While Perry has endured pretty difficult weight cuts in the past, he expects his cut for this battle with Alves to be quite easy. This is in part due to intense training and clean eating, but also due to a wild accident wherein Perry swallowed a piece of metal and got violently ill. The fan favorite welterweight shared this story on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio:

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

On September 16, when the UFC touches down in Pittsburgh, PA, rising welterweight slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry will look to take another big step up the ranks with a win over former title challenger Thiago Alves. Perry discussed the matchup on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, telling host Kinch that he grew up watching Alves, but has no problem beating him up. In fact, he believes nobody has ever decisively defeated Alves, and hopes to be the first man to do so.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

Last Saturday, in the first fight of the stacked UFC 214 main card, rapidly rising light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir picked up yet another thunderous first-round knockout win, this time over one of the division’s top dogs in Jimi Manuwa. With this win, Oezdemir solidified his status as one of the top light heavyweight contenders, and one of the most deserving men of a crack at the new champ, Jon Jones. Unfortunately for Oezdemir, there are a number of high-profile opponents on Jones’ menu at present. The biggest name of the bunch is former heavyweight champ and WWE star Brock Lesnar, though Alexander Gustafsson and the recently retired Anthony “Rumble” Johnson would also seem to be options.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

After two previously scheduled bouts fell through, Donald Cerrone and Robbie Lawler finally went to war last weekend. Just like we all hoped, the fight was a very fun one, with both men enjoying moments of success. In the end, however, Lawler walked away the winner, picking up a somewhat controversial decision win. Unfortunately, it came to light after this action-packed fight that “Cowboy” Cerrone had sustained an eye-injury during the contest, and that he could be sidelined for something north of 180 days.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

It has now been more than a year since Cain Velasquez’s last fight, a July 2016 mauling of the ever-dangerous Travis Browne. This, of course, is not for lack of trying. The former heavyweight champ was briefly scheduled for a December rematch with Fabricio Werdum, but unfortunately withdrew from this fight with the latest in the long string of injuries that has marred his recent career. For a time, it sounded as though it could be awhile before the oft-injured Velasquez stepped back into the cage. Apparently, however, he might be back in action quite soon.

Tom Taylor - August 3, 2017

Last weekend, in the co-main event of the blockbuster UFC 214, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley defended his title with a decision defeat of grappling whiz Demian Maia. Unfortunately, this win was not especially thrilling, and it generated some backlash from the MMA community – including UFC President Dana White. Having heard White’s criticisms, Woodley went off on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, threatening to leak sensitive information about the UFC and its president if he didn’t receive a public apology. Luckily, things seem to have cooled off, as Woodley and White have managed to squash their beef.

Jason Kindschy - August 2, 2017

BJPENN.COM Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more awesome guests for your MMA fix! 8:15PM ET- First up, arguably the biggest winner from UFC 214 over the weekend, Volkan “No Time” Oezdemir. After dispatching the very dangerous Jimi Manuwa in less than a minute, Volkan is calling for a crack at the Jon Jones or a title eliminator against Alexander Gustafson. We’ll recap the huge win, get his take on the triumphant return of Jon Jones, and discuss what his next move will be as he continues blazing a trail towards the light-heavyweight crown.

Russell Ess - August 2, 2017

It’s now clear that Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi are not in training camp together to build any friendship. In fact, Malignaggi said just that while recently speaking on the Dan Patrick Show with talks of their first sparring session that sounded like it was more of an actual fight than a training session.

Russell Ess - August 2, 2017

Floyd Mayweather made headlines on Tuesday when he posted a challenge to Conor McGregor on social media offering to fight with 8-ounce gloves instead of the 10-ounce gloves that are in their contracted rules. “Don’t believe what you hear in the media. Don’t believe what you hear on blog sites. If it’s not coming directly from me, then it’s not true,” Mayweather said in his post. “I’m telling McGregor, “Let’s fight in 8 oz gloves”. McGregor can fight in any brand he prefers or chooses. I’ll be wearing 8 oz Grant gloves. Whatever advantage McGregor needs to feel more comfortable in the ring, I’m willing to accommodate. Let’s give the boxing and MMA fans what they want to see.”

Russell Ess - August 2, 2017

There has been a lot of buzz on the sparring that took place between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and former world champion boxer Paulie Malignaggi, even though it has only been one sparring session. The two got into the ring as part of McGregor’s camp for his August 26 mega-million dollar boxing match against undefeated great Floyd Mayweather.

Tom Taylor - August 2, 2017

Last Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 214, Tyron Woodley made a third defense of the UFC welterweight title with a decision defeat of Demian Maia. Unfortunately, Woodley suffered a torn labrum in the bout, which is likely to keep him on the sidelines for at least five months. Though Woodley is likely to be out of action for the latter half of 2017, he has already begun considering the possibilities for his next title defense. Speaking to BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, the champ explained that there is not exactly a clear welterweight contender out there at the moment. He also ran through some potential welterweight matchups that might produce a clear-cut contender.

Tom Taylor - August 2, 2017

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley (18-3-1) successfully defended his title this past weekend in Anaheim, scoring a unanimous decision victory over top contender Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC 214. “The Chosen One” was able to stuff all 21 of Demian Maia’s takedown attempts, and left the Brazilian submission specialist with two badly swollen eyes. Shortly following the UFC 214 event, Tyron Woodley revealed that he had suffered a torn labrum during the opening five minutes of his bout with Maia. On Wednesday, “T-Wood” spoke to BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor about his five-round fight with Maia at UFC 214 and how the shoulder injury affected his performance:

Tom Taylor - August 2, 2017

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and transcendent MMA superstar Ronda Rousey has not been seen in action since she was bludgeoned to a first-round TKO loss by reigning champ Amanda Nunes in December. This layoff was preceded by an even longer one, as the former champ spent more than a year on the shelf after her next most recent fight, a shocking, head-kick knockout loss to Holly Holm. While we have seen Rousey return from long layoffs before, it seems unlikely that she’ll return from this latest hiatus. Speaking to ESPN on Monday, UFC President Dana White assured that Rousey is probably done fighting.

Tom Taylor - August 2, 2017

Though he is no longer the UFC superstar he once was, Chael Sonnen has carved out some real success under the Bellator MMA banner. His first fight, of course, was a disappointing loss to the retiring legend Tito Ortiz. In his next fight, however, he rebounded with a dominant decision win over long-time rival and bona fide MMA legend Wanderlei Silva. From the sounds of it, Sonnen’s habit of battling aging legends is likely to continue. In a recent interview with FloCombat.com, the three-time UFC title challenger suggested that his next fight is likely to pit him against former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.