MMA News

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2017

Originally, Tony Ferguson was expected to battle Khabib Nurmagomedov for the interim lightweight title at UFC 209. When Nurmagomedov was hospitalized after a tough weight cut, however, the fighters were deprived of the chance to settle their score. While Nurmagomedov’s weight troubles have only helped to solidify Ferguson’s claim to the lightweight number-one-contender spot, Ferguson still plans to fight his rival in the near future.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of Bellator NYC, three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen took on one of his fiercest rivals in Wanderlei Silva. Though he was rocked badly by a punch mid-way through the fight, Sonnen dominated with his wrestling through the rest of the encounter, and ultimately won himself a unanimous decision as a result. Though Sonnen followed this performance with callouts of Bellator stars like Fedor Emelianenko, Rory MacDonald, and even Chuck Liddell, he has been called out himself by the Bellator middleweight champion Rafael Carvalho.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2017

It’s unfortunate, but it is arguable that the biggest story to emerge from the UFC’s recent stop in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma surrounds the mid-fight accident Justine Kish experienced in the middle of her fight with Felice Herrig, which she ultimately lost by decision. This incident has generated countless headlines, not just on combat sports publications, but far further afield on the online media landscape. Today, the trend continues, as Kish recently told Submission Radio that a fan offered to pay her the win bonus she lost in defeat for the shorts she soiled in the fight. Apparently, this fan was hoping to add her shorts to his man cave.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2017

This Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 213, Cuba’s Yoel Romero will collide with Kiwi contender Robert Whittaker for the UFC interim middleweight title. Romero, who is a former Olympic wrestler, will enter this fight on a wild, eight-fight win-streak.

Tom Taylor - July 3, 2017

This September 9, when the UFC debuts in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with UFC 215, former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez will reportedly look for a fresh start in the featherweight division. His opponent for this featherweight debut will be hard-hitting veteran Jeremy Stephens. This bout was first reported by Damon Martin.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

This Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 213, surging Cuban contender Yoel Romero will collide with Kiwi standout Robert Whittaker for the interim UFC middleweight title. Brazil’s Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza – who has long stood out as one of the best middleweights on earth – is one of just a few men to fight both Romero and Whittaker. As such, his thoughts on this fight are particularly interesting. “I think Romero wins this fight,” Souza told MMAFighting.com. “He’s stronger, keeps the distance well and is really calm. Robert Whittaker can surprise him and win because he’s really fast for the middleweight division, but I bet on Romero.”

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

This Saturday, on the main card of UFC 213, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will look to correct one of the toughest slumps of his career opposite lightweight veteran Jim Miller. While Miller represents a small step down in competition for the struggling Pettis – who has recently battled a procession of top-10 foes in Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez and Rafael Dos Anjos – this is apparently a fight Pettis asked for specifically.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

Late last month, on the main card of the UFC’s exciting visit to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Russian-American strawweight Justine Kish stepped into the cage with the amply more experienced Felice Herrig. In the end, Kish would lose this fight by unanimous decision, as she was  soundly out grappled for three rounds. Unfortunately, Herrig’s impressive performance will not be the reason this fight is remembered. Instead, the fight will be remembered for the unfortunate mid-fight accident that Kish endured in it.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

On June 24, Bellator MMA touched down in New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden with the aptly titled Bellator NYC card. This card stands out as the biggest in the promotion’s history. The card was headlined by a light heavyweight grudge match between UFC veterans Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva, which Sonnen won by unanimous decision. The co-main event, meanwhile, occurred at heavyweight, where UFC veteran Matt Mitrione knocked out MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. Other highlights of the main card, meanwhile, included a successful title defense from welterweight champ Douglas Lima, who defeated Lorenz Larkin by decision, and an upset win from Brent Primus, who defeated Bellator star Michael Chandler to win lightweight gold.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

Heading into his UFC 213 bout with Oleksiy Oliynyk, Travis Browne has been training with former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett – a man he knocked out back in late 2013 with a series of hellacious elbows. In order to begin training with Barnett, Browne first had to squash his beef with the former champion. This beef stemmed from the fact that Browne stole Barnett’s post-fight celebration – a throat slashing gesture – moments after he knocked him out.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

Late last month, in the main event of the UFC’s exciting stop in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kevin Lee scored an impressive – though somewhat controversial – first-round submission win over top-10 lightweight Michael Chiesa. This win set the 24-year-old Lee up for more big tests in the stacked UFC lightweight division, and post-fight, he made some suggestions to that end, dropping names like the “already down the hill” Edson Barboza.

Tom Taylor - July 2, 2017

This Saturday, on the main card of the blockbuster UFC 213, Former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 champion Alistair Overeem will attempt to build on the momentum of a thunderous knee-induced knockout of Mark Hunt by taking out former champ Fabricio Werdum. If Overeem defeats Werdum, he’ll be two wins removed from a disappointing loss to reigning UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic. He believes that’ll be enough to warrant a second shot at the champ. Apparently, he’ll be challenging Miocic with a post-fight callout if he defeats Werdum at UFC 213.

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2017

Luke Rockhold plans on “making some noise” in his octagon return Luke Rockhold has not stepped foot inside the octagon since losing his UFC middleweight championship to Michael Bisping at UFC 199 twelve months ago in Los Angeles, California.

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2017

Georges St-Pierre refutes Dana White’s recent news Earlier this week it was announced that current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley would be defending his title against top division contender Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC 214 on July 29 in Anaheim, California.

bjpenndotcom - July 1, 2017

More movement to go along with all the huge amount of daily traditional work: mitts, heavy bag, cardio and lots of sparring. Keeping the brain quick, the eyes sharp, the feet light. When such a zero impact drill is involved the 'software is upgraded without damaging the hardware' (John Kavanagh) and extra motor learning and re-patterning can occur at scenarios that are hard to target in traditional sparring in such dosages and frequency. At the same time these are not rehearsed or pre-set sequences. This will need to be transfered later into sparring but provides room for experimentation, growth, research and lots of extra practice to feed into sparring and technical work. A major reason why many fighters can't break through plateus and fail to continue to evolve beyond a certain point is the minimal amount of experimentation, research and trial&error made possible inside a regime of solely heavy sparring rounds from one hand or simple, predetermined and dry technical work from the other. @thenotoriousmma #mcgregorvsmayweather #conormcgregor #idoportal #ufc #boxing #movementculture A post shared by Ido Portal (@portal.ido) on Jun 24, 2017 at 3:03pm PDT

Chris Taylor - July 1, 2017

Top UFC women’s bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko will square off current division champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 213 next weekend in Las Vegas. The scrap will mark the second time that Shevchenko and Nunes have gone to battle, with “The Lioness” emerging victorious in the pairs first encounter at UFC 196 via decision.

bjpenndotcom - July 1, 2017

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is currently gearing up for his highly anticipated showdown with Floyd Mayweather on August 26th, where the Irish superstar will look to shock the world and hand Mayweather his first professional loss. Ahead of the fight, many question whether or not Conor McGregor has the ability to catch Mayweather, arguably the most defensive fighter of this era, given that he has no professional boxing experience. With that being said, McGregor’s sparring partner, Irish amateur boxing champion Tiernan Bradley, praised McGregor as a boxer in an interview with MMAFighting, saying:

bjpenndotcom - July 1, 2017

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has been on a tear of the women’s bantamweight division over the past two years, going on a 5-fight win streak that saw her finish four of her five opponents. In addition, nearly one year ago, Nunes picked up a first round submission win over Miesha Tate to claim the women’s bantamweight championship in the main event of UFC 200. After winning the belt, Nunes turned around and defended the belt at UFC 207 against none other than former champion Ronda Rousey in a fight that served as Rousey’s highly anticipated return to the Octagon. When the two met in the Octagon, it took just 48 seconds for Nunes to finish Rousey with strikes.