MMA News

Russell Ess - June 30, 2017

The money fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor is less than two months away from taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor has started his camp in Ireland and his coach John Kavanagh says they plan on finishing their camp in Las Vegas. With the boxing match coming up, we haven’t seen or heard of any big name stars joining McGregor’s camp for the potentially record-breaking fight.

bjpenndotcom - June 30, 2017

The ongoing beef between UFC flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson and UFC President Dana White continues to be an uncertain one, that most recently saw White fire several scathing jabs at ‘Mighty Mouse’ during a recent interview. The feud started after Johnson allegedly accepted a fight with Ray Borg per the UFC’s request after shooting down his hopes for defending his belt against Sergio Pettis. After accepting the fight against Borg, the UFC then pressured Johnson into accepting a fight with former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. When Johnson refused, a full on beef ensued that saw Johnson release a lengthy letter detailing the situation, which included the UFC threatening to shut down the flyweight division. Johnson’s letter in part read:

bjpenndotcom - June 30, 2017

At UFC 213, UFC middleweight Yoel Romero will look to claim UFC interim middleweight gold as he steps into the Octagon with streaking contender Robert Whittaker in a matchup which will see one man not only secure the interim title, but also a fight with Michael Bisping for the undisputed belt. Ahead of the fight, Romero knows that being the fourteen year elder of Whittaker certainly puts him at a disadvantage – on paper. He spoke to MMAJunkie to discuss the fight, and where he feels he holds the advantage over his much younger opponent:

bjpenndotcom - June 30, 2017

You've never seen these moves. #Ghost A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Jun 29, 2017 at 1:51pm PDT

Russell Ess - June 29, 2017

In the UFC, there aren’t a ton of fighters that really move the needle. It’s obvious that Conor McGregor is one of the biggest stars the UFC has ever seen.

bjpenndotcom - June 29, 2017

Back in April, top ranked middleweight Jacare Souza stepped into the Octagon with Robert Whittaker for a highly anticipated middleweight showdown. Unfortunately for Jacare, who was ranked higher than Whittaker going into the fight, he lost the scrap via TKO, snapping a 2-fight win streak. Now, with Jacare ranked at #5 on the UFC’s middleweight rankings, and Whittaker set to fight Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title this summer, Jacare spoke to Combate to reflect on his fight with ‘The Reaper’:

Russell Ess - June 29, 2017

The UFC rankings have been updated since UFC Fight Night 112 took place in Oklahoma City on Sunday night. In the main event of the evening, Kevin Lee scored a controversial submission win over Michael Chiesa. Referee Mario Yamasaki called an end to the fight before Chiesa tapped, perhaps thinking that Chiesa was choked unconscious. Chiesa immediately argued the stoppage and has filed an appeal to the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission to have the fight overturned to a no contest.

bjpenndotcom - June 29, 2017

MMA veteran Nick Diaz has remained one of the most popular fighters in MMA despite the fact that he hasn’t fought in nearly three years. After his dominant run in Strikeforce, Diaz signed with the UFC and made his debut in 2011, when he defeated BJ Penn via unanimous decision. Diaz then dropped his next two fights, an interim welterweight scrap with Carlos Condit, and a unanimous decision to Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title. In his most recent fight, Diaz stepped into the Octagon against Anderson Silva in a highly anticipated showdown which was eventually deemed a ‘no contest’ as a result of drug testing failures for both men. As it turns out, UFC President Dana White believes that very well may have been Diaz’ last fight. He spoke to MMAJunkie:

Russell Ess - June 29, 2017

MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko lost in devastating fashion in his Bellator debut over the weekend at Bellator NYC. “The Last Emporer” is often talked about in the debate of the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time but was knocked out in the first round against Matt Mitrione on Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

bjpenndotcom - June 29, 2017

This past weekend on the inaugural Bellator MMA pay-per view event, former Pride FC champion Wanderlei Silva stepped into the cage against former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen for a highly anticipated showdown four years in the making. The pair coached opposite against one another on TUF Brazil, and were scheduled to fight in 2013. Silva refused to submit the proper paperwork for licensing, before then refusing to take a drug test. Subsequently, ‘The Axe Murderer’ was pulled from the event. Interestingly enough, after the UFC tapped Vitor Belfort to step in for Wanderlei Silva, Sonnen was pulled from the fight for failing a drug test.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2017

Every time an aging fighter loses, be it somebody like Fedor Emelianenko, or our very own BJ Penn, there follows an immediate tidal wave of calls for their retirement. In the opinion of MMA pioneer Phil Baroni, who has been fighting for nearly 20 years, however, nobody should be able to tell a fighter when it’s time to retire – least of all a member of the media who has never fought before. Phil Baroni sounded off on the topic on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - June 29, 2017

On July 16, on the main card of the UFC’s second trip to Glasgow, Scotland’s own Steven Ray will step onto the canvas with Paul Felder in an effort to take another big step toward the lightweight title. That title, of course, is currently on hold, as the champion Conor McGregor is focused on a boxing match with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. In advance of his fight in Glasgow, Ray made an appearance on BJ Penn Radio, and weighed in on this blockbuster Mayweather vs. McGregor fight. In his opinion, McGregor has a far better chance than people seem to think. In fact, he thinks the UFC champ has a better chance at cracking the Mayweather code than most boxers would.

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!