MMA News

bjpenndotcom - November 24, 2016

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC 205, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman was on the wrong end of a brutal third round flying knee knockout. Weidman was returning to the Octagon for the first time in nearly a year after being TKOd by Luke Rockhold in the co-main event of UFC 194, where he lost the middleweight championship. The fight was a big one for Weidman, not only would a win in his home state of New York be a memorable moment for ‘The All American’, a win over Yoel Romero would also likely mean the #1 contender spot, and earn him a crack at the middleweight championship. Unfortunately for Weidman, with the fight tied one round each going into the third round, both Weidman and Romero needed to make statements and secure the third round. Excellent fight IQ by Romero resulted in a perfectly placed flying knee, knocking Weidman out, and leaving the New York native on the canvas with a disturbingly large cut on the side of his head.

bjpenndotcom - November 24, 2016

‘Platinum’ Mike Perry has quickly become one of the most popular fighters in the UFC’s welterweight division. While Perry has only fought in the Octagon twice, it’s not uncommon to see MMA fans on social media discussing Perry, as well as his upcoming fight with Alan Jouban, where Perry hopes to make it 3-straight wins in the Octagon. In his UFC debut, Perry stirred quite a bit of controversy when he faked a handshake Hyun Gyu Lim’s hand at weigh-ins. When Lim extended his hand to shake Perry’s, ‘Platinum’ was quick to pull his hand back and yell “Sike! You thought!” Despite that, Perry went out and left fight fans stunned as he picked up an impressive 1st round KO win.

bjpenndotcom - November 24, 2016

Referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy is one of the most experienced, and trusted referees in the sport of MMA. In addition to being an MMA referee for over twenty years, McCarthy has been on hand for some of the biggest fights in UFC history. This past weekend in the main event of UFC 205, the UFC’s historic inaugural card at the Madison Square Garden, Conor McGregor stepped into the Octagon for a highly anticipated lightweight title fight with Eddie Alvarez in a fight that also served as McGregor’s UFC lightweight debut.

bjpenndotcom - November 24, 2016

It’s no secret that the lightweight division is one of the UFC’s most exciting divisions. The top 5 of the UFC’s lightweight division according to the promotions official rankings are as follows: Champion – Conor McGregor #1 Khabib Nurmagomedov #2 Tony Ferguson #3 Eddie Alvarez #4 Rafael dos Anjos #5 Nate Diaz

bjpenndotcom - November 24, 2016

Earlier this month at UFC 205, top ranked welterweight contender Stephen Thompson stepped into the Octagon in the co-main event of the card with welterweight champion Tyron Woodley for a highly anticipated showdown. The fight was an extremely back and forth one, with Woodley coming out strong in the first round and securing a takedown, landing some brutal ground and pound elbows on Thompson. ‘Wonderboy’ bounced back however, picking apart the champ in the next two rounds, before then being rocked and nearly finished in the fourth round. In the fifth, it was more of the same as Thompson appeared to be edging out the champ in the striking category.

Tom Taylor - November 23, 2016

Earlier today, we reported that Conor McGregor’s team said that they would be willing to entertain offers from WWE. If the Irishman were to accept an offer from the pro wrestling organization and step into the ring, he’d be following in the footsteps of another massive MMA star in Ronda Rousey. Rousey made her foray into the pro wrestling world at WrestleMania 31 in March of 2015, when she joined The Rock in the ring for a brief showdown with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. During this skirmish, Rousey hip tossed Triple H out of the ring, and threatened McMahon with an armbar before chucking her out of the ring as well.

Tom Taylor - November 23, 2016

Earlier this month, in the final bout of the UFC 205 undercard, former lightweight champion and longtime featherweight contender Frankie Edgar took on the dangerous Jeremy Stephens. Barring a moment in the second round where he was wobbled by a Stephens head-kick, Edgar would dominate this contest en route to a sound, unanimous decision win. Apparently, however, Edgar’s preparations for this fight were fairly disastrous. In a recent interview with Daily Star, Edgar’s coach Mark Henry detailed the nightmarish camp Edgar endured in the buildup to his battle with Stephens.

bjpenndotcom - November 23, 2016

Tristar GYM head coach Firas Zahabi is widely believed to be one of the best coaches in MMA. In addition to welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, Zahabi has coached top ranked fighters such as Rory MacDonald, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, and even worked with rising prospect Sage Northcutt.

Russell Ess - November 23, 2016

https://youtu.be/opChuMR_L4Q?t=2h18m20s Nick Diaz lives the life of a true fighter and does not care to watch his p’s and q’s in front of the media. A big part he says is due to the fact that he does not have a wife and kids that he has to worry about or an image he has to portray with being a family man and can just concentrate on being a fighter.

Russell Ess - November 23, 2016

UFC star Nate Diaz is surely not letting people forget what happened earlier this year in March. Nate Diaz turned Conor McGregor’s world upside down when he took a fight with the current double weight champion on 11 days’ notice after McGregor’s original opponent, then UFC lightweight champion Raphael dos Anjos pulled out due to injury.

bjpenndotcom - November 23, 2016

The American Animals are here this week to give us their take on all the happenings at UFC 205. Also, we get caught up to date on current events in MMA, and a call-in from UFC Lightweight title contender, Gilbert “El Niño” Melendez. You will hear all of this and more on this week’s episode 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.

Tom Taylor - November 23, 2016

In the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor knocked out lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions concurrently. As the king of two stacked divisions, McGregor now finds himself in the crosshairs of dozens of dangerous contenders. Of all the fighters currently gunning for the Irish champion, perhaps none is more deserving of the opportunity to fight him than Dagestani lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.

bjpenndotcom - November 23, 2016

This past weekend during the main card of ‘UFC Fight Night: Sao Paulo’ top ranked women’s strawweight fighters Claudia Gadelha and Cortney Casey stepped into the Octagon in a highly anticipated showdown. For Casey, the fight was an opportunity to extend her win streak to 3, as she hoped to pick up a win over former strawweight title challenger Claudia Gadelha. On the other hand, Gadelha was looking to return to the win column following her July loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in a failed bid at the strawweight title. Gadelha ultimately won the fight via unanimous decision, picking up 30-27 scores on all of the judges scorecards, however in the third round there was a bit of controversy as Gadelha threw a kick at Casey, who was on the ground at the time. The kick grazed Casey’s ponytail, and she grabbed at her head as if the kick had landed clean. Surprisingly, the referee didn’t take a point away, and the fight continued after Casey was able to recover.

bjpenndotcom - November 23, 2016

Earlier this month, top ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov delivered a spectacular performance as he picked up a third round submission win over #8 ranked lightweight Michael Johnson in a highly anticipated matchup. The win was not only a finish for Nurmagomedov, but a rather dominant one as he put on a horrendously vicious display of ground and pound throughout the fight, talking trash to both Johnson, and UFC President Dana White in the middle of the fight. Following the fight, there have been conflicting reports form both Nurmagomedov and his camp regarding his next move. Immediately following the fight, Nurmagomedov offered the UFC an ultimatum, stating that if he wasn’t given a title shot for his next fight, he would be looking to fight for another promotion in the future. That was then followed up by an interview with Khabib’s father, who said that his son would be willing to take another fight in the meantime to cement his place as the #1 contender.

bjpenndotcom - November 23, 2016

BJPENN.COM Radio is back in your life tonight at 8:30PM ET/5:30PM PT with more awesome guest for your weekly fight fix! 8:15PM ET- “Rocky” Raquel Pennington @rockypmma kicks off the show to discuss her huge victory over former champion Meisha Tate at UFC 205. Pennington will give us her breakdown of the fight, how it felt to compete against her former coach on TUF, and where the Colorado native feel she stands in title contention. We will also be getting Raquel’s take on the women’s bantamweight division and what match-ups interest her most going forward, aside from a crack at the belt.

Tom Taylor - November 23, 2016

Whether you love him or hate him, its hard to deny the dominance of Conor McGregor. Barring an early 2016 hiccup against Nate Diaz, the Irishman has blown through his UFC competition, setting records and making millions in the process. It all began with a knockout of Marcus Brimage. Then came a dominant decision defeat of Max Holloway. Next up was a trio of TKOs over Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier and Dennis Siver. Then came his interim featherweight title-winning defeat of Chad Mendes. Up next was his 13-second knockout of undisputed champ Jose Aldo. Then there were is two unforgettable 2016 battles with Nate Diaz, and finally, there was his early November knockout of lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, which made him the first fighter in UFC history to wear titles in two divisions concurrently.

Russell Ess - November 23, 2016

New York is proving to be a strict state when it comes to their athletic commission. On Wednesday, MMA Fighting reported per New York State Department spokesperson Laz Benitez that Yoel Romero has been suspended for 60 days for exiting the Octagon after beating former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman in their UFC 205 contest.

bjpenndotcom - November 23, 2016

Former UFC champion Lyoto Machida’s case with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has been a very public one. Several months ago, USADA approached Machida for a random out-of-competion drug test. Machida disclosed that he had been taking a supplement called 7-Keto, which resulted in an anti-doping policy violation. Machida was handed an 18-month suspension, which didn’t sit too well with ‘The Dragon’ as he repeatedly blamed USADA for the infraction, claiming that he wasn’t properly informed on the fact that the supplement is on the banned substance list. Machida then went as far as to say that he believed USADA was ruining the UFC.