MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2016

In March of this year, Nate Diaz shocked the world by submitting then featherweight champion Conor McGregor in the second round of a last-minute welterweight fight. Given McGregor’s previous dominance, and his status as MMA’s biggest star, he was given an immediate shot at redemption against Diaz. Though this rematch with Diaz was initially expected to headline UFC 200 in July, it ultimately occurred atop UFC 202 in August. When it finally did go down, McGregor nabbed a majority decision from Diaz, evening their score to 1-1 in a bona fide Fight of the Year contender. Given that McGregor and Diaz are now tied across two fights, a massive third fight between them seems like a pretty logical choice for the UFC. Their first two fights, after all, were two of the most successful pay-per-views in the promotion’s history.

Russell Ess - December 28, 2016

https://youtu.be/9DlzpDOHYDY Ronda Rousey is making her return to the UFC Octagon after losing for the first time in her professional mixed martial arts career.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2016

2016 has been a fantastic year for those with an appreciation for the grappling components of mixed martial arts. We witnessed the sophomore MMA effort of ADCC champion MacKenzie Dern, who dropped jaws with a modified Imanari choke against Montana Stewart. We saw dozens of dazzling submissions in the cages of Bellator MMA, One Championship, and World Series of Fighting. And of course, we were treated to a long procession of unforgettable submissions on the sport’s biggest stage: the Octagon of the UFC.

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

After a period of speculation following reports that the UFC was looking to replace the ‘hype master’ style of commentary delivered by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, reports are now surfacing that longtime UFC commentator Mike Goldberg will be making his last broadcasting appearance with the UFC this Friday at UFC 207. UFC President Dana White recently stated that he was working on assembling what he believes to be the ‘dream team’ of commentary. While White didn’t mention who he was looking to have on board, he did praise Joe Rogan as the best commentator in the business, leading many fans to believe that Rogan would be staying on board. While there has been no further word on the matter since then, SB Nation’s Luke Thomas confirmed news this week that UFC 207 would indeed be Goldberg’s last appearance:

Russell Ess - December 28, 2016

UFC 207 is set to take place this weekend on December 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event will feature the return of Ronda Rousey as she looks to get back to the top of women’s mixed martial arts by taking on current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes for the title.

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

Unfortunate news surfaced this past weekend that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been pulled form his scheduled UFC 207 fight with Fabricio Werdum on December 30th after failing an extra pre-fight medical screening following news of a back injury he endured during training camp.

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

Leading up to UFC 207, much of the UFC’s promotion for the event has surrounded the highly anticipated return of Ronda Rousey, who will step back into the Octagon over a year after horrifically being knocked out cold by Holly Holm at UFC 193, where she lost the UFC women’s bantamweight championship. In addition to Rousey being the focus of the promotion for the event, she has been exempt from all media-related duties leading up to the fight. This hasn’t gone over too well with many fans, who have been quick to point out that the UFC gave Rousey a pass on media related events, while just months prior they pulled Conor McGregor from UFC 200 for refusing to fulfill his media obligations ahead of what was supposed to be his rematch with Nate Diaz.

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

On December 30th, Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum were set to have a highly anticipated rematch, with a heavyweight title shot against Stipe Miocic on the line. Leading up to the fight, Velasquez was very open about the fact that he had endured a back injury during training, using CBD Oil to help him get through training camp at 100%. While the former champ was slated to have back surgery just days after the fight, he made it through training camp without issue, and was geared up to fight ‘Vai Calvao’ on December 30th. Unfortunately, the NSAC caught wind of Velasquez’ back problems, and forced him to undergo an extra pre-fight medical screening, which resulted in him being pulled from the card with just one week to go until fight night.

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

It’s no secret that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has been on a tear of the women’s bantamweight division since being signed to the UFC in 2013. Nunes started her UFC career by going 2-0 with the promotion, TKOing Sheila Gaff at UFC 163, and then Germaine de Randamie at ‘UFC Fight for the Troops: 3’ in 2013. Nunes then had her two-fight win streak snapped by Cat Zingano in 2014, but bounced back by rattling off four straight wins in 2015 and 2016. Included in her 4-fight win streak was her recent UFC 200 submission win over Miesha Tate which saw Nunes win the UFC championship.

bjpenndotcom - December 28, 2016

Earlier this month, former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was one of several high-profile UFC fighters who emerged as part of the MMA Athletes Association. In addition to Dillashaw, former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, and top ranked fighters Donald Cerrone and Tim Kennedy all announced their involvement.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2016

Last November, Holly Holm shocked the world by knocking out the seemingly unbeatable Ronda Rousey with a second-round head-kick. More than a year later, Rousey has still not stepped back into the Octagon – though that will finally change this Friday. In the main event of the anticipated UFC 207, she will challenge reigning women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes for the title she once guarded so ferociously. In advance of this Rousey comeback, many members of the MMA community have offered up their predictions on the fight. The latest to do so is former UFC heavyweight, current podcast host and Rousey ex-boyfriend Brendan Schaub. Schaub weighed in on Rousey’s return on The Pony Hour with Tony Hinchcliffe.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2016

There’s a place in the heart of just about every fight fan for a good freak show fight: fights between hulking, musclebound leviathans, and smaller, but generally more skilled opponents.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2016

In March of this year, Nate Diaz shocked the world by submitting then featherweight champion Conor McGregor in a last minute welterweight scrap. His submission win marked the end of a 15-fight win-streak for the Irishman. Given his long-time dominance, and his status as the UFC’s biggest and most valuable star, McGregor was quickly given a shot at redemption against Diaz. Though his rematch was briefly scheduled as the main event of July’s UFC 200, it ultimately occurred a month later, atop UFC 202 in August. When it finally did occur, McGregor would defeat Diaz in a thrilling and competitive fight, nabbing a majority decision win and evening their score as he did.

bjpenndotcom - December 27, 2016

Leading up to the highly anticipated return of Ronda Rousey this Friday at UFC 207, the former champ has been subject to much criticism for her unwillingness to participate in fight week events, and media-related events leading up to the fight. In addition, in the UFC’s promotion for the event, Rousey has been the main focus in promo videos, not UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

bjpenndotcom - December 27, 2016

News surfaced Tuesday evening that UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett had failed a USADA drug test earlier this month. According to UFC.com, Barnett failed a random out-of-competition drug test on December 9th. Unfortunately, this is the third time Barnett has failed a drug test during his time with the UFC. In 2001, Barnett failed his first drug test with the UFC, he was then subsequently handed a warning from the NSAC. In his very next fight, just months later, Barnett won the UFC heavyweight championship by TKOing Randy Couture. Unfortunately, after the fight, it was revealed that Barnett had failed a drug test in that fight as well, subsequently, he was stripped of the UFC heavyweight championship. After 11 years fighting in various other high-profile promotions including Pride FC, Affliction, and Strikeforce, Barnett made his UFC return in 2013. This failure marks the first time he has failed a drug test in his most recent stint with the UFC.

bjpenndotcom - December 27, 2016

Earlier this month, MMA veteran Urijah Faber stepped into the Octagon for the final time on the main card of ‘UFC Fight Night: Sacramento’ where he fought fellow MMA veteran Brad Pickett. The win was certainly a dominant one for Faber, as he dropped Pickett in the very first round, then proceeding to win the next two rounds decisively en route to a unanimous decision win in his final MMA fight. With the win, Faber’s professional MMA record advanced to 34-10 over the course of thirteen years of fighting professionally.

Russell Ess - December 27, 2016

With Conor McGregor recently being just the third fighter in history to win titles in two separate UFC weight classes behind Randy Couture and BJ Penn, “The Notorious” was the first fighter to be a concurrent two-weight UFC champion. Although his time as the double champ was short lived with his deal in place with Dana White on relinquishing a UFC title, another legendary fighter is looking to add himself to the list of two-weight UFC world champions. “I do want to challenge for the heavyweight title, but I’m waiting for the perfect opponent,” said former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “I’ve beaten up a lot of heavyweights, man. Only people who train at (Jackson-Wink MMA) have seen that. I’ve picked up a lot of heavyweights. I’ve slammed a lot of heavyweights.

bjpenndotcom - December 27, 2016

Unfortunate news surfaced this week that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 207 rematch with Fabricio Werdum this Friday. While the fight was expected to see one man crowned the heavyweight #1 contender, Velasquez was pulled from the fight after it was determined that he was medically unfit to fight due to a back injury he dealt with throughout training camp. Leading up to the bout, Velasquez was very open about the fact that throughout training camp, he used CBD Oil to manage his pain from an injury which would require back surgery just days after his UFC 207 scrap with Werdum.