MMA News

bjpenndotcom - January 17, 2017

While Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson will meet in the Octagon at UFC 209 to fight for the interim UFC lightweight championship, it took quite a bit of time for the fight to be made official. After Conor McGregor captured the lightweight championship by knocking out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York in November, the UFC superstar revealed that he would be taking some time away from the Octagon in order to be with his girlfriend leading up to the birth of their firstborn child in May. This led to talks of an interim lightweight title, with undefeated Dagestani fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov and streaking 10th Planet JiuJitsu lightweight Tony Ferguson being mentioned as the two combatants.

Russell Ess - January 17, 2017

If you’re a fan of Vince Vaughn, you’re going to enjoy this Gracie Breakdown that much more.

bjpenndotcom - January 17, 2017

To close out 2016, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes picked up arguably the biggest win of her career as she destroyed former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey in just 48 seconds in the main event of their highly anticipated UFC 207 scrap. While Ronda Rousey was the focus of the promotional videos leading up to the fight, it took just 48 seconds for Amanda Nunes to steal the spotlight as she cemented her place in the minds of fight fans with her impressive win.

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2017

When lightweight champion Conor McGregor returns from his current hiatus from competition, it will likely be to a fight with the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson’s upcoming interim title fight. If the Irish champion passes this mammoth test, however, it’s difficult to say who will be next for him. Michael Chiesa, who is one of the frontrunners in the lightweight division, could well find himself in the cage with McGregor in the near future. Were this to happen, The Ultimate Fighter winner is confident he’d win for one reason in particular. At 6’1, he’s just a much bigger fighter than McGregor.

bjpenndotcom - January 17, 2017

To kick off 2017, talks of a potential Conor McGregor Floyd Mayweather boxing match quickly picked up steam as Mayweather offered the UFC superstar $15 million for a boxing match:

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2017

Undefeated Blackzilians staple Kamaru Usman is one of the fastest rising prospects in the welterweight division. He also understands the value of a good, old fashioned call-out, which is why he’s recently campaigned so hard for a fight with Demian Maia. Unfortunately for Usman, Maia politely turned down his offer for a fight. Having accepted Maia’s rejection, Usman has now set his sights on another top welterweight grappler: Dong Hyun Kim.

Russell Ess - January 17, 2017

UFC Hall of Fame legend Chuck Liddell is still getting in the ring here and there, showing glimpses of his past as the king of the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

bjpenndotcom - January 17, 2017

Fan favorite UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt’s recent spat with the UFC brass over the past 6 months has certainly been a public one. After Hunt’s UFC 200 scrap with Brock Lesnar, Hunt was extremely critical of the promotion for allowing Lesnar to fight despite being granted an exemption from the first several months of random drug testing leading up to their scrap. Hunt put the UFC and Lesnar on blast on numerous occasions over the situation, and even turned down two fights following UFC 200 after he and the UFC were unable to reach an agreement on putting a provision in all future contracts that protected both Hunt and his opponent in the event that one man tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.

Russell Ess - January 17, 2017

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson will return to the Octagon at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, New York on February 11. Coming off a TKO loss against Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Night 101 in November of last year, Brunson will be looking to get back to his winning ways against one of the greatest mixed martial arts fighters of all time. Brunson has been tasked with fighting former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2017

Since winning the UFC bantamweight title from Dominick Cruz in the co-main event of December’s UFC 207, Cody Garbrandt has had some interesting ideas for his next fight. He’s called for a rematch with Cruz. He’s called for a “money fight” with featherweight champ Jose Aldo. He’s suggested interest in a super fight with Conor McGregor. He has not, however, expressed much in the way of interest in a fight with the bantamweight division’s indisputable number one contender, TJ Dillashaw. Late last week, however, news broke that Cody Garbrandt and TJ Dillashaw would be coaching the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter against one another. This, of course, implies that they will indeed fight – probably sometime in the first half of 2017.

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2017

Long-time UFC middleweight contender Tim Kennedy has announced his retirement from MMA. The Strikeforce veteran made this announcement, which follows a UFC 206 knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum, on his official Facebook page. Kennedy’s statement, which thanks his wife, his team, some of his more notable opponents, the military community, and the fans, reads as follows:

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2017

In September of 2016, the UFC touched down in Cleveland, Ohio – the hometown of UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic – with UFC 203. The card was headlined by a title fight between Miocic and dangerous challenger Alistair Overeem – a fight Miocic won via first round knockout. Despite being the champion, and the clear focal point of this Cleveland event, however, Miocic was soundly out-earned by his challenger, pocketing just $600,000 for Overeem’s $800,000. This, apparently, is rubbing the champ the wrong way.

Tom Taylor - January 17, 2017

Gegard Mousasi is looking for a fight. Unfortunately, he can’t seem to find one. Despite being willing to fight pretty much anyone in the UFC middleweight rankings, he still hasn’t been scheduled for a scrap. In a recent interview with Fox Sports, Mousasi shared his frustrations, putting his fellow middleweights on blast for refusing to fight.

Russell Ess - January 16, 2017

The promotional battle between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather also interestingly involves UFC President Dana White. Recently, White, who has McGregor under contract with the UFC made Mayweather an offer of $25 million to fight McGregor with a split of pay-per-view buys to be negotiated.

Russell Ess - January 16, 2017

It was not the outcome that BJ Penn and his loyal fans were looking for on Sunday at UFC Fight Night 103 in Phoenix, Arizona. The UFC Hall of Fame legend ended up losing to rising UFC star Yair Rodriguez in the main event of the evening in the second round as referee “Big” John McCarthy called a stop to the fight after Rodriguez dropped Penn for the first time in his career and followed up with a flurry of punches on the ground.

Russell Ess - January 16, 2017

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather holds a polished 49-0 undefeated boxing record and has recently been a hot topic amongst MMA fans with the talk of a potential fight with UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Another name in MMA that came up a lot with Mayweather was former UFC women’s bantmaweight champion, Ronda Rousey, as the two stars had their own war of words in the past.

Russell Ess - January 16, 2017

BJ Penn and Jason Parillo have a long history with one another and have gone through it all, both winning and losing championship title fights in the UFC together.

Russell Ess - January 16, 2017

The main event of UFC Fight Night 103 brought UFC Hall of Fame legend BJ Penn back into the Octagon to take on the 24-year-old rising UFC star Yair Rodriguez. It wasn’t the outcome that Penn and his fans were looking for as Rodriguez was able to pick up a second round TKO stoppage over the former two-division UFC champion.