MMA News

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

In the first fight on the main card of November’s landmark UFC 205, Miesha Tate came up short to Raquel Pennington. Shortly after this fight, the former women’s bantamweight champion announced her intention to retire from mixed martial arts competition. It’s not my time anymore,” Tate told UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “It’s the future’s time.”

bjpenndotcom - March 21, 2017

This past weekend, fight fans tuned in to UFC Fight Pass for a highly anticipated afternoon of fights in London, England. UFC Fight Night London played host to a number of pivotal bouts, including MMA veteran Brad Pickett’s final fight. Also on the main card, Arnold Allen kept his unbeaten streak in tact as he defeated Mr. Finland, Makwan Amirkhani, handing the Finnish superstar the first loss of his UFC career, and snapping his 3-fight win streak. Interestingly enough, prior to the fight, Amirkhani stated that he wouldn’t be fighting again until the UFC visited Finland. With the promotion recently announcing the remainder of their International schedule for 2017, and Finland not being included, only time will tell when Amirkhani will return to the Octagon.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

Shortly after his competitive UFC 209 loss to reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, we learned that Stephen Thompson had sustained an injury to his MCL. In an interview with BJPENN.COM’s Chris Taylor, Thompson clarified that, while his MCL was indeed injured, it would not require surgery. He would, however, require surgery for an injured meniscus. “It was the MCL, but the doctors said that injury would heal on its own,” Thompson told Taylor. “I have surgery tomorrow on my right knee. It is nothing too serious, just a torn meniscus.”

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

Over the last few weeks, the trial of Bellator and UFC veteran War Machine (born Jonathan Koppenhaver) has dominated headlines. This trial stemmed from a grisly 2014 incident, during which the former fighter brutalized ex-girlfriend Christy Mac and her then boyfriend Corey Thomas. After several weeks of court proceedings, during which many horrifying details about War Machine’s attack on Mack and Thomas were revealed, the former fighter has now been found guilty on 29 of the 34 charges he faced  – most notably of 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. This in turn, implies a mistrial.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

Despite being one of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster, Stockton, California’s Nate Diaz has not been seen in the cage since he gave up a competitive decision to Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 202 back in August. In a recent interview with TMZ, UFC President Dana White said that the UFC has attempted to correct Diaz’s long absence from the cage by making him several fight offers, but that he has turned them all down. The UFC boss then suggested that this is because Diaz is holding out for a third fight with McGregor.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

Yesterday afternoon, we learned that Bellator MMA will be heading to New York City’s hallowed Madison Square Garden on June 24. The ever-growing promotion will do so with Bellator 180, a pay-per-view card that will be headlined by a long-awaited light heavyweight showdown between three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen and Pride legend Wanderlei Silva. Less than 24 hours removed from the announcement of this Bellator 180 main event, the promotion has now announced the card’s co-main event. This co-main event will pit heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko – arguably the greatest fighter of all time – against supremely athletic UFC veteran Matt Mitrione.

Chris Taylor - March 20, 2017

Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva is finally going to happen! The grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva is finally going to happen on June 24 in New York City.

Chris Taylor - March 20, 2017

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson suffered a majority decision loss to Tyron Woodley earlier this month at UFC 209 in Las Vegas. The loss marked Thompson’s second unsuccessful attempt to steal the title from Woodley, as the pair had battled to a majority decision draw at UFC 205 this past November in New York.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to London, England, the UK’s own Jimi Manuwa scored a crushing, first-round knockout of the game Corey Anderson. With this win, which followed a similarly impressive knockout of Ovince St. Preux, Manuwa reaffirmed his status as one of the best light heavyweights on earth, and one of the top contenders in the division. With this latest win, there are many interesting options available for Manuwa’s next fight. Apparently, however, there are only four opponents he’s willing to accept at this point: light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, upcoming title challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, former champion Jon Jones, or boxer David Haye.

Russell Ess - March 20, 2017

The boxing match between undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor seems to be getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. On St. Patrick’s Day, “The Notorious” was in New York at Madison Square Garden as he walked out fellow Irishman Michael Conlan for his professional boxing debut. McGregor made a bit of time and spoke with the media, including an exclusive with the Los Angeles Times on the superfight between the two sport’s biggest stars.

Chris Taylor - March 20, 2017

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (10-3 MMA) is being targeted to return at June’s UFC Fight Night event in Singapore. According to BJPENN.com’s very own Chris Taylor, “The Preacher’s Daughter” has been offered a bout against undefeated Korean fighter Ji Yeon Kim (6-0-2) for the June 17 event.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

Earlier this month, BJPENN.COM’s own Chris Taylor reported that Chan Sung Jung – more widely known as “The Korean Zombie” had his crosshairs set on fellow featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas. Just spoke with Korean Zombie's manager who revealed to me that KZ is targeting former title challenger Ricardo Lamas for his next fight

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

Earlier this year, heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko was expected to make his first steps into the Bellator MMA cage. His opponent in this Bellator debut was supposed to be dangerous UFC veteran Matt Mitrione. Regrettably, Mitrione was forced out of the fight at the very last minute with a bout of kidney stones. With this disappointing twist of fate, it looked as though Bellator would attempt to rebook a Fedor vs. Mitrione bout for sometime later in the year. Apparently, however, these plans might have been axed.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is currently transfixed on a potential boxing mega fight with recently un-retired great Floyd Mayweather. And though this fight initially looked like a downright impossibility, it is starting to look like a real possibility – even a likelihood. If McGregor does end up competing in a boxing match with Mayweather, it’ll be a huge moment for combat sports, and an exciting moment for the fans. It will also be a frustrating moment for Tony Ferguson who, having won nine-straight fights, has more than earned a shot at the lightweight title McGregor currently holds.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

Not long ago, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman amused the MMA community with a story about a street fight that he and UFC light heavyweight Gian Villante got into back in the day. Apparently, this wasn’t the only street fight the former champ was involved in in his youth. On a recent episode of Submission Radio, Chris Weidman detailed yet another skirmish. This time, he and a much smaller training partner took on three guys outside a bar.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2017

This May, in the co-main event of UFC 211, dominant UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will attempt to make the fifth defense of her title against dangerous Brazilian contender Jessica Andrade. While Jedrzejczyk’s victory against an opponent of Andrade’s caliber is far from guaranteed, she is already looking ahead to her next challenge as UFC strawweight queen. On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Jedrzejczyk explained that, if she beats Andrade, she expects her next challenger to be “The Karate Hottie” Michelle Waterson. For this to happen, Waterson will first have to defeat the ever-dangerous Rose Namajunas, who she’s scheduled to fight this April.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC London, Icelandic grappling specialist Gunnar Nelson scored an extremely impressive submission win over a game Alan Jouban. With this win, Nelson reminded the world why he’s considered one of the best welterweights on earth, and set himself up for some massive fights in the stacked welterweight division. Nelson, of course, has never been much of a talker, so impressive wins like this are very important for him when it comes to maintaining the interest of the fans. In the wake of Nelson’s win, his training partner Artem Lobov took to Twitter to express his belief that fighters should do their talking in the cage, rather than outside of it. In this Tweet, he directly addressed UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, who has recently generated some controversy by calling himself the worst treated champ in UFC history, and claiming that he frequently deals with racism, even as a UFC champ.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of the UFC’s latest trip to London, England, Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson scored an impressive win over the ever dangerous Alan Jouban. This win, which occurred after a fairly dominant first round, saw Nelson put his American foe on roller skates, before chasing him to the mat, where he locked up a guillotine choke for the win.