MMA News

bjpenndotcom - January 21, 2017

After ending 2015 by dropping a 1st round TKO to Rafael dos Anjos in a failed bid for the UFC lightweight championship, Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone kicked off 2016 by moving up to welterweight. Over the course of the year, Donald Cerrone posted arguably the best 2016 out of anyone in the UFC. Cerrone not only went 4-0, but also finished all four opponents, going from unranked at welterweight to #5 on the UFC’s official rankings over the course of one calendar year. Surprisingly, Donald Cerrone has gone over a month since his last fight without signing the contract for his next fight. While he has been looking for a title eliminator fight, Demian Maia is content to either wait for Robbie Lawler, or wait to fight the winner of UFC 209’s welterweight rematch between welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and #1 contender Stephen Thompson.

bjpenndotcom - January 21, 2017

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes had arguably one of the best years in MMA over the course of 2016. To start the year, Nunes fought top ranked women’s bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko in a highlight anticipated UFC 196 scrap which she won via unanimous decision. In her next fight, Nunes headlined UFC 200, where she won the UFC women’s bantamweight championship by rocking and then submitting Miesha Tate in the first round of their fight. In her very first title defense, Nunes closed out the year by picking up a particularly dominant and impressive 1st round KO win over former bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in just 48 seconds.

bjpenndotcom - January 21, 2017

Despite being on a 2-fight skid that has seen him drop back to back TKO losses, MMA legend Vitor Belfort remains a top 10 ranked middleweight on the UFC’s official roster. After going 0-2 over the course of 2016, reports surfaced that Belfort was going to retire following his UFC 204 loss to Gegard Mousasi, however he then announced that he wasn’t retiring, he was merely looking to return to the Octagon as ‘The Phenom’ and return to the win column in 2017.

bjpenndotcom - January 21, 2017

After fifteen years of fighting professionally, at the age of 35, many are wondering just how much longer MMA legend Mauricio Shogun Rua will continue to fight. Despite his age, Shogun Rua is currently on a 2-fight win streak that has seen him pick up back to back wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Corey ‘Beastin 25/8’ Anderson.

Russell Ess - January 20, 2017

Leave it up to Chael Sonnen to hit you where it hurts most. “The American Gangster” is scheduled for his first fight since 2013 as he is set to take on MMA legend Tito Ortiz in what “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” says will be the last fight of his career.

bjpenndotcom - January 20, 2017

var v = 'ISAAC%20SOARES%20VS%20KEONI%20RODRIGUEZ%20-%20JUST%20SCRAP%20HILO'; Welcome to BJPenn.com’s ‘Just Scrap Friday’ where we feature some of the best fights from ‘Just Scrap’ promotion in Hawaii.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2017

On Saturday night, three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen will return to the cage for the first time in more than three years. He will do so against retiring MMA legend Tito Ortiz in the main event of a stacked Bellator 170 card.

bjpenndotcom - January 20, 2017

Recently, former UFC lightweight champion Jon Jones made the move to submission grappling during his suspension from MMA. Jones stepped into the cage against MMA legend Dan Henderson for a highly anticipated grappling match at Submission Underground 2. Jones won the fight in dominant fashion, submitting Henderson in just minutes. Following the match, Jones found himself called out for grappling matches by numerous people, including Conor McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis.

bjpenndotcom - January 20, 2017

On this episode of American Animals, the Animals get a lengthy chat with the UFC Welterweight Champion, Tyron Woodley. Tryon discusses training at ATT and with Duke Roufus, as well as his thoughts on his most recent fight with Stephen Thompson. Also, the boys update you with the latest in MMA news and current events. Join us for this edition of American Animals! You can email your questions and comments to info@2americananimals.com and find the show at www.2americananimals.com on the web, on social media at facebook.com/2AmericanAnimals and @2AmericanAnimal on Twitter and @2AmericanAnimals on Instagram.

Russell Ess - January 20, 2017

UFC lightweight, Tony Ferguson (22-3), will be fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0) for the interim lightweight title at UFC 209 on March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The two top contenders were initially suppose to meet December 2015. However, Nurmagomedov pulled out due to injury, and the fight was rescheduled for April 2016 until Ferguson withdrew due to injury, also.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2017

In July of 2016, Mark Hunt was tasked with welcoming former UFC heavyweight champion and long time pro wrestling star Brock Lesnar back to the Octagon. Though many expected Hunt to level his returning foe, he was ultimately outwrestled for three, gruelling rounds, giving up a unanimous decision as a result. In the days after their fight, however, it was revealed that Lesnar had failed two drug tests, as he was flagged for the estrogen blocker clomiphene. Though this crime saw Lesnar receive a one year suspension and a $250,000 fine, and have his win overturned, this was not a severe enough punishment in Hunt’s eyes. So, after months of criticism of both Lesnar and the UFC, he has elected to take both parties to court.

bjpenndotcom - January 20, 2017

With just under two months until UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and UFC welterweight #1 contender Stephen Thompson step into the Octagon in the main event of UFC 209, ‘Wonderboy’ has a message for ‘The Chosen One’: Focus on the fight. Stephen Thompson spoke to ESPN to explain why he hopes the champ is 100% focused on the fight, because he wants to face the best version of Woodley.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2017

Last month, in the main event of UFC 207, Ronda Rousey was mauled in just 48 seconds by reigning women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes. Given how helpless the former champ looked in this long awaited comeback fight, opinions that she should leave her long-time coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, once again erupted to the surface. Of course, Rousey is not the only Edmond Tarverdyan student to struggle in the Octagon. Her boyfriend, UFC heavyweight contender Travis Browne, has also realized poor results under the tutelage of the frequently criticized coach. Yet while Rousey has not given any reason to believe that she’ll leave Tarverdyan’s gym, Browne has apparently heeded his critics’ advice and relocated.

bjpenndotcom - January 20, 2017

This Saturday, former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen will step into the cage to fight former UFC champion Tito Ortiz in a highly anticipated Bellator MMA showdown. Ahead of the fight, Ortiz and Sonnen’s beef has been very publicized. In addition to their ongoing war of words leading up to their fight, Ortiz and Sonnen once met on the wrestling mat over a decade ago, where Sonnen defeated Ortiz.

bjpenndotcom - January 20, 2017

Earlier this month, at ‘UFC Fight Night: Phoenix’, UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn stepped into the Octagon for a highly anticipated showdown with streaking featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez. For Penn, he was seeking his first win in over 5 years as he planned to make a run at the featherweight strap. Unfortunately for the UFC Hall of Famer, Yair Rodriguez’ dynamic and unorthodox striking proved to be too much as he continued to land numerous kicks on the former two-division champ, who showed tremendous heart as he continued to pursue the finish despite continuing to be tagged.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2017

All business Ferguson pic.twitter.com/YNIeHeNg38 — Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) January 19, 2017

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2017

With more and more people watching and practicing mixed martial arts, mixed mixed martial arts technique is spilling more and more frequently into street fights. We’ve seen backyard skirmishes end with head kicks. We’ve seen bar brawls end with rear naked chokes and arm triangle chokes. And now, we’ve seen a street fight end with a blistering, spinning back fist knockout.

Tom Taylor - January 20, 2017

https://twitter.com/foxsportslive/status/822301391855067138 Late last year, popular lightweight and welterweight prospect Sage Northcutt took the internet by storm with a video that showed him ripping an apple in half with his bare hands. After brutalizing this helpless fruit, he then challenged his fans to attempt to do so themselves. From there, Instagram blew up with videos of fans attempting to rip apples in half – some successfully, others not – in what quickly became known as the Super Sage Apple Challenge. The Internet is a strange and magical place.