Author: Dana Becker

Invicta FC 16: Hamasaki Vs. Brown Tabbed For March 11

Invicta FC, the all-female promotion, will return to Las Vegas for the first time since last July with Invicta FC 16 next month.

The card takes place March 11 from the Trinidad Pavilion at the Tropicana Las Vegas. The entire card streams live on UFC…

Invicta FC 16

Invicta FC, the all-female promotion, will return to Las Vegas for the first time since last July with Invicta FC 16 next month.

The card takes place March 11 from the Trinidad Pavilion at the Tropicana Las Vegas. The entire card streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

Headlining the night will be Invicta FC atomweight champion Ayaka Hamasaki, as she defends her title against Amber Brown. The 33-year-old Hamasaki (12-1) has won three straight since a 2013 loss to Claudia Gadelha, including her Invicta FC debut last year over Herica Tiburico.

The win vs. Tiburico, which was via split decision, netted Hamasaki the title. She owns four submission and two knockout wins to her credit.

Brown, the challenger, is 6-1 with four consecutive wins to her credit. That includes three straight with Invicta and the last two have been first round submissions.

With flyweight champion Barb Honchak, the only person to hold the title in Invicta, taking time off, the promotion has signed Vanessa Porto and Jennifer Maia to meet in an interim championship match. Porto (18-6) is on a three-fight win streak since a loss to Honchak for the belt three years ago, while Maia (9-4-1) has not fought since a 2014 defeat to DeAnna Bennett.

The rest of the card features Alexa Grasso vs. Stephanie Eggink, Irene Aldana vs. Jessamyn Duke, Roxanne Modafferi vs. Bennett, Tiburcio vs. Jinh Yu Frey, Andrea Lee vs. Sarah D’Alelio, Kelly McGill vs. Amberlynn Orr and Ashley Greenway vs. Sarah Click.

UFC Postpones Plans To Bring BJ Penn Back After Allegations

bj-penn

Following news of criminal allegations being brought up against BJ Penn, the UFC has decided to delay announcing his return to the Octagon.

The former UFC champion retired in 2014, but has been included in a report of assault by a 29-year-old through the Delaware (Ohio) County Sheriff’s Office. The matter, which took place in 2015 in Hawaii, has been referred to the police there.

On Thursday, UFC officials released a statement regarding the issue:

“UFC is aware of the recent allegations made against BJ Penn. The organization requires all athletes who compete in the UFC to act in an ethical and responsible manner, as detailed in the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. UFC will not tolerate violations of the policy. Every athlete is deserving of proper review and this situation, as with any serious allegation, will be investigated by an independent party and thoroughly reviewed by the UFC. The UFC organization will also cooperate with any law enforcement investigation. In light of the serious allegations, UFC has postponed plans to book Penn for an upcoming bout until more details are determined.

UFC holds athletes who compete in the organization to the highest standard and will continue to take appropriate action, if and when warranted. It is important to note that Penn is considered innocent until proven guilty and UFC is not prejudging this matter.”

The 37-year-old Penn (16-10-2) lost to Frankie Edgar two years ago and has not won a fight since 2010 when he knocked out Matt Hughes. He is a former lightweight and welterweight titleholder, and announced his plans to return by moving his training to New Mexico and Jackson-Wink MMA earlier this year.

A former editor of BJPenn.com, Pedro Alex Carrasco, presented the allegations to the public earlier this week with a series of posts on Twitter. He confirmed that the incident involved his girlfriend and added that he has proof to back his claims.

bj-penn

Following news of criminal allegations being brought up against BJ Penn, the UFC has decided to delay announcing his return to the Octagon.

The former UFC champion retired in 2014, but has been included in a report of assault by a 29-year-old through the Delaware (Ohio) County Sheriff’s Office. The matter, which took place in 2015 in Hawaii, has been referred to the police there.

On Thursday, UFC officials released a statement regarding the issue:

“UFC is aware of the recent allegations made against BJ Penn. The organization requires all athletes who compete in the UFC to act in an ethical and responsible manner, as detailed in the UFC Fighter Conduct Policy. UFC will not tolerate violations of the policy. Every athlete is deserving of proper review and this situation, as with any serious allegation, will be investigated by an independent party and thoroughly reviewed by the UFC. The UFC organization will also cooperate with any law enforcement investigation. In light of the serious allegations, UFC has postponed plans to book Penn for an upcoming bout until more details are determined.

UFC holds athletes who compete in the organization to the highest standard and will continue to take appropriate action, if and when warranted. It is important to note that Penn is considered innocent until proven guilty and UFC is not prejudging this matter.”

The 37-year-old Penn (16-10-2) lost to Frankie Edgar two years ago and has not won a fight since 2010 when he knocked out Matt Hughes. He is a former lightweight and welterweight titleholder, and announced his plans to return by moving his training to New Mexico and Jackson-Wink MMA earlier this year.

A former editor of BJPenn.com, Pedro Alex Carrasco, presented the allegations to the public earlier this week with a series of posts on Twitter. He confirmed that the incident involved his girlfriend and added that he has proof to back his claims.

Video: Anderson Silva Calls Michael Bisping “Unskilled”

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva took a shot at his upcoming opponent, Michael Bisping, with a video posted to his official Instagram page recently.

In the video, “The Spider” demonstrates the “proper” way to hit pads by throwing a ki…

anderson-silva-new-2

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva took a shot at his upcoming opponent, Michael Bisping, with a video posted to his official Instagram page recently.

In the video, “The Spider” demonstrates the “proper” way to hit pads by throwing a kick. He also shows one featuring “The Count,” in which Bisping misses and connects his the person holding the pads.

These two are to to face off later this month on UFC Fight Pass from London.

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A video posted by Anderson Silva (@spiderandersonsilva) on

Kimbo Slice Calls Into Question Size Of Dada 5000’s “Nuts”

When you take two men who fully believe in themselves and place them at a table together, interesting things tend to come about.

That’s what happened recently during a press conference to promote Bellator 149, as Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000 stole the …

Bellator 149

When you take two men who fully believe in themselves and place them at a table together, interesting things tend to come about.

That’s what happened recently during a press conference to promote Bellator 149, as Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000 stole the show.

With Bellator president Scott Coker and main event fighters Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie between them, the two Miami “street fighters” nearly came to blows, as Slice called into question Dada’s manhood.

“Pull your pants down,” Slice said to his opponent. “I’ll show my nuts right now. Let me see your nuts. You’ve got baby nuts, Dada. I bet you my nuts are bigger than yours.

“Come on. Excuse me, Royce. I bet my nuts are bigger than yours.”

Slice actually started to disrobe before being calmed down.

The entire press conference can be seen in the video below. The card takes place Friday night live on Spike TV from the Toyota Center in Houston.

Anthony Pettis-Edson Barboza On For UFC 197 This April

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will try to snap a two-fight losing streak when he takes on Edson Barboza this April at UFC 197. Officials announced the bout recently, which will likely be part of the pay-per-view main card.

Set for L…

anthony-pettis-2

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will try to snap a two-fight losing streak when he takes on Edson Barboza this April at UFC 197. Officials announced the bout recently, which will likely be part of the pay-per-view main card.

Set for Las Vegas and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the night includes two championship matches. Light heavyweight titleholder Daniel Cormier defends his belt against Jon Jones, while Demetrious Johnson puts his flyweight belt on the line vs. Henry Cejudo.

Pettis (18-4) is stuck in the first-ever losing streak of his career, having dropped the title to Rafael dos Anjos last year followed by a loss to Eddie Alvarez in his most recent outing. Before that, though, he had won five in a row, including four straight stoppage wins.

Barboza (16-4) has fought 14 times for the UFC, posting a record of 10-4. However, he lost to Tony Ferguson and will be looking to right the ship.

If you are thinking about putting down a bet on which fight at UFC 197 might win a bonus, this would be a good one. Combined Pettis and Barboza have 13 “fight-night” bonuses, with Barboza claiming six “Fight of the Night” awards.

Other previously announced bouts include Andre Fili-Yair Rodriguez, Clint Hester-Marcos Rogerio de Lima, Jessica Aguilar-Juliana Lima and Rafael Natal-Robert Whittaker.

UFC Fight Night 83 All Set For Sunday Night With 13 Bouts

It took a lot of re-working and signing of new talent, but the 13-fight card for Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 83 event is set once again.

Officials signed Augusto Mendes, Anthony Smith and Kelly Faszholz over the past 48 hours to help fill three voids o…

Cowboy_vs._Oliveira

It took a lot of re-working and signing of new talent, but the 13-fight card for Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 83 event is set once again.

Officials signed Augusto Mendes, Anthony Smith and Kelly Faszholz over the past 48 hours to help fill three voids on the card due to injuries. In all, six fights were changed and another had to be removed since the announcement of the event.

Mendes steps in to face Cody Garbrandt on the FOX Sports 1 main card, while Smith replaces Trevor Smith vs. Leonardo Augusto Guimaraes. Faszholz takes the place of Sarah Moraes and meets Lauren Murphy on the prelims.

Of note, Anthony Smith made his status known after besting fellow veteran Josh Neer recently. He has been pushing for a return to the UFC after winning seven consecutive fights since a 2013 loss to Neer inside the Octagon.

The FS1 main card includes Donald Cerrone vs. Alex Oliveira, Derek Brunson vs. Roan Carneiro, Garbrandt vs. Mendes, Dennis Bermudez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri, Chris Camozzi vs. Joe Riggs and James Krause vs. Shane Campbell.