MMA News

bjpenndotcom - June 7, 2017

This past weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 212, former UFC strawweight title challengers Claudia Gadelha and Karolina Kowalkiewicz stepped into the Octagon for a pivotal scrap that saw Gadelha pick up an early 1st round submission win. The win was a particularly impressive one for Gadelha, who is now on a 2-fight win streak following her TUF Finale loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a failed bid for the women’s strawweight title nearly a year ago.

Tom Taylor - June 7, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of UFC 212, once-dominant UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo had his throne usurped by young Hawaiian star Max Holloway, as he wilted under a swarm of third-round punches. With this outcome, Aldo finds himself at a relatively unfamiliar juncture, no longer a champion but a contender in the crowded UFC featherweight division. From here, it’s difficult to say who Aldo should fight next – if he even stays at featherweight. There are of course, plenty of interesting options in that regard.

bjpenndotcom - June 7, 2017

This past weekend, in the main event of UFC 212, interim UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway stepped into the Octagon with Jose Aldo, where he claimed the undisputed featherweight title. Immediately following the fight, many began to speculate as to who Holloway would defend his title against first, with the general consensus being that former UFC lightweight champion turned featherweight Frankie Edgar was the #1 contender. Holloway spoke at the post-fight press conference, and welcomed a fight with Edgar.

Tom Taylor - June 7, 2017

These days, there is a lot of talk about boxing matches between boxers and mixed martial artists. Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor are attempting to fight in a contest that would go down as the biggest in combat sports history. UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa is flirting with the idea of a boxing match with David Haye. Roy Jones Jr. and Anderson Silva still occasionally talk about a boxing match. And then, of course, there is UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic’s interest in a boxing match with recently crowned heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua. Speaking on a recent episode of The Fight Society Podcast, Miocic weighed in on this possible boxing match.

Tom Taylor - June 7, 2017

One of the biggest stories of the week thus far has surrounded a scathing, tell-all statement released by UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. In this statement, the champ blasts the UFC and its president Dana White for attempting to force him into a fight with former bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw, rather than letting him fight established flyweight contender Ray Borg. It also criticizes the UFC for failing to promote his division or his fights in an adequate way. Finally, Johnson also claimed in the statement that White threatened to close the division if he didn’t play ball. Needless to say, it was not a particularly good look for White or the UFC.

Tom Taylor - June 7, 2017

Over the weekend, in the main of UFC 212, streaking Hawaiian star Max Holloway claimed the undisputed UFC featherweight title with an exciting, third-round TKO of the once-dominant Jose Aldo. In the opinion of UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, this is the best possible thing that could have happened for the featherweight division. “I think it’s fantastic that Max Holloway won and I think he had to win to put life back into the 145 [pound] division,” Bisping said on his podcast Believe You Me. “Because honestly, Jose Aldo is a great fighter, Jose Aldo had an amazing career, Jose Aldo this, Jose Aldo that, all this f**king good stuff is so positive – I was not for one second buying Jose Aldo as the featherweight champion. I’m sorry but he got knocked the eff out in 13 seconds and then in his next fight he fights Frankie Edgar and all of the sudden he’s the champion again. So for me, I never bought into that.

bjpenndotcom - June 6, 2017

This past weekend at UFC 212, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo was handed a devastating TKO loss at the hands of Max Holloway in his home country of Brazil. Following the loss, Aldo was noticeably devastated, however the Brazilian MMA community was quick to express their support for the former champion:

Russell Ess - June 6, 2017

June 6, 2017, marks one year since the legend Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson passed away at the age of 42.

Russell Ess - June 6, 2017

There has been quite a bit of buzz surrounding a potential return to competition for former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell. There was talk from his longtime coach John Hackleman saying his blessing would depend on who the opponent is and Liddell himself did not give a definitive answer on if we will be seeing him fight again. There was also the lunch meeting between Bellator boss Scott Coker and Lidell. More speculation grew when Liddell posted a photo of him and longtime rival Tito Ortiz in a staredown photo they took together where Liddell said in the caption, “Why not?”

bjpenndotcom - June 6, 2017

This past weekend at UFC 212, interim featherweight champion Max Holloway stepped into the Octagon with undisputed featherweight champion Jose Aldo for a highly anticipated showdown in Brazil. Ultimately, Holloway weathered an early storm from Aldo before ultimately finishing the champ via TKO in the third round to claim the undisputed featherweight title. Immediately the MMA community began to speculate as to who Holloway would defend his title against. The first name mentioned was former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, who has been on a tear of the UFC’s featherweight division.

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2017

Originally, Ricardo Lamas was expected to take on a fellow former title challenger in “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung when the UFC touches down in Anaheim, California, this July 29. Unfortunately, the undead Korean was forced out of this anticipated featherweight scrap with a severely damaged leg. And so began the hunt for a replacement opponent for the ever-dangerous Lamas. That replacement opponent has now been found.

bjpenndotcom - June 6, 2017

This past weekend, in the main event of UFC 212, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo stepped into the Octagon in hopes of defending his new featherweight title for the first time. On the other hand, interim featherweight champion Max Holloway was looking to unify the two belts and capture the undisputed featherweight championship. After weathering an early storm from Aldo in the first, Holloway began to find his rhythm in the second. In the third round, it took just two minutes for Holloway to drop Aldo with a big right cross. Ultimately, Holloway showcased his impressive ground game as he controlled Aldo on the ground, landing a barrage of ground and pound strikes before ultimately earning the 3rd round TKO victory, and claiming the undisputed featherweight championship.

bjpenndotcom - June 6, 2017

This week, UFC flyweight kingpin Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson released a lengthy letter calling out the UFC brass for what he considered to be unfair treatment from the UFC. He summarized his current situation, explaining:

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2017

Yesterday morning, UFC flyweight king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson made waves by releasing a lengthy, anti-UFC statement, slamming the promotion and its president Dana White for trying to force him into a fight with former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. In this statement, the champ suggested that he was more interested in fighting established flyweight contender Ray Borg. Since then, Borg has weighed in on the situation. He says he’s gained respect for the champ for striving to fight flyweight contenders rather than seeking more lucrative fights with fighters from other divisions.

bjpenndotcom - June 6, 2017

This past weekend, fight fans tuned in to what proved to be a spectacular event, headlined by a thrilling main event scrap between Max Holloway and Jose Aldo. While Aldo settled into a rhythm quickly, and landed early on in the fight, it was Holloway who came alive in the second and third rounds, ultimately finishing the champion in the third round via strikes. In the co-main event, former UFC women’s strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha picked up another big win as she defeated top ranked women’s strawweight contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz via 1st round submission. In addition, the main card of the pay-per view also saw UFC veteran Vitor Belfort snap a lengthy losing streak as he picked up a decision win over Nate Marquardt

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2017

Earlier this year, on the main card of UFC 209, heavyweight veteran Mark Hunt stepped into the cage with Alistair Overeem. Unfortunately for Hunt and his fans, this fight did not go according to plan. Instead, Overeem put Hunt away with knees in the third round. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Hunt expressed some lingering issues he has with this fight, citing the fact that Overeem was allowed to use an IV to rehydrate – which is forbidden by both the Nevada Athletic Commission and USADA – in advance of the fight. The reason that Overeem was allowed to use an IV is because he fell ill with food poisoning just days before the fight. According to Hunt, however, this was all a fabrication to bend the rules.

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2017

On Monday afternoon, former fighter War Machine was sentenced to 36 years to life for his terrifying attack on ex-girlfriend Christy Mack, and her boyfriend at the time, Corey Thomas. War Machine will not be eligible for parole for 36 years, at which point he’ll be 71 years old. Before War Machine received this sentence, Mack addressed the court with a heart-wrenching letter, detailing her relationship with the former fighter, and how she’s been affected by his attack on her.

Tom Taylor - June 6, 2017

The verdict is in. Former UFC and Bellator fighter War Machine – born Jonathan Koppenhaver – will get 36 years to life for his hideous attack on his ex-girlfriend Christy Mack and her boyfriend Corey Thomas. The former fighter will be eligible for parole after 36 years. He will be 71 years old by the time this parole eligibility arrives. This sentencing follows the March crescendo of War Machine’s long and arduous trial, during which many horrifying details of his attack on Mack and Thomas came to light. In the end, he was found guilty on a whopping 29 of the 34 charges levied against him, including such grim offences as sexual assault, battery and kidnapping. The most severe charges he faced – a pair of attempted murder charges – resulted in a hung jury, meaning the jury was unable to agree on a guilty or not guilty verdict.