MMA News

Russell Ess - April 7, 2017

It’s been a rocky road for UFC Hall of Fame legend Don Frye. The MMA legend that helped pave the way in the early days of mixed martial arts has suffered in recent years, going through a divorce and having several surgeries done which caused a brain hemorrhage which forced him to be put into a medically induced coma.

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

In a surprising turn of events, Pearl Gonzalez has now been cleared to make her UFC strawweight debut Saturday night in New York against Cynthia Calvillo after much uncertainty regarding the star’s debut. After Gonzalez weighed-in for the scrap Friday morning, news begun to surface that Gonzalez had been pulled from the card and was ineligible to compete in New York given the fact that she has breast implants. The rule, which was made several years ago with female boxers in mind, back when MMA was illegal in New York, now will not prevent the Chicago native from making her UFC debut Saturday night according to MMAFighting, who obtained a statement from the NYSAC about the situation:

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

While the combat sports community is anxiously awaiting any updates regarding the status of a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight, others, such as UFC middleweight Gegard Mousasi think the fight has no business even being discussed. Mousasi, who is currently in the final hours of his preparation for his UFC 210 co-main event scrap with Chris Weidman, spoke to BloodyElbow to discuss the potential historic Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight, saying:

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

Mitrione is set to co-headline Bellator 180 at the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Matt Mitrione

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones may currently be suspended for a failed random out-of-competition drug test prior to his scheduled UFC 200 showdown with Daniel Cormier in July of 2016, however the former champ has begun to make headlines once again ahead of Saturday’s UFC 210 main event scrap between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson, who he will likely fight the winner of. Jones surprised fight fans this week with a photo of himself in the buff for a photoshoot.

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

Friday morning, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier made headlines as he missed weight for his scheduled UFC 210 title fight with Anthony Johnson tomorrow night in New York. Cormier then made headlines once again as he controversially made weight by pressing on the privacy towel, offsetting his weight and aiding him in appearing to have lost 1.2 pounds just two minutes after he weighed in overweight. Another bit of news that was overshadowed by Cormier’s weigh-in mishap was the fact that UFC newcomer Pearl Gonzalez was pulled from the card last minute due to having breast implants, which are not allowed inside the cage in New York. Interestingly enough, it has been pointed out that the no implant rule was made several years ago when MMA was still illegal in New York, and was made with female boxers in mind.

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

Friday morning in New York, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier missed weight for his scheduled UFC 210 scrap with Anthony Johnson Saturday night, where he will look to defend his title for the second time, and once again earn himself a win over Anthony Johnson. Cormier weighed in at 206.2 pounds, 1.2 pounds over the light heavyweight title fight limit of 205 pounds.

bjpenndotcom - April 7, 2017

Here's NYSAC executive director Tony Giardina explaining why Cormier was allowed to weigh in twice: pic.twitter.com/vxzpcnrT9y — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 7, 2017

Chris Taylor - April 7, 2017

Anderson Silva has a replacement opponent in mind for UFC 212 Former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva was slated to square off with surging division contender Kelvin Gastelum at June’s UFC 212 pay-per-view event in Brazil.

bjpenndotcom - April 6, 2017

In addition to the eyes of the MMA community being fixed on a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather showdown, the boxing community is equally focused on the potential showdown.

bjpenndotcom - April 6, 2017

While the MMA community has anxiously awaited word from up top regarding a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather superfight, While McGregor recently informed media members during a surprise appearance at the Madison Square Garden that a fight between he and Mayweather was “very close” to being finalized, there has been no word since as to whether or not progress has been made in negotiations. Now, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto revealed during a recent appearance on SportsCenter that UFC President Dana White plans to meet with McGregor in May after the birth of McGregor’s child in order to “hammer out” a fight with Mayweather. This of course comes on the heels of White recently stating that given McGregor’s willingness to step up and take short notice fights in the UFC, he feels almost “obligated” to help McGregor secure a fight with Mayweather so that the UFC superstar can secure the life-changing payday that comes with fighting Mayweather.

Chris Taylor - April 6, 2017

Yoel Romero offers to step in and fight Anderson Silva at UFC 212 Top UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero is willing to step in and fight former division kingpin Anderson Silva at June’s UFC 212 pay-per-view event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

bjpenndotcom - April 6, 2017

UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is currently waiting in limbo to find out if former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will comply with his terms for their targeted fight. While the UFC announced that the fight would go down in 2017, Bisping recently informed St-Pierre that he will not wait until the former champ is ready to fight. Instead, Bisping informed St-Pierre that unless he is willing to fight in July, The Count will give the middleweight title shot to Yoel Romero. Now, in an editorial piece for Champions.co, Michael Bisping revealed that he wants to fight light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, however he knows that realistically the fight will never materialize:

bjpenndotcom - April 6, 2017

Coach Andreas has one hell of a chin. What you guys think? 😂 A post shared by Alex The Mauler Gustafsson (@alexthemauler) on Apr 6, 2017 at 2:32am PDT

bjpenndotcom - April 6, 2017

While talks of a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather showdown have continued to progress, the UFC lightweight champion has yet to receive his boxing license in Nevada. When talks of a McGregor-Mayweather superfight began to pick up steam, McGregor received his boxing license in California, however the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to license McGregor given his inexperience in boxing. Now however, with McGregor recently stating that a fight with Mayweather is “very close” to being finalized. NSAC Executive Director Bob Bennett spoke to Boxing News that he now doesn’t see an issue with McGregor being given a license in Nevada:

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

This Saturday night, the UFC will touch down in Buffalo, New York with UFC 210. In the main event of this card, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will attempt to defend his title against an old foe in streaking challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Whoever wins this light heavyweight title fight will likely have a monumental challenge on their plate before the year is out, as they will be tasked with welcoming former champion Jon Jones back to the Octagon. Jones, who stands out as the greatest light heavyweight in MMA history, and one of the best fighters ever outright, never lost the title, but was instead stripped after a litany of troubles outside the cage.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Rising UFC welterweight Colby Covington has spent the last few weeks campaigning for a fight with former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, who recently announced his plan to jump up to welterweight. Unfortunately for Covington and his fans, Dos Anjos opted to sign on for a fight with former Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine instead. The two former champs will meet when the UFC touches down in Singapore this June. With Dos Anjos off the table, Covington has instead been pencilled in for a fight with South Korea’s Dong Hyun Kim, which will also occur in Singapore. In the opinion of Covington, this bout is actually a more valuable opportunity than the one he was originally chasing with Dos Anjos.

bjpenndotcom - April 6, 2017

Ahead of his UFC 210 scrap with Daniel Cormier this weekend, UFC light heavyweight #1 contender Anthony Johnson attended the UFC 210 open workouts, where he showcased his power.