MMA News

bjpenndotcom - October 1, 2016

Tonight, in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Portland’, #3 ranked bantamweight John Lineker will square off against former top ranked UFC flyweight John Dodson in a highly anticipated matchup of heavy-handed strikers.

bjpenndotcom - October 1, 2016

Late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien’s name stood out when it appeared on a list of new investors in the UFC following Zuffa’s sale of the world’s leading MMA promotion.

bjpenndotcom - October 1, 2016

Almost exactly one year ago, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who at the time was gearing up for his UFC 194 scrap with Jose Aldo for the featherweight championship, made headlines when he released a video of himself bareknuckle sparring with strongman Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who stars as ‘The Mountain’ in Game of Thrones. Standing at 6’9, Björnsson is a foot taller than McGregor, and nearly 250 pounds heavier than the Irish superstar.

bjpenndotcom - October 1, 2016

At UFC 192, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier stepped into the Octagon to defend his light heavyweight strap for the first time. Standing opposite ‘DC’ was Alexander ‘The Mauler’ Gustafsson, the man who many believed to have defeated Jon Jones back in 2013. The fight was an extremely close one that went the full five rounds. When UFC announcer Bruce Buffer read the judges scorecards, it was Cormier who was given the nod on two of the three judges scorecards, giving him his first successful title defense after defeating Anthony Johnson for the vacant light heavyweight championship at UFC 187.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

Pride FC icon Wanderlei Silva was released by the UFC earlier this year, and wasted little to no time in signing with Bellator MMA, and with Rizin Fighting Federation. While ‘The Axe Murderer’ currently doesn’t have any fights set with either promotion, he has made several appearances with both promotions. Recently, in Saitama, Japan, Silva appeared at the promotions opening round of their World Grand Prix.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

Prior to UFC 200, it was revealed that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was coming out of retirement to fight heavyweight veteran Mark Hunt on the main card of the historic event. While Lesnar’s return was generally celebrated amongst the MMA community, it was met with a certain amount of controversy. Ordinarily, before a retired fighter can fight, they must go through a 4-month mandatory testing period with USADA before they are eligible to fight.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

On April 10th of 2016, top ranked UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell stepped into the Octagon for what many believed to be a #1 contender fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos. ‘Big Ben’ was riding 4-fight win streak into the fight that saw him finish four straight fights. After serving a 9-month suspension for elevated testosterone levels, after a TKO win over Brandon Vera at UFC 164, Rothwell returned to the Octagon and TKOd Alistair Overeem in 2014. Rothwell, who was making waves in the heavyweight division, was away from the Octagon for nearly a year. When he returned, he picked up back to back submission wins over Matt Mitrione and Josh Barnett, becoming the first man to submit Josh Barnett.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

Friday morning at the ‘UFC Fight Night: Portland’ early weigh-ins, three fighters missed weight ahead of their scheduled fights Saturday evening. One of the three men to miss weight was UFC bantamweight John Lineker, who will be fighting in the main event of the card against John Dodson. Lineker, who sits at #3 on the UFC’s official bantamweight rankings, now holds the record for the most times missing weight in the history of the UFC.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

Earlier this month at UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio, former WWE champion CM Punk made his highly anticipated UFC debut against Mickey Gall. Punk’s debut came nearly two years after his signing with the promotion in 2014. During that time, the Chicago native was training at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin under the tutelage of Duke Roufus, alongside the likes of the Pettis brothers, and UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

On November 12th, Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez will step into the Octagon in the main event of UFC 205 to square off for Alvarez’ UFC lightweight championship. While Alvarez hopes to play spoiler to McGregor’s plans of becoming a 2-division champion, Mystic Mac has predicted that he will finish the “loopy wrestler with an overhand right” in the very first round. While many consider McGregor’s prediction of a finish over the lightweight champion to be a bold one, fan favorite fighter Donald Cerrone flat out thinks it’s wrong.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

The war of words between bitter rivals Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson continued this week during the UFC 204 Gym Day. The pair have a feud dating back seven years to season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter where Bisping coached ‘Team United Kingdom’ and Henderson coached ‘Team United States’. Following the end of the season, the pair met inside the Octagon at UFC 100. Henderson went on to win the fight via knockout, landing his now-famous H-Bomb on Bisping, leaving ‘The Count’ starched on the canvas.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

I'm still here to fight. pic.twitter.com/nBQbUf4Ugp — Will Brooks (@ILLxWillBrooks) September 30, 2016

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

Tomorrow night, the UFC will take over Portland’s Moda Center with UFC Fight Night 96. Portland’s main event honors will be held by former flyweights John Dodson and John Lineker, both of whom have recently found new life at bantamweight. Dodson, who twice fought for the title at flyweight, will look to build on the momentum of a recent TKO defeat of Manny Gamburyan, which marked his successful return to the bantamweight division. Lineker, meanwhile, will look to make it 4-0 at bantamweight, having subbed Francisco Rivera, decisioned Rob Font and knocked out Michael MacDonald since leaving the flyweight division.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

In the main event of UFC 205, Conor McGregor will have the opportunity to become not only the third man in UFC history to hold two title belts, but the first to hold two belts simultaneously. While UFC President Dana White has stated recently that if McGregor defeats Alvarez at the Madison Square Garden, he must relinquish one of the belts, McGregor revealed at the UFC 205 press conference that it would take an army for the UFC to take one of his belts away.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

Last Saturday, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Brazil, reigning Invicta featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino made good on her sophomore UFC effort with a first-round TKO of Lina Lansberg. Actually getting down to the bout’s contracted weight of 141 lbs., however, proved to be a nightmare for the Brazilian striker. In the week leading up to the fight, the MMA community stay glued to their screens for updates on Cyborg’s weight cut process, which apparently began above the 165-lb. mark.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

In January of this year, TJ Dillashaw attempted to defend the UFC bantamweight title against returning former champion Dominick Cruz. Unfortunately, Dillashaw’s title defense didn’t go the way he planned, as he surrendered a split decision – and the bantamweight crown – to his foe.

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor is generally believed to have some of the best striking skills in the UFC’s lower weight classes. McGregor’s combination of fluid movement, and unpredictable strikes have resulted in several highlight reel finishes, with the most recent example being a 13 second KO win over Jose Aldo to claim the featherweight championship.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

Earlier this year, it was announced that the UFC had been sold for more than $4 billion. The organization was purchased by Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG, who would take the reigns from long-time owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta. When news of this massive sale first broke, it was unclear what effect it would have on the company. Today, however, it’s becoming quite clear that WME-IMG plans to push the UFC–and by association, the larger sport of MMA–further into the mainstream sports landscape. The new owners’ latest effort to this end has been the assembly of a group of A-list celebrity investors.