MMA News

bjpenndotcom - June 18, 2016

Saturday night in Ottawa, former teammates Rory MacDonald and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson will square off in a highly anticipated matchup of welterweight contenders that will likely see the next welterweight title challenger crowned. The winner of MacDonald vs. Thompson will likely be facing the winner of UFC 201’s Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley scrap, which takes place July 30th in Atlanta, Georgia.

bjpenndotcom - June 18, 2016

Tonight on the main card of ‘UFC Fight Night: Ottawa’, TUF 20 competitor Joanne Calderwood will square off against former strawweight title challenger Valerie Letourneau in a UFC women’s featherweight fight. The fight will be Calderwood’s first in almost exactly a year. Ahead of the fight, she spoke to DailyMail to discuss the impact former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre has had on her training at Tristar gym:

bjpenndotcom - June 18, 2016

Friday afternoon, Fabio Maldonado and Fedor Emelianenko squared off in the main event of EFN 50. Maldonado survived an early onslaught from Emelianenko, before firing back with some heavy offense of his own. Maldonado dropped, and nearly finished The Last Emperor, who managed to survive the 1st round, and win the next 2 en route to a majority decision win. The decision was an incredibly controversial one, with many believing that Maldonado should have won the fight given that he dominated Emelianenko in the first round. Following the fight he reflected on the bout to MMAFighting:

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

Earlier this month, Dominick Cruz had his highly anticipated trilogy fight with Urijah Faber nearly a decade after the pair’s original meeting under the WEC banner.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

Friday afternoon, the fighters of ‘UFC Fight Night: Ottawa’ hit the scales ahead of their scheduled bouts on Saturday night. In the main event of the card, #2 ranked welterweight Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson will square off with #1 ranked welterweight Rory MacDonald in what many believe to be a #1 contender fight.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

Friday afternoon in Russia, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko fought former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado in the main event of EFN 50. After being dropped in the first round, Emelianenko went on to win the next two rounds, and ultimately win a majority decision. While some thought that the judges made the right call given that Emelianenko won the last two rounds, others thought that the decision as extremely controversial, and Emelianenko should have lost given that he was dominated the first round.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

UFC fighter Sean O’Connell has become rather well known for his hilarious shenanigans at weigh-in events during staredowns. From playing rock-paper-scissors, to taking selfies, and even giving his opponents flowers, O’Connell’s staredowns have become a sort of spectacle.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

On Friday in Russia, MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko fought former UFC fighter Fabio Maldonado in what turned out to be an incredibly controversial scrap. Maldonado survived an early onslaught from The Last Emperor, and then fired back with some bombs of his own as he nearly finished Emelianenko with strikes. Emelianenko survived the round and went on to win a majority decision.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

On Friday afternoon, Fedor Emelianenko and Fabio Maldonado fought in the EFN 50 main event, Emelianenko came out strong, backing Maldonado up as he landed numerous big punches while Maldonado defended. It was Maldonado however who landed a big punch that dropped Fedor Emelianenko. While many expected the fight to be stopped, Emelianenko survived as Maldonado dropped bombs from half guard. Emelianenko looked to survive and attempt to get back to guard as the crowed watched on in awe. Emelianenko got up and wobbled around the cage as Maldonado landed bombs. Somehow Emelianenko makes it to the cage, where Maldonado landed more punches in the clinch. Emelianenko, noticeably wobbled, staggers away as he connects with a right hand that wobbles Maldonado a bit. With just 90 seconds left in the round, Maldonado pushes Emelianenko against the cage and lands more bombs. Emelianenko somehow makes his way to the center of the cage, where he is hit with more bombs. The Last Emperor staggers to the cage, where Maldonado lands more big punches. The referee briefly stops the bout to give Fedor his mouthpiece back. With just 20 seconds left in the round, Emelianenko makes his way back to the center of the cage. The round ends and both men make their way back to their corners after a thrilling round.

Russell Ess - June 17, 2016

Chris Weidman is recovering from a neck surgery procedure that put him out of his title fight with Luke Rockhold at UFC 199. Instead of Weidman fighting for the title, Michael Bisping stepped in with less than two weeks notice and shocked the world when he knocked Rockhold out in the first round of their title fight.

Russell Ess - June 17, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon in July’s UFC 200 event as he takes on the knockout specialist Mark Hunt. The WWE star reportedly will be allowed to walk out to the Octagon to his WWE entrance music.

Russell Ess - June 17, 2016

The techniques of guard passing keep evolving with new innovations and ideas.

Russell Ess - June 17, 2016

UFC strawweight Paige VanZant is fresh off the dancefloor after nearly winning the most recent season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” VanZant, who says she is currently in the works of getting an opponent for her next fight in the UFC has taken a vacation before she gets into fight camp.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson was 57-0 prior to making the jump to professional MMA. Now, with a 12-1 professional MMA record which includes a 1st round TKO win over former champion Johny Hendricks, Thompson is preparing for his #1 contender scrap with Rory MacDonald. Ahead of the fight, Thompson spoke to the BrisbaneTimes to recall the moment that he knew it was time to change over to MMA:

Russell Ess - June 17, 2016

https://youtu.be/zqhFUbSan2M Former UFC title contender turned MMA analyst Chael Sonnen always has his insightful take on the game.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

Earlier this month, the MMA community was devastated to find out that bareknuckle boxing icon and Bellator MMA fighter Kimbo Slice had passed away at the age of 42 after needing a heart transplant.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

While Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson don’t have a fight set, the battle of the words between the two has been dominating MMA headlines. After Bisping knocked out Luke Rockhold in the main event of UFC 200, and Henderson knocked out Hector Lombard on the main card, the pair both expressed interest in a rematch for the middleweight championship.

bjpenndotcom - June 17, 2016

[ooyala code=”00eWg3NDE6OTgT4SkOUKTf9bL8RQ5J0L” player_id=”bd214e34cfad476984102de4bf5e8da2″ auto=”true” width=”1280″ height=”1280″] Ahead of UFC 202, where Conor McGregor will get the opportunity to avenge his UFC 196 submission loss to Nate Diaz, the featherweight champ has enlisted the help of Jiu-Jitsu champion Dillon Danis.