MMA News

Russell Ess - November 18, 2016

In December of 2012, Cris Cyborg was hit with the most devastating blow of her professional MMA career. After needing just 16 seconds to TKO Hiroko Yamanaka at the Strikeforce – Melendez vs. Masvidal event, Cyborg found out soon after her fight that she tested positive for the steroid stanozolol.

Russell Ess - November 18, 2016

UFC superstar Conor McGregor made it known after his historic UFC 205 fight in New York this past weekend that he is looking for more than just a fight purse and piece of the pay-per-view buys. With his win over Eddie Alvarez at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, McGregor made history by becoming the first fighter in the UFC to simultaneously hold status as the champion of two separate weight classes. During the post-fight press conference, “The Notorious” stated that he is waiting for a call from the new owners of the UFC to offer him shares in the company and it sounds like at least one of the celebrity investors is listening.

bjpenndotcom - November 18, 2016

Top ranked UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov is doing everything in his power to secure a lightweight title fight with newly crowned lightweight champion Conor McGregor. This past weekend on the UFC 205 fight card, Nurmagomedov picked up a spectacular 3rd round submission win over Michael Johnson, which not only included some horrific ground and pound, but also some mid-fight trash talk from Nurmagomedov, in which he told his opponent that he must give up. The win not only moved Nurmagomedov’s UFC record to 8-0, but also advanced his professional record to 24-0, earning him the #1 spot on the UFC’s official lightweight rankings.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

In September of this year, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva was knocked out by Roy Nelson. The knockout marked Silva’s fifth strike-induced loss in six fights which, unsurprisingly, prompted his release from the UFC. Just days after his release from the UFC, news broke that Bigfoot had signed on for a fight in Russia, with the same league that infamously tricked Jeff Monson into competing with an injury in May of this year. As luck – or bad luck – would have it, his opponent was the same man who beat up the injured Monson in May, Ivan Shtyrkov.

bjpenndotcom - November 18, 2016

Top ranked UFC welterweight Demian Maia has been on a tear of the UFC’s welterweight division over the course of the past two years, going 6-0 as he has defeated top contenders such as former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, and rising prospect Gunnar Nelson. Maia’s impressive 6-fight win streak has earned him the #3 spot on the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, however despite that, it could be some time before Maia fights for the UFC welterweight championship. This past weekend at UFC 205, welterweight #1 contender Stephen Thompson fought welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in a 5-round scrap that saw Woodley retain his championship via majority draw. Following the fight, UFC President Dana White revealed that because the fight was a draw, Thompson would be getting an immediate rematch.

Russell Ess - November 18, 2016

With making history by becoming the first concurrent champion of two UFC weight divisions, the world is waiting to hear what will be next for Conor McGregor. With holding the championship belts for the 145-pound UFC featherweight division and the 155-pound UFC lightweight division, contenders in both weight classes are eagerly waiting to get their shot at the title.

bjpenndotcom - November 18, 2016

Top ranked UFC middleweight Gegard Mousasi has been on a tear of the UFC middleweight division over the course of 2016. Mousasi kicked off the year by defeating Thales Leites at ‘UFC Fight Night: London’ in February, before making it 2-straight wins as he KO’d Thiago Santos on the UFC Fight Pass prelims of UFC 200 in July. In his most recent Octagon outing, Mousasi TKOd former UFC champion Vitor Belfort in the co-main event of UFC 204 in Manchester, England, back in October, cementing his place near the top of a stacked UFC middleweight division.

bjpenndotcom - November 18, 2016

Several weeks ago, all signs pointed to former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre returning to the Octagon at UFC 206 to fight UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping for the middleweight title at UFC 206 in Toronto, Canada. Unfortunately, while both men verbally agreed to the fight, there were several hangups on the matchup, with St-Pierre’s deal with Under Armour being one notable conflict of interest given the UFC’s partnership with Reebok.

bjpenndotcom - November 18, 2016

Several months ago, popular UFC middleweight Uriah Hall controversially stated in an interview before UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping’s first title defense against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 that he kicked the champ’s ass in training. Bisping, who of course went on to successfully defend his title against Dan Henderson, remained quiet regarding the situation for quite some time.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

Despite having fought just twice inside the Octagon, “Platinum” Mike Perry is quickly emerging as one of the welterweight division’s most popular –and dangerous – fighters. Currently preparing for a December 17 scrap with fellow prospect Alan Jouban, Perry recently took time out of his busy schedule for an appearance on BJPenn.com’s Rapid Fire with host Chris Taylor. Given that this interview occurred just days after the unforgettable UFC 205, many of Perry’s talking points surrounded UFC 205 – particularly the card’s co-main and main events.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

Last Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC 205, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley attempted the first defense of his crown against streaking striker Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Given the finishing ability shared by these two fighters, many fans and pundits expected this title fight to end emphatically, one way or the other. In the end, however, it was as close as they come. After five frenzied rounds of action that saw both men enjoy plenty of success, this fight was ruled a majority draw. With this result, Woodley held on to the welterweight title – though probably not in quite the fashion that he planned.

bjpenndotcom - November 18, 2016

While Conor McGregor’s win over Eddie Alvarez this past weekend in the main event of UFC 205 was certainly an incredibly dominant one, which saw McGregor dominate Alvarez bell to bell en route to a 2nd round TKO win, members of the fight community have mixed reactions to McGregor’s odds in a potential boxing match with undefeated boxing icon Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather, who was briefly linked to a bout with McGregor starting back in July when McGregor was pulled from his UFC 200 headlining scrap against Nate Diaz for refusing to fulfill his media obligations for the event, has continued to discuss the possibility of fighting McGregor in a boxing match.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

Now closing in on the end of the two years of mandatory military service required of South Korean citizens, Chan Sung Jung – more widely known as “The Korean Zombie” – is poised for  return to the Octagon. In advance of his return, the featherweight favorite spoke with Chris Taylor on BJPenn.com’s Rapid Fire to discuss the state of the division, and the man who rules it: Conor McGregor. According to the South Korean legend, McGregor has made things complicated at featherweight. That said, he doubts the Irish star will ever return to the division.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

Not long ago, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping suggested he would turn down a fight with contender Yoel Romero, even if Romero beat former champ Chris Weidman at UFC 205. His reluctance to accept this potential fight was based on Romero’s failing a drug test in early 2016 – which was ultimately deemed to be the result of his consumption of a tainted supplement. “If Yoel beats Chris, I honestly don’t think I’ll fight Yoel, because he tested positive for steroids,” he said on his podcast The Countdown with Michael Bisping. “I read an article recently that said that it takes years for the advantages of taking steroids to get out of your system. Just because you don’t test positive anymore doesn’t mean you’ll lose all the extra muscle and stuff like that that you were able to achieve. So I think he needs longer, I really do, and I don’t see why he should be rewarded.”

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

This is not a joke. For the third time in four months, fan favorite flyweight Ian McCall has had a fight cancelled just days before it was supposed to happen. He’s been forced to withdraw from his planned bout with Neil Seery, which was to headline the Fight Pass Prelims of the UFC’s Saturday return to Belfast, Northern Ireland. McCall has been pushed out of the bout with an illness, which apparently took effect before he had even began cutting weight.

Russell Ess - November 17, 2016

If it wasn’t enough with training in the various aspects of mixed martial arts, leave it up to Conor McGregor to up the game by adding the marketing of one’s self to be a highly successful MMA fighter. This is how UFC flyweight Louis Smolka sees it, and with the way Conor McGregor has taken the UFC by storm, it’s hard to deny.

Russell Ess - November 17, 2016

The next middleweight title bout could be a matchup between champion Michael Bisping and challenger Yoel Romero. After a devastating finish over former middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 205 over the weekend, Romero and Bisping had a little exchange during the “Soldier of God’s” post-fight Octagon interview as “The Count” was in attendance hosting the fight recaps for UFC on FOX.

Russell Ess - November 17, 2016

There is no denying how much interest there is in mixed martial arts. With the UFC having its first event in New York since MMA was legalized in the state back in March, UFC 205 broke nearly every record in the company’s history.