MMA News

Harry Kettle - April 22, 2024

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has announced that he has begun his mixed martial arts training camp ahead of his Smashing Machine movie. This year, The Rock has focused a lot of his attention on his professional wrestling return. Now, following WrestleMania XL, he’s preparing for his next move. He’s set to play Mark Kerr later this year in a movie titled Smashing Machine, chronicling his journey in the world of mixed martial arts.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 21, 2024

Reece McLaren is on a mission to rejuvenate his MMA career. “Lightning” gets the chance to do so when he returns to action at ONE Fight Night 22 on Prime Video. This U.S. primetime event takes place live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7.

Fernando Quiles - April 21, 2024

Renato Moicano and Paddy Pimblett have shown mutual respect as of late, but “Money” still thinks he’d make short work of “The Baddy.” Moicano’s stock has never been higher. The lightweight veteran is riding a three-fight winning streak. He recently made a huge statement by scoring a second-round TKO finish over Jalin Turner at UFC 300. As a result, Moicano has cracked the top 10 on the official UFC lightweight rankings.

Fernando Quiles - April 21, 2024

Jorge Masvidal’s coach believes his fighter simply has Nate Diaz’s number. Masivdal and Diaz are set to collide for the second time, but this go-around the two will share a boxing ring. Masvidal vs. Diaz 2 will take place on June 1 and it’ll be held inside the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.

Chris Taylor - April 20, 2024

Nate Diaz is done promoting his upcoming boxing bout with Jorge Masvidal, as he walked out of their final tour stop on Friday night. Diaz (21-13 MMA, 0-1 Boxing) and Masvidal (35-17 MMA) have been on a cross-country tour promoting their upcoming rematch, a boxing bout, which will take place on June 1st at The Forum in Los Angeles.

Chris Taylor - April 20, 2024

Justin Gaethje knew he was taking a “huge risk” when he signed on to fight Max Holloway at UFC 300. Gaethje (25-5 MMA) was coming off a second-round knockout victory over Dustin Poirier in July of last year at UFC 291 to claim the promotion‘s vacant BMF title. In addition to taking home the ‘Baddest Mother F**ker’ belt, ‘The Highlight’ had seemingly cemented himself as the top contender to challenge reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Chris Taylor - April 20, 2024

Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is explaining why loving your country is one of the worst things for mental health. Strickland (28-6 MMA) is known for his brash takes and once again stirred up controversy with his latest comments regarding the current state of America.

Chris Taylor - April 20, 2024

Former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill has made his first public remarks regarding referee Herb Dean’s non-stoppage at UFC 300. Hill (12-2 MMA) was returning to action for the first since January 2023 in the headliner of last weekend’s UFC 300 event, where he was looking to reclaim the light heavyweight title, which he never lost, against reigning division champion Alex Pereira (10-2 MMA). ‘Sweet Dreams’ had of course captured the promotion’s vacant light heavyweight championship by defeating Glover Teixeira at UFC 283 but was later forced to vacate the belt after tearing his Achilles tendon.

Curtis Calhoun - April 20, 2024

UFC president Dana White didn’t let some of his biggest critics go unaddressed after a successful night of business at UFC 300. UFC 300 was arguably one of the greatest cards in promotional history. The stacked event from top-to-bottom featured a slew of current and former UFC champions from the first fight of the night, to the headliner.

Chris Taylor - April 20, 2024

Jamahal Hill will be making a quick turnaround as he has been booked to fight Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 303 on June 29. Hill (12-2 MMA) is of course coming off a first-round KO loss to Alex Pereira in his bid to reclaim the promotion‘s light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 300 (see that here). That setback had marked Jamahal’s first fight since January of 2023, where he defeated Glover Teixeira to claim the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 283. Jamahal Hill had earned that title opportunity after scoring three consecutive knockouts over Jimmy Crute, Johnny Walker and Thiago Santos.

Curtis Calhoun - April 19, 2024

Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo wants to add a former bantamweight titleholder to his desired path to a title shot. Figueiredo defeated former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt to kick off UFC 300 last Saturday in Las Vegas. He is now 2-0 in his UFC bantamweight tenure after defeating Rob Font in December by unanimous decision.

Josh Evanoff - April 19, 2024

Kyoji Horiguchi will get the chance to avenge a loss to Sergio Pettis later this summer in RIZIN. ‘The Typhoon’ is fresh off a rematch with Makoto Takahashi at RIZIN 45 in December. That fight was his second in a row with the Japanese fighter, previously fighting to a no-contest in July that ended in an eye poke. In the second bout, Kyoji Horiguchi wasted no time, securing a second-round submission victory.

Cole Shelton - April 11, 2024

On the main card of UFC 300, former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira takes on Arman Tsarukyan in a potential No. 1 contender fight. Heading into the fight, Oliveira is a +176 underdog while the Armenian is a -230 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the lightweight fight. The pros are actually going with the underdog in Oliveira as they feel like he is getting overlooked.

Cole Shelton - April 11, 2024

On the main card of UFC 300, Justin Gaethje looks to defend his BMF title for the first time as he takes on Max Holloway. Heading into the fight, Gaethje is a -178 favorite while the Hawaiian is a +138 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the BMF title fight. The pros are expecting Gaethje to get his hand raised in a highly-anticipated fight, as they think the size will play a factor.

Cole Shelton - April 10, 2024

In the main event of UFC 300, the light heavyweight title is up for grabs as Alex Pereira looks to defend the belt for the first time against former champ Jamahal Hill. Heading into the fight, Pereira is a -140 favorite while the American is a +110 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the light heavyweight title fight. The pros believe Pereira will get it done, as his striking will be too much for Hill.

Cole Shelton - April 10, 2024

In the co-main event of UFC 300, the strawweight title is on the line as Zhang Weili looks to defend her strap against Yan Xiaonan. Heading into the fight, Weili is a sizeable -500 favorite while the challenger is a +340 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the strawweight title fight. To no surprise, the pros believe Zhang Weili will be too much for Yan Xiaonan as she will defend her title with ease.

Cole Shelton - April 9, 2024

Alex Morono, the head coach of Ricky Turcios says the UFC took care of the bantamweight after his canceled fight against Raul Rosas Jr. at UFC Mexico City. Just minutes before Turcios was set to make the walk, it was revealed Rosas Jr. was sick and the fight was off. It was disappointing news for Morono and Turcios, who liked the style matchup against the 19-year-old.

Cole Shelton - April 6, 2024

Kyle Nelson has won his third straight fight as the betting underdog. Nelson scored a first-round TKO win over Bill Algeo on the main card of UFC Atlantic City. The Canadian started strong as he landed a massive shot that wobbled Algeo and he kept landing punches that forced the ref to jump in and stop the fight.

Cole Shelton - April 4, 2024

Christos Giagos is excited to face Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC Vegas 90 on Saturday. Giagos is coming off a submission loss to Daniel Zellhuber in September and after the defeat, he was hoping to return to fight in Anaheim at UFC 298. Although fighting at February’s pay-per-view never came to fruition, Giagos did get offered a fight against Bahamondes on Saturday at UFC Vegas 90 and jumped at the chance.

Cole Shelton - April 3, 2024

Damon Jackson is expecting his UFC Vegas 90 co-main event fight against Alexander Hernandez to be wild and chaotic for however long it lasts. Jackson is coming off a decision loss to Billy Quarantillo back in August, which was his second straight defeat. After the loss, Jackson focused on getting healthy and says he is now back to one hundred percent.

Cole Shelton - March 28, 2024

Andre Petroski has made it clear that he believes he’s the best grappler in the middleweight division and he wants to continue to prove that. Petroski has been calling out the top grapplers since signing with the UFC and had a ton of success early on. However, in his last fight, he stepped up on short notice to face Michel Pereira and he suffered a first-round knockout loss.

Cole Shelton - March 27, 2024

Raquel Pennington is hoping for her first title defense to be against Julianna Pena. Pennington won the vacant 135lbs title back in January with a decision win over Mayra Bueno Silva. Since then, she has been waiting for her first title defense, which she expects to happen in the fall. One possible opponent for Pennington’s first title defense is Kayla Harrison, who recently signed with the promotion and will make her debut opposite Holly Holm at UFC 300.

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2024

Raquel Pennington had to overcome adversity to even fight at UFC 297 for the vacant bantamweight title. Pennington was set to face Mayra Bueno Silva in January in Toronto, and she says the training camp was one of the best she’s ever had. However, on fight week, Pennington fell ill and she says it was at the worst point on fight day when she woke up and wasn’t sure if she was even going to be able to fight.

Cole Shelton - March 21, 2024

Kurt Holobaugh is in his third stint with the UFC and he now has the tools to be a ranked lightweight. Holobaugh made his UFC debut in 2013 but after losing his first Octagon appearance, he was released. He worked his way back to the promotion, but after going 0-3 he was released from the promotion once again.