MMA News

Scott Hernandez - December 29, 2016

‘Groovy’ Lando Vannata may only have two fights in the UFC, however the New Jersey native has an extremely loyal fan-base, which has only grown over the course of 2016. In the middle of the year, TUF winner Michael Chiesa was forced out of his scheduled ‘UFC Fight Night: Sioux Falls’ scrap with top ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson. On short notice, Vannata stepped in against the #2 ranked lightweight in the world. To make the situation even more impressive Vannata put on a spectacular show against Ferguson in a back-and-forth fight which he ultimately lost via submission. Despite that, the promotion awarded both men with ‘Fight of the Night’ honors for the thrilling scrap.

Scott Hernandez - December 29, 2016

With just over 24 hours to go until former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey returns to the Octagon at UFC 207, the champ is giving combat sports fans one last reason to “fear the return”. Rousey took to social media to post a side-by-side photo of herself from UFC 184, where she fought and defeated Cat Zingano in just 14 seconds, and herself from just 5 days before her UFC 207 return against Amanda Nunes.

Scott Hernandez - December 29, 2016

UFC welterweight Mike Perry made quite the impact on the UFC’s welterweight division in 2016. Entering into the promotion a perfect 7-0 in his professional career, with all of his wins being KO/TKO wins. When Perry stepped into the Octagon against Hyun Gyu Lim at UFC 202 in August, it took him just over three minutes to pick up a TKO win over the UFC vet, and secure himself his first UFC win. Perry continued to make waves in the division through the media through training camp leading up to his next fight, a UFC 204 scrap with Danny Roberts. Perry won that fight too, picking up a late third round KO win over Roberts, and advancing to 2-0 in the UFC.

Scott Hernandez - December 29, 2016

Cro Cop takes out King Mo to end the night. #RIZIN2016 pic.twitter.com/dfysY0AlhP — Josh Sánchez (@jnsanchez) December 29, 2016

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was recently left without an opponent when former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was forced out of their scheduled UFC 207 scrap just days before the event after the NSAC deemed Velasquez medically unfit to fight.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

This past weekend, unfortunate news surfaced that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been pulled from his scheduled UFC 207 scrap with Fabricio Werdum just days before the fight after the NSAC deemed him medically unfit to fight. The news came as quite a shock given that Velasquez stated pre-fight that he had been able to go through training camp at 100% with the help of CBD Oil, and that he would be stepping into the Octagon at 100% come December 30th.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

Today, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey will step onto the scale to weigh-in for her highly anticipated UFC 207 scrap with Amanda Nunes on Friday night. While most fighters have to do the remainder of their weight-cut during fight week, UFC President Dana White says that Rousey was already on weight days ago.

Chris Taylor - December 28, 2016

During today’s UFC 207 media scrum in Las Vegas, UFC president Dana White revealed to MMAFighting’s Luke Thomas that former Stirkeforce champion Nick Diaz has been offered several welterweight fights by the promotion but unfortunately turned them all down. Weight debates aside, Dana White told me he's offered Nick Diaz fights at welterweight. According to White, he's turned them all down.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

Earlier this month, reports began to surface that Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson would be fighting for the interim UFC lightweight champion. The pair traded barbs on social media, with both men stating that the ball was in the other’s court. Ultimately, Ferguson revealed that he would be holding out for more money from the UFC. Subsequently, talks began to die down as Ferguson’s name was no longer mentioned in talks of an interim lightweight title fight. Instead, reports began to surface that Jose Aldo could be involved in the fight, and so could Nate Diaz. Recently however, UFC President Dana White stated that Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor could very well be the first lightweight title defense in McGregor, with the promotion looking to host the fight in Russia.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

BJPENN.COM Radio returns tonight at 8PM ET/5PM PT with another streamlined episode to close out 2016 in style! 8:15PM ET- Alan “Brahma” Jouban @alanjouban kicks off tonights show to recap his recent victory over Mike Perry at UFC on Fox 22 in Sacramento. Following a ton of trash talk between the two, Jouban was victorious via unanimous decision and unfortunately was not given any time on the mic to address the crowd. We will get his take on the fight, Perry as an opponent, whether the animosity is water under the bridge, and he has planned for his next fight.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

UFC heavyweight veteran Todd Duffee has been absent from the Octagon since being KOd by Frank Mir in the first round of their ‘UFC Fight Night: San Diego’ scrap back in July. Following the KO loss, there was no mention as to when Duffee was planning to return to the Octagon, or if he would be able to return to the Octagon following several years that had seen him plagued with injuries and medical conditions. After dropping a KO loss to Alistair Overeem for the interim DREAM heavyweight championship in 2010, it would be almost two years before Duffee returned to the cage. When he did so, he did so triumphantly as he picked up a 1st round TKO win over Neil Grove. Later that year, Duffee return to the UFC where he picked up a 1st round TKO win over Philip De Fries, earning himself knockout of the night honors. Unfortunately, it would be two more years before Duffee fought again. When he did, he picked up yet another first round KO win as he knocked Anthony Hamilton out at UFC 181. Unfortunately, the next time Duffee stepped into the Octagon, he dropped a first round KO loss to Frank Mir, ending his three-fight win streak.

Russell Ess - December 28, 2016

UFC commentator Joe Rogan has been around the sport for a long time and has grown with the UFC since the early days of the promotion.

Russell Ess - December 28, 2016

Ronda Rousey is making her return to the UFC Octagon after losing for the first time in her professional mixed martial arts career.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2016

2016 has been a fantastic year for those with an appreciation for the grappling components of mixed martial arts. We witnessed the sophomore MMA effort of ADCC champion MacKenzie Dern, who dropped jaws with a modified Imanari choke against Montana Stewart. We saw dozens of dazzling submissions in the cages of Bellator MMA, One Championship, and World Series of Fighting. And of course, we were treated to a long procession of unforgettable submissions on the sport’s biggest stage: the Octagon of the UFC.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

After a period of speculation following reports that the UFC was looking to replace the ‘hype master’ style of commentary delivered by Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, reports are now surfacing that longtime UFC commentator Mike Goldberg will be making his last broadcasting appearance with the UFC this Friday at UFC 207. UFC President Dana White recently stated that he was working on assembling what he believes to be the ‘dream team’ of commentary. While White didn’t mention who he was looking to have on board, he did praise Joe Rogan as the best commentator in the business, leading many fans to believe that Rogan would be staying on board. While there has been no further word on the matter since then, SB Nation’s Luke Thomas confirmed news this week that UFC 207 would indeed be Goldberg’s last appearance:

Russell Ess - December 28, 2016

Tiffany “Time Bomb” van Soest was recently crowned the first-ever female champion in the prestigious Glory kickboxing promotion. With the historic win under her resume, “Time Bomb” says that her future in mixed martial arts all

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

Unfortunate news surfaced this past weekend that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been pulled form his scheduled UFC 207 fight with Fabricio Werdum on December 30th after failing an extra pre-fight medical screening following news of a back injury he endured during training camp.

Scott Hernandez - December 28, 2016

Leading up to UFC 207, much of the UFC’s promotion for the event has surrounded the highly anticipated return of Ronda Rousey, who will step back into the Octagon over a year after horrifically being knocked out cold by Holly Holm at UFC 193, where she lost the UFC women’s bantamweight championship. In addition to Rousey being the focus of the promotion for the event, she has been exempt from all media-related duties leading up to the fight. This hasn’t gone over too well with many fans, who have been quick to point out that the UFC gave Rousey a pass on media related events, while just months prior they pulled Conor McGregor from UFC 200 for refusing to fulfill his media obligations ahead of what was supposed to be his rematch with Nate Diaz.