MMA News

bjpenndotcom - June 29, 2017

This week, unfortunate news surfaced that UFC veteran Donald Cerrone had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 213 scrap against former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. The news was a big blow to the MMA community, who had been anxiously awaiting the fight since UFC 205, where the fight was initially scheduled to take place. Unfortunately, when the fight was booked for UFC 205 at the end of 2016, it was Lawler who backed out of the fight, revealing that he would like to take more time off after being knocked out by Tyron Woodley at UFC 201, where Lawler lost the welterweight title.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2017

Over the last few weeks, UFC President Dana White has had some harsh criticism of flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, blasting the champ for campaigning for a fight with Ray Borg over one with TJ Dillashaw. During a recent conversation with MMAJunkie.com, White said that he has conceded defeat on the issue, and that Johnson can fight Borg if he wants. That said, the boss isn’t happy with the flyweight champ.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2017

After multiple failed cuts to the welterweight division’s 170-pound limit, former champion Johny Hendricks was sent packing to the 185-pound middleweight division. In his first fight in this new division, he followed an easy weight cut with a competitive but impressive decision win over former Bellator champ Hector Lombard. Things seemed to be looking up. Unfortunately, Johny Hendricks’ second middleweight bout, a Sunday showdown with Tim Boetsch, was much less successful. First, he missed weight for the fight. Then, he was turned off by a second-round head-kick and a swarm of uppercuts.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2017

23-year-old Mexican talent Alexa Grasso entered the year 2017 with a reputation as one of the hottest prospects in the UFC strawweight division. In her first fight of the year, however, she experienced the first setback of her pro career, as she was out-hustled by the amply more experienced Felice Herrig, and ultimately lost a unanimous decision. On August 5, when the UFC touches down in Mexico City with UFC Fight Night 114, Grasso will have the opportunity to bounce back from this first pro loss. Her opponent will be Canadian contender Randa Markos.

Chris Taylor - June 28, 2017

Georges St-Pierre’s fate has been determined Former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre (25-2 MMA) was originally slated to make his long awaited octagon return this summer in a middleweight title fight opposite current division champion Michael Bisping.

Chris Taylor - June 28, 2017

Breaking! Tyron Woodley will defend his title at UFC 214 UFC 214 has added another title fight!

bjpenndotcom - June 28, 2017

UFC veteran Donald Cerrone was gearing up for his highly anticipated showdown with Robbie Lawler at UFC 213, however news surfaced this week revealing that Cerrone had been forced out of the fight due to a minor injury. The UFC revealed their plan to keep the fight intact, and postpone it until Cerrone is healthy, however while details on the injury were initially scarce, Cerrone has since taken to social media to clarify the situation. Let everyone know this is not an injury. But a super bad infection in my blood. 7 days of IV and I'll be back at it. Working on getting the fight rescheduled

bjpenndotcom - June 28, 2017

BJPENN.COM Radio returns at 8PM ET/5PM PT with more great guests for your MMA fix! 8:15PM ET- We kick things off with UFC lightweight prospect, Steven Ray. Just a few weeks removed from UFC Fight Night 113, we’ll preview Steven’s upcoming scrap with Paul Felder in Glasgow, Scotland. As the Scottish warrior prepares to put on show in front of his hometown crowd, we’ll breakdown the matchup against Felder and the current landscape in the lightweight division. Also, as Ray is about to enter free-agency, he’ll be discussing the added pressure to get a big win and go into contract negotiations with added leverage and his options going forward.

Russell Ess - June 28, 2017

It took less than two minutes for Garrett Holeve, also known as “G-Money” to take out his opponent in his last fight.

Russell Ess - June 28, 2017

There is no denying that Conor McGregor is one of the biggest stars that mixed martial arts has ever seen. “The Notorious” has already won by being the first to bring two superstars from the world of boxing and MMA still in the height of their careers to meet for a fight, which takes place in the boxing ring on August 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Russell Ess - June 28, 2017

You may have missed it, but there was an accident that happened in the Octagon on Sunday at UFC Fight Night 112 in Oklahoma. In one of the most exciting fights on the main card between Felice Herrig and Justine Kish, Kish defecated while fighting off a near fight-ending submission attempt from Herrig. Brown stains could be seen on the canvas shortly after the grappling exchange. Kish was a good sport about the unfortunate incident and joked about the situation on social media following the fight saying, “I am a warrior, and I will never quit #ShitHappens haha be back soon.”

bjpenndotcom - June 28, 2017

This past weekend in New York City, Bellator MMA held their first pay-per view event, which was headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight fight between former UFC middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen, and former Pride FC champion Wanderlei Silva. The fight saw Sonnen win via unanimous decision thanks to his wrestling, which saw Silva have no answer to Sonnen’s repeated takedowns. With that being said, ‘The Axe Murderer’ dropped Sonnen in the second round with a well placed shot behind the ear that resulted in Sonnen’s legs giving out.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2017

UFC 215 just grew by one massive heavyweight showdown. This tilt will see former heavyweight champion and recent title challenger Junior Dos Santos collide with surging French contender Francis Ngannou. This fight, which has been rumored for some time, was announced on the UFC’s official Facebook page. The UFC also announced a light heavyweight bout between long-time Swedish contender Ilir Latifi and Australian prospect Tyson Pedro.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2017

Back in May, we learned that former bantamweight champion Renan Barao would be returning to the division he once ruled after a 2-fight run at featherweight. The former champ’s bantamweight return was pencilled in for UFC 214, on July 29 in Anaheim, California, where he will take on long-time bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling. According to a report from FloCombat.com, however, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) will not be allowing Barao to brave another gruelling cut to the bantamweight division’s 136 pound cap – a cut that has gone disastrously for him in the past. Instead, the commission has decided to change Barao and Sterling’s fight to a 140 pound catchweight so that Barao doesn’t put himself in danger by cutting down to 136.

bjpenndotcom - June 28, 2017

Tuesday night it was revealed that Megan Anderson, who was set to fight Cris Cyborg for the vacant women’s featherweight championship, had been forced out of the fight due to “personal reasons”. Evinger then stepped in to fight Cris Cyborg for the vacant title, and while the fight community is still processing that fight, Cyborg believes that a fight with Evinger will actually be more thrilling than one with Megan Anderson.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2017

If you haven’t already heard, UFC 213 was dealt a real blow this morning, as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was forced out of his scheduled showdown with Robbie Lawler with an undisclosed injury. And though the UFC is reportedly considering moving this fight to UFC 214 on July 29, one eager fighter is hoping to step in for the injured Cowboy and fight Lawler on just over a week’s notice. That fighter is Norway’s Emil Meek. Nicknamed “Valhalla,” Meek made his call for the last-minute fight with Lawler on Twitter.

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2017

Over the years, we’ve seen a number of high-profile mixed martial artists strip down for ESPN’s Body Issue, from Gina Carano, to Jon Jones, to Miesha Tate. The latest fighter to do so is UFC strawweight contender and former Invicta atomweight champ Michelle Waterson – otherwise known as “The Karate Hottie.”

Tom Taylor - June 28, 2017

On August 26, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will take his first steps into the professional boxing arena opposite undefeated defensive specialist and possible GOAT Floyd Mayweather Jr. It’s a fight that initially seemed almost impossible, but one that ultimately came to fruition. In the opinion of UFC light heavyweight champion and Fox Sports analyst Daniel Cormier, that fact can be largely attributed to McGregor’s gift for promotion. “Floyd had to listen for this to happen,” Cormier recently told Fight Hype (h/t BloodyElbow). “Floyd had to take notice. How did Conor McGregor, a mixed martial arts guy – he has no boxing experience – get the attention of the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world, and maybe the best boxer of all-time? How did he do that?”