MMA News

bjpenndotcom - March 17, 2017

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo may currently be gearing up for his UFC 212 fight with Max Holloway on June 3rd to unify the interim and undisputed featherweight titles, however the UFC veteran has some long term plans of his own.

bjpenndotcom - March 17, 2017

Throughout the course of 2017, conflicting reports have continued to emerge regarding the status of a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing superfight. While offers have been made on both sides, neither party has been able to reach an agreement. With that being said, the NSAC revealed recently that they were aware of ongoing negotiations between the two parties. This was followed up by a statement from UFC President Dana White this week, in which he stated that he was confident a fight between McGregor and Mayweather would be official, saying:

Chris Taylor - March 17, 2017

Former UFC interim bantamweight title challenger Michael “Mayday” McDonald (17-4 MMA) has been granted an official release from his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship according to ESPN. McDonald cited “dishonest” business practices as his reasoning for requesting to be released by the promotion earlier this month.

Chris Taylor - March 17, 2017

Former UFC champion Vitor Belfort suffered his third-straight TKO loss this past weekend in Brazil at the hands of surging division contender Kelvin Gastelum. With that said, “The Phenom” knows that it is almost time to call it a career but he would first like to finish his career on a winning note.

Russell Ess - March 16, 2017

Bellator has scooped up another fighter from the UFC as Lorenz Larkin was announced under the Bellator promotion on Thursday. Bellator President Scott Coker tweeted a link to Larkin’s signing and said, “Looking forward to seeing @da_MONSOON in the @BellatorMMA cage very soon. Welcome back Lorenz! #BellatorNation”

bjpenndotcom - March 16, 2017

This year, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will step into the Octagon to fight former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre in a highly anticipated middleweight title fight. While there has been no official date set for the fight, UFC President Dana White has revealed that the two will fight sometime this year. Interestingly enough, White also stated prior to the Bisping vs. St-Pierre booking that Yoel Romero would be the next contender to the middleweight title. Now, with Romero left waiting to potentially fight the winner of Bisping vs. St-Pierre, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman believes that the fight is holding up the division.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has signed a shiny new deal with the UFC, and is poised for a return to the Octagon later this year. His return, however, will not occur in the welterweight division he ruled for so long. Instead, he’ll return to a middleweight title shot against reigning divisional king Michael Bisping. Alan Jouban, who is quickly rising through the ranks at welterweight, thinks he knows why St-Pierre is returning to the Bisping-ruled middleweight division, rather than the welterweight division, which is now ruled by the dangerous Tyron Woodley. He believes that St-Pierre has probably not been training as hard as he says he has been, and that the former champ probably views Bisping as a much simpler puzzle to solve than Woodley.

bjpenndotcom - March 16, 2017

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is currently booked to fight top ranked middleweight Kelvin Gastelum in a highly anticipated middleweight showdown on June 3rd at UFC 212. While the scrap will certainly be a very interesting one, one aspect that fight fans haven’t been anticipating is the fact that Kings MMA coach Rafael Cordeiro, who trains Kelvin Gastelum, used to train Anderson Silva at the Chute Boxe Academy in the early 2000’s.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

The next title fight in the ever-exciting UFC bantamweight division will pit reigning champion Cody Garbrandt against former champion and estranged teammate TJ Dillashaw at a to-be-determined date. Before the two bantamweight stars collide for gold, however, they will star as opposing coaches on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. Garbrandt and Dillashaw’s time on the show, has given their already sizzling beef plenty of time to slow-cook.

Russell Ess - March 16, 2017

UFC President Dana White has his finger on the pulse for what is happening with his biggest stars in the UFC, which include Nick and Nate Diaz.

bjpenndotcom - March 16, 2017

Streaking UFC featherweight prospect Makwan Amirkhani has certainly proven himself to be one of the hottest rising stars on the UFC’s roster as he has gone 3-0 in the UFC, with two of his wins being first round finishes. With his 8 second flying knee KO of Andy Ogle immortalized on UFC highlight reels, Amirkhani’s star power over in his home country of Finland is without a doubt rather high, so high that he believes that he can hold out from fighting after this Saturday until the UFC visits Finland.

bjpenndotcom - March 16, 2017

Conflicting reports have continued to emerge regarding the status of a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather superfight, with UFC President Dana White, and undefeated prizefighter Floyd Mayweather denying reports of a nearly being finalized. Given this, fight fans have been left to wonder if a fight between McGregor & Mayweather will ever materialize. This week, Dana White stated in an interview that he now believed a fight between Mayweather and McGregor would happen, however according to Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless, White was merely calling Mayweather’s bluff.

bjpenndotcom - March 16, 2017

It’s no secret that UFC President Dana White and UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz certainly have their fair share of animosity dating back many years. At one point in time, the two men were set to step into a boxing ring to settle their beef, however despite months of training on both men’s side, and the event making it all the way up to weigh-ins, the NSAC forced their way into the matter, demanding that they oversee the bout. Ultimately, the exhibition boxing match was scrapped.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Late last year, featherweight superstar Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino failed a drug test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Given that Cyborg has had issues with performing enhancers in the past, the MMA community was quick to pick up their torches and pitchforks and accuse her of cheating. In the end, however, Cyborg was granted a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Spironolactone, the substance in question. As such, she was cleared of any guilt, and will be able to continue to compete as normal. While Cyborg was proven innocent, however, many members of the MMA community still question the legitimacy of her legacy of dominance. In the opinion of Megan Anderson, who holds the Invicta interim featherweight title and stands out as one of Cyborg’s biggest rivals, this isn’t exactly just.

bjpenndotcom - March 16, 2017

Throughout the course of 2017, conflicting reports have continued to emerge regarding the status of a potential Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather superfight in the boxing ring. While Mayweather and the UFC President both made one another offers, neither offer was pleasing to both men, and as a result talks appeared to die down. Shortly after however, the NSAC confirmed that while a fight was still far off from being finalized, negotiations between the two parties were ongoing. This has then been followed up by several conflicting reports of whether or not a fight was close, with both Mayweather and White saying that a fight was far from official.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

On April 8, the UFC will touch down in Buffalo, New York with UFC 210. In the card’s main event, we’ll see light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier attempt to defend his title against an old foe in Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Cormier and Rumble first met back in 2015. On that night, Rumble nearly took Cormier’s head off in the first round, but was ultimately overwhelmed by his foe’s wrestling and cardio, and submitted with a rear-naked choke in the third round. Given Rumble’s incredible punching power, however, the outcome of this fight could well be different. As such, The MMA community seems to be divided when it comes to predictions for this battle.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

The next season of The Ultimate Fighter, TUF 25, looks like it should be a good one. The season will be coached by reigning bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and former champion TJ Dillashaw, who are estranged former teammates and heated rivals. The cast, meanwhile, will be composed of TUF veterans – ranging from Joe Stevenson to Julian Lane to James Krause – each eager to get their career back on track with a TUF tournament win. According to Duane Ludwig, who spent three days a week helping his star pupil Dillashaw coach these veterans, the season also produced some dynamite fights. In fact, Ludwig believes this season of the show produced the best fights in TUF history. He explained this belief on Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Misha Cirkunov is widely regarded as the hottest prospect in the UFC light heavyweight division. So, when it sounded like a contract dispute would drive him away from the organization, there was widespread disappointment. Luckily, Cirkunov and the UFC were able to iron out their differences and agree to the terms of a new contract. The Latvian-Canadian destroyer is now scheduled for a fight with the dangerous Volkan Oezdemir, which will occur in Stockholm, Sweden on May 28.