UFC fighter Jessica Penne accepted the 18-month suspension the United States Anti-Doping Agency levied against her after she tested positive for a banned substance.
USADA confirmed Penne will serve the suspension, which went into effect beginning…
UFC fighter Jessica Penne accepted the 18-month suspension the United States Anti-Doping Agency levied against her after she tested positive for a banned substance.
USADA confirmed Penne will serve the suspension, which went into effect beginning April 23, 2017. That was the day after she lost to Danielle Taylor at UFC Fight Night 108.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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Cris Cyborg successfully defended her women’s featherweight championship against Holly Holm to close out UFC 219 on Saturday night in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
All three judges scored the fight for Cyborg, giving the 32-year-old her fourth victor…
Cris Cyborg successfully defended her women’s featherweight championship against Holly Holm to close out UFC 219 on Saturday night in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
All three judges scored the fight for Cyborg, giving the 32-year-old her fourth victory in the UFC and the 19th win of her career.
In the other headlining fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated Edson Barboza in a unanimous decision to further cement himself as one of the most dangerous contenders in the UFC lightweight division.
Neil Magny def. Carlos Condit, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Michal Oleksiejczuk def. Khalil Rountree, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Myles Jury def. Rick Glenn, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marvin Vettori vs. Omari Akhmedov, majority draw (28-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Matheus Nicolau def. Louis Smolka, unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
Tim Elliott def. Mark De La Rosa, submission (Round 2, 1:41)
Holm’s blueprint against Cyborg was clear. She wasn’t going to fight fire with fire and instead waited for the Brazilian to try to go on the offensive. In addition, Cyborg had gone past the third round just once in her career, so Holm wanted the fight to get into the later rounds, when she might be able to capitalize on a fatigued Cyborg.
Cyborg largely neutralized Holm’s strategy by displaying an impressive level of technique to gain an edge on Holm. Because 16 of her victories came via knockout, it’s easy to forget how good of a fighter Cyborg is. She’s incredibly strong and equally as skilled in the Octagon, and that is a nearly impossible combination for opponents to overcome.
While this was the toughest test Cyborg has faced in MMA, it also felt somewhat like she didn’t get pushed.Holmdid the best she could after moving up a weight class, but she wasn’t good enough to topple the champion.
Former Bellator commentator Jimmy Smith thought Cyborg appeared largely unfazed despite getting bloodied during the fight:
Cyborg’s dominance may present a conundrum for the UFC. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto highlighted what is a dearth of serious challengers in the women’s featherweight division:
Cyborg is a massive star and a fantastic fighter, but she needs to have compelling opponents to continue drawing interest from fans. The UFC may have a difficult time figuring out a way to maximize her presence in the immediate future before more women can establish themselves in the division.
Nurmagomedov prevailed in dominant fashion over Barboza, as evidenced by the judges’ final scores. A brief sequence in the third round essentially summed up the fight. Barboza landed what might’ve been an effective spinning heel kick in another situation. Nurmagomedov, however, shrugged it off like it was nothing.
The UFC shared a replay of the moment:
Former UFC star Brendan Schaub didn’t envy Barboza:
The numbers speak for themselves. According to UFC.com, Nurmagomedov connected with 154 total punches, 89 of which were significant strikes. Barboza, by comparison, got 25 significant strikes in on Nurmagomedov.
The 29-year-old Russian more than lived up to the hype in Las Vegas, and the question now becomes whether he gets the fight with either lightweight champion Conor McGregor or interim champ Tony Ferguson.
Nurmagomedov was raring to go immediately after taking down Barboza.
“If UFC give me one hour rest, I can fight Conor or Tony, that’s no problem; I feel great,” he said, per MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta.
Considering he has fought just three times since defeating Rafael dos Anjos in April 2014, Nurmagomedov may need another win or two to pad his total before a date with McGregor or Ferguson becomes a reality. With that said, it’s seemingly only a matter of time before Nurmagomedov gets a shot at the lightweight belt.
The main card opened with Carlos Condit’s first fight in the Octagon in over a year. His rust showed a bit as Neil Magny was the superior fighter. Condit looked good in the early round but ceded the advantage to Magny over the final two.
Not only was Magny the better striker, but he also had a great game plan to repel Condit’s attacks. According to UFC.com, Magny landed three more significant strikes (53) than Condit (50) and registered two takedowns to Condit’s zero.
MMA Fighting’s Chuck Mindenhall lamented what he believes is a lack of respect granted to Magny:
By beating Condit, the 30-year-old may be able to receive the marquee welterweight fight that has eluded him so far.
Condit, on the other hand, may have to seriously ponder his future in mixed martial arts. At 33 years old, he’s not necessarily over the hill, but he has lost six of his last eight fights. It’s hard to see how he’ll be able to climb up the welterweight rankings anytime soon, which undoubtedly hinders his prospective matchups in the UFC.
Count Chuck Liddell among the skeptics about whether Floyd Mayweather Jr. will ever step inside the Octagon for a UFC fight.
“C’mon man—he can’t fight in the UFC,” Liddell said, per TMZ Sports. “Why would he do that? He’s just gonna get hurt.”
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Count Chuck Liddell among the skeptics about whether Floyd Mayweather Jr. will ever step inside the Octagon for a UFC fight.
“C’mon man—he can’t fight in the UFC,” Liddell said, per TMZ Sports. “Why would he do that? He’s just gonna get hurt.”
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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UFC president Dana White said he plans to meet with CM Punk in Detroit but failed to elaborate on the subject of their upcoming conversation.
“CM Punk is coming to Detroit and wants to talk to me,” White said, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Revie…
UFC president Dana White said he plans to meet with CM Punk in Detroit but failed to elaborate on the subject of their upcoming conversation.
“CM Punk is coming to Detroit and wants to talk to me,” White said, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I love the guy. We’ll see what he’s doing.”
The Motor City is set to host UFC 218 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
White’s comments could mean a number of things.
He and Punk may discuss planning Punk’s second fight in UFC, or at the very least leave open the possibility of the former WWE star stepping inside the Octagon again. Of course, the complete opposite scenario could transpire, with Punk and White coming to an agreement on ending Punk’s brief UFC tenure.
After all, Punk hasn’t fought professionally for over a year, and he didn’t look particularly good in his first-round defeat to Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September 2016.
Punk’s trainer, Duke Roufus, indicated the 39-year-old was gearing up for a return to UFC when he posted a photo on Instagram that included the caption, “Working on his next Fight.”
Punk certainly has plenty of name recognition, which could be of benefit to UFC with big questions hovering around two of the company’s biggest stars. Jon Jones is facing a lengthy suspension and Ronda Rousey’s MMA career is up in the air.
Adding Punk to a pay-per-view card would immediately draw in some of the more casual fans of the sport.
Still, Punk isn’t getting any younger and the longer he’s removed from having wrestled in WWE, the law of diminishing returns is likely to become a bigger issue.
At the very least, White and Punk could provide a more definitive answer as to his future with UFC with the conversation this weekend.
Former mixed martial arts star Jason “Mayhem” Miller pleaded guilty in a domestic violence case, TMZ Sports reported Tuesday.
According to the report, authorities charged Miller with five felony counts of domestic violence and a felony count of v…
Former mixed martial arts star Jason “Mayhem” Miller pleaded guilty in a domestic violence case, TMZ Sports reported Tuesday.
According to the report, authorities charged Miller with five felony counts of domestic violence and a felony count of vandalism. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that saw him plead guilty to “corporal injury to a spouse/cohabitant,” and he received a three-year probation and a four-year suspended sentence in state prison.
Miller was 23-10 over an MMA career that included stints in UFC, Strikeforce and World Extreme Cagefighting. He also hosted the MTV showBully Beatdownthat ran from 2009 until 2012.
A jury in Orange County, California, previously acquitted Millerof felony domestic violence stemming from a 2013 incident in which prosecutors alleged he had struck his ex-girlfriend.
TMZ Sports reported his guilty plea Tuesday was connected to allegations he was violent with three different girlfriends between 2015 and 2017. He also allegedly damaged the cell phones of two girlfriends so they’d be unable to call the police, for which he was facing misdemeanor charges.
UFC president Dana White confirmed to the Los Angeles Times’ Lance Pugmire UFC should have an idea of Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon by the end of the week.
White told Pugmire his focus is on determining if McGregor could fight at UFC 219 …
UFC president Dana White confirmed to the Los Angeles Times‘ Lance Pugmire UFC should have an idea of Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon by the end of the week.
White told Pugmire his focus is on determining if McGregor could fight at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.
“That’s all this week,” White said. “We’re working on that [main event]. I have to have it done by the end of the week.”
McGregor is approaching a year since his last fight in UFC. He beat Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, 2016, to capture the UFC lightweight championship.
The 29-year-old took a brief hiatus from mixed martial arts to train for his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr., who won by TKO in the 10th round.
Pugmire wrote a matchup with Tony Ferguson would make the most sense for McGregor in his first MMA fight back. Ferguson is the No. 1-ranked challenger in UFC’slightweight rankings, and he won the interim lightweight title by beating Kevin Lee at UFC 216 in October.
In an interview with Ireland-based entertainment.ie (h/t MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti), McGregor expressed an interest in fighting Ferguson without mentioning him by name.
“I know there are many contenders in the UFC,” McGregor said. “There are many boxing contenders as well. What interests me is certainly a UFC bout, certainly a defense of my lightweight title. There is a fighter with the interim lightweight belt. I feel that will be next. We’ll see how negotiations go.”
Regardless of his opponent, UFC will be happy to have McGregor back in MMA after his short-lived transition to boxing. Four of UFC’s fivebiggest pay-per-view buy ratescame with McGregor in the headlining fight.
McGregor is UFC’s biggest star, and he’s even more valuable to the company with Jon Jones facing alengthy suspensionand Ronda Rousey’s MMA careerpotentially over. His return to UFC—especially if he’s fighting Ferguson—would almost certainly be among the company’s highest-grossing events of the year.
Cris Cyborg successfully defended her women’s featherweight championship against Holly Holm to close out UFC 219 on Saturday night in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.