MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2017

Back in May of 2014, light heavyweight legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeated Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal with a contentious unanimous decision. Last weekend, during the Bellator 170 broadcast, it announced that the two fan favorites will rematch at heavyweight in the main event of Bellator 175 on March 31. Rampage and King Mo’s trash talk began almost immediately after this rematch was announced. During the Bellator 170 post fight press conference, King Mo tore into Rampage for his weight, saying he looked pregnant, and criticizing his recent training.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2017

Last November, in one of the whopping three title fights included on the UFC 205 bill, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk thwarted a game challenger in Karolina Kowalkiewicz with a dominant unanimous decision victory. With this win, the talented striking specialist reaffirmed her status as one of the UFC’s most dominant champions. Now, the dominant strawweight queen is gearing up for yet another defense of her title. According to a Tuesday night Instagram post, she has left her native Olsztyn, Poland, and has landed in Coconut Creek, Florida, where she will begin another training camp at American Top Team.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2017

https://youtu.be/GZ2248yGrUk Last November, on the main card of UFC 205, Chris Weidman and Yoel Romero fought in what was quite clearly a number one contender fight at middleweight. In advance of this fight, however, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping suggested that he had no interest in fighting Romero, even if he beat Weidman, citing the Cuban’s recent brush with USADA as a reason.

Tom Taylor - January 25, 2017

Last Saturday, Bellator MMA returned to our screens with Bellator 170, an exciting card in Los Angeles, California. This card’s headlining slot was filled by a light heavyweight bout between retiring MMA legend Tito Ortiz, and fan favorite Chael Sonnen, who was returning from a hiatus of three years. Though many expect Sonnen to be too much for the aging Ortiz, Ortiz actually ended up winning this one handily, submitting Sonnen with a rear-naked choke just over two minutes into the first round. Ortiz’s victory was so lopsided, in fact, that some fans – and even some respected media members – suggested the fight might have been a fix.

Russell Ess - January 24, 2017

https://youtu.be/eLdRpAXI3Y0 If you have ever seen UFC commentator Joe Rogan display his martial arts skills, you soon realize that the man behind the mic knows exactly what he is talking about.

Russell Ess - January 24, 2017

If you have a draw in the sport of boxing, why wouldn’t you drop your name in the hat to be in the talks of a superfight with UFC superstar Conor McGregor? Manny Pacquiao is one of the latest boxing stars to say that he would fight McGregor if given the opportunity and chances are that the fight would be much more exciting stylistically than a bout with Floyd Mayweather. UFC President Dana White recently made Floyd Mayweather an offer to fight Conor McGregor for a guaranteed $25 million and a split of pay-per-view buys to be negotiated.

Russell Ess - January 24, 2017

When a fight gets personal, you can bet that emotions can sometimes get the best of these competitive athletes. In the main event of Bellator 170, Tito Ortiz had to be pried off from holding onto his rear-naked choke on Chael Sonnen by referee “Big” John McCarthy.

Russell Ess - January 24, 2017

August 20, 2016 was the last time Nate Diaz stepped into the Octagon for a fight. Following a majority decision loss to his rival Conor McGregor at UFC 202, Diaz has stated that he is only looking for big fights that will result in a big payday. Given his history and payouts for his two bouts with Conor McGregor, a third fight between the two fighters is sure to bring in the cash once again.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

According to reliable Brazilian MMA publication Combate, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will next defend his title against an old foe in Junior Dos Santos. Combate’s report says this heavyweight title fight is likely to headline UFC 211, which will occur in Dallas, Texas on May 13. Miocic and Dos Santos first met back in December of 2013. On that night, Dos Santos weathered an early storm to steal the momentum in the second half of the fight, and ultimately capture a contentious unanimous decision win. This criminally unheralded heavyweight war earned the pair Fight of the Night honors.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

https://youtu.be/erftfWuqmZo This Saturday, the UFC will return to Denver, Colorado with an exciting night of fights. This card, which will air on Fox, will be headlined by a bantamweight number-one-contender fight between Julianna Peña, the first woman to win the Ultimate Fighter, and Valentina Shevchenko, who is the perhaps best striker in the division. The co-main event, meanwhile, will pit fan favorite gunslinger and hometown hero Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone against Jorge Masvidal.

bjpenndotcom - January 24, 2017

https://youtu.be/Qc6SSD24UwA On the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Garbrandt vs. Team Dillashaw, UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will coach opposite his former teammate, former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, in a highly anticipated ‘Redemption’ season featuring all stars from past seasons of the show.

bjpenndotcom - January 24, 2017

https://youtu.be/wSn2gVRaqYU Episode 4 of The Celebrity Apprentice saw Chael Sonnen fired for tip-toeing in a grey area. While Sonnen had been looking to win the latest season of Celebrity Apprentice hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Donald Trump’s absence, ‘The American Gangster’ found himself fired early in the season.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

Though Ronda Rousey is widely credited with putting women’s MMA on the map, Gina Carano was the first real female star the sport ever produced. The Muay Thai specialist realized her stardom – which admittedly paled in comparison to the eventual megastardom of Ronda Rousey – in the cage of the long defunct Strikeforce organization.

bjpenndotcom - January 24, 2017

This past Saturday at Bellator 170, knockout artist Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley picked up another highlight reel knockout as he knocked Brennan Ward out with a vicious flying knee in the co-main event. The win returned Daley to the win column after dropping a unanimous decision to Douglas Lima at Bellator 158 back in July of 2016, which snapped a 5-fight win streak for ‘Semtex’. The flying knee of course left Ward with a horrific cut on the side of his face, an image of the injury has since gone viral as fight fans and social media users have all collectively gazed at the photo in awe.

bjpenndotcom - January 24, 2017

While UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes was thrust into the public spotlight when she defeated former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in just 48 seconds at UFC 207, top ranked women’s bantamweight Julianna Pena believes that there was a void left behind by Rousey. A void she intends to fill.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

With no UFC card last weekend, the MMA spotlight was fixed firmly on Bellator 170, which went down on Saturday night. This card was headlined by a light heavyweight fight between retiring MMA legend Tito Ortiz, and returning star Chael Sonnen. In advance of this fight, Sonnen assured it was one he’d wanted for years, and one he was determined to win. Despite all of this pre-fight talk, however, Sonnen could not have looked much worse on fight night, as he was soundly out-grappled by the aging Ortiz, and ultimately wound up tapping out to a poorly applied rear-naked choke just over two minutes into the fight.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

Over the last few months, Tyron Woodley has generated dozens of headlines by claiming that, even as the UFC welterweight champion, he experiences racism on a frequent basis. Some fans have responded to these claims by accusing him of “race-baiting”. Others have applauded him for shining a light on these ugly issues which, to this day, have their claws embedded in North American culture. On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, host Ariel Helwani gave Woodley the chance to elaborate on his recent comments. The champ did not hesitate to do so, explaining that he’d actually prepared notes for the interview so as to assure he articulated his points effectively.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2017

Shortly after the UFC was purchased by entertainment giant WME-IMG midway through 2016, a string of high-profile layoffs began. The most significant of these layoffs occurred at the end of the year, when we learned that long-time UFC commentator Mike Goldberg would be parting ways with the organization after UFC 207 on December 30. On the most recent episode of The MMA Hour, Goldberg opened up on his departure from the UFC, which was not even mentioned during his final broadcast. Unsurprisingly, he said the news that his contract would not be released was not easy to to take.