MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 14, 2019

Two of the youngest athletes on the ONE roster will clash at ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST on 15 June in Shanghai. 21-year-old Stamp Fairtex is set to defend her ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title against the 18-year-old Alma Juniku, a WBC and IPCC Muay Thai World Champion. The match will be Juniku’s ONE debut and Stamp’s second bout of the year.

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

Last weekend, Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone collided in a thrilling war, reminding the world why they’re regarded as two of the lightweight division’s top fighters. Reigning lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, however, wasn’t all that impressed with what he saw. Speaking to  ESPN recently, Nurmagomedov broke down the skills of the two fighters, starting with “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

After he defeated Marlon Moraes to become a two-division UFC champion at UFC 238, UFC flyweight and bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo announced that he hopes to move up to the featherweight division in the future and challenge for that division’s belt too. Alex Volkanovski, arguably the top contender in the UFC featherweight division, is advising Henry Cejudo to think again.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 14, 2019

The influx of talent to the ONE Championship roster is undeniable. The Singapore-based martial arts organization has consistently signed athletes to join its ranks, and each month, the level of talent seems to increase. Upon signing with the organization, athletes likely envision themselves as champions of the promotion down the line. When compiling this list, there is focus on athletes who had not yet become ONE world champions. However, the following six competitors are destined to one day reach that level with the organization.

Cole Shelton - June 13, 2019

In the co-main event of Bellator 222, Chael Sonnen will take on Lyoto Machida at light heavyweight. There, it is expected the winner of that fight will take on Ryan Bader for the promotions light heavyweight title. With that said, this could be the last time that Chael Sonnen finds himself within reach of a title shot. The 42-year-old made a promise to his father before he passed away that he would win a title in a major MMA promotion. After three attempts in the UFC and one in the WEC, he has yet to accomplish it. Sonnen still plans on keeping that promise, for if he doesn’t, he consider himself a failure.

Thomas Taylor - June 13, 2019

UFC San Antonio finally has a main event, according to a report from Kevin Iole. The July 20 card will now be topped by a five-round welterweight fight between former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and streaking Brit Leon Edwards. Main event for UFC on ESPN 4 in San Antonio finalized: It will be Rafael dos Anjos vs Leon Edwards, five rounds. UFC wanted Blachowicz-Rockhold to move there, but Rockhold is filming a Ralph Lauren Polo commercial that day which couldn’t be moved.

Thomas Taylor - June 13, 2019

Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 238, UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko delivered one of the most brutal head kick knockouts in UFC history, decapitating challenger Jessica Eye in the second round. This thunderous knockout left the jaws of everyone watching on the floor — and that includes cage-side commentators Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik. In the latest episode of the UFC’s popular The Thrill and the Agony series, we get a head-on look at how Rogan, Cormier and Anik reacted to this vicious knockout from Shevchenko.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

With two title fights and a host of other marquee matchups, UFC 239 is absolutely stacked. From the sounds of things, however, the July 6 card soon become a little less stacked. According to a report from Kevin Iole, the UFC is considering moving a light heavyweight bout between Luke Rockhold and Jan Blachowicz from UFC 239 to UFC San Antonio on July 20, two weeks later. The UFC is trying to move Jan Blachowicz versus Luke Rockhhold off of UFC 239 on July 6 and put it on UFC on ESPN 4 on July 20 in San Antonio. Not done, but in the works. UFC not looking at a Shevchenko-Carmouche bout for that date at this time.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

UFC President Dana White has talking about getting into the boxing business for years. Yet so far, he’s made no headway on that mission. At least not publicly. That could soon change. According to The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger, UFC parent company Endeavor and its CEO Ari Emanuel could soon be buying Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), a boxing organization owned by Al Haymon.

Cole Shelton - June 13, 2019

Dillon Danis is set to return to the cage this Friday at Bellator 222. There, the jiu-jitsu star will take on Max Humphrey in what will be Danis’ second pro fight. Although Humphrey is the more experienced fighter, Danis is confident that won’t be a big factor in the fight.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Late last week, pop star Justin Bieber took to Twitter to call for a fight with Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. Normally, this kind of stuff would not make it onto MMA news sites. But when Bieber asked Dana White and the UFC to promote the fight, and UFC star Conor McGregor promptly chimed in and offered to promote the celebrity showdown himself, this weird storyline seeped into the collective consciousness of the MMA community. I wanna challenge Tom Cruise to fight in the octagon. Tom if you dont take this fight your scared and you will never live it down. Who is willing to put on the fight? @danawhite ?

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Shortly after Henry Cejudo defeated Marlon Moraes to claim the UFC bantamweight title, he set his sights on three of the division’s best established stars: Dominick Cruz, Cody Garbrandt and Urijah Faber. Faber, who will emerge from retirement to battle Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento, is all for this matchup with Cejudo, should the UFC choose to book it.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Speaking to BT Sport while in the United Kingdom for Thursday’s UFC 242 press conference, UFC President Dana White provided an update on the sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor. White says McGregor is simply waiting on the sidelines until the lightweight contendership picture becomes a little bit clearer.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

There are always plenty of of exciting matchups to be made in the stacked UFC lightweight division. Of all the matchups available in this weight class, however, its arguable that none can rival a potential showdown between streaking contender Tony Ferguson and former World Series of Fighting champ Justin Gaethje in terms of pure excitement. Neither man is ever in a boring fight, and it’s hard to imagine their potential pairing resulting in anything other than Fight of the Year.

Tom Taylor - June 13, 2019

Former UFC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg recently stated that she plans to test her value as a free agent once her current UFC contract expires. That contract will conclude after her featherweight showdown with Felicia Spencer a UFC 240 in Edmonton in July. If Cyborg does indeed become a free agent, it sounds like she can expect a meeting with Bellator boss Scott Coker. “Listen, if you are a free agent, give us a call. This is a Viacom-backed company and we will take care of the fighters that move the needle for us,” Coker explained during a recent media scrum (transcript via MMA Mania). “So, if she is free one day, please give us a call.”

Cole Shelton - June 12, 2019

27 have tried, and 27 have failed, but Dustin Poirier believes he is different. In the main event of UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov will look to defend his lightweight title against current interim title holder Dustin Poirier. Although no one has beaten “The Eagle”, Poirier knows exactly what he has to do to win the fight. And, it is simply being himself.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will reportedly have a school built in his honor in his native Dagestan. This school will be built using 600 million rubles (9.3M USD) allocated by Russian President Vladimir Putin (h/t Bloody Elbow). This news was announced by Khabib’s father Abdulmanap during an interview with the Teacher’s Newspaper. Abdulmanap claims this project came about after the UFC champion asked Putin to invest in education inside Dagestan during a recent phone call.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

On Saturday, June 15, in the main event of ONE: Legendary Quest in shimmering Shanghai, China, 18-year-old Muay Thai star Alma Juniku will take on champion Stamp Fairtex for the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title. Ahead of this mammoth Muay Thai showdown, the Albanian-Australian talent had a quick chat with BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor.