MMA News

Tom Taylor - January 9, 2020

A rematch between former UFC strawweight champions Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade is “close to being finalized” for the UFC 249 card on April 18 in Brooklyn, according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade 2 is close to being finalized for UFC 249 on April 18 in Brooklyn, according to multiple sources.

Tom Taylor - January 9, 2020

As Donald Cerrone and Conor McGregor gear up for their UFC 246 welterweight clash, much has been made of an exchange they had at a press conference several years ago. During this exchange, the pair argued about how McGregor, then a featherweight, would fair in the lightweight division. Ahead of the UFC 246 card, some members of the MMA community have pointed to this moment as the beginning of a longstanding beef.

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.

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.

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.

Mike Pendleton - January 9, 2020

Before she got her scheduled fight against Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246, Maycee Barber was very public and open in her pursuit of a possible fight against Paige VanZant. For whatever the reason, the UFC decided to match Barber against  Modafferi at next weekend’s UFC 246 event, while VanZant will face Amanda Ribas in March. While a fight with VanZant would have been an easy way for more eyes to get on Barber who is ranked 9th in the flyweight division, a fight with Modafferi, who is ranked 7th in the division, makes more sense in Barber’s pursuit of a title.

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.

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.

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.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 9, 2020

Brazilian talent Maira Mazar is days away from making her ONE Championship debut. For the past five years, Mazar has waited patiently for her opportunity to break through into the global stage of mixed martial arts. At ONE: A New Tomorrow, set for the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on 10 January, Mazar makes her first steps towards the ONE cage. She is scheduled to face Japanese stalwart Ayaka Miura in a three-round contest.

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.

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.

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.

Harry Kettle - January 8, 2020

Chan Sung Jung, aka The Korean Zombie, has predicted a quick finish if he is to ever face Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC Featherweight Championship. The Korean Zombie is coming off the back of a memorable finish over Frankie Edgar which cemented his spot as one of the top guys in the division. Alas, while that may be the case, the presence of Zabit Magomedsharipov and Max Holloway has caused some doubt as to whether or not he will be the man to get the next shot at the belt.

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.

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

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:

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 8, 2020

Filipino martial arts veteran Kevin Belingon looks back on 2019 as a year of learning. The former ONE Bantamweight World Champion met rival Bibiano Fernandes twice last year, dropping a Disqualification in March and then losing via submission in October, in what was their fourth meeting on the whole.