MMA News

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2016

UFC President Dana White spoke with ESPN earlier tonight where he discussed the UFC’s reasoning behind booking Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo rematches to headline July’s blockbuster UFC 200 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dana White assured ESPN and the millions of fans watching that no matter what the outcome is in the UFC 200 main event, Conor McGregor will in fact fight the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo rematch at an event later this year (2016). His words:

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2016

UFC President Dana White did an interview with ESPN following the announcement of the UFC 200 event headlining bouts (Mcgregor vs Diaz & Aldo vs. Edgar), where he discussed the UFC’s reasoning behind booking the two major rematches. The UFC President told ESPN that current featherweight champ Conor McGregor was ‘obsessed’ with fighting Nate Diaz again and that he demanded the rematch take place in the UFC’s welterweight division:

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2016

https://youtu.be/wJmV95gVWew UFC president Dana White spoke with ESPN earlier tonight about why the UFC decided to book a Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rematch as the event headliner for July’s blockbuster UFC 200 event in Las Vegas.

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

Earlier today it was announced on UFC Tonight that Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor would clash in the main event of UFC 200 in a welterweight rematch. In addition, it was announced that Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar would compete in a fight for the interim UFC featherweight championship. Immediately the internet went wild as fight fans began giving their predictions for the fight.

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

News broke Wednesday afternoon on UFC Tonight that Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II had been officially booked for UFC 200. In addition, it was announced that Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar would be competing for the interim featherweight championship. While leaked footage earlier this month showed Nate Diaz revealing that he wanted the rematch with McGregor to take place at lightweight so that McGregor wouldn’t have ‘an excuse’ this time around, the bout has been officially set as a welterweight rematch.

Russell Ess - March 30, 2016

https://youtu.be/2FhU5CxaaDI?t=25m40s Nate Diaz is always one to speak his mind.

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

News broke Wednesday afternoon that the UFC had released veteran heavyweight Jared Rosholt following his ‘UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson’ loss to Roy Nelson back in February. Rosholt had been with the UFC since 2013 where he defeated Walt Harris via unanimous decision in the finale of the ‘TUF: Rousey vs. Tate’ finale. Rosholt compiled a record of 6-2 during his time with the UFC, with his loss to Nelson snapping a three fight win streak.

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2016

During today’s UFC 198 press conference, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva was asked to comment on his recent request to fight current UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor at a catchweight. “The Spider” was quick to point out that he did not challenge McGregor because of the huge “payday” that would come along with the fight, but that he is simply interested in challenging his skills against the brash Irishman:

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

Co-main and Main event faceoffs! Werdum vs Miocic | Jacare vs Belfort. What a night of fights! #UFC198 https://t.co/aJvGN3LQpF — UFC (@ufc) March 30, 2016

Russell Ess - March 30, 2016

GSP vs Silva? @SpiderAnderson: “It could happen.” 👀 What do you guys think?! #UFC198https://t.co/l2vvzX7jU3 — UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) March 30, 2016

Russell Ess - March 30, 2016

https://youtu.be/2FhU5CxaaDI?t=20m50s Nate Diaz holds no punches whether it’s inside or outside the Octagon. The UFC veteran is coming off the biggest win of his career and cashed in on his biggest payday after submitting Conor McGregor at UFC 196.

Russell Ess - March 30, 2016

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was arrested on Tuesday after turning himself into police in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jones was recently issued five traffic citations by an Albuquerque police officer, which included one for drag racing. A judge ruled the drag racing ticket was a violation of his probation terms.

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

When it was announced that Wanderlei Silva had signed with Rizin FF, there were immediately talks of Silva potentially fighting MMA icon Fedor Emelianenko. While Emelianenko has stated that his next fight will be soon, and likely in Russia, fans can’t help but wonder if Emelianenko and Silva will fight this year. Rizin FF President Sakakibara spoke to BloodyElbow through a translator:

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

[ooyala code=”czdHJmMjE6f8ov2Y3nmEYy2PN695Ho5P” player_id=”b8fa6431adff441580c2e2bf5e6bd724″ width=”1280″ height=”960″ auto=”true” autoplay=”true”] UFC pound for pound kingpin Jon Jones revealed to his fans earlier this week that he had been given 5 traffic tickets. Jones then was forced to turn himself in to the Albuquerque Police Department until his court appearance on Thursday morning at 8am.

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2016

Michael Bisping (28-7 MMA) scored the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career just over a month ago in London, where he earned a unanimous decision victory over former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. “The Count” recently joined ‘The Three Amigos Podcast‘ where he gave his take on Jon Jones’ most recent run-in with the law.

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2016

The inaugural UFC women’s strawweight champion, Carla Esparza (11-3 MMA), will return to the octagon next month when she fills in for the injured Jessica Aguilar against Julianna Lima (8-2 MMA). The bout will mark Esparza’s first fight since losing her title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk via TKO at UFC 185 in March of 2015.

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

It was announced earlier this week that Cris Cyborg would be making her UFC debut at UFC 198 in Curitiba Brazil against Leslie Smith. While that fight isn’t until May 14th, Cyborg already has her eyes set on the fight that has so far eluded her, a superfight with Ronda Rousey. She spoke to TMZ Sports:

bjpenndotcom - March 30, 2016

https://youtu.be/8cYLFbWPMVE While there’s still no word yet on when Phil Brooks, also known as CM Punk, will be making his UFC debut, it appears that the former WWE champion’s back is getting better.