MMA News

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A heavyweight scrap between Chase Sherman and Damian Grabowski kicked off tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 televised prelims from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Grabowski misses with a left hook and Chase replies with a nice right hand. Sherman with a quick combination. He looks much faster than Grabowski early on here. Sherman with a nice kick to the body. Grabowski looks to shoot in for a takedown but it is not there. Sherman lands a nice low kick. He presses forward but eats a left hand from Damian. Grabowski scores with a right hand over the top. Sherman responds with a nice knee inside. Grabowski appears to be ok. Sherman presses forward and lands a leg kick. Grabowski lands a right hand over the top but Sherman replies with a nice combination. He continues to press forward and scores with a nice hook to the body. Grabowski lands a good right hand over the top. Chase replies with a hard low kick. Another right hand from Damian. Still, Chase presses forward. He lands a low kick followed by a combination. He throws a high kick. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A featherweight scrap between Kyle Bochniak and Jeremy Kennedy served as the featured bout of tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 fight pass prelims from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Bochniak throws a wild hook. Kennedy ducks under the strike and scores a takedown. Kennedy begins working from full guard. Kennedy with some decent shots from the top now. He works in an elbow. Bochniak tries to scramble but Kennedy won’t let him. More shots from the top by Kennedy. Bochniak scrambles and this time is able to get back up to his feet. After a brief battle along the cage the fighters break. Kyle misses with a hook. Jeremy connects with a pair of knees and then shoots in and scores another takedown. Round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A bantamweight scrap between Marlon Vera and Brain Kelleher served as the fourth fight of tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 card from Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Vera lands a front kick to the body to start. Kelleher presses forward and lands a pair of low kicks. Vera with a low kick and then Brian replies with a kick to the body. Kelleher shoots in for a takedown but Vera is able to sprawl and defend the shot. They break and Kelleher lands a nice shots to the body. Once again Brian shoots in for a takedown. Vera looks to lock in a kimura. Brian continues to press for the takedown. Vera cranks on the kimura attempt. Kelleher drops to the ground and as he does Vera transitions to an armbar that forces the New Yorker to tapout. What a submission from Vera.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A heavyweight scrap between Junior Albini and Tim Johnson served as the third fight of tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 event on Long Island, New York. Round one begins and Johnson charges forward with punches in bunches. Albini circles off the fence and regroups. Albini with a nice kick to the body and then another. Johnson once again charges forward and presses Albini against the cage. He begins working some knees inside. Albini tries to break free but Johnson stays on him. More knees from Tim. Junior returns fire with some of his own. The fighters break and Johnson misses with an attempted uppercut. Albini with a nice right hand and then an uppercut. He throws a kick to the body of Johnson that lands. Another left hook finds a home from Albini. He follows that up with another left hook and then a straight right hand that floors Johnson. He lands a couple of hammer fists and this one is all over! What a debut for Albini.

Chris Taylor - July 22, 2017

A lightweight scrap between Frankie Perez and Chris Wade kicked off tonight’s UFC on FOX 25 event in Long Island, New York. Round one begins and both men, Perez and Wade, trade body kicks early. Wade is applying a lot of forward pressure here. Chris shoots in for a takedown and presses Perez up against the cage. Wade continues to attempt a double leg takedown while trying to transition on to Perez’s back. Wade gets the takedown. He begins working some short shots. Perez scrambles and gets back up to his feet. Wade immediately drags Frankie back down to the floor. Perez again scrambles and is able to get back up. He presses Wade against the cage now and begins searching for a takedown attempt of his own. He gets it after scoring a trip. Frankie working some shots from top position now. Wade is able to scramble and get back up to his feet. He scores a throw and winds up on top. The horn sounds to end round one.

bjpenndotcom - July 22, 2017

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has now been absent from the Octagon for over a year. In his last Octagon appearance, Rockhold looked to defend his middleweight title against his longtime rival Michael Bisping, who stepped in to fight Rockhold on short notice after Chris Weidman was forced out of his rematch with Rockhold due to injury. When Bisping and Rockhold stepped into the Octagon together at UFC 199, Bisping managed to avenge his previous loss to Rockhold as he picked up a 1st round KO win to claim the middleweight title. Following the fight, Rockhold was slated to fight Jacare Souza in November in Melbourne, however Rockhold was forced out of the fight due to an injury, and has yet to be scheduled to fight again.

bjpenndotcom - July 22, 2017

During the first stop of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor world tour in Los Angeles, the UFC lightweight champion made headlines for his bold suit, which was tailor made to repeatedly say “fuck you” in pinstripe form. The suit caught the attention of fans and media members, and even resulted in one Conor McGregor superfan getting a tattoo inspired by the suit:

bjpenndotcom - July 22, 2017

Prior to the August 26th scrap between Floyd Mayweather & Conor McGregor being finalized, the UFC lightweight champ and two-time boxing champion Paul Malignaggi both engaged in some heated trash talk. After the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight was finalized however, Conor McGregor and his team reached out to Malignaggi to join Team McGregor and help the UFC champ prepare for what many believe is a nearly impossible task. Following the Mayweather-McGregor world tour, Malignaggi joined Team McGregor, and was seen in a pic sparring with McGregor this week.

bjpenndotcom - July 22, 2017

On the heels of his massive submission win over Michael Chiesa earlier this month, Kevin Lee was offered a position coaching on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Eddie Alvarez. While Lee apparently accepted the fight in minutes, Alvarez turned the fight down. I've been asked to do TUF and accepted in 2 minutes, @Ealvarezfight turned it down. I'm just waiting on the holdup @Justin_Gaethje.

bjpenndotcom - July 21, 2017

Throughout the course of the buildup to Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather’s highly anticipated boxing match on August 26th, combat sports fans have continued to question just what would happen if Conor McGregor were to begin using MMA moves against Mayweather in the fight. While it has been made explicitly clear that if McGregor were to use MMA moves against Mayweather, that he would be sued, Joe Rogan and many other fans have stated that McGregor would go down as a legend if he were to kick Mayweather in the fight. Despite that, many know that the odds of McGregor using MMA against Mayweather are slim to none.

Russell Ess - July 21, 2017

Many believe that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has a gift with his powerful and precise striking. However, McGregor has stated that his success is simply the outcome of hard work and being obsessed with his craft. Whether it be talent or the result or hard work, there is no denying that “The Notorious” is one of the biggest stars not only in mixed martial arts but in combat sports. McGregor is set to face Floyd Mayweather in what many are expecting to set the new record for the richest fight in combat sports.

bjpenndotcom - July 21, 2017

Earlier this month, top ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker defeated Yoel Romero to claim the interim UFC middleweight title in the main event of UFC 213. The fight was a particularly impressive one for Whittaker, as he fought through a knee injury to defeat Romero via decision. While UFC President Dana White stated prior to the fight that the winner of the fight would go on to fight Michael Bisping for the undisputed title, the morning of UFC 213, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre texted both Dana White and Michael Bisping formally requesting a fight with Bisping. This built on the lengthy saga of a Bisping vs. St-Pierre fight, which ultimately saw White declare that the winner of the Whittaker-Romero fight would secure a fight with Bisping.

bjpenndotcom - July 21, 2017

Earlier this month in the main event of UFC 213, Robert Whittaker realized a dream as he defeated Yoel Romero via unanimous decision to claim the interim UFC middleweight title, and secure himself a fight with middleweight champion Michael Bisping. For Robert Whittaker, the fight was not without its share of difficulties. Early on in the fight, Whittaker appeared to hyperextend his knee, and as commentator Joe Rogan pointed out, was noticeably unsteady on the leg. Despite that, Whittaker put on an impressive display as he stuffed the Olympian’s takedowns, and continued to out-strike Romero.

Russell Ess - July 21, 2017

The estimated pay-per-view numbers for UFC 213 and Bellator NYC have been released and they are estimated to be rather low. According to Dave Meltzer’s report for MMA Fighting, UFC 213 is projected to be in the range of 125,000 to 150,000 pay-per-view buys. According to Meltzer, UFC 213 has brought in one of the lowest buy rates over the past 10 years aside from “some shows” headlined by UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.

bjpenndotcom - July 21, 2017

Prior to a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match, two-time boxing champion Paul Malignaggi made headlines as he and Conor McGregor were involved in a bitter war of words. After the Mayweather-McGregor fight was finalized, Malignaggi revealed via MMAFighting that he had actually been called upon to help McGregor prepare for the fight with Mayweather:

bjpenndotcom - July 21, 2017

Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez spend several months gearing up for his highly anticipated UFC 205 scrap with Conor McGregor in 2016. Throughout the course of several press conferences leading up to the fight, Conor McGregor and Alvarez traded scathing verbal blows. When the pair stepped into the Octagon together, it was McGregor who dominated the fight, dropping Alvarez several times en route to a 2nd round TKO win to win the UFC lightweight title. Given Alvarez’ experience in combat sports, in addition to his experience sharing the Octagon with McGregor, he recently spoke on ESPN’s 5ive Rounds podcast to discuss the Mayweather-McGregor world tour, as well as McGregor’s chances in his upcoming boxing match against Floyd Mayweather.

bjpenndotcom - July 20, 2017

Throughout the course of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor world tour, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor repeatedly referred to members of the TMT Security Team as ‘juice heads’ insinuating that the men were taking steroids. The press conference which resulted in the most notable beef between McGregor and Mayweather’s security team came during the third stop of the tour in Brooklyn, where Greg La Rosa says he offered to take a USADA test to prove to Conor McGregor that he doesn’t use steroids.

bjpenndotcom - July 20, 2017

On July 29th, Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier will meet in the Octagon at UFC 214 for one of the biggest grudge matches in the history of the UFC. That fight will serve as a rematch to one of the most highly anticipated fights in UFC history. In the pair’s first fight, Jones took a unanimous decision as he outstruck Cormier throughout the course of the 5 round title fight at UFC 182. In addition, Jones also landed several takedowns throughout the course of the fight, surprising many.