MMA News

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Bellator and GLORY showcased the best of their promotions on Saturday night with the spectacle that was “DYNAMITE 1”. Tito Ortiz and Liam Mcgeary headlined the event with a Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship fight. For the first time in nearly nine years, “The People’s Champion” Ortiz had the opportunity to capture gold. Unfortunately for him, Mcgeary is as game as they come. Mcgeary endured Ortiz’s takedowns and attempt at ground and pound but ended up getting caught in a slick reverse rear naked choke. Fans expected a reason or two from Ortiz as to why he lost, but he offered no excuses.

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

In April 2015, Phil Davis made the biggest decision of his career when he jumped ship from the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Bellator. Davis surely made an impact on his first fight with his new company as he won two fights in one night to become the next Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship challenger! Davis didn’t even need five minutes to dispose of former champion Emanuel Newton on Saturday night at “DYNAMITE”. Newton landed some good shots on Davis, but “Mr. Wonderful” locked on a kimura that there was no escape from. “King Mo” won the semi-final bout on the opposite end of the bracket but injury kept him from competing for the right to fight for another championship.

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

The final of the Bellator ‘Dynamite’ light heavyweight tournament wasn’t really what we were expecting, with ‘King Mo’ getting injured and unable to compete. However we still got an exciting match up between Phil Davis and alternate Francis Carmont. The fight started and they each stayed patient and went through a feeling out process. Then out of nowhere Davis connected with a big punch that dropped Carmont.

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

In the night’s main event, at Bellator ‘Dynamite’, undefeated light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary took on MMA vet Tito Ortiz. Early on it was Tito imposing his gameplan, getting McGeary down to the mat and working some ground and pound.

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Floyd Mayweather picked up some criticism for how he fought against Manny Pacquiao in May, but there is no denying his most recent performances were anything short of impressive. He walked into the ring looking to secure another win and walked out with his hand raised without so much of a cut on his face. Mayweather’s last bout took place earlier this month when he went toe-to-toe with Andre Berto in another decision victory. Again, Mayweather gained criticism from boxing fans for not engaging in a slugging brawl but his corner was clearly happy with is performance in the final round of his final fight. Watch his corner get emotional at the end of their fight!

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Diehard fans of mixed martial arts who have been dreaming of watching Fedor Emelianenko throw down in the octagon let out a collective groan when it was announced he would be fighting in a new Japan-based promotion on New Years Eve. On the bright side, “The Last Emperor” will be returning to the “Land of the Rising Sun” where PRIDE helped him make a name for himself! Check out what some of the biggest names in the mixed martial arts community had to say about Fedor’s return to action in Japan:

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

It was arguably one of the biggest events in Bellator history on Saturday night when the mixed martial arts promotion and GLORY joined forces for the first “DYNAMITE” event in California. The card featured a slew of matches including one night light heavyweight tournament and a light heavyweight championship bout featuring Liam McGeary and Tito Ortiz. Bellator Champion Will Brooks felt like he and other champions were left in the dark in favor of other fighters making their first appearance in the cage, jumping ship from the UFC. While fighters like Phil Davis, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Thomson got some much-deserved airtime for their fantastic performances, home-grown talent Brooks wasn’t happy former UFC talent got all the attention. Brooks took to social media to voice his disproval:

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Martial arts legend Steven Seagal claims to have helped train some of mixed martial arts most elite champions on their path to gold. The likes of Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida have thanked Seagal for help in their post-fight speeches and have been seen training with them in various videos, but fans and fighters alike have questioned the icon’s legitimacy. While there is no doubt of Seagal’s elite level in the world of Aikido, people are questioning the effectiveness of the martial art in actual combat. UFC commentator Joe Rogan thinks Aikido has no place in the octagon and anybody who is training in combat sports could easily take down an Aikido student! Check out what Rogan had to say to Andrew Hill, a neuroscientist who believes Aikido is a valid combat art, about Aikido!

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Judges’ inability to properly score fights usually gets a rise out of the crowd, but this is a completely different level. More often than not, when fans disagree with how the judges scores a fight they simply voice their disproval with a parade of boos or “bull s***” chants. Things were handled a little differently at a recent BAMMA event, however. Tom Duquesnoy defeated Brendan Loughnane in a controversial decision this past weekend at BAMMA 22 and fans decided to litter the ring with cups filled with liquid. Some may have been beer, but Redditor Dingobabie claims he saw at least one cup filled with urine! “…Police came in and caught a guy with his pants open doing it,” Dingobabie stated. Check out the video below for footage!

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Andre Berto and Floyd Mayweather met in the boxing ring earlier this month and sent a handful of fans home disappointed with another decision victory. While Mayweather’s style of fighting may not be the most popular for fans who are hungry for a slugfest, nobody can deny he has mastered the science of landing significant shots while taking VERY minimal punishment. Berto tried his hardest to take control of the fight and bring Mayweather into a slugfest and he believes he made it a more entertaining fight than Manny Pacquiao would have. Mayweather and Pacquiao met in the ring earlier this year in May and it was an underwhelming fight to say the least; While it broke all types of records, the fight was slow and plodding.

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Bellator and GLORY Kickboxing weren’t the only promotions with an exciting show taking place this weekend night! The fighters of Xtreme Fighting Championship International put on one hell of a show and supplied us with one of the most brutal knockouts in recent memory. Guilherme Faria nabbed his fifth victory in a row on Saturday evening when he brutally knocked Missael Silva de Souza out cold just over a minute into the fight. Shout out to silent22 of /r/MMA for pointing this brutal knockout out! Check it out below!

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

There are moments in fighters’ careers that they will always remember. For kickboxers, it could be anything from signing with your first major organization to making your walk down to the ring in your first major fight in front of a major audience. Jose Palacios would like a second chance to make a first impression, however, as he will be remembered for busting his a** on his way to the ring in his second GLORY bout.

BJPENN.COM News - September 20, 2015

Cheap shots obviously have no place in mixed martial arts or combat sports in general. Whether it’s a fighter striking his opponent long after the bell sounds or right when the fight starts during a glove touch, the crowd will instantly turn on a fighter throwing a cheap shot. This “trainer” claims to have mastered the art of defending “cheap shots” in the video below. It seems nearly impossible as you can’t possibly anticipate a “cheap shot” as the whole purpose of the cheap shot is that you don’t see it coming! If you’re interested in learning how to block a cheap shot that is coming straight at your face when you’re expecting it after asking for it, check out the video below! If you want to make fun of a goofball for thinking he knows what a ‘cheap shot’ truly is… DEFINITELY check out the video below.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

Bellator MMA put on one of the craziest nights of combat sports ever with ‘Dynamite 1’. We saw GLORY kickboxing and Bellator MMA going on throughout the night and saw some pretty wild fights. Perhaps most exciting was the light heavyweight tournament, which Phil Daivs ended up winning. King Mo was supposed to fight in the final but was injured, so alternate Francis Carmont stepped in. He got TKO’d by Davis in the first round.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

In the night’s main event champ Liam McGeary took on Tito Ortiz with the light heavyweight title on the line. The two felt each other out for a little while, then Tito shot in and got the takedown, but McGeary went for a guillotine choke. He held on to it for a little bit, then let it go. Tito stared working from full guard.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

First off, King Mo was injured an unable to fight in the final. Also, his opponent Linton Vassell was not cleared to fill in, so alternate Francis Carmont stepped in to fight Phil Davis. The fight didn’t last long. There was a feeling out process where both fighters sort of stayed patient and didn’t really throw much.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

In basically the only GLORY kickboxing match that actually featured GLORY kickboxers, Saulo Cavalari took on Zack Mwekassa. Cavalari seemed to be the aggressor, landing some nice kicks to start the fight. The real action started in the second round. Cavalari came out with a bunch go heavy kicks to the body and leg. At one point it looked like Zack might have gotten hurt. He also dropped him with a big head kick, but that might have been more of a slip. They continued to scrap. Towards the mid point of the round the referee stopped it and took a point from Cavalari, for holding? That was weird.

BJPENN.COM News - September 19, 2015

Former UFC fighter Josh Thomson made his Bellator debut in front of his home crowd at Bellator ‘Dynamite’ against Mike Bronzoulis. These guys didn’t waste time getting after it. Both fighters got after it. They exchanged on the feet. Thomson almost landed a big head kick but it was blocked. Mike slipped and Thomson capitalized and got top control. He worked from top with Mike pressed on the cage. Thomson looked to transition to a better position. He made his way to full mount, with his legs triangled over Mike’s legs. From here Thomson couldn’t’ really posture up. Finally he gained normal full mount, but then the round ended. Good round for Thomson.