MMA News

Harry Kettle - May 6, 2025

MMA analyst Josh Thomson has a pretty interesting point of view regarding UFC’s potential stance on Bo Nickal. Last weekend, Bo Nickal suffered his first defeat in professional mixed martial arts. He went head to head with Reinier de Ridder and, in more ways than one, he simply couldn’t keep up with the Dutchman. RDR was all over him from beginning to end, finishing off the American wrestling star with a nasty knee to the body.

Harry Kettle - May 6, 2025

Mateusz Gamrot has slammed Benoit Saint-Denis for reportedly turning him down as a new opponent for UFC 315. While he may have had a few setbacks, Mateusz Gamrot is still one of the most intriguing lightweight contenders in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Polish sensation is capable of mixing it up with anyone in the top 15, and although he isn’t seen by many as a legitimate title threat, he certainly has the potential to get to that level based on the evidence presented thus far.

Harry Kettle - May 6, 2025

Karate Combat champion Sam Alvey has called for a showdown with Eddie Hall following his recent win over Tyrone Spong. Since leaving the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Sam Alvey has enjoyed the kind of resurgence that very few people would’ve seen coming. He’s always had a great personality, and you could make the argument that it’s one of the reasons why the UFC kept him around for so long. Now, though, he’s starting to put in the work necessary to raise his profile in the pit.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2025

The UFC was in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, May 3, for UFC Des Moines. In the main event, bantamweight contenders threw down as Cory Sandhagen took on Deiveson Figueiredo in a pivotal bout. Entering the fight, Sandhagen was coming off a decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, which snapped his three-fight winning streak. Figueiredo, meanwhile, was coming off a decision loss to Petr Yan, which was his first loss at bantamweight after going 3-0.

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2025

Cory Sandhagen believes he deserves the next title shot, but is open to taking another fight. Sandhagen scored a second-round stoppage win over Deiveson Figueiredo on Saturday at UFC Des Moines. It got him back in the win column, and after the victory, he called for a title shot.

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2025

Belal Muhammad is surprised Ian Machado Garry is serving as the backup fighter for UFC 315. Muhammad is set to defend his welterweight title for the first time against Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday in Montreal in the main event of UFC 315. After Garry beat Carlos Prates, he revealed he’d be the backup fighter, which caught the champ by surprise.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 5, 2025

Should Jon Jones ditch the Tom Aspinall fight and ride off into the sunset? UFC CEO Dana White has maintained optimism when it comes to booking a heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall. Not everyone is convinced, as there still hasn’t been an announcement. Aspinall has been the interim champion since Nov. 2023 and he even successfully defended the gold against Curtis Blaydes.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 5, 2025

One UFC Hall of Famer has explained why Dana White’s involvement in the promotion of Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford is positive for boxing. Combat sports fans were stunned after Saudi Arabia’s Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, announced that White would help promote Alvarez vs. Crawford. The super fight is scheduled to take place on Sept. 12.

Harry Kettle - May 5, 2025

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has provided an update on his current training schedule. We’re all waiting for one thing in the heavyweight division: Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall. It’s a fight that has been talked about for literal years now but for whatever reason, it hasn’t yet come to fruition. The popular opinion is that Jones simply doesn’t want to fight Tom, which is something that the light heavyweight GOAT has openly admitted in the past.

Harry Kettle - May 5, 2025

UFC champion Belal Muhammad has spoken of his admiration for former welterweight king Georges St-Pierre ahead of UFC 315. This Saturday night, Belal Muhammad will defend his UFC welterweight championship against Jack Della Maddalena. He’ll do so in the main event of UFC 315 which is set to go down in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. While a lot of people believe that JDM has a chance at pulling off the upset, the popular opinion seems to be that Belal will successfully retain the belt that he won from Leon Edwards.

Harry Kettle - May 5, 2025

Reinier de Ridder has explained what he felt in the midst of his finishing sequence against Bo Nickal at UFC Des Moines. On Saturday night, Reinier de Ridder really announced himself to the mixed martial arts world. While he’d already picked up two wins in the Ultimate Fighting Championship prior to the Bo Nickal fight, this was the biggest name he’d faced by far. A lot of people were counting him out as a result of the hype surrounding Nickal but in the end, the Dutchman was able to get the job done in convincing fashion.

Harry Kettle - May 5, 2025

Deiveson Figueiredo has vowed to come back from his nasty knee injury that he suffered in the main event of UFC Des Moines. On Saturday night, Deiveson Figueiredo fell short in the main event of UFC Des Moines. He went up against Cory Sandhagen and he just wasn’t really able to compete in a way that was going to lead to victory. In addition to losing, though, he also suffered a nasty knee injury which looks set to keep him out of action for an undisclosed period of time.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 5, 2025

The injury bug continues to loom large for Stamp Fairtex. ONE Championship has announced that the Thai megastar has relinquished the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title after suffering a further setback while rehabbing her surgically repaired knee.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 5, 2025

On Friday, June 6, #4-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender Nakrob Fairtex will face surging striker Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi in a flyweight Muay Thai battle inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. The two decorated knockout artists will headline ONE Fight Night 32 in a contest that promises to be a barnburner from the get-go.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2025

A long-time 185-pounder on the UFC roster no longer has a contract. Fans are used to receiving news of UFC roster cuts. As the number of new acquisitions are made, the promotion cuts ties with certain fighters. Many times, an athlete is let go after a string of losses.  Other times, fighters can withstand the wave of releases because of their exciting fighting style or popularity.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2025

Bo Nickal kept things short in his reaction following a second-round TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder. The UFC middleweight fight was held inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Nickal was undefeated going into the fight, but de Ridder’s pressure ending up winning the evening. The former two-division ONE Championship titleholder scored the finish after landing a series of strikes that was topped off by a knee to the body that sent Nickal crashing to the mat.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2025

Belal Muhammad has reflected on his favorite moment during his UFC title win against Leon Edwards. Muhammad challenged Edwards for the UFC Welterweight Championship on July 27, 2024. Muhammad executed his game plan flawlessly, scoring a unanimous decision victory thanks to his superior grappling. This marked the first UFC title win for Muhammad.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 4, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan has explained shutting down a UFC bout offer against a top-10 lightweight. Tsarukyan’s next fight has not been revealed since he pulled out of a scheduled UFC lightweight title fight back in January. Tsarukyan was planned to challenge Islam Makhachev in a highly anticipated rematch. Hours before the weigh-ins, Tsarukyan informed UFC officials that he suffered a back injury and had to be removed from the card.