MMA News
Surging Brazilian MMA star ready for "strong and experienced" Zhang Lipeng
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.
Liam Harrison expects another narrow battle between Kongthoranee, Nong-O
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.
Deiveson Figueiredo shoots down weight concerns, expects to earn a title shot with a win at UFC Des Moines
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.
Jeremy Stephens vows to put Mason Jones in a "morgue" at UFC Des Moines
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.
Belal Muhammad makes bold prediction for UFC 315 welterweight title fight
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.
Legendary UFC coach accuses Keanu Reeves of stealing his technique in Jon Wick
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.
Canadian MMA veteran pleads guilty after crashing car into police station
BJ Penn Staff - May 1, 2025
Canadian MMA veteran Kultar Gill has pleaded guilty to the criminal charge of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm after allegedly driving his car into a police station, according to a report from the Langley Advance Times. The incident in question occurred in Langley, British Columbia in 2023, when Gill is said to have run his vehicle into the front of a local RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) station, dragging a female passenger from an open door. He had reportedly been involved in a crash with an other vehicle just before that. Following the second crash, the female passenger escaped the car. The driver fled the scene on foot. He was located by officers soon after.
UFC fighter Dan Hooker suffers injury setback: 'I need a second surgery on my hand'
Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 1, 2025
Dan Hooker is enduring a setback in his recovery from an injury. Hooker was scheduled to share the Octagon with Justin Gaethje on the UFC 313 card back in March. “The Hangman” was forced to pull out of the fight, as he required surgery on his hand. Hooker was soon presented with an opportunity to take a backup role for the planned BMF Championship fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 in New Orleans.
Colby Covington 'screwed up a really good opportunity,' says UFC veteran and analyst
Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 1, 2025
One UFC veteran believes Colby Covington squandered his chances during the peak of his fighting career. Covington has been known for his brash personality, but the wins haven’t been there for him as of late. In his most recent outing, Covington suffered a TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley via doctor’s stoppage. While “Chaos” insisted he could’ve continued, many felt the fight was all Buckley up to that point.
Paul Hughes is confident that his rematch against Usman Nurmagomedov will happen
Harry Kettle - May 1, 2025
PFL star Paul Hughes is confident that a rematch against Usman Nurmagomedov will happen at some point in the near future. When it comes to Irish MMA, there are few bigger names right now than Paul Hughes. Yes, you’ve got Conor McGregor and Ian Machado Garry, but, Paul Hughes is really carving out a name for himself these days in one ways than one. The fight that really helped him get to that next level came against Usman Nurmagomedov, when he took the champion to the limit and came close to claiming the belt.
UFC commentator urges Bo Nickal to be more aggressive at UFC Des Moines
Harry Kettle - May 1, 2025
UFC commentator Paul Felder has urged Bo Nickal to be more aggressive when he battles Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. Up to this point in his career, Bo Nickal has faced a lot of interesting challenges. However, in mixed martial arts, you could certainly argue he hasn’t gone against anyone quite like Reinier de Ridder. The former ONE Championship star poses all kinds of interesting challenges for him to try and overcome and given how much he’s spoken about becoming a champion, this is a test that Bo needs to pass.
UFC legend believes Kamaru Usman should consider retirement if he loses at UFC Atlanta
Harry Kettle - May 1, 2025
UFC legend Michael Bisping believes Kamaru Usman needs to consider retirement if he loses to Joaquin Buckley at UFC Atlanta. For the longest time, Kamaru Usman was the best welterweight on the planet – and, at times, the #1 fighter in all of mixed martial arts. With that being said, the last few years haven’t exactly been great for ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’. In addition to consecutive losses at the hands of Leon Edwards, he also tasted defeat in a short notice bout with Khamzat Chimaev – although it was certainly competitive.
Gillian Robertson expects Marina Rodriguez to "want out of there" at UFC Des Moines: "She'll give me the finish"
Cole Shelton - April 30, 2025
Gillian Robertson is set for the biggest fight of her career as he’ll take on Marina Rodriguez at UFC Des Moines on Saturday. Roberton is riding a three-fight winning streak and is now ranked 12th at strawweight. Although she is getting a big fight agaisnt someone ranked above her, she is disappointed she isn’t fighitng a week later at UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada.
Cory Sandhagen confident he'll get a title shot after he beat Deiveson Figueiredo "impressively" at UFC Des Moines
Cole Shelton - April 30, 2025
Cory Sandhagen believes he can secure the next title shot with an impressive win against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Des Moines. Sandhagen is set to headline the card as he looks to get back into the win column after a decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov back in August. Heading into the bout against Figueiredo, Sandhagen is a sizeable favorite. With that, he expects to get his hand raised and do so impressively.
Kickboxing legend Tyrone Spong recalls rejecting UFC contract: ‘Maybe I made the wrong decision’
BJ Penn Staff - April 30, 2025
Tyrone Spong is a legend of the kickboxing ring. If things had gone a little differently, he might have made some waves in the UFC Octagon too. As a kickboxer, Spong won multiple notable titles. The knockout artist also had some commendable success as a boxer, notably winning the the WBC and WBO Latino heavyweight titles in 2018, and nearly fighting current unified champ Oleksandr Usyk the following year.
BKFC walks back on signing former UFC flyweight Jeff Molina: "We respect the ABC’s current suspension"
Cole Shelton - April 30, 2025
BKFC has walked back on its signing of former UFC flyweight Jeff Molina. Molina revealed he signed with BKFC after being granted his UFC release. The former UFC flyweight is currently suspended as he was involved in the gambling probe around James Krause. Molina was indefinitely suspended, and after the hearing, his suspension will be lifted in November.
Surging UFC fighter trained with Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, offers assessment of potential fight
Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 30, 2025
One rising UFC middleweight contender has trained with both Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev, and he has an assessment of a potential fight between the two. Recently, du Plessis shut down rumors of an injury. That leaves the door open for the reigning UFC Middleweight Champion to face Chimaev this year. The general consensus is that Chimaev is the deserving No. 1 contender after he quickly submitted Robert Whittaker last year.
Brandon Moreno says clock is ticking on another UFC flyweight title reign
Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 30, 2025
Brandon Moreno admits that he believes time is running out on another UFC title reign. Moreno has already captured the UFC Flyweight Championship twice, but he wants a third reign with undisputed gold. In theory, “The Assassin Baby” has time given that he still fights at a high level at the age of 31. The problem is, he is 0-3 against the current flyweight titleholder Alexandre Pantoja. One of those losses was an exhibition bout on “The Ultimate Fighter.”