MMA News

Conor McGregor on throne, Duane Ludwig
Conor McGregor

Opening betting odds for Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz revealed

bjpenndotcom - February 24, 2016

By now the MMA world knows that Nate Diaz has stepped in for Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196 to fight Conor McGregor in a welterweight showdown. Diaz stepped in on short notice after Rafael dos Anjos was forced out of the bout with a broken foot. Immediately after Diaz stepped in the MMA world exploded in anticipation of the event with a fan-made promo already surfacing.

Videos

Exclusive Video | Nate Diaz coach talks fill-in fight against Conor McGregor

bjpenndotcom - February 24, 2016

[ooyala code=”tpczg5MTE6U_FRD5MiC-niRlCWb5OAxd” player_id=”631143aa3982447caf394a185941cb69″ width=”3840″ height=”2160″ auto=”true” autoplay=”true”] Tuesday morning it was announced that Rafael dos Anjos had broken his foot and would no longer be able to defend his title at UFC 196 on March 5th against Conor McGregor.

ufc cowboy
Donald Cowboy Cerrone

Donald Cerrone reacts to Nate Diaz getting UFC 196 fight

bjpenndotcom - February 24, 2016

Yesterday after Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from his UFC 196 title fight against Conor McGregor, many top ranked fighters were scrambling to get the vacant spot opposite McGregor. For a while it seemed as though fan-favorite fighter Donald Cowboy Cerrone would get the fight. Cerrone hit the gym to start cutting weight and was just waiting on the official call from the UFC.

Videos

VIDEO | Incredible fan-made UFC 196: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz promo

bjpenndotcom - February 24, 2016

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The Notorious
Conor McGregor

PHOTO | Official UFC 196 Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz poster

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

After Rafael dos Anjos backed out of his UFC 196 main event scrap against Conor McGregor with a broken foot, there was a scramble to find an opponent to replace the lightweight champ. Ultimately it was revealed by UFC President Dana White that Nate Diaz would be stepping in on short notice to fight McGregor at welterweight on March 5th in the main event of UFC 196.

Conor McGregor

Dana White officially announces Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

Early Tuesday evening BJPenn.com broke the news that Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz had been slated for the main event of UFC 196 after Rafael dos Anjos backed out of the bout with a broken foot. There were still some questions surrounding the bout, mainly what weight class the pair would compete at.

Rafael Dos Anjos
Rafael dos Anjos

PHOTO | Rafael dos Anjos shares photo of broken foot

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

Tuesday morning news broke that UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos had been forced to pull out of his UFC 196 lightweight title fight with Conor McGregor on March 5th. While there was certainly no shortage of top ranked contenders offering to fight McGregor on short notice, the UFC ultimately opted to go with Nate Diaz as a fill-in opponent for McGregor.

Conor McGregor

Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor is a GO for UFC 196

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

There has been much speculation as to who will step in and fight Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 196 on March 5th. While there has been no shortage of top contenders stepping up to offer to fight McGregor at the event, it seems as though we now have an official bout.

Videos

Conor McGregor Gets Called Out For UFC 196: Here's the video recap

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

https://youtu.be/qoDNAa4KoG8 Here’s a look at some of the fighters who took to twitter to get a big money fight with the featherweight champion Conor McGregor. The last guy that stepped up in short notice got paid 500G’s flat to show.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov offers his reason why the UFC won't let him fight Conor McGregor

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

https://twitter.com/TeamKhabib/status/702222770642382848 Out of the race but wanting to give his two cents about all the UFC chaos today is #2 Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nate Diaz and his camp are negotiating the terms of his ‘potential’ fight with McGregor.

Nate Diaz

Nate Diaz Highlights: Next Stop, Las Vegas - UFC 196

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

[ooyala code=”42M2lneTpfbQSJRvQGtAAkTjY137m7Q8″ player_id=”631143aa3982447caf394a185941cb69″ width=”1280″ height=”720″ auto=”true” autoplay=”true”] With Nate Diaz getting the call to face Conor Mcgregor at UFC 196, fight fans and analysts around are clamoring for this main-event matchup. The Stockton native had a successful outing in his last performance against Michael “The Menace” Johnson, targeting Johnson with 157 strikes to earn the unanimous decision.

Dana White
Conor McGregor

UFC having issues booking Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

While it had been rumored that Nate Diaz would be getting the vacant UFC 196 slot against Conor McGregor, now it appears as though they’re having some issues booking the fight on such short notice. McGregor was supposed to face Rafael dos Anjos in a lightweight bout for the UFC lightweight championship. Given that McGregor was already going up 10 pounds to fight Rafael dos Anjos, the UFC doesn’t want to see McGregor fight at a catchweight bout of 165 pounds. In addition, the UFC’s offer isn’t worth Diaz dropping down to 155 pounds in less than two weeks.

Urijah Faber

Urijah Faber on weight, wants fight against Conor McGregor at UFC 196

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

The list of top contenders offering to fill in for Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196 against Conor McGregor continues to grow. Between Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Nate Diaz, and now Urijah Faber, it looks as though the UFC will have no problem finding a replacement opponent for Rafael dos Anjos on March 5th.

Nate Diaz

Rumor: Nate Diaz gets Conor McGregor fight

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

Since it was revealed earlier today that Rafael dos Anjos had been forced out of his UFC 196 lightweight title fight with Conor McGregor due to a broken foot, the MMA community has been anxiously awaiting news of who Conor McGregor would fight. While Donald Cerrone, fresh off his UFC Pittsburgh win on Sunday, offered to take the fight on short notice, it appears as though the UFC will be going with another option.

Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor

Dana White describes Conor McGregor's reaction to news of Rafael dos Anjos' injury

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

By now nearly the entire sporting world knows that Rafael dos Anjos has been forced out of his UFC 196 lightweight title fight against Conor McGregor on March 5th due to a broken foot. The UFC has been scrambling trying to find an opponent to replace dos Anjos in the main event of the card. Fresh off his win over Alex Oliveira on Sunday night, Donald Cerrone has offered to fight on short notice. In addition Anthony Pettis revealed via Twitter that he is ready to go if need be. Last but certainly not least, Nate Diaz threw his name into the mix of potential opponents when he took to Twitter to tell McGregor to get on his knees and beg.

Jon Jones

Jon "Bones" Jones: Killing the Abs in this clip

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

Filming the countdown earlier. Hope you guys enjoy A video posted by Jon Bones Jones (@jonnybones) on Feb 22, 2016 at 11:08pm PST

Conor McGregor

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone: Front Runner for Conor Mcgregor Fight

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

https://twitter.com/FrontRowBrian/status/702195221526806529 With Rafael dos Anjos out, it’s now a mad dash to get Conor McGregor an opponent for the UFC 196 main-event slot. Finding a quick replacement in less than 2 weeks notice you would think would be a tall order. Consider the amounts of cash they threw at Chad “Money” Mendes to step in the octagon with McGregor on short notice at UFC 189.

Dana White UFC 219
Conor McGregor

MMA world reacts to Rafael dos Anjos pulling out of UFC 196

bjpenndotcom - February 23, 2016

Tuesday morning news surfaced that Rafael dos Anjos had broken his foot and would be unable to defend his UFC lightweight championship against Conor McGregor at UFC 196 on March 5th. As can be expected with less than 2 weeks before fight night, the UFC began to scramble to find a replacement opponent for McGregor. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, fresh off his win Saturday night, offered to take the fight on short notice. In addition, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis offered to fill-in and fight McGregor.