MMA News
Jimmy Smith criticizes John McCarthy for MVP vs. Anderson Silva comparisons
Adam Martin - January 9, 2020
Long-time MMA analyst Jimmy Smith criticized Bellator commentator Big John McCarthy for his recent comparison between Michael Page and Anderson Silva. McCarthy has come under scrutiny for his recent comments comparing the early careers of the two. Many fans believe that Bellator has given Page a mostly easy road so far, but McCarthy said that Page’s first 18 career bouts match up well with the first 18 fights that Silva had, despite the evidence suggesting Silva’s road was tougher. Smith saw McCarthy’s comments and said that he does not agree with him.
Michael Bisping is 'sick of all this talk of super fights'
Tom Taylor - January 9, 2020
There’s been a lot of talk about super fights over the last few years, from a potential Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal fight, to a possible scrap between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya. Former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping is getting tired of it. Bisping discussed the super fight craze on his Believe You Me podcast. While he conceded he’s interested in seeing a Jones vs. Adesanya fight, as well as a fight between Jones and heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, he admitted that he’s growing tired of this trend, and wants to see champions defend their belts against the top contenders in their weight classes.
Ayaka Miura steadily rising through the ranks in ONE Championship
BJPENN.COM Staff - January 9, 2020
Count Japan’s Ayaka Miura as another member of the ONE Championship roster who had a memorable 2019. The strawweight contender made a huge impact with back to back wins to solidify her debut year with ONE as a serious contender. With an eye toward 2020, Miura looks forward to earning the belt this year. The first step in her journey to conquer another calendar year begins on 10 January at ONE: A New Tomorrow when she faces Maira Mazar.
Charles Oliveira gunning for Justin Gaethje or Kevin Lee in UFC Brasilia main event
Adam Martin - January 9, 2020
The manager of UFC lightweight contender Charles Oliveira says he is gunning for the main event slot at UFC Brasilia against either Justin Gaethje or Kevin Lee. Oliveira is currently riding a six-fight win streak with all six of those wins coming by stoppage over Jared Gordon, Nik Lentz, David Teymur, Jim Miller, Christos Giagos and Clay Guida. Since permanently moving up to lightweight after an up-and-down stint as a featherweight, Oliveira has shown improved durability as well as an evolved striking attack to go along with his elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. He is the No. 13-ranked UFC lightweight.
Promoter: Claressa Shields 'is carrying the sport of women’s boxing on her shoulders'
Cole Shelton - January 9, 2020
Claressa Shields is looking to make history on Jan. 10 when she battles Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBC and WBO light middleweight titles. Should she win, the two-time Olympic gold medalist would become a three-weight world champion. Not only would Shields become a three-weight world champion like Canelo Alvarez, Vasyl Lomachenko, Bud Crawford, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao among others, but she would be the fastest to do so. This is only Shields’ 10th professional fight.
Dillon Danis: Conor McGregor's jiu-jitsu is 'on another level'
Tom Taylor - January 9, 2020
Conor McGregor is days out from a welterweight scrap with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. While McGregor is currently the betting favorite in this matchup, some fans suspect Cowboy’s submission skills could spell disaster for the Irishman. Dillon Danis disagrees. Danis, who is a decorated BJJ blackbelt, has served as one of McGregor’s key training partners for the last few years.
Derrick Lewis was glad to see Alistair Overeem get 'his ass worked' at UFC Washington
Harry Kettle - January 9, 2020
Derrick Lewis has revealed that he was pretty happy to see Alistair Overeem get finished by Jairzinho Rozenstruik back at UFC Washington.
Ben Askren picks Jorge Masvidal as 2019 Fighter of The Year
Harry Kettle - January 9, 2020
Retired UFC star Ben Askren has swallowed his pride and picked Jorge Masvidal as his 2019 Fighter of the Year. Heading into 2019 nobody was really giving Masvidal a second thought, whereas Askren was one of the hottest things in mixed martial arts. Then, when “Gamebred” finished Darren Till and Askren controversially submitted Robbie Lawler, the stars aligned for the two to fight at UFC 239.
Mike Perry responds to backlash over his use of the N-Word
Chris Taylor - January 8, 2020
UFC welterweight Mike Perry received some heavy backlash for using a racial slur during his online feud with Michael Jai White. ‘Platinum’ and ‘MJW’ have been busy exchanging jabs at one another on Twitter, this after Perry took issue with an old video of White training with the late great Kimbo Slice.
Jorge Masvidal would love to fight Georges St-Pierre so he can 'break his face'
Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020
Jorge Masvidal is looking to get Georges St-Pierre out of retirement so he can fight him and “break his face”. “Gamebred” has made it known he is after the biggest paydays possible and there is no doubt the former welterweight king in Georges St-Pierre would be a lucrative fight. Although Masvidal wants to break the Canadian’s face, he says he respects what “GSP” did in his career and knows how tough of a scrap it would be.
John Kavanagh believes potential fight between Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje 'stylistically suits Conor'
Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020
John Kavanagh believes Justin Gaethje is a good stylistic matchup for Conor McGregor. The Irishman in Conor McGregor has been open about 2020 being a season and it begins with Donald Cerrone. After that, he has mentioned possible opponents like Jorge Masvidal and Justin Gaethje who is on his “list.”
Angela Hill slams Mike Perry for using racial slur online
Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020
Angela Hill is one of many fighters who have taken offense to Mike Perry using the N-word on Twitter. In a recent beef with Michael Jai White, the two went back-and-forth on social media where Perry asked to fight White in bare knuckle. Yet, the actor had a snarky response and “Platnium” obviously didn’t like it as he issued a racial slur at the actor.
UFC announces press conference featuring Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone
Adam Martin - January 8, 2020
The UFC has officially announced the press conference for UFC 246 featuring Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone, which will take place on January 15 in Las Vegas. The official UFC 246 press conference will take place at 5 pm PST on Wednesday, January 15 at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. The press conference is free and open to the public.
Conor McGregor titles one of his techniques 'in honor of Ireland’s famed Riverdance'
Tom Taylor - January 8, 2020
Conor McGregor is known as one of the flashiest strikers in MMA. Even in his early days under the Cage Warriors banner, the Irish star was throwing unconventional strikes at unconventional targets — like this interesting kick he landed on Ivan Buchinger in 2012. https://twitter.com/NOMILKZONE/status/1214677613869961216
Henry Cejudo tells Kayla Harrison to 'bend the knee,' but it backfires
Tom Taylor - January 8, 2020
UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo hasn’t fought since June, but he’s managed to stay in the headlines by calling out pretty much anybody with a pulse. That includes Dominick Cruz, Jose Aldo, Cody Garbrandt, Urijah Faber, Weili Zhang, Valentina Shevchenko, and most recently, PFL star Kayla Harrison. The interaction between Harrison and Cejudo, both clients of Ali Abdelaziz and Dominance MMA, began on Twitter, when Harrison compared her accomplishments to those of her fellow Olympian.
Derrick Lewis explains why he KO'd boxer in viral video
Tom Taylor - January 8, 2020
UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis recently made headlines for beating the hell out of a trash-talking boxer in their gym. The incident was filmed, and immediately went viral inside the MMA bubble. See it below:
Ben Askren says he has interviewed with ESPN for commentary gig
Adam Martin - January 8, 2020
Former UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren said that he recently had an interview with sports leader ESPN for an MMA commentary gig. Askren retired from mixed martial arts after suffering a technical submission loss to Demian Maia in the main event of UFC Singapore. Prior to that, he was knocked out in just five seconds by Jorge Masvidal at UFC 239 after winning his Octagon debut via controversial technical submission against Robbie Lawler at UFC 235.
Chael Sonnen believes good timing contributed to Ronda Rousey’s massive success in MMA
Natasha Hooper - January 8, 2020
Chael Sonnen is confident that Ronda Rousey left the MMA sport at the right time, and that her timing, in fact, contributed towards her success. The UFC’s first female champion, Rousey made waves in MMA and polarized fans in the process. She achieved many firsts throughout her career and defeated notable contenders including Liz Carmouche, Cat Zingano, and Miesha Tate. However, her exit from the sport left a lot to be desired.