MMA News

bjpenndotcom - October 21, 2016

UFC 205 will feature several high-profile match-ups and on paper looks to be a blockbuster card. Rashad Evans, who takes on Tim Kennedy in his middleweight debut at UFC 205, spoke exclusively to BJPENN.COM Radio and discussed his predictions for several other fights on the card.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2016

There is a long history of professional wrestlers attempting to try their hand at MMA. On several occasions, these wrestlers have realized mountainous heights, like Brock Lesnar did when he won the UFC heavyweight title. On other occasions, their MMA forays have been downright disasters, like CM Punk’s long-discussed UFC debut against Mickey Gall was. Bobby Lashley, who rose to prominence as a wrestler for WWE and TNA, undeniably falls into the former category as a bona fide MMA success story. Though the former pro wrestling star has always had his detractors, he now stands out as one of the very best fighters in Bellator’s ever-growing heavyweight division.

Tom Taylor - October 21, 2016

Earlier this month, in the main event of UFC 204, England’s Michael Bisping sought to defend the UFC middleweight title against Dan Henderson. The bout also marked the Brit’s opportunity to avenge the ugliest loss of his career: a blistering KO doled out by Henderson in the year 2009. In the end, Bisping would leave Manchester with both the belt and his vengeance, earning a unanimous decision over his 46-year-old foe after five fun rounds of action. The fight was so competitive, however, that many fans didn’t believe Bisping deserved either, and that instead, the decision should have gone to Henderson.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Rashad Evans has his hands full for his middleweight debut as he takes on the always-dangerous Tim Kennedy. While Kennedy hasn’t fought since 2014, he does already hold a dominant win over the current champion in Michael Bisping. “Suga” Rashad spoke exclusively to BJPENN.COM Radio and discussed his experiences training with Kennedy and revealed some excellent behind-the-scenes information on his upcoming opponent for UFC 205.

Russell Ess - October 20, 2016

We have seen a recent influx in fighters publically addressing their displeasure with the UFC’s matchmaking, especially in some recent title fight in addition to issues regarding contracts. Current UFC interim featherweight champion Jose Aldo recently expressed his request to be released from his contract with the UFC after it was announced that featherweight champion Conor McGregor would be challenging Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Gegard Mousasi has been making his case for a title shot at middleweight since dropping down to the 185 pound weight class back in 2014, but the longtime contender has really stepped it up performance-wise in his last two fights. Shortly after knocking out surging middleweight contender Thiago “Maretta” Santos at UFC 200, Mousasi notched a career-defining win over Vitor Belfort at UFC 204 last weekend.

Chris Taylor - October 20, 2016

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (22-1 MMA) is slated to return to action at UFC 207 this December in Las Vegas, according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani. “The Dominator” is being targeted to square off with Cody Garbrandt at the pay-per-view event.

Russell Ess - October 20, 2016

It sounds like UFC middleweight champion Michael “The Count” Bisping may be getting back into the Octagon for another fight very soon. Bisping just defended his title for the first time against Dan Henderson earlier this month at UFC 204 and apparently has been called by the UFC to get prepared for another big fight.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Recently, interim UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has continued to make headlines for his ongoing saga with the UFC following the announcement that Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez would headline the UFC’s inaugural show in New York, UFC 205, rather than return to featherweight for a rematch with Aldo. Aldo was quick to request that the UFC brass release him from his contract so he could retire and move to another professional sport. UFC President Dana White was quick to shut down Aldo’s request, informing him that the promotion would not be releasing him from his contract.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens was one of the hardest hitting lightweights in the UFC, and has definitely carried that punching power with him at featherweight. “Lil Heathen” posted a video of him training his striking while using resistance training.

Russell Ess - October 20, 2016

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre may be in the toughest fight of his career and it isn’t even taking place in the Octagon. A battle is currently taking place between St-Pierre and the UFC over contract disputes with St-Pierre and his legal team claiming that they are no longer under contract with the UFC while the promotion claims vice versa.

Russell Ess - October 20, 2016

UFC 205 takes place as Conor McGregor looks to stamp his name in the history books yet again. “The Notorious” will get his chance to become the first fighter in UFC history to be the champion of two UFC divisions simultaneously. On the opposite corner of the Octagon, McGregor’s opponent, UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has his chance to raise his stock through the roof in his first UFC lightweight title defense.

Russell Ess - October 20, 2016

We all know Anthony “Rumble” Johnson has some explosive knockout power. Out of all the big fights and sparring he has had throughout his career, who do you think “Rumble” puts at the top of his list for hitting him the hardest?

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Former UFC champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who is currently under contract with Bellator MMA, is frequently taking to social media to show off his luxurious cars, most of which are green. Just over a week ago, the former champ took to Instagram with a video showcasing a “pimped out” garage in order to hold his “green toys’ also known as his flashy cars. One of the vehicles which caught the attention of Rampage’s social media followers was a green Lamborghini which boasted a “raging bull” decal on the front windshield, however in a new social media post this week, Rampage revealed before and after photos of the car, with the ‘after’ photo showing the car completely destroyed. The photos were accompanied by a statement from Jackson on the incident, in which he revealed that thankfully no one was hurt:

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre’s ongoing saga with the UFC brass has been an interesting one. While St-Pierre hasn’t fought since his controversial 2013 split decision win over Johny Hendricks, reports of St-Pierre returning to the Octagon have continued to surface over the years. Recently, it appeared as though St-Pierre was closer than ever before to returning, with reports of the former champ returning for a superfight with Anderson Silva igniting after Silva’s son teased the fight on social media several times. In addition, St-Pierre himself went as far as to state in an interview that news regarding his return would be announced in the coming weeks.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Prior to the announcement that Conor McGregor & Eddie Alvarez would be squaring off in the main event of UFC 205 on November 12th for the UFC’s inaugural event at the Madison Square Garden, UFC President Dana White indicated in an interview that it was undefeated Dagestani fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov who would likely be getting the title shot against Eddie Alvarez. Several days later however, there had been no announcement of Alvarez vs. Nurmagomedov headlining UFC 205, which prompted ‘The Eagle’ to release several photos of contracts he signed for fights with Alvarez at UFC 205 & UFC 206. Nurmagomedov accompanied the photos with a statement in which he stated that he was waiting on Alvarez to sign the bout agreements.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

Recently, news surfaced that top ranked UFC light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson had been forced to pull out of his UFC Fight Night: 100 scrap with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, where ‘The Mauler’ would look to build momentum on his ‘UFC Fight Night: Hamburg’ win over Jan Blanhowicz last month. Unfortunately for Gustafsson, he was forced out of the fight almost immediately after the fight had been announced. At the time of his withdrawal, no word was given as to the nature of the injury which was forcing the Swede to pull out of the fight, however now his co-manager Tomas Ghassemi, it was a back injury, which will see Gustafsson sidelined indefinitely.

bjpenndotcom - October 20, 2016

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is currently slated for a lightweight title fight with UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for November 12th in New York in the main event of UFC 205. While for Alvarez, the fight gives him the opportunity to defend his lightweight belt for the first time, against arguably one of the biggest names in the sport, on the flip side it gives McGregor the opportunity to become the first ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion. In addition to potentially becoming the first ever simultaneous two-division UFC champion, McGregor could very well become just the third man in UFC history to win belts in two different divisions.