MMA News

Tom Taylor - May 24, 2017

Yesterday, we learned that UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt was indeed out of UFC 213, which left his planned opponent TJ Dillashaw without an opponent. With this unfortunate news, an opportunistic Dillashaw re-upped on his previous claims, suggesting that he is keen to drop to flyweight to challenge dominant champ Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson for his belt. Apparently, the UFC is into this idea, and the fight is being seriously considered as the main event of UFC 215 this August in Seattle (in Johnson’s native Washington). While the world seems to be drooling over the possibility of a Dillashaw vs. Johnson flyweight title fight, however, Johnson himself is not so keen on the fight, as he feels Dillashaw would be skipping the line at flyweight. In his opinion, the streaking Ray Borg might be a more fitting opponent for his next defense.

bjpenndotcom - May 23, 2017

Two huge announcements were just made regarding July’s UFC 213 event in Las Vegas. The promotion announced that an interim middleweight title fight between Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker will co-headline the July 8 event.

Russell Ess - May 23, 2017

Following a loss to Rory MacDonald at Bellator 179, Paul Daley charged after Michael Page who was sitting cageside causing quite the scene. Perhaps it was all just a tactical move for Daley to set up a fight against Page, and it seems to have worked as Bellator boss Scott Coker says he is all for the fight if the two English fighters really want it.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

Over the weekend, the UFC flew more than 400 of its fighters out to Las Vegas for a special, athletes retreat. This retreat has generated quite a few headlines over the last few days – and very few of them have been positive. Mike Perry, however, had an amazing time participating. While Perry’s review of the retreat is overwhelming positive, however, he did have one slightly negative experience when he ran into UFC featherweight Jeremy Stephens. Apparently, things got tense enough that Perry pushed Stephens onto the ground. Perry recounted the run-in in an interview with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

Last weekend, the UFC flew nearly its entire roster out to Las Vegas for a special, athletes retreat. This retreat has generated quite a few headlines over the last few days – and very few of them have been positive. According to welterweight star Mike Perry, however, any bellyaching about this athletes retreat is unwarranted. On Tuesday afternoon, the knockout artist connected with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor to share his elation with the experience as a whole. “I learned a lot this weekend,” Perry began. 

bjpenndotcom - May 23, 2017

https://youtu.be/h6ml_LPRsNY UFC lightweight Michael Johnson is likely in a ‘must win’ situation for his next fight. Although Johnson is ranked at #6 on the UFC’s official rankings, in a stacked lightweight division, he could very well find his ranking dropping if he loses his next fight. While Johnson is one of the most explosive fighters in the lightweight division, he has gone through a bit of a rough patch over the past two years. After having his 4-fight win streak snapped by a split decision loss to Beneil Dariush, Johnson dropped a unanimous decision loss to Nate Diaz.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

If things had unfolded just a little bit differently back in February, Khabib Nurmagomedov could be wearing UFC interim lightweight gold right now. He was, after all, scheduled for an interim lightweight title fight with fellow star Tony Ferguson. Unfortunately, Nurmagomedov was forced out of this planned collision with Ferguson after he was hospitalized due to a botched weight cut. Left without an opponent at the last minute, Ferguson was then also forced off the card.

bjpenndotcom - May 23, 2017

This past weekend, during the UFC Athlete Retreat in Las Vegas, fighters sat through quite a few presentations regarding success, building their own brand, and sponsors. While Kajan Johnson may have stolen the show with his confrontation of a Reebok rep which paved the way for an open discussion between fighters and the UFC brass, an Anheuser-Busch rep is making headlines for his presentation. According to several fighters in attendance, who took to social media, an Anheuser-Busch rep was drunk during his presentation.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC 211, Jorge Masvidal took on Demian Maia in a contest that was widely perceived as a welterweight number one contender fight. Despite some big moments on the feet, Masvidal became the latest casualty of Maia’s incredible grappling skill, surrendering four takedowns and giving up almost eight minutes of control time on the mat. He lost a split decision as a result. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Masvidal recounted this bout with Maia, and explained what surprised him most about the grappling star. Apparently, he was caught off guard by the Brazilian’s sheer strength, and by his innovative use of half guard.

bjpenndotcom - May 23, 2017

Throughout the course of 2017, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has continued to make headlines for his potential boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. While the fight is certainly not finalized, McGregor’s side of the deal has been negotiated and finalized. Now, with a fight hinging on whether or not Floyd Mayweather agrees to a deal, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is looking to take the time to send a message to McGregor, and other fighters, looking to make the jump to Boxing.

bjpenndotcom - May 23, 2017

This week at the UFC Athlete’s Retreat, UFC lightweight Kajan Johnson made a bold move as he decided to stand up and air his grievances with the UFC-Reebok deal to a Reebok rep during his speech at the 2017 UFC Athlete’s Retreat. Although he was never formally ‘kicked out’ of the event, UFC officials pulled him aside after the outburst to speak to him. Johnson said this led to an extremely productive conversation with the UFC in regards to the Reebok deal, which also saw several other fighters joining in on the discussion. He spoke about the situation to BloodyElbow:

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

From the sounds of it, Michael Bisping’s much discussed middleweight title defense against former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will not happen. If it does happen, it won’t be until the fall, as St-Pierre will not be available until then. Though this might give the impression that Bisping will defend his title against Yoel Romero or Robert Whittaker sometime this summer, Bisping has instead announced that he’s dealing with some nagging injuries, and that he probably won’t be available for a fight for some time. To combat this complicated situation at middleweight, the UFC is reportedly considering a Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker interim middleweight title fight to keep the division moving. This fight, of course, would be of particular interest to the undisputed champion Bisping.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

Al Iaquinta is one of the biggest critics of the UFC, and of the way promotion treats its fighters. His status as such is particularly interesting, as he currently under contract with the organization as a member of its lightweight roster. As a member of the UFC roster, Iaquinta was invited to  the UFC’s recent Athletes Retreat in Las Vegas Nevada, and despite his gripes with the promotion, he attended. He did not, however, stay for long. After learning that the promotion had partnered with New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery – the very hospital he asked the UFC to send him to for knee surgery, and the very hospital they refused to send him to for that knee surgery – he decided it was better to leave.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2017

The Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre saga has been one of the most confusing and controversial in recent memory. One moment, it seemed as though the fight would happen this summer. The next, it looked like a possibility for the fall. Now, with St-Pierre out till November and the UFC to keen to keep the middleweight division moving, it looks like it might not go down at all – which would of course be great news for the many top middleweight contenders who felt they were being deprived of title shots by St-Pierre’s comeback. On the latest episode of his Podcast, Believe You Me, Bisping gave yet another update on this fight. Apparently the champ now believes the UFC wants to move on from this fight. He, however, won’t be ready to fight any time soon, which has him believing the UFC will implement an interim middleweight title fight.

Chris Taylor - May 22, 2017

Cris Cyborg releases a statement regarding the Angela Magana incident Former Invicta featherweight champion Cris Cyborg has issued a statement regarding her altercation with Angela Magana which took place this past weekend in Las Vegas.

Russell Ess - May 22, 2017

Although it seems like the Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor boxing superfight is getting closer and closer to happening, boxing icon Mike Tyson won’t believe it till he sees the two of them standing across each other in the ring.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2017

Last night, on the final evening of the UFC’s much talked about athlete’s retreat, top UFC women’s featherweight contender Cris “Cyborg” and strawweight fighter Angela Magana got in to an altercation. The altercation occurred after the Brazilian confronted Magana about some recent bullying posts. Earlier this year, after Cyborg did some volunteer work at a children’s Cancer hospital in Brazil, Magana used one of the photos taken from the hospital visit to poke fun at the featherweight’s physical appearance:

Russell Ess - May 22, 2017

The UFC bantamweight title fight between champion Cody Garbrandt and former champion TJ Dillashaw is in jeopardy with Garbrandt trying to get a back injury healed up. The two are slated to fight for Garbrandt’s title at UFC 213 on Saturday, July 8, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Garbrandt recently stated that he was going to Germany to have a procedure done on his injured back and the UFC and Dillashaw are awaiting to hear if the procedure has helped. Dillashaw however, is already eyeing another title fight if Garbrandt can’t compete and called out UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, which UFC President Dana White is already liking.