MMA News

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

Throughout the course of 2016, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has continued to crack down on performance enhancing drugs used both in competition and out of competition by fighters. This has resulted in quite a bit of fighters being suspended for potential USADA violations, most notably former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Now, to kick off 2017, a list of the most tested fighters under USADA has been released courtesy of the USADA website. Over the course of the year, 586 UFC fighters were tested for a total of 2291 drug tests.

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

Nearly a decade ago, a 21 year old New York native by the name of Jon Jones stepped into the cage for his first professional MMA fight. Jones fought 0-2 Brad Bernard at FFP 20 in Boxborough, Massachusetts. Of course, spectators couldn’t have known that the Jon Jones pro debut that they just witnessed would continue into one of the most impressive careers in the history of MMA, with Jones going on to be called the greatest fighter of all time by many.

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has continued to find his name in headlines despite the fact that he is currently sidelined with a knee injury sustained in his UFC 204 title defense against Dan Henderson, where he picked up a unanimous decision win, defending his title for the first time. While UFC President Dana White recently stated that when Bisping is ready to return to the Octagon, he will be defending his title against Yoel Romero, recently released odds indicate the Bisping is the most likely opponent for former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre in his highly anticipated return fight.

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

In just over a week, streaking lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will step into the Octagon for a highly anticipated interim lightweight title fight in the co-main event of UFC 209. Ahead of the fight, both men have continued to trade verbal blows, with Nurmagomedov threatening to break Ferguson’s arm, and Ferguson vowing to use his indomitable spirit to break Nurmagomedov and hand ‘The Eagle’ his first professional loss.

Russell Ess - February 23, 2017

UFC veteran Josh Burkman was caught totally off guard when he was woken up by the DEA and SWAT team on Tuesday in the Budokan University gym he trains at in Miami, Florida.

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

Former UFC middleweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre is undoubtably one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. With a professional record of 25-2 that saw him go undefeated in UFC for over 5 years as he won, and then defended the UFC welterweight championship 9 times in a row before stepping away from the Octagon in 2013 after defeating Johny Hendricks via split decision at UFC 167. With news surfacing this week that St-Pierre is officially back in the UFC after signing a new multi-fight deal, the former champ has now proclaimed that despite the lengthy layoff, he believes that the current GSP would beat the past GSP, who dominated the welterweight division for so many years.

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

This past weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, fight fans tuned in for an exciting night of fights headlined by a heavyweight tilt between streaking contender Derrick ‘The Black Beast’ Lewis and heavyweight veteran Travis Browne. The fight was an extremely exciting one, with Browne nearly finishing Lewis with body kicks early in the fight, before Lewis then recovered and finished Browne via strikes in the 2nd round. In addition, former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks picked up his first win in over a year as he defeated Hector Lombard via unanimous decision, snapping a 3-fight skid that had seen him go winless over the course of 2016 and ultimately move up to middleweight.

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

This week, famed boxer Roy Jones Jr. took to social media to call out former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva for a boxing match. Jones Jr. proposed that he and ‘The Spider’ throw down in the boxing ring on the same card that Conor McGregor & Floyd Mayweather would potentially throw down on if they are able to agree to terms for a superfight. Jones Jr. stated:

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

Mayweather vs. McGregor may not be the only fight where a UFC fighter steps into the boxing ring. While Conor McGregor may be taking a hiatus from the Octagon ahead of the upcoming birth of his firstborn child, the UFC lightweight champion has continued to make headlines as talks of a potential superfight with Floyd Mayweather have continued to surface. While there has reportedly been progress made in regards to negotiations for the boxing match, Floyd Mayweather and UFC President Dana White have both maintained that the fight is not official. With that being said however, UFC welterweight contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, who shares a manager with McGregor, recently revealed in an exclusive interview with BJPenn.com that the fight is close!

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2017

Ever since his thunderous, second round knockout of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone back in January, Jorge Masvidal has had a difficult time finding a willing opponent for his next fight – and that’s not for lack of trying. Over the last few weeks, the Cuban contender has made several callouts on social media in attempt to get a fight booked. His latest callout was directed at Neil Magny. At first, Magny seemed to be down with the notion of this scrap. According to Masvidal, however, Magny refused to put pen to paper, citing an injury that will keep him on the shelf for some time.

Russell Ess - February 23, 2017

Bellator MMA and the UFC are now throwing down in the courtroom after a lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, according to Sporting News. Bellator MMA’s lawsuit against the UFC stems from a class-action lawsuit that was filed against the UFC in 2014 by a group of mixed martial arts fighters that claimed the UFC was guilty of violating antitrust laws. The UFC’s lawyers filed subpoenas to obtain contracts and financial information from fighters competing for other MMA organizations, particularly Bellator’s confidential contracts and financial information, in an effort to prove that the UFC is treating their fighters the same, if not better than the other competing organizations.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2017

After months of conflicting rumors and reports, Georges St-Pierre has finally agreed to the terms of a new contract with the UFC. That means we’re likely to see the former welterweight great and bona fide MMA legend back in the cage sometime before the end of the year. On Wednesday’s episode of BJ Penn Radio, Canadian middleweight Elias Theodorou weighed in on the return of St-Pierre with host Kinch. Apparently, he was initially unsure about the former champ’s comeback. His words:

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2017

This past weekend, fight fans tuned in for Bellator 172, for a fight card which was initially supposed to be headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Matt Mitrione, where the MMA icon would be stepping into the Bellator MMA cage for his highly anticipated Bellator MMA debut, as well as his first fight in the United States since 2011 where he lost to Dan Henderson under the Strikeforce banner.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2017

Late last year, undefeated Team Alpha Male contender Cody Garbrandt stepped onto the canvas with dominant bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. In advance of this fight, there were widespread claims that Garbrandt hadn’t yet earned his title shot, but in the end, he silenced his doubters by walloping Cruz to a sound, unanimous decision win. Shortly after his bantamweight title winning performance, Garbrandt surprised by offering Cruz an immediate rematch. Ultimately, however, the UFC opted to award the next bantamweight title shot to TJ Dillashaw, rendering Cruz’s future somewhat uncertain.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2017

Last month, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to Denver, Colorado, Jorge Masvidal dazzled with a second round knockout of the streaking Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. With this emphatic win, Masvidal catapulted himself up the welterweight rankings, where fights with the division’s top dogs now await. He has been mentioned as a possible opponent for dangerous grappling specialist Demian Maia. He’s been discussed as an opponent for Neil Magny. He’s even been mentioned as a potential dance partner for Georges St-Pierre’s return. Perhaps the most intriguing of all Masvidal’s options, however, is a fight with Stockton’s Nick Diaz.

Tom Taylor - February 23, 2017

Last Sunday, on the main card of the UFC’s second trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canadian middleweight Elias Theodorou scored a nice decision win over Brazilian Ultimate Fighter winner Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira. Shortly after this win, Theodorou expressed interest in fighting Rashad Evans, a former UFC light heavyweight champion who will debut in the middleweight division opposite Daniel Kelly at UFC 209.

bjpenndotcom - February 22, 2017

BJPENN.COM Radio is live at 9PM ET/6PM PT with “The Spartan” and “Game Bred”! 9:05PM ET- Kicking off tonights show is the only MMA fighter with hair good enough to land a shampoo sponsor, Elias Theodorou – @eliastheodorou. Coming off a decision victory over Cezar Ferreira in Halifax on Sunday, we will recap the fight and get “The Spartan’s” thoughts on his performance. We’ll address the possibility of a fan getting his likeness tattooed over a bet on Twitter, who Elias would like to fight next and much more!

Chris Taylor - February 22, 2017

Former UFC lightweight fighter Terry Etim was hospitalized on Wednesday after allegedly throwing himself into multiple vehicles in his hometown of Liverpool, England. The Liverpool Echo had the following details on the story after speaking with eyewitnesses from the scene: