MMA News

bjpenndotcom - July 26, 2017

The 50 Cent vs. Conor McGregor war of words continues! Several weeks ago, Conor McGregor made headlines during the New York stop of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor world tour when he took the mic and boldly proclaimed:

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2017

Late last weekend, we learned that undefeated lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov had turned down a UFC 216 bout with Tony Ferguson – which, of course, was supposed to occur back at UFC 209 in March. Speaking to RT.com, Nurmagomedov explained that the October 7 card wouldn’t work for him, and that he was instead hoping to fight Ferguson at UFC 217 on November 4. “That’s the date I asked UFC for,” he said. “First they offered me a fight on October 7, but I couldn’t accept it. I want to prepare well and I don’t want to put my body at risk. I don’t want to make the same mistake and push my body. I had to take care of my health, something I’ve been doing in the last four months. And now I need at least 100 days of hard work to get back in fighting shape.”

bjpenndotcom - July 26, 2017

Recently, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor made headlines ahead of his highly anticipated showdown with Floyd Mayweather on August 26th when footage of the champ sporting a throwback Golden State Warriors jersey surfaced on the internet. In the footage McGregor can be seen wearing and old-school style #23 Warriors jersey, which was once worn by NBA veteran Jason Richardson. Richardson played in the NBA from 2001-2015, and racked up two NBA dunk contest wins during his professional career. Given Richardson’s renowned status in the NBA, it didn’t seem that unlikely that McGregor was sporting his jersey, despite the champ admittedly not being much of a basketball fan.

bjpenndotcom - July 26, 2017

This past weekend, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman picked up a much needed win as he defeated Kelvin Gastelum via submission to snap a 3-fight skid that saw ‘The All American’ go winless for two years. Following the win, Weidman called for a fight with middleweight champion Michael Bisping in his post-fight Octagon interview. He then called out the champ on social media in the days following the fight, mocking Bisping for having a crossed eye, an injury sustained during a fight. Bisping shot back, understandably mad that a fight injury was the root of Weidman’s insult.

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2017

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones don’t like each other. That’s as clear today, when we’re days out from their blockbuster UFC 214 rematch, as it has been for the last three years. The two rivals are constantly berating each other in interviews and on social media, and they’re poised to take it out on each other in the cage this weekend. Surprisingly, however, the two rivals can conjure up some compliments about one another when pressed. In a recent segment called “Fighting Words” with Fox Sports, Jones and Cormier did just that.

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2017

UFC light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier and former champ Jon Jones share arguably the fiercest rivalry in MMA. Their rivalry began in the buildup to their first fight, which occurred back in January of 2015. On that night, Jones picked up a unanimous decision win, moving to 1-0 in his beef with Cormier. “The first time he beat me, it was in the most important moments, in the fourth and fifth rounds,” Cormier told UFC.com of that first loss to Jones. “The fourth round was his most dominant round, and in the fifth round, he pretty much won on control, holding me and pushing me against the fence.”

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2017

Last year, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was pencilled in for a comeback fight opposite reigning champ and heated rival Daniel Cormier. Jones’ big-ticket comeback was expected to occur in the main event of UFC 200, which served as the crescendo of 2016’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas. Regrettably, Jones failed a drug test in the lead-up to this event, which meant that his main event battle with Cormier was scrapped at the last minute. In the wake of this biblical disaster, UFC President Dana White assured he would never trust Jon Jones to headlined a UFC card again.

Tom Taylor - July 26, 2017

Earlier this week, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones generated headlines by expressing interest in a hypothetical showdown with former heavyweight champion and current WWE star Brock Lesnar. “I would love to fight Brock Lesnar,” Jones during a live Facebook Q&A in the buildup to his Saturday night showdown with reigning light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier. “He’s a massive dude, it would be a massive draw. Really big for the sport. It would be a great challenge. That’s a big, old boy. I doubt Brock Lesnar would take that fight, though.”

bjpenndotcom - July 25, 2017

On August 26th, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and undefeated prizefighter Floyd Mayweather will meet in the Octagon for a highly anticipated showdown which will see Conor McGregor look to hand Mayweather his first professional loss. Ahead of the fight, fans have expressed concern with the possibility of judges being biased in regards to their judging for the fight given that Mayweather is a boxer, and McGregor is of course a UFC fighter.

bjpenndotcom - July 25, 2017

Ahead of their highly anticipated showdown this Saturday at UFC 214, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones isn’t holding back when it comes to the mental warfare. With less than a week to go until the fight, Jones had his barber momentarily cut his hair to resemble the receding hairline of UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier for his Instagram Live session.

Russell Ess - July 25, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is set to defend his title this weekend at UFC 214 against Demian Maia. Maia has proved to be a top welterweight contender after dropping down from the middleweight division and is on a seven-fight winning streak dating back to 2014 and will get his second chance at getting UFC gold. Woodley is concentrating on his opponent but was asked on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour about former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and his long awaited return to the Octagon. Initially, St-Pierre was scheduled to face Michael Bisping for the middleweight title. However, a delay in St-Pierre’s schedule dealing with an eye injury scrapped the middleweight title matchup and UFC President Dana White insisted that “Rush” will fight for the welterweight title when he is ready to compete again.

Russell Ess - July 25, 2017

A Chinese MMA club has sparked controversy after a video featuring the club hit the Internet. The South Morning China Post reports that police in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, have started an investigation after a video featuring two young teens fighting in a cage went viral on the Internet.

Russell Ess - July 25, 2017

Many coming from the world of boxing are not giving UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor much, or any chance at all against undefeated boxing great, Floyd Mayweather. Mike Tyson has stated that McGregor is going to get “killed” against Mayweather in the boxing ring. Boxing analyst Max Kellerman went as far as to say that “The Notorious” won’t land a single punch on Mayweather during the course of their mega-money match.

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2017

UFC 216, which is schedule for October 7 inside Las Vegas, Nevada’s T-Mobile Arena, is reported to have grown by one interesting lightweight matchup. This matchup will pit former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks against Nik Lentz. This news comes from MMAJunkie.com. Though Brooks stood out as one of the finest lightweights in the world at the height of his Bellator reign, his UFC career has been undeniably disappointing. After debuting with a fairly competitive decision win over Ross Pearson, he was pummelled into unconsciousness by third-round punches dealt by an overweight Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. From there, things went from bad to worse, as he was tapped out by a standing rear-naked choke from former featherweight contender Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira. Despite his recent skid, it appears Brooks will be given an another shot against Lentz.

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2017

Earlier this year – to the distaste of seemingly everyone – former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was pencilled in for a middleweight title shot against champ Michael Bisping, jumping a crowded line of established middleweight contenders in the process. This news generated a tidal wave of controversy and debate, but was ultimately rendered irrelevant, as St-Pierre, Bisping, and the UFC, couldn’t seem to agree on a date for the fight, and the UFC axed the plan altogether. The promotion then went ahead with a Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero interim middleweight title fight, which went down earlier this month in the main event of UFC 213. When Whittaker won this fight by decision, he was expected to be the next man to challenge Bisping, and normalcy seemed to be returning to the division. Unfortunately, news then surfaced that Whittaker will be sidelined with injuries until 2018, which once again opened the door for discussions of a St-Pierre vs. Bisping fight…

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2017

It has now been almost two months since top strawweight contender Claudia Gadelha’s last fight: a first-round submission of another top-ranked fighter in Karolina Kowalkiewicz back at UFC 212. Apparently, she’s getting eager to get back in there. On Monday, Gadelha took to Instagram to call out a fellow Brazilian contender in Jessica Andrade, who recently came up short in a bid to capture Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s well-guarded strawweight title.

bjpenndotcom - July 25, 2017

SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh is widely credited as being a driving force in Irish superstar Conor McGregor‘s journey to the top of the fight game. Kavanagh, who has served as McGregor’s head coach since before McGregor’s UFC run, recently took to social media to reflect on his own journey as a coach: 22yrs ago I was hiring UFC 1 from a local video store. I had no idea what to expect but was hooked immediately. Today I was in the UFC’s new $15million dollar performance institute watching Boxing Hall of Famer Joe Cortez call my fighter into the middle of their boxing ring. A ring which has his own promotional logo on it beside the famous UFC logo, the first time a fighter has ever achieved this. While he gave instructions during another fight simulation preparing for the biggest fight of all time I couldn't help but think this is kinda strange. Thank you @ginger_beard_photos for pic.

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2017

On June 25, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. In the main event, Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa went to war in a compelling clash of lightweight contenders. Unfortunately this main event was shrouded in controversy, as Lee locked up a first-round rear-naked choke, but referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the action before Chiesa actually tapped. Since then, Yamasaki has defended his stoppage, while the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission (OSAC) has denied Chiesa’s appeal. Despite this, Chiesa still feels he was shorted, and is harboring quite a bit of resentment against Yamasaki. On Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour, the lightweight even challenged the referee to a September 30 grappling match.