MMA News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 30, 2025

Kamaru Usman once ruled the roost of the welterweight division, but many believe “The Nigerian Nightmare’s” relevancy has faded. Usman will be looking for his “y’all must’ve forgot” moment when he takes on Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Atlanta on June 14. The former UFC Welterweight Champion feels he has been disrespected by rising 170-pound contenders. Fans have seen the scenario play out dozens of times where the new guard takes out the once-dominant legend.

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2025

Jeff Molina is no longer under UFC contract. Molina signed with the UFC back in 2020 after winning on the Contender Series. He ended up going 3-0 in the UFC, including winning Fight of the Night in his debut at UFC 261. However, he hasn’t fought since June of 2022 when he earned a split decision win over Zhalgas Zhumagulov.

Harry Kettle - April 30, 2025

MMA analyst Din Thomas believes the UFC should retire the BMF title if Dustin Poirier wins the belt in his last fight. At UFC 318, Dustin Poirier will compete in his final fight in the sport of mixed martial arts. He will ride off into this sunset following a trilogy bout with Max Holloway, with the BMF title being on the line. It’s a title that ‘The Diamond’ has competed for once before, losing via knockout to Justin Gaethje, who subsequently lost the strap to Holloway.

Harry Kettle - April 30, 2025

UFC star Carlos Prates has been challenged to a striking showdown by a fellow welterweight sensation for his next fight. As we know, Carlos Prates fell short against Ian Machado Garry in the main event of UFC Kansas City last weekend. While he had an incredible surge in the final round of the fight, he wasn’t quite able to get the finish that he needed to get past the Irishman. With that being said, he’s still a top contender at welterweight, and there are still plenty of interesting fights out there for him.

Harry Kettle - April 30, 2025

UFC fighter Sedriques Dumas has reportedly been arrested on charges that include home invasion and battery. In terms of what he’s achieved in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Sedriques Dumas hasn’t really been able to stand out. He’s gone 3-3 in the promotion since he first signed and in his most recent outing earlier this month, he was stopped by Michał Oleksiejczuk. Alas, the big story doesn’t come from what he’s done inside the cage, but what he’s done outside of it.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 29, 2025

Dante Leon wants to be remembered — not just as an all-time great — but as the best to ever do it when it’s all said and done in many, many years to come. He takes the next step in solidifying that status when he challenges ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo in the co-main event at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II on Friday, May 2, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJ Penn Staff - April 29, 2025

Din Thomas, a renowned MMA coach and UFC analyst, is starting to doubt Jones has any intention of fighting Tom Aspinall. Jones is considered by many to be the best fighter in MMA history. That’s due primarily to his work in the light heavyweight division, where he defeated a host of world-class challengers over the course of several title reigns. However, in 2023, after a long layoff, Jones moved up to heavyweight, and claimed the vacant belt with a submission of Ciryl Gane. Unfortunately, he has only defended his belt once, battering an aging Stipe Miocic to a stoppage last November. His prolonged inactivity at heavyweight forced the UFC to crown an interim champ in Aspinall, who won his belt with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich in 2023. Aspinall has already defended his belt once, knocking out Curtis Blaydes last year. However, he has been calling for a fight with Jones since winning the belt.

BJ Penn Staff - April 29, 2025

Eddie Hearn is not a big fan of the UFC — or MMA as a whole — in 2025. Hearn, who is one of the top promoters in boxing, got to talking about MMA during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. While he admitted that the UFC is solid as a brand, he has clearly soured on the promotion’s product of late.

BJ Penn Staff - April 29, 2025

The quickly approaching UFC Atlanta card is coming together. Late last week, the promotion announced that the June 14 card will be headlined by a welterweight scrap between former champ Kamaru Usman and rising contender Joaquin Buckley. A flyweight co-headliner between Miranda Maverick and Rose Namajunas was also announced. However, not much was known about the rest of the card.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 29, 2025

Charles Oliveira’s manager is calling for Islam Makhachev to vacate the UFC Lightweight Championship if he moves up in weight. Makhachev hasn’t been shy in expressing his desire to challenge for the UFC welterweight title. A big holdup is that his training partner Belal Muhammad is the reigning 170-pound champion. If Muhammad loses the championship, then Makhachev figures to put the wheels in motion to join the welterweight division.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 29, 2025

Sean Brady has put Ian Machado Garry on blast following UFC Kansas City. Garry shared the Octagon with Carlos Prates inside the T-Mobile Center this past Saturday. It was smooth sailing for Garry until the fourth round. “The Future” appeared to be on the verge of being stopped in the fifth round, but he survived and won the fight via unanimous decision.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 29, 2025

The UFC recently held a retirement fight in Kansas City for Anthony Smith, and he was stopped via bloody first-round TKO. Smith mentioned in his post-fight interview that it was simply time to walk away from pro MMA competition. He admitted that he was getting older and wasn’t moving the way he used to inside the Octagon. “Lionheart” now looks forward to putting in more time as an analyst, along with other projects.

Harry Kettle - April 29, 2025

UFC star Joaquin Buckley has continued to ramp up the intensity of his feud with fellow welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry. In case you’ve missed it, Joaquin Buckley is now a top contender in the welterweight division. He’s picked up a string of big wins over the course of his last few fights including triumphs over Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson and Colby Covington. Now, his ‘veteran’ tour will take him to the main event of UFC Atlanta, where he will meet former undisputed champion Kamaru Usman.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2025

The UFC was in Kansas City, Missouri, on Saturday, April 26, for UFC Kansas City. The main event saw welterweight contenders Ian Machado Garry throw down with Carlos Prates. Garry was coming off a decision loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov in a No. 1 contender fight he took on short notice, which was his first-career loss. Prates, meanwhile, was coming off a KO win over Neil Magny and was 4-0 in the UFC entering this fight.

Harry Kettle - April 29, 2025

UFC president Dana White has explained how he played a role in the release of Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American who was imprisoned in February 2024. For those who don’t know, Ksenia Karelina was serving a 12-year maximum security sentence in Russia after donating $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity. She was arrested last year when visiting her family, and there have been several attempts to orchestrate her release from jail ever since then.

Harry Kettle - April 29, 2025

UFC star Bo Nickal has responded to an insane idea that has been pitched by famous yet controversial YouTuber MrBeast. We’re all aware of the fact that Bo Nickal is an incredibly dangerous fighter. Within the context of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, many believe he has what it takes to become a title contender one day. Of course, he’s taking his time in building up his name value right now, but the goal is still a simple one: win the gold and establish yourself as one of the very best in all of mixed martial arts.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 28, 2025

ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo has lit up ONE Championship with his dynamic, unorthodox approach to grappling. With that, he believes it will lead him to victory at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II. He defends his welterweight gold versus fierce rival Dante Leon in the co-main event this Friday, May 2, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

Cole Shelton - April 28, 2025

Anthony Smith opened up on why he flipped off the fan after his UFC Kansas City loss. Smith was set for his retirement fight against Mingyang Zhang. ‘Lionheart’ entered the bout as a sizeable underdog, and he suffered a first-round TKO loss. After the loss, while the doctors were attending to him in the Octagon, he was flipping someone off and he revealed it was a fan.