MMA News

Chris Taylor - October 1, 2016

A bout between Keita Nakamura and Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos kicked off the UFC Fight Night 96 prelims on FS2. Keita Nakamura was able to dominate most of round one on the ground after scoring an early takedown. However, Dos Santos got back to his feet late in the opening frame and unleashed some solid punches and leg kicks before the buzzer.

Chris Taylor - October 1, 2016

A middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Tamdan McCrory served as the featured fight of the UFC Fight Night 96 Fight Pass prelims in Portland, Oregon. Round one begins and McCrory lands a leg kick to start. Nate responds with a hard leg kick of his own. Tamdan goes upstairs with a high kick. Both fighters exchange low kicks. Nate follows up with another nice outside leg kick. McCrory presses forward and pumps his jab. Nate circles away and then shoots in and lands a takedown. Tamdan attempts a guillotine choke but it is not there and he is forced to let go. Marquardt begins working from full guard. Tamdan is searching for a triangle choke but Nate is able to escape the submission attempt and moves to side control. McCrory scrambles and gets right back to full guard position. He is utilizing a rubber guard which is preventing Nate from landing any strikes. Marquardt finally lands an elbow as round one comes to an end.

Chris Taylor - October 1, 2016

Heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Cody East went to war tonight on the UFC Fight Night 96 fight pass prelims in Portland, Oregon. The fighters went back and forth in round one trading huge shots as you can see below:

Chris Taylor - October 1, 2016

Unable to catch tonight’s UFC Fight Night 96 event in Portland, Oregon. BJPENN.com has you covered. Stay glued to this page for up to the minute live results from the event. UFC Fight Night 96 is headlined by a key bantamweight bout featuring John Dodson taking on John Lineker.

bjpenndotcom - October 1, 2016

Earlier this week, the MMA community was struck by tragedy when it was revealed that former Ultimate Fighter season 17 contestant, and UFC middleweight Josh Samman was found unresponsive in a Florida apartment. In addition, it was revealed that Samman’s friend, Combat Night and Island Fights ring announcer Troy Kirkingburg was found with Samman, and was unfortunately pronounced dead.

bjpenndotcom - October 1, 2016

Chael Sonnen, former UFC title challenger and recent Bellator signee, has finally received an opponent after signing with the promotion weeks ago. Sonnen will take on Tito Ortiz in a light heavyweight bout in January, 2017, according to Inside MMA:

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

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 - October 1, 2016

With Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez currently slated to fight in the main event of UFC 205 in New York on November 12th, it’s understandable that the pair have begun to engage in heated verbal exchanges, with insults being lobbed between both men. It came as a surprise to many however, when Alvarez’ coach, Mark Henry, who also coaches Frankie Edgar, began to throw insults at McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh.

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

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

Unfortunate news surfaced Friday night that top ranked UFC light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson has been forced to withdraw form his upcoming UFC Fight Night 100 headlining scrap against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

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.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2016

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

bjpenndotcom - September 30, 2016

Tragic news surfaced Friday afternoon that UFC middleweight Josh Samman had been found unresponsive in a South Floridan apartment along with another man, who was pronounced dead. While details are extremely scarce at the present time, a Reddit user broke the news via the MMA section of Reddit: