MMA News

Russell Ess - October 25, 2016

Mackenzie Dern is well-known in the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The BJJ black belt has a long list of accolades that include ADCC Champion, World Champion, World Pro Champion and No Gi World Champion. Now, the daughter of Wellington “Megaton” Dias is getting into mixed martial arts and holds a 2-0 record, fighting under Legacy FC. However, Dern is eyeing a UFC debut perhaps as early as 2017.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

Former title challenger Cat Zingano just called out someone for a fight on Twitter, but she’s not a UFC fighter. In fact, the woman Zingano called out doesn’t even train mixed martial arts. Zingano tweeted at WWE superstar Sasha Banks on Tuesday, to the confusion and delight of many.

Russell Ess - October 25, 2016

Who would you pick to win in a mixed martial arts fight between Bobby Lashley and Brock Lesnar? Lashley, who is under a Bellator MMA and TNA professional wrestling promotion contract spoke with TMZ about a potential matchup with former UFC and WWE contracted star, Brock Lesnar.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

The UFC has officially replaced former long-time matchmaker Joe Silva after promoting Sean Shelby to oversee matchmaking for several weight divisions. Shelby will be sharing matchmaking duties with former Legacy FC owner and president Mick Maynard.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2016

Late last week, it was announced that an injury had forced Gunnar Nelson out his bout with Dong Hyun Kim, the planned headliner for the UFC’s return to Belfast, Northern Ireland. This unfortunately left the UFC scrambling for a viable main event on just a few weeks’ notice. Though it can’t have been easy, the organization was able to produce a compelling replacement main event. This new headliner will see top-5 middleweight Gegard Mousasi attempt to avenge arguably the toughest loss of his career against the hot-and-cold Uriah Hall.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

https://youtu.be/VHQT-y6Xk6o Recently, news surfaced that SBG Ireland fighter Gunnar Nelson, who was slated to fight Dong Hyun Kim in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Belfast’, was forced to pull out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury just several weeks before fight night.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2016

In mid 2015, the UFC partnered with the United States Anti-Doping Commission (USADA) in an effort to crack down on performance enhancing drug use and clean up the sport. So far, the agency’s efforts to do so have been quite fruitful. It seems that every week, a new fighter is notified of a potential violation, and many of these fighters have been extremely high profile. Unfortunately, USADA has to go to pretty intense lengths to ensure no PED-user slips through their nets, often showing up at fighters’ homes unannounced and at inconvenient hours. While these efforts are undoubtedly for the best in the long run, it should come as no surprise that they can occasionally get a little uncomfortable, too.

Russell Ess - October 25, 2016

https://youtu.be/KzXQGMqY8_E The entertainment that the Internet brings is seemingly endless.

Russell Ess - October 25, 2016

We have not seen UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt compete in the Octagon since his UFC 200 competition against Brock Lesnar back in July where Lesnar became the first fighter in the UFC to receive a shortened window of USADA testing from the UFC. Following their fight where Lesnar was given a “one-off” opportunity from the WWE to compete in the UFC again, the “Beast Incarnate” tested positive for banned substances.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

Recently, former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre left MMA fans stunned as he revealed that he was officially a free agent in the MMA world. The news came just over a week after St-Pierre informed MMA fans that news regarding his potential return to the Octagon would be coming in ‘just a few weeks’. Following St-Pierre’s announcement, the UFC brass was quick to release a statement in which they refuted St-Pierre’s claims of being a free agent. ‘Rush’ has remained in Las Vegas, while reports of his potential return at UFC 206 against Michael Bisping have continued to circulate despite his claims that he is a free agent.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2016

Last week, the UFC’s highly anticipated November 19 return to Belfast, Northern Ireland was dealt a fairly severe blow. Just weeks out from fight night, it lost its main event, as Iceland’s honorary Irishman Gunnar Nelson was forced out of his headlining welterweight bout with South Korea’s Dong Hyun Kim. Luckily for the fans in Belfast, the UFC was able to scramble and create a new and compelling main event. The evening’s headliner will now see top middleweight contender Gegard Mousasi attempt to avenge a shocking 2015 loss to Urijah Hall.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is certainly one of the most polarizing figures in MMA. Bisping, who has been on a tear of the UFC’s middleweight division in 2016, is never one to shy away from speaking his mind. Earlier this month, Bisping stepped into the Octagon in the main event of UFC 204 in Manchester, England, for a highly anticipated rematch with MMA legend Dan Henderson, who was stepping into the Octagon to fight for the final time. The fight was an extremely exciting one, with Henderson coming out of the gate strong, dropping Bisping in both the first and seconds rounds. Throughout the remainder of the fight, the champ continued to land an incredible volume of strikes, ultimately winning the fight via unanimous decision. The scoring for the fight was rather controversial, with many fighters scoring the bout in Henderson’s favor given that he dropped Bisping in both the first and second rounds. Following the fight, both men were praised for what many considered to be one of the best title fights of the year.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is currently gearing up for what may very well be the biggest fight of his UFC career when he steps into the Octagon to square off against Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 on Novemeber 12th. Not only is the fight slated to headline what is expected to be the biggest UFC card in the history of the promotion, it also could see McGregor crowned as the first fighter to ever simultaneously hold two title belts in two weight classes. With that being said, UFC President Dana White has remained adamant that should McGregor emerge from the fight victorious, he will be forced to vacate one of the belts. Initially, McGregor remained quite open about the fact that he had no intentions of relinquishing one of the belts, stating that it would take an army for the UFC brass to take one of his titles away. Lately however, he appears to have been softening his stance on the matter, stating that before he relinquishes a title, he wants to get photos of the historic moment when he wins two title belts.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2016

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who is ranked in the top-10 at both lightweight and welterweight, is loved for his busy fight schedule, his fan-friendly fighting style, and his wild life outside the cage. Really, the talented Colorado Springs native is just the kind of guy whose brain you’d like to pick over a couple of beers at your local bar.

bjpenndotcom - October 25, 2016

UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones may currently be suspended by the NAC throughout the course of his appeal process, however Jones’ legal team caught quite the big break this week when it was announced that they were able to pinpoint the exact supplement Jones took which was tainted, resulting in the failure of a June out-of-competition drug test that saw Jones pulled from his headlining UFC 200 scrap just 48 hours before fight night. Jones, who was set to have a rematch with Daniel Cormier, this time in a title unification fight, has maintained his innocence since it was announced that he failed a drug test back in July.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2016

Back in 2005, actor Wesley Snipes apparently found himself in a tight spot with a near-empty bank account and the IRS circling like sharks. Eager to escape this treacherous situation, Snipes and his team allegedly approached the UFC about the possibility of his partaking in a fight in the Octagon – against none other than long-time UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. Rogan discussed this briefly planned bout on the latest episode of his Fight Companion podcast with MMA veteran Yves Edwards and kickboxer Joe Schilling.

Tom Taylor - October 25, 2016

Earlier this week, it was announced that the next crack at Dominick Cruz’s UFC bantamweight title would go to undefeated contender Cody Garbrandt. This bantamweight championship bout will fill the co-main event spot of a stacked UFC 207 on December 30. Given the way Cruz and Garbrandt match up on paper, and the fact that they’ve built up a pretty compelling rivalry over the last few months, the announcement of this matchup was pretty well-received.

bjpenndotcom - October 24, 2016

Conor McGregor never does anything halfway, especially when it comes to money. The featherweight champion has broken record after record for largest fight purse to sold out events and PPV sales.