MMA News

Harry Kettle - May 3, 2025

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has questioned those who have called for Islam Makhachev to be stripped of his lightweight championship. For a while now, fans have been wondering what’s next for Islam Makhachev. The lightweight king is easily one of the best fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and he’s starting to be talked about as one of the best of all time. Regardless of whether or not you agree with that assessment, his body of work speaks for itself.

BJ Penn Staff - May 2, 2025

Former UFC middleweight Sam Alvey just knocked out Tyrone Spong. Yes, you read that sentence correctly.

BJ Penn Staff - May 2, 2025

Muhammad Mokaev may no longer be part of the UFC roster, but there is no questioning his talent. The Russian-born Englishman signed the UFC with a 5-0 record in 2022. It quickly became apparent he was a world class talent. Within a few years, he had beaten the likes of Tim Ellliott, Alex Perez and Manel Kape to improve his pro MMA record to 13-0. However, things then took a turn for the worst — and not because he lost a fight.

BJ Penn Staff - May 2, 2025

Francis Ngannou has broken his silence after he was involved in a fatal vehicle accident in his home country of Cameroon. Ngannou is the former UFC heavyweight champion. Given that he vacated that title to leave the promotion, he remains the lineal heavyweight king in MMA. Unfortunately, he is dealing with yet another unspeakable tragedy in his life outside the cage. Just years after the passing of his infant son, Ngannou was involved in a fatal motorcycle crash in Cameroon. The incident left a 17-year-old girl dead.

BJ Penn Staff - May 2, 2025

ONE Championship will not be returning to the United States this summer as planned. The Singapore-based martial arts promotion, which offers MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing and submission grappling bouts, was slated to return to the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on August 1. Regrettably, that plan has been scrapped. The promotion now intends to return to city in June 26 of 2026 — more than a year from now.

Cole Shelton - May 2, 2025

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is hinting at his return to the Octagon. Jones hasn’t fought since November when he beat Stipe Miocic by TKO to defend his heavyweight title. Since then, there has been limited talk about his next fight, but many are hoping he will face Tom Aspinall next.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 2, 2025

Reinier de Ridder senses that many fans and fighters don’t like Bo Nickal, and he doesn’t understand why that is the case. De Ridder will share the Octagon with Nickal in the co-main event of UFC Des Moines on Saturday. While Nickal wasn’t the first choice of opponent for the No. 13-ranked middleweight, de Ridder likes the booking because he’s facing a rising name. There has been a ton of buzz surrounding Nickal ever since his UFC debut.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 2, 2025

One UFC veteran doesn’t think Jack Della Maddalena should be counted out against Belal Muhammad. Maddalena will be challenging Muhammad for the UFC Welterweight Championship on May 10. The title fight will headline UFC 315 in Montreal. Muhammad is the favorite to retain his gold, but are people sleeping on Maddalena?

Harry Kettle - May 2, 2025

UFC legend Robbie Lawler has provided an update on his future after speculation that he was still in the drug testing pool. When you talk about some of the toughest guys to have ever fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Robbie Lawler has to be up there. The man known as ‘Ruthless’ has been involved in some of the most iconic fights in the promotion’s history, including against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit. In the present day, though, he is happily retired from mixed martial arts after his fairytale knockout win against Niko Price.

Harry Kettle - May 2, 2025

UFC bantamweight Cory Sandhagen has revealed that a fight between him and Dominick Cruz almost came to fruition. While he may now be retired, the impact of Dominick Cruz in the world of mixed martial arts cannot be understated. He is one of the most iconic bantamweight fighters of all time, and someone who was a pioneer in the sport – especially in the lower men’s weight classes. Yes, his career was derailed pretty significantly as a result of his many injuries, but that doesn’t take away from what he was able to accomplish.

Harry Kettle - May 2, 2025

Former UFC star Alexander Gustafsson has reiterated his desire to fight for BKFC following GFL’s recent struggles. When it comes to ‘best fighters to never win a UFC title’, Alexander Gustafsson is up there with the best of them. He competed for the strap on multiple occasions, and he was involved in some classic light heavyweight title fights against the likes of Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. Alas, the Swedish sensation was never quite able to get over the hump and take home the gold.

Harry Kettle - May 2, 2025

UFC star Charles Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima has admitted that he prefers the Ilia Topuria fight ahead of an Islam Makhachev rematch. As we know, Charles Oliveira is easily one of the most popular fighters on the roster – and in all of mixed martial arts. The man known as ‘Do Bronx’ is a former champion, he’s an all-time lightweight great, and he’s still a handful for just about any other fighter at 155 pounds. In terms of what’s next, there are plenty of rumors out there – with one of the big ones being that he will battle Ilia Topuria in the latter’s debut at lightweight.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 1, 2025

Rising Brazilian MMA star Lucas Gabriel has impressed fans throughout his ONE Championship tenure. Now that he’s reached the mainstage, he’s ready to test his skills against Zhang Lipeng. The 25-year-old will have the chance to do just that when he meets the battle-tested Lipeng. This happens under lightweight MMA rules at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II. Fans can catch the action this Friday, May 2, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 1, 2025

British Muay Thai icon Liam Harrison has joined opinionated fans around the world. In fact, he had his say on who’ll emerge victorious in this weekend’s pivotal flyweight Muay Thai rematch between two Thai stars. There, former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama battles #3-ranked flyweight contender Kongthoranee Sor Sommai.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2025

Deiveson Figueiredo isn’t worried about his weight ahead of his UFC Des Moines main event against Cory Sandhagen. Figueiredo enters the bout as a sizeable +350 underdog on FanDuel, as he’s coming off a decision loss to Petr Yan back in November. Since the fight, photos went viral of Figueiredo looking out of shape, which he says were months ago, as he says there are no issues with his weight ahead of the bout.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2025

Jeremy Stephens has plenty of confidence going into his UFC Des Moines fight against Mason Jones. Stephens is returning to the UFC for a one-fight deal to fight in his hometown. It will be a special fight for Stephens, but he enters the bout as a massive underdog.

BJ Penn Staff - May 1, 2025

Belal Muhammad will make the first defense of his welterweight title in the main event of UFC 315. It’s safe to say he’s feeling confident. UFC 315 goes down on May 10 in Montreal, Canada. Muhammad will be back in action in the main event, when he takes on Australia knockout artist. Just over a week out from the fight, Muhammad took to social media to proclaim that he will “break” his challenger in their fight. In fact, he believes he will do so before the championship rounds even get under way.

BJ Penn Staff - May 1, 2025

Keanu Reeves is in hot water with one of the most accomplished MMA coaches in UFC history. The coach in question Firas Zahabi, who runs things at Tristar in Montreal. Zahabi’s main claim to fame is coaching former two-division UFC champion and bona fide MMA legend Georges St-Pierre throughout his Hall of Fame career. That, and inventing a technique Keanu Reeves used in one of the films in the Jon Wick series, apparently.