MMA News

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

Over the last few years, former WWE star Bobby Lashley (14-2) has quietly emerged as one of Bellator’s top heavyweight talents. At Bellator 162, which will go down on October 21 in Memphis, Lashley will attempt to continue his march toward Bellator title contention when he takes on Josh Appelt (12-5). The two will meet in the evening’s co-main event, while middleweights Alexander Shlemenko and Kendall Grove will get headlining honors. Lashley will enter the fight with seven straight wins behind him, including four consecutive stoppages under the Bellator banner. Appelt, meanwhile, will walk onto the canvas on a two-fight streak, though that streak was preceded by three straight losses.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

[ooyala code=”FqcGhtNTE6ipkhpsVadtDljiKLYxKwmd” player_id=”bd214e34cfad476984102de4bf5e8da2″ auto=”true” width=”1280″ height=”1280″ autoplay=”true”] UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is arguably the pound for pound kingpin of MMA at the present time.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

https://youtu.be/3skeQb0sh18 Last month, on the main card of UFC 200, Anderson Silva stepped into the Octagon to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

On August 20th, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz put on arguably one of the most spectacular fights in the history of the UFC. The fight, which lasted the full 5 rounds, saw McGregor avenge his UFC 196 submission loss to Diaz.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

While Michael Bisping may currently be slated to fight Dan Henderson at UFC 204 in Manchester, England in October, the middleweight champion has his sights set on another MMA legend, Georges St-Pierre. St-Pierre, who is currently in negotiations with the UFC regarding his return fight back to the Octagon, has yet to announce when he will be returning to the UFC, however earlier this month he stated that he is ready to make his return.

Russell Ess - August 30, 2016

While many people feel that the UFC main event fight between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor was a worthy candidate for the “Fight of the Year,” some were complaining that “The Notorious” was running away from Diaz the whole fight.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

As time goes on, with no definite news in regards to when Ronda Rousey will return to the Octagon, many are wondering if a ‘Rousey return’ will ever happen. While Rousey was originally supposed to return in November, a year after her devastating knockout loss to Holly Holm, that date has continually been pushed back. With the UFC’s inaugural event in New York rapidly approaching, the UFC and Rousey have been unable to reach an agreement to bring her back from her indefinite hiatus.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

Evangelista Santos may have been on the wrong end of what many consider to be the most devastating injury in the history of MMA, however that hasn’t deterred him from wanting to return to the cage as soon as possible. Santos, who underwent surgery for the injury, has yet to be cleared by a doctor, but hopes to return to training sooner rather than later. In addition, Santos hopes to return to the cage to fight in December.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

On the main card of UFC on FOX 21, Paige VanZant left MMA fans stunned as she became the first woman in the UFC to knock out Bec Rawlings.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

Bellator lightweight Benson Henderson made $75k in a winning effort over Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire on Friday in his second fight with the Spike-based promotion since leaving the UFC. But disclosed salary records show ‘Smooth’ made $117k in his final UFC fight in a split-decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in 2015.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

On Monday afternoon, Ariel Helwani returned to our screens with the latest episode of The MMA Hour. One of this episode’s many big-name guests was Bellator lightweight champ Rory MacDonald, who joined Helwani to discuss his time with the UFC and his move to Bellator MMA. According to the former welterweight title contender, nothing was certain after the final fight of his contract—a June loss to Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.  

Russell Ess - August 30, 2016

Anthony Pettis got back in the win column with his UFC featherweight debut over the weekend. After the former lightweight champion went on a three-fight losing streak at 155 pounds, “Showtime” dropped down to featherweight and picked up a big win over Charles Oliveira at UFC on FOX 21.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

  https://youtu.be/GwQfsw6XW2Q

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

Despite very nearly wrestling the UFC light heavyweight title from former champion Jon Jones, and then again in a war with current champ Daniel Cormier, Swedish light heavyweight Alexander Gustafsson is currently at a crossroads. He’s lost his last two fights, first succumbing to an Anthony “Rumble” Johnson KO, then coming up short against Cormier.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

It takes a brave, brave woman to fight Cris “Cyborg” Justino. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 95 on September 24, that’s just what Sweden’s Lina Lansberg will do. Despite the fact that Cyborg (16-1) has not lost an MMA bout in more than a decade, Lansberg (6-1) is confident she can emerge the victor this September. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie.com, the Swedish striker weighed in on this upcoming showdown, and explained why she’s so confident.

Russell Ess - August 30, 2016

[ooyala code=”IyeDJtNTE6m6Br0ZNRYghwynj2w5gdCl” player_id=”bd214e34cfad476984102de4bf5e8da2″ auto=”true” width=”1280″ height=”1280″] Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Gabi Garcia is definitely an intimidating woman.

bjpenndotcom - August 30, 2016

Following UFC 202’s record breaking event, last weekend’s UFC on FOX 21 was the first time a FOX card averaged less than two million viewers, according to a final rating analysis for all 2016 UFC cards on FOX. Headlined by former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit and Demian Maia, UFC on FOX 21 pulled in a meager 1.9 million viewers, compared to UFC on FOX 20, which recorded a 2.9 million viewership back in July.

Tom Taylor - August 30, 2016

Over the last few years, UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem has spent a good deal of time training under the tutelage Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Yet when Overeem was booked to fight Andrei Arlovski, a long time staple of Jackson’s camp, things got a little awkward. Jackson and co. opted to corner Arlovski for the fight, while Overeem reduced his time at the Albuquerque gym and did most of his training elsewhere. Now that the fight has come and gone, however, Overeem is back at Jackson’s, training under the same room as his recent foe as he prepares for his upcoming title fight with Stipe Miocic.