MMA News

Russell Ess - June 21, 2016

The long awaited UFC debut of Phil Brooks, who is much better known by his professional wrestling name, CM Punk, is being targeted for UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio, according to Ariel Helwani. Helwani, who has created quite a stir recently with breaking news of UFC announcements before the organization tweeted on Tuesday, “Current plan at the moment is CM Punk vs. Mickey Gall at UFC 203, per sources. Far from a done deal but that’s the direction as of this AM.”

Russell Ess - June 21, 2016

The UFC rankings were adjusted following the UFC Fight Night 89 event over the weekend. The main event winner Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson climbed to the top of the UFC welterweight division after picking up a unanimous decision win over the former #1 ranked welterweight, Rory MacDonald, who dropped down a spot to #2.

Russell Ess - June 21, 2016

John Kavanagh, head coach of Conor McGregor, will soon come out with his autobiography book “Win or Learn.” In the opening of his book, Kavanagh delved into Conor McGregor’s first UFC loss, which came at the hands of Nate Diaz at UFC 196.

Russell Ess - June 21, 2016

https://youtu.be/pDWCbDygY-w Even if Ariel Helwani’s lifetime ban was lifted from the UFC, Dana White is still pissed off with him.

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

After nearly a decade as a professional fighter, Miesha Tate captured UFC gold after choking Holly Holm unconscious in the co-main event of UFC 196 on March 5th. Following the fight, many began calling for a trilogy fight with Ronda Rousey, who was on an indefinite hiatus after being brutally knocked out by Holly Holm in November. While Tate may be down to scrap with Rousey a third time, Rousey has yet to announce her plans to return to the Octagon. The former champ is currently filming movies in Hollywood, and while UFC President Dana White has stated that Rousey will fight in November, Tate isn’t so sure. In addition, Tate pointed out that she doesn’t want to overlook her UFC 200 opponent, Amanda Nunes. She spoke on Conan on TBS:

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

Earlier this year, after Conor McGregor knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to claim the UFC featherweight championship, McGregor was slated to move up to lightweight to fight lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 196. Unfortunately, dos Anjos was forced out of the bout with a broken foot, and was ultimately replaced by Nate Diaz, who defeated McGregor in a welterweight matchup. With a rematch between McGregor and Diaz slated for UFC 202 on August 20th, dos Anjos spoke to MMAJunkie to give his thoughts on that bout, and campaign for a fight with McGregor:

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

Last Friday in Russia, former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado put on an incredible performance against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. Unfortunately for Maldonado, the performance wasn’t enough to win him the fight, as he lost via majority decision. Maldonado came out of the gate strong as he had Emelianenko rocked and nearly finished for almost the entire first round. The UFC vet faded as the fight went on however, with many scoring the second and third rounds for Emelianenko. Many considered the decision a controversial one, including Maldonado’s team, who plan on appealing the loss.

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

https://youtu.be/byKT5CSzdgE This past weekend in Ottawa, Canada, Valerie Letourneau and Joanne Calderwood competed in the first UFC women’s flyweight matchup in the UFC. Calderwood won the fight decisively, rocking Letourneau numerous times with shots to the face and body.

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

During UFC 199, fight fans were shocked to find out that popular MMA journalist Ariel Helwani had been kicked out of the event, and had been banned from future UFC events as a media member after breaking the news of Brock Lesnar returning to the UFC at UFC 200. Helwani took to social media to fight the ban, which resulted in him gaining enough support that the UFC ultimately lifted the lifetime ban on Helwani just days after banning him for life.

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

It’s no secret that UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor likes to enjoy “the fruits” of his labor. McGregor frequently posts pictures to his social media accounts of luxury cars and designer clothes which he purchases for himself and his girlfriend. McGregor’s father, Tony McGregor, opened up in a recent interview with Independent about the presents his son purchased for the family:

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

Last Friday, MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko stepped into the cage in the main event of EFN 50 in Russia to fight former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado in his second fight since returning to MMA on New Year’s Eve. The fight started off extremely bad for Emelianenko, who spent the majority of the first round rocked and attempting to survive as Maldonado landed numerous big punches. ‘The Last Emperor’ managed to win the next two rounds, and ultimately win a majority decision to extend his MMA record to 36-4.

bjpenndotcom - June 21, 2016

In the main event of UFC 199, UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was knocked out cold by Michael Bisping, earning ‘The Count’ the middleweight championship after nearly a decade with the UFC. Following the bout, the pair were involved in two post-fight exchanges. The first took place in the Octagon, when Bisping attempted to shake Rockhold’s hand for a second time. The second came at the post-fight press conference, where Rockhold stated that he would “kill” Bisping.

Russell Ess - June 21, 2016

https://youtu.be/-dbU3_j-tdw Take a look at the UFC’s newly released promotional video for UFC 200!

Russell Ess - June 21, 2016

UFC Hall of Fame legend Randy Couture spoke with ESPN1100 on Friday in Las Vegas and was asked to comment on the reported sale of the UFC. The two-weight UFC world champion opened up on what he has been hearing and his sources have told him that the deal was already finalized last week.

Russell Ess - June 20, 2016

The sale of the UFC is moving forward, according to a report from FloCombat. The report claims that they have confirmed through multiple sources that a $4.2 billion bid coming from a group that includes WME-IMG, the Dalian Wanda Group, The Kraft Group and Tencent Holdings was accepted by Zuffa. One big component to the UFC has been the President of the company, Dana White and many have been wondering if White will continue to be with the company if and when a sale takes place. FloCombat’s report indicated that their sources have told them White will still continue to be with the UFC dealing with the promotional side of the business while a new CEO will come in and develop areas of new international business.

Russell Ess - June 20, 2016

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre made it clear on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” that he is ready to get back in the Octagon. “Rush” last fought in November 2013 where he took a controversial split-decision win over Johny Hendricks.

Russell Ess - June 20, 2016

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre announced on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” that he is ready to fight in the UFC once again. Newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping recently said that St-Pierre’s team reached out to him about fighting for his title. However, St-Pierre cleared things up and told Ariel Helwani that that was not the case, but isn’t shy on the idea of fighting “The Count” for a specific reason.

Russell Ess - June 20, 2016

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has just announced that he is ready to return to fighting in the UFC Octagon once again. St-Pierre spoke with Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of “The MMA Hour” and let the world know that he just completed a successful test fight camp to ensure that he is capable of competing with the best in the world.