UFC NEWS

BJPENN.COM News - September 28, 2015

In what has become one of the lesser known joys of fight week, Dan Hardy is back to break down another main event in spectacular fashion. Daniel Cormier steps into the octagon to defend his newly won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship for the first time at “UFC 192” against Alexander Gustafsson. Their bout is set to take place this Saturday in Houston, Texas and COULD be a big money maker for bettors. Hardy and John Gooden guide you through the main event in Unibet’s “Inside the Octagon”.

BJPENN.COM News - September 28, 2015

It should come to the surprise of nobody that Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is a bit of a thrill-seeker. Whether he is wake boarding or riding a mechanical bull, Cerrone always runs the risk of getting injured moments before a big fight. Of course he is one of the most bada** human beings to ever step foot in the octagon so it never happens, but the risk is always there! Cerrone will be stepping into the cage to square off with Rafael dos Anjos for the second time in his career, but this time it’s for gold. The UFC Lightweight Championship hangs in the balance at “UFC on FOX 17” in December when RDS and “Cowboy” duke it out to decide lightweight supremacy. Until then, Cerrone only has two things on his mind: Training and having fun!

BJPENN.COM News - September 28, 2015

Conor McGregor may have a target on his back now that he is at the top of the UFC’s featherweight division along with Jose Aldo. “The Notorious” picked up interim gold at “UFC 189” when he fought late replacement Chad Mendes and had his hands raised before the third round could even start. McGregor sat on the sidelines while he awaited the announcement of his next opponent while names like Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber almost got the shot. Instead, it was confirmed McGregor would be squaring off with Jose Aldo at “UFC 194” in Las Vegas. Once again, McGregor’s stock is expected rise once fight-week approaches but it’s already sky-high in Ireland! McGregor recently saw the parody of him in a skit done called “ConMan McGregor” where a fan on the street was expected to do his best McGregor impression. Conor had a blast while watching it, to say the least.

BJPENN.COM News - September 28, 2015

Felice Herrig has been a bit of a journey-woman in mixed martial arts. While fellow female fighters Ronda Rousey, Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, and Gina Carano get credited for being pioneers of women’s mixed martial arts, Herrig did her part in fighting around the country with the likes of Bellator and Invicta. The strawweight built a nice cult-following for herself before getting picked up by the UFC for the twentieth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. After defeating Heather Jo Clark in her first match of the competition, she failed to pick up another win and was eliminated from the tournament. She still signed with the UFC and made her debut at the “Ultimate Fighter” finale and submitted Lisa Ellis with an impressive armbar.

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

“UFC 192” is fast approaching and it is stacked from top to bottom! UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier is getting ready to defend his title for the first time against Alexander Gustafsson in the main-event of the card, but that isn’t the only major light heavyweight clash taking place on the main card. Rashad Evans will be making his return to the octagon as he has been sitting on the sidelines since his win over Chael Sonnen in 2013. “Suga” will square off with top-contender Ryan Bader in a bout with title implications. The only thing that could hold back Bader from getting a title shot if he wins is an unexpected Jon Jones return or a fight with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Before Conor McGregor even had the gold slung over his shoulder, countless featherweights were calling him out and trying to land a fight with him. McGregor always had his eye on the prize, however, and ultimately became the UFC’s interim featherweight champion when he defeated Chad Mendes by way of technical knockout at UFC 189. Current UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo was temporarily out of the picture with a rib injury and fans were wondering what was next for “The Notorious”. The logical next steps would be for him to square off with Frankie Edgar or offer Mendes a rematch for stepping in on short notice. Then, it was announced that Urijah Faber and Conor McGregor would be coaching opposite of each other in the twenty-second season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. Unlike other seasons, however, Dana White revealed Faber would not be fighting McGregor.

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Josh Barnett made a triumphant return to the octagon at “UFC Fight Night 75” on Saturday night when he clashed with fellow heavyweight Roy Nelson. While Barnett did not get the stoppage win, it was clear he was dominating the fight throughout and picked up an unanimous decision victory. The win was his first in two years when he last beat Frank Mir at UFC 164 in 2013. Barnett remained out of action following his loss to Travis Browne to pick up some wins at Metamoris and to film “Road to UFC: Japan” with co-coach Roy Nelson. The culmination of their season took place on Saturday evening and the coaches squared off in the main-event where Barnett broke a new heavyweight record!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Promoters and fighters from around the world of mixed martial arts lit social media on fire when it was revealed that Nick Diaz received a five year suspension. It seemed as if Nevada State Athletic Commission dealt Diaz his suspension for failing just one of his three UFC 183 post-fight drug tests. It wasn’t long before fans and fighters were rallying their followers to get them to sign an official White House petition to lift the ban of Diaz. Just a couple weeks after it’s getting created, there are already 59,133 signatures! Everyone from Demetrious Johnson to Ronda Rousey have signed it— make sure you do the same! Diaz recently took to Instagram to get his followers to do the deed:

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Gegard Mousasi invested a lot of time, energy and money for his fight with Uriah Hall at “UFC Fight Night 75”. When Mousasi went down in the second round with a spinning heel kick and jumping knee, he was visibly emotional and crushed during the post fight interviews. A fan took to social media to blast Mousasi for his loss which is quite possibly the worst time for a fighter to be made fun of. Mousasi carried the emotion from his loss onto his Facebook when his official account responded to the fan by calling his mother a “whore”. Several fans saw the outlandish response and decided to get in on the action by trashing him. Mousasi’s account responded with several racial, mother degrading and homophobic rants. See what he had to say to the fans in the images below:

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Heavyweights Josh Barnett and Roy Nelson clashed in the octagon at “UFC Fight Night 75” and brought the fans in Japan to their feet. It was Uriah Hall who brought the crowd to their feet, though, when he landed a devastating spinning-heel kick/jumping knee combination on Gegard Mousasi in the co-main event. The Reebok payouts are in and it looks like the main eventer didn’t even top the payout! Barnett and Nelson took home only $20,000 of the $102,500 total payout. Check out the numbers below!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Gegard Mousasi’s path back toward the top of the middleweight division was brought to a screeching halt at “UFC Fight Night 75” when he stepped into the octagon with Uriah Hall. Mousasi seems to be struggling to capture the magic in UFC he once had in DREAM when he reigned supreme as the light heavyweight and middleweight champion. After suffering a tough loss to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in September 2014, Mousasi went back to his winning ways when he became the second man ever to defeat Dan Henderson by way of knockout. He walked into his fight at the Saitama Super Arena riding a two fight win streak, but Hall put an end to that in fantastic fashion.

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Gegard Mousasi was ready to add another win to his already impressive record at “UFC Fight Night 75”, but short-notice opponent Uriah Hall put a stop to that. After getting roughed up and almost submitted in the opening round, Hall turned the tables on Mousasi and executed a brutal spinning back kick to the skull of Mousasi! Mousasi stumbled back and proceeded to eat a knee that ultimately put an end to the fight. Hall broke down what his thought process was when he saw the opportunity to kick present itself in an interview backstage after his fight. Check it out below!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Going into the co-main event a lot of people were saying, yeah it might be an exciting fight, but Gegard Mousasi should be able to take out the underdog Uriah Hall fairly easily. No one was giving Hall much of a chance. Which is fair. Mousasi has been on a tear and is a veteran of the game. However, Hall shut everyone up and proved he can hang with the top dogs at 185 by pulling off a highlight reel finish of the top ranked middleweight.

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Uriah Hall put the entire middleweight division on notice at “UFC Fight Night 75” last night with his performance against top-tanked Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi put on an impressive opening round and Hall knew he had to turn things around quickly if he wanted to pick up the win in the Saitama Super Arena. Just twenty-five seconds into the second round of the fight, Hall landed a ridiculous spinning back kick and followed it up with a jumping knee! Needless to say, Mousasi could not take much more after the two shots connected flush on his jaw. He tried to fight off defeat, but Hall jumped on him for the kill forcing the referee to wave the fight. Check out how UFC fighters reacted on social media after the fight!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Diego Brandao brought home an extra fifty-thousand dollars with the “Performance of the Night” bonus he earned at “UFC Fight Night 75”! Katsunori Kikuno looked to be in tremendous shape walking into his fight on Saturday evening at the Saitama Super Arena, but Brandao proved to be the better fighter that night. Brandao caught Kikuno with a BRUTAL overhand right that sent him crashing to the canvas. Brandao did not let up and proceeded to beat the tar out of Kikuno until the referee was forced to step in and wave it off. Check out the replay of the knockout below!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Keita Nakamura wrapped up the preliminary portion of “UFC Fight Night 75” with a beautiful submission! After taking the back of Li Jingliang in the final round of the fight, Nakamura applied a rear naked choke. Jingliang made it back to his feet only to get choked out standing, leading to him face planting in the octagon. Welterweight Nakamura picked up his first UFC victory with the submission after going 0-3 with the promotion in an earlier stint. Check out the highlights of his fight below!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

“Road to UFC: Japan” featherweight finalists Mizuto Hirota and Teruto Ishihara brought the fans in the Saitama Super Arena to their feet in the first main-card fight of the night. The two left it all in the octagon in their three round war only to find out there was no winner… and no loser. Both Hirota’s and Ishihara’s hands were raised as they fought to a rare split draw. UFC President Dana White was so impressed by their performances, however, he rewarded them BOTH contracts with the promotion. Check out the highlights of the fight that earned both fighters their contract with the UFC!

BJPENN.COM News - September 27, 2015

Conor McGregor is trying his best to start an in-camp rivalry between UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw and “The California Kid” Urijah Faber, but it looks like all is well in Team Alpha Male! The coaches from Team Faber show up to treat the guys in the house to a night watching FOX UFC Fight Night from Chicago as T.J. Dillashaw successfully defends his bantamweight title against former champion Renan Barao