MMA News

Russell Ess - December 26, 2016

UFC 207 start time is for 10PM EST December 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event of the evening will feature the long-awaited return of Ronda Rousey as she takes on current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. This will be Rousey’s first fight back in the Octagon since losing the title in her first professional mixed martial arts loss suffered against Holly Holm in November 2015.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

On Christmas Eve, it was announced that an injured Cain Velasquez would not be licensed for his UFC 207 rematch with Fabricio Werdum. This, of course, left Werdum without an opponent for the quickly approaching card. Shortly after this unfortunate news broke, several of the game’s top heavyweights threw their names in the hat, hoping to be chosen as Werdum’s last-minute replacement opponent. One such heavyweight was former champ Junior Dos Santos, who knocked Werdum out in his UFC debut back in 2008.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

The UFC will close out an action-packed 2016 with a rare, Friday night card in UFC 207. The card, which will emanate from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been hit by a few unfortunate twists of fate, but still stands out as an excellent one. The main event will see women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes take on returning former champion Ronda Rousey. The bout will mark Nunes’ first defense since winning the title from Miesha Tate in July, and Rousey’s first steps into the Octagon since she was knocked out by a Holly Holm head-kick in November of 2015.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

One of the biggest stories of 2016 was Conor McGregor becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight classes concurrently.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

In March, Irish MMA megastar Conor McGregor found himself on the wrong end of one the year’s biggest upsets as he tapped to a second-round rear-naked choke dealt by Nate Diaz. Given his previous dominance and his status as the UFC’s biggest star ever, McGregor was quickly given a shot at redemption against his foil. In preparation for this rematch with Diaz, which was momentarily scheduled for UFC 200 but ultimately occurred at UFC 202 in August, McGregor enlisted the help of Marcelo Garcia black belt Dillon Danis to sharpen his jiu jitsu skill. This, of course, thrust Danis into the MMA spotlight, where he has remained ever since.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

https://youtu.be/u-D-ldWtB_s This Friday, the UFC will return to glimmering Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC 207. The card will be headlined by an anticipated women’s bantamweight title fight between reigning champ Amanda Nunes and returning former champ Ronda Rousey. The co-main event, meanwhile, will occur in the men’s bantamweight division, where brick-fisted challenger Cody Garbrandt will attempt to solve the puzzle that is champion Dominick Cruz.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

In November of 2015, dominant women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey stepped onto the canvas with a widely unheralded challenger in Holly Holm. Though Rousey was expected by most to blow through her challenger, she was ultimately turned off by a second round head kick in one of the biggest upsets in the history of our sport. She has not been seen in the Octagon since.

Tom Taylor - December 26, 2016

November was an incredible month for the UFC lightweight division. The most important moment of the month, of course, was Conor McGregor’s title-winning destruction of Eddie Alvarez. That said, the month also included huge wins from top contenders Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who defeated top-flight foes in Rafael Dos Anjos and Michael Johnson respectively. Under normal circumstances, McGregor would now have his sights set on a defense against either Ferguson or Nurmagomedov – though it’s difficult to say who of these two talents deserves the opportunity more. Instead, however, the Irish champion is taking a break from competition to start a family with longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin. While McGregor takes this paternity leave, Ferguson, Nurmagomedov, and the lightweight division’s other contenders have been left to squabble amongst themselves while they wait for their absentee champion to return.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

Unfortunate news surfaced Saturday afternoon that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been pulled from his upcoming UFC 207 scrap with Fabricio Werdum just days before the fight due to medical reasons. While Velasquez was quick to refute the reports, stating that as far as he knew, the fight was still on, NSAC director Bob Bennett has now stated on record that Velasquez is medically suspended.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

Saturday afternoon reports began to surface that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been pulled from his UFC 207 fight with Fabricio Werdum on December 30th due to medical reasons. The report came after Velasquez revealed several important bits of information over the course of the last week regarding a back injury he dealt with throughout training camp. After revealing that he was scheduled for surgery just 5 days after the fight, Velasquez revealed that he had been using CBD Oil throughout training camp to deal with the back pain. With the help of the medicinal compound, Velasquez went through his entire training camp at 100%. The only hurdle, clearing a pre-fight medical screening with the NSAC.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

Unfortunate news surfaced Saturday morning that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was pulled from his UFC 207 scrap with Fabricio Werdum on December 30th after the NSAC ruled Velasquez out of the fight for medical reasons. While there has been no official word on the matter, Velasquez being pulled is likely the result of the back injury which has been bothering him throughout camp. In numerous interviews, Velasquez discussed the fact that he was scheduled for surgery just 5 days after his fight with Werdum, and that he had been using CBD Oil to get through his training camp and help him with pain from the injury.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

While former UFC light heavyweight champion, and arguable pound for pound kingpin Jon Jones is without a doubt one of the greatest fighters of all time, Jones’ struggles outside of the Octagon have tarnished his legacy in the eyes of some. While Jones was cleared of any wrong-doing in the case of his failed random out-of-competition drug test back in July that resulted in his being pulled from his UFC 200 headlining scrap just 48 hours before fight-night, ‘Bones’ is still serving a one-year suspension for the situation despite the fact that the failed drug test was the result of a tainted supplement.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

nothin like USADA deciding to join me on my date night with @mightywife 😎 pic.twitter.com/d5qzLrlszX — Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouseUFC) December 19, 2016

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

Two lads mocking Conor McGregor on the streets of Dublin last night and this happens…….. pic.twitter.com/GMyXBcjajG — scampi claus (@lmScampi) December 24, 2016

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

While UFC President Dana White maintains that a boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Maywather will never happen, that hasn’t stopped both men from taking shots at one another in interviews in the media. Following Conor McGregor’s UFC 205 win over Eddie Alvarez that saw the Irish superstar claim the lightweight championship, McGregor and Mayweather began to send shots at one another in the media. This led to McGregor even going as far as to get his boxing license in California, stating in interviews that he was looking into taking other boxing fights in the meantime to prepare himself for a match with Mayweather.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

In this rare video, you can see MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko competing against UFC featherweight Chan Sung Jung, also known as ‘The Korean Zombie’ in a foreign gameshow. While the ‘fight’ is certainly a friendly one, with smiles being exchanged by both men throughout the session, Emelianenko doesn’t hesitate to use his Sambo and throw The Korean Zombie from the clinch whenever he gets the chance. Ultimately, Emelianenko’s size and Sambo experience prove to be the difference maker, as he secures a key-lock armbar on Jung and gets the submission.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

It’s no secret that former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, and the Diaz Brothers were once extremely close. While the trio still remain friends, Rousey trained with the Diaz brothers when she first was promoted to the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, frequently appearing in photos with the Stockton superstars. Ahead of Rousey’s return to the Octagon on December 30th, where she will look to reclaim the UFC women’s bantamweight championship by defeating Amanda Nunes, Nate Diaz recalled a time when he was nearly submitted by ‘Rowdy’.

bjpenndotcom - December 24, 2016

At one point in time, former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos was once regarded as the ‘baddest man on the planet‘. Now, following a unanimous decision win over Ben Rothwell back in April, dos Santos will be looking to move one step closer to a heavyweight title fight when he steps into the Octagon with Stefan Struve in February. While ‘The Skyscraper’ is currently on a 2-fight win streak that has seen him KO Bigfoot Silva, and most recently submit Daniel Omielanczuk with a D’Arce choke, he is currently ranked at #11 on the UFC’s official rankings. With that being said, Junior Dos Santos, who is ranked at #4, knows the fight is a risky one. Unfortunately for ‘Cigano’ however, the rest of the heavyweight division hasn’t been chomping at the bit to share the Octagon with him.