MMA News

Chris Taylor - April 23, 2016

A light heavyweight bout between Clint Hester (11-6 MMA)and Marcos Rogerio de Lima (14-3-1 MMA) took place on the UFC 197 fight pass prelims. Big leg kick from de Lima to start things off. Hester looks for a huge overhand right but misses and gets clipped by de Lima in the process. Clint hits the deck and Marcos jumps on him. He begins working from half guard but Hester is defending well and getting a chance to recover. Marcos with two big shots from the top and moves to the mount position. He has Hester flattened out and begins landing shots from the top. Hester moves back to half guard but is eating shots. Clint gets back to full guard but still has not come close to returning to his feet. Big shots from the top by de Lima. Huge elbows from the top, he moves to a arm-triangle choke and it is deep. Clinton taps out and this one is over.

Chris Taylor - April 23, 2016

A lightweight scrap between Efrain Escudero (24-11 MMA) and Kevin Lee (12-2 MMA) kicked off tonight’s UFC 197 fight pass prelims in Las Vegas. Escudero opens up the fight with a jab. Kevin returns fire with a good jab and then a leg kick. Another leg kick and jab combo finds a home for Lee. Efrain misses with a high kick. Lee is circling and throws a kick that is partially blocked. Nice jabs from Kevin Lee. Escudero tries to clinch but it’s not there. Good counter jab lands from Efrain who works for a takedown. It is not there. Kevin separates and lands a jab. Good left hook scores for Lee. Esfrain picks him up and gets him down but Lee scrambles and returns the favor to Escudero. Good right hand and then a uppercut from Efrain. He shoots in a takes Lee down. Kevin gets back to his feet but Efrain cracks him with a jab. Efrain pushes Lee in to the fence and round one ends.

Chris Taylor - April 23, 2016

https://youtu.be/37ZRSxhC9RM In the above video former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen discusses the fallout between the UFC and it’s current featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

Chris Taylor - April 23, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione (9-5 MMA) will make his Bellator debut at June’s “Bellator Dynamite 2” event in St. Louis, Missouri. “Meathead” will meet Carl Seumanutafa in the event’s co-main event slot.

Chris Taylor - April 23, 2016

During Friday’s UFC 200 press conference, UFC president Dana White was asked to comment on top lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent statement that he was offered a fight with Georges St. Pierre for July’s UFC 200 event in Las Vegas. The UFC president seemed rather shocked by the question, which prompted him to respond with the following:

Chris Taylor - April 23, 2016

Former UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald is preparing to fight the last bout of his current UFC contract when he headlines June’s UFC Fight Night 89 event in Ottawa opposite fellow top contender Stephen Thompson. According to reports, MacDonald and the UFC have not come close to reaching a new deal or contract extension.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

Unable to catch UFC 197? BJPenn.com has you covered! Stay glued to this page for live result updates, and stay tuned to BJPenn.com for fight recaps from the entire card! Main card (PPV): Jon Jones vs. Ovince Saint Preux (c) Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo – Johnson defeats Cejudo via TKO at 2:49 of round one Anthony Pettis vs. Edson Barboza – Barboza defeats Pettis via decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Robert Whittaker vs. Rafael Natal – Whittaker defeats Natal via decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Yair Rodriguez vs. Andre Fili – Rodriguez defeats Fili via KO at 2:15 of round two

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

Former UFC champion Benson Henderson is just 7 months away from turning 33, an age that will see the former champ step away from MMA. Prior to his Bellator 153 welterweight title fight against Andrey Koreshkov, which Henderson lost in convincing fashion on Friday night, the former UFC champ spoke to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:

Russell Ess - April 23, 2016

giving back tonight because why not @MightyMouseUFC pic.twitter.com/th9GYCLlet — destiny.johnson (@MightyWife) April 23, 2016

Russell Ess - April 23, 2016

What would you do in a situation where a violent customer starts fighting with a store clerk?

Russell Ess - April 23, 2016

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones makes his return to the Octagon for the first time since fight Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 back in January 2015. Jones was set to rematch Cormier on Saturday night but an injury forced Cormier out of competition. Jones is now set to battle Ovince Saint Preux for the UFC interim light heavyweight title.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

Conor McGregor’s ongoing standoff with the UFC took another interesting turn yesterday as UFC President Dana White explained that the door is now closed for McGregor to fight at UFC 200.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

UFC light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones is arguably one of, if not the greatest, MMA fighter of all time. Jones, who became the youngest UFC champion of all time at the age of 23 when he defeated Shogun Rua via submission at UFC 126, is now on a path to reclaim the UFC light heavyweight championship after he was stripped of the belt almost year ago to date. That journey continues tonight at UFC 197 as Jones fights Ovince Saint Preux for the interim UFC light heavyweight championship.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

https://youtu.be/zrcg7c88mQk In what has to be one of the stranger fights we’ve ever seen, pro poker players Olivier Busquet and JC Alvarado competed in an MMA fight for $270,000.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

UFC veteran Dustin Poirier made his return to lightweight last year at ‘UFC FN: Mendes vs. Lamas’ in April as he knocked out Carlos Diego Ferreira in the 1st round. Following that fight, Poirier went on to defeat Yancy Medeiros via TKO, and Joseph Duffy via decision. The return to lightweight has been viewed as a bit of a career resurgence for Poirier, who put together an impressive run at featherweight for several years, but fell short of becoming a #1 contender.

bjpenndotcom - April 23, 2016

In the main event of Bellator 153 last night, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson suffered a defeat in his Bellator MMA debut at the hands of welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov. The loss was a rather one sided one for Henderson, who was unable to get into a rhythm over the course of the fight. Following the fight, Henderson sent a message to Koreshkov via Twitter, and posted a photo with the champ.

Chris Taylor - April 22, 2016

Former Bellator welterweight champion and current ONE Championship title holder Ben Askren (15-0 MMA) took to Twitter Friday night to poke fun at former UFC title holder Benson Henderson for losing his Bellator debut. “Funky”, who defeated Andrey Koreshkov via fourth-round TKO at Bellator 97 in July of 2013, had the following tweets directed at “Bendo’s” performance:

Russell Ess - April 22, 2016

Former UFC and WEC lightweight champion Benson Henderson made his Bellator debut on Friday in a five-round welterweight title fight against Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 153. Henderson found that the Bellator champion had a lot to offer and gave “Bendo” trouble in his Bellator debut. Koreshkov connected with a hard knee to Henderson’s head at the end of round 1 that put the crowd on their feet.