MMA News

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

Julianna Peña has not been quiet about her right to a title shot. ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ has won four UFC fights in a row, Peña seems poised for a shot at Amanda Nunes’ belt, however  with the specter of Ronda Rousey’s possible return to the woman’s bantamweight division, Peña’s path to the belt becomes a bit more complicated. Peña sounded off on the landscape of the woman’s 135 pound weight class and her case for a chance at UFC gold while on Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour:

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz’s names will forever be intertwined after their pair of iconic fights. When UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from his UFC 196 scrap with McGregor just two weeks before fight night, Nate Diaz stepped in on short notice to fight the Irish superstar. When the pair stepped into the Octagon, Diaz shocked the world as he rocked, and then submitted McGregor in the 2nd round of their welterweight scrap.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

Earlier this month, the MMA community was caught off guard when interim UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo requested his release from the UFC after it was announced that UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor would be fighting Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight championship at UFC 205 rather than defending his featherweight championship.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

https://twitter.com/fightsko/status/779401687727415296 Violence and fighting outside of the cage are stupid and worst and criminal at best, but defending yourself against a bully is a different story. Especially when the bully in question is double your size and looking for trouble.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2016

If the legends are to b believed, Charles Bennett knocked out Wanderlei Silva in the un-filmed portion of an infamous 2005 backstage brawl. Unfortunately, the lack of footage of this alleged incident rendered this legend impossible to verify. What is possible to verify, however, is that Bennett and Silva’s beef, whatever truth or untruths it’s based upon, is alive and well. Late last month, the two fighters, who compete several weight classes apart, had a run in at the fighter hotel for Rizin Fighting Federation’s September 25 show. As the footage of this incident shows, they very nearly came to blows. Just what started the hotel showdown, however, was not immediately clear.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

Woman’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk may share a common nationality with her next opponent, but there’s still no love lost between the two. Jedzrejczyk discussed her upcoming title fight with Karolina Kowalkiewicz during Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour, and flat out called Karolina a phony:

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

Last week, the MMA community was struck by tragedy when news surfaced that UFC middleweight Josh Samman was found unresponsive in a Florida apartment along with another man who was pronounced dead. Details regarding Samman’s situation remained scarce as people who were aware of his situation kept reports quiet in regards to the circumstances surrounding Samman’s condition. Fortunately, an update surfaced Saturday afternoon that Samman was alive, however he was in a coma. During that time, rumors began to fly that the situation was the result of a heroin overdose.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

Recently, interim UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo has been engaged in a standoff with the UFC brass. After defeating Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight championship at UFC 200, Aldo believed he had secured himself a rematch with featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who he lost to in just 13 seconds at UFC 194.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

The ongoing feud between Ronda Rousey & Cris Cyborg is often reignited when Cyborg steps into the cage. Last month, Cyborg stepped into the Octagon to square off against Swedish striking phenom Lina Lansberg in the main event of UFC Brasilia. Cyborg, who admittedly had a brutal weight-cut throughout the course of the week, cutting the remaining 10 pounds in just 24 hours to make the catchweight limit of 141 pounds, once again stated after defeating Lansberg via TKO that she would not be able to cut down to the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds for a fight with Rousey.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2016

As Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor’s anticipated UFC 205 lightweight title fight draws ever closer, both parties continue to dish out the trash talk. On today’s episode of The MMA Hour, Eddie Alvarez plated the latest steaming servings of trash talk, re-upping on his previous claims that McGregor would be the easiest opponent of his UFC career thus far. When asked by Ariel Helwani why McGregor would be an easier opponent than the Donald Cerrone, Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis, and Rafael Dos Anjos, Alvarez explained that he simply believes McGregor doesn’t possess a well-rounded skill set.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

In the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will look to make history as the first man to simultaneously hold belts in two weight classes as he steps into the Octagon against UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. In addition, a win over Alvarez would make McGregor just the third man in UFC history to win championships at two weight classes. Ahead of the fight, McGregor and Alvarez traded barbs at the UFC 205 pre-fight press conference in New York. During the course of the press conference McGregor was asked about his prediction for the fight. The featherweight champ responded by saying that he would knock Alvarez, who has only been finished once in his 13 year MMA career, out in the very first round.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2016

It has now been almost a year since Ronda Rousey relinquished the UFC women’s bantamweight title to Holly Holm, and we haven’t seen her since. In the year the that Rousey has been away from the cage, the division she once ruled has experienced an incredible amount of movement.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

At the end of July, Tyron Woodley left the MMA community stunned as he picked up a spectacular first round knockout win over Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC 203. The win not only earned Woodley the UFC welterweight championship, but marked just the second time over the course of Lawler’s fifteen year professional MMA career that he had been stopped. Following the win, Woodley opted to challenge former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre and MMA veteran Nick Diaz to fights, rather than look for a fight with welterweight #1 contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. While Woodley caught criticism for the move, he ultimately was booked to fight Stephen Thompson at UFC 205.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2016

Last Saturday, in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 96, Brazil’s Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira scored a third-round TKO win over former Bellator lightweight champion Will Brooks. Under normal circumstances, this would have been far and away the biggest win of the Brazilian’s career. Unfortunately, the win was steeped in controversy. The first problem was that Oliveira missed the lightweight division’s cap by a whopping 5.5 pounds – which unsurprisingly, garnered some trash talk from the ever to-the-point Brooks. Then, to literally add insult to injury, Oliveira followed his upset win by bombarding the dazed Brooks with a series of taunts, including an unsavory “crotch chop.” Needless to say, this did little to repair his already damaged relationship with Brooks.

bjpenndotcom - October 3, 2016

In the co-main event of UFC 205, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will put his 170 pound strap on the line as he faces arguably the greatest striker in the UFC today, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. Thompson, who rides a 7-fight win streak into the bout that has seen him pick up several spectacular highlight reel finishes, most recently put on a stunning performance in Ontario, Canada, where he defeated top ranked welterweight Rory MacDonald by unanimous decision, picking apart the welterweight star over the course of 5 rounds.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2016

In late July, in the main event of UFC 201, Robbie Lawler’s unlikely reign as UFC welterweight champion came to a skittering halt as he was put down by a first-round Tyron Woodley punch. It was one of the most emphatic losses of the veteran’s almost 40-fight career.

Tom Taylor - October 3, 2016

Last month, former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald (18-4) made some serious waves by leaving the UFC and joining the Bellator MMA roster. And while the Canadian doesn’t plan to step into the Bellator cage until sometime in 2017, he’s making his plans for his time in the organization very clear. He wants big fights for big money – even if it means he has to step far outside his welterweight home to get them. In a recent appearance on Booker T’s Heated Conversations podcast, MacDonald discussed his desire for exciting fights in the Bellator cage – something he says he could no longer find in the UFC.

Chris Taylor - October 2, 2016

https://youtu.be/gN-8SAqhp74 “Yeah life sucks in bear country,” Todd Orr stated after just surviving two grizzly bear attacks.