MMA News

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2016

Late last month, reports surfaced that Glover Teixeira and Jimi Manuwa were being considered for a light heavyweight showdown at UFC 208 in Anaheim, California. Unfortunately, that card was cancelled altogether, which meant that UFC 209 – scheduled for February 11 in Brooklyn – became the new UFC 208. With the cancellation of the originally scheduled UFC 208, Teixeira and Manuwa’s planned bout was also scrapped. While reports quickly began to suggest that Manuwa would be rescheduled for a March 18 card in his native England, it was not known when or where Teixeira would make his next steps into the Octagon.

bjpenndotcom - December 7, 2016

This Saturday at UFC 206, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will step into the Octagon to fight streaking featherweight Max Holloway in a highly anticipated showdown of featherweight contenders. The fight will not only serve as the main event of UFC 206, it will also be an interim featherweight title fight, with the winner fighting Jose Aldo for the undisputed featherweight championship.

Russell Ess - December 7, 2016

It sounds like Conor McGregor may be out of competition for a bit longer than expected. Many were expecting “The Notorious” to take time off from fighting until his baby was born in the summer of 2017.

bjpenndotcom - December 7, 2016

UFC welterweight Matt Brown is gearing up for what could very well be the biggest fight of his MMA career this Saturday at UFC 206. Brown, who is currently ranked at #14 on the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, will be stepping into the Octagon to fight former lightweight title challenger, #5 ranked welterweight Donald Cerrone. The fight will take place on the main card, and is a pivotal fight for both men. For Brown, he will be looking to snap a 2-fight losing streak that has seen him be submitted by Demian Maia at UFC 198, and then TKOd by Jake Ellenberger at UFC 201 back in July. On the other hand, for Cerrone, the fight is an opportunity to extend his unbeaten streak at welterweight to 4-0 as he looks to defeat a gritty veteran in ‘The Immortal’.

bjpenndotcom - December 7, 2016

In just over a week, MMA veteran Urijah Faber will step into the Octagon for the final time as he squares off against Brad ‘One Punch’ Pickett in front of his hometown crowd in Sacramento, California. For Faber, the fight will mark the end of a historic 13 year professional MMA career that saw ‘The California Kid’ fight some of the top names in the sport, including Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, and Frankie Edgar, to name just a few. While the former WEC champ was never able to capture UFC gold, the impact Faber made on the sport is undeniable.

bjpenndotcom - December 7, 2016

Since the new UFC owners have taken over control of the company, the WME-IMG owners have sparked quite a bit of controversy as they have fired numerous high-level executives, including most of the UFC Canada office. Their most recent firings however, saw none other than UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes receive their walking papers, much to the dismay of the MMA community.

bjpenndotcom - December 7, 2016

This past weekend in Las Vegas, the UFC hosted the Ultimate Fighter season 24 Finale, which was headlined by a flyweight title fight between flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson, and TUF 24 winner Tim Elliot. In the first round, Elliot left fight fans stunned as he nearly pulled off what arguably could have been the biggest upset in MMA history as he nearly submitted the flyweight champ.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2016

Late last month, Australia’s Xtreme Fighting Championship (XFC) touched down in sun-soaked Brisbane with their 28th show. The fourth bout of this 13-fight card occurred in the middleweight division, where James Vake took on a fellow Australian in Michael McDaniel. Regrettably, this bout would produce one of the strangest – and initially, most frightening – endings in recent memory.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2016

Edson Barboza, who currently holds the number-5 spot in the stacked UFC lightweight division, is known as one of the best leg-kickers in the game. In fact, he might just be the best leg-kicker in MMA outright. Time after time, the Brazilian has dazzled fans and bewildered his opponents by bludgeoning legs into useless stumps of bruised flesh. Unfortunately, Barboza is starting to think his fearsome leg kick game is scaring off his prospective opponents.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2016

On December 30, in the co-main event of UFC 207, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will attempt to defend his title against the young Cody Garbrandt. In advance of this bantamweight title showdown, both fighters have pretty clear paths to victory. If Cruz wants to win, he’ll need to avoid Garbrandt’s fight-altering punching power and drag him into the later rounds where he might get tired and frustrated. If Garbrandt wants to score the upset, he needs to plant a bomb on Cruz’s chin early, and avoid a drawn-out war of attrition with the crafty champion.

Russell Ess - December 6, 2016

There has been quite a bit of restructuring with the UFC staff since the new owners WME-IMG took over in the $4 billion acquisition. Dozens of staff members have been let go, including UFC Hall of Fame legends Chuck Liddell and Matt Hughes.

Russell Ess - December 6, 2016

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is definitely starting to like the idea of defending his belt against the newly crowned UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Woodley has previously stated that he felt it would not be a good matchup between the two given the size of the lightweight and welterweight champions.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2016

https://youtu.be/MlThAYmkfss Though the MMA community is quite transfixed on Saturday’s UFC 206 card, which will feature big names like Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Matt Brown, this is actually not the most immediate UFC card on the calendar.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2016

This Saturday, the UFC will return to Toronto for the first time since September of 2013. It will do so with UFC 206, a card that has been rocked by fighter withdrawals but still stands out as a very exciting one.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2016

Though Jon Jones stands out as one of the best mixed martial artists ever, he’s had an undeniably rough few years. His recent career has been marred by everything from cocaine use to a hit-and-run involving a pregnant woman. Earlier this year, of course, it looked like a matured Jones might finally be getting his life back on track. Though it was far from his best performance, he made a successful return to action, defeating late-replacement Ovince St. Preux to win the UFC interim light heavyweight title. With this win in the books, Jones was then pencilled in for a title unifying rematch with Daniel Cormier, who has been sitting on the divisional throne in his stead. The two were expected to share the main event honors of the landmark UFC 200 in July.

Russell Ess - December 6, 2016

https://youtu.be/cMVorZVKIjU The debate regarding who the best pound-for-pound fighter is will always be argued amongst both fans and experts.

Tom Taylor - December 6, 2016

Hawaiian featherweight Max Holloway is currently on a fantastic, 9-fight winning-streak. The last man he lost to is former featherweight champion and current lightweight champion Conor McGregor. Their fight occurred all the way back in 2013. Since then, Holloway has established himself as one of the best fighters on earth – as evidenced by his upcoming interim featherweight title fight with Anthony Pettis. While Holloway is focused on his upcoming battle with Pettis, he’s made no secret of the fact that he’s keen on a rematch with McGregor – even if that rematch occurs at heavyweight.

bjpenndotcom - December 6, 2016

Former Bellator MMA CEO Bjorn Rebney recently found himself making headlines recently when he joined former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, former UFC champions TJ Dillashaw & Cain Velasquez, and top ranked fighters Donald Cerrone & Tim Kennedy in announcing the formation of the MMA Athletes Association. While the association mostly received praise form fighters, many questioned the former Bellator MMA CEO’s motives, with UFC President Dana White stating: