MMA News

BJ Penn Staff - April 24, 2025

UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev doubts that Alex Pereira wants to continue fighting. Ankalaev captured the UFC light heavyweight title with a close decision win over Pereira at UFC 313 early last month. There has been talk of a rematch between the two stars since soon after they left the cage that night. Unfortunately, the rematch is still not a done deal.

BJ Penn Staff - April 24, 2025

Irish welterweight contender Ian Garry has his hands full with Carlos Prates this Saturday, but is catching flack from another top UFC welterweight as he prepares for the fight. Garry will meet Prates in the main event of Saturday’s card, which goes down in Kansas City, Missouri. It will be Garry’s first fight since he suffered lost a decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov last December.

Cole Shelton - April 24, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis has shut down any concerns of him being injured. Du Plessis was rumored to be fighting Khamzat Chimaev at the end of June at International Fight Week. Yet, it was then reported he was dealing with an injury, so the fight wouldn’t happen then. But, taking to his Instagram, Du Plessis has opened up on the reported injury, which he says is false.

BJ Penn Staff - April 24, 2025

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have one of the most legendary rivalries in combat sports history. Former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman believes that rivalry needs to continue. Adesanya and Pereira began their rivalry in the kickboxing ring. They first met under the Glory of Heroes banner in Shenzhen, China in 2016. Brazil’s Pereira won that first encounter, defeating the Nigerian-born Kiwi Adesanya by unanimous decision.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 24, 2025

Belal Muhammad doesn’t see how a clash with Ilia Topuria benefits Islam Makhachev. The lightweight title picture isn’t short on contenders, but some are wondering what the next championship fight at 155 pounds will be. Topuria recently vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship to move up in weight. While Topuria challenging Makhachev for the lightweight gold figures to be a lucrative bout, the champion’s team is opposed to fighting another featherweight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 24, 2025

Daniel Cormier has a tip for one rising UFC middleweight contender. The 185-pound division has a slew of rising contenders such as Caio Borralho, but there’s one name who appears to be overlooked. That fighter is Nassourdine Imavov, who is the No. 1-ranked UFC middleweight. Despite a finish over Israel Adesanya, many often glance over Imavov as a potential name who deserves to fight for the 185-pound gold.

Harry Kettle - April 24, 2025

UFC veteran Anthony Smith has said that he’s accepted his impending retirement ahead of his clash with Zhang Mingyang. On Saturday night, Anthony Smith will make the walk to the Octagon for the final time in his career. He has been through some real ups and downs in his mixed martial arts career, but he will have one more opportunity to prove himself to the world before he rides off into the sunset. It’s been a tough few years for ‘Lionheart’ after the death of his friend and coach Scott Morton, but he seems to be in a better place now.

Harry Kettle - April 24, 2025

UFC star Ian Machado Garry has promised that he’ll be able to get a finish against Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City. For the longest time now, Ian Machado Garry has been seen as a top contender in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In his last outing against Shavkat Rakhmonov, he took his opponent to the limit. While he ultimately came up short and suffered a defeat, he proved to the masses that he is ready for the big time.

Harry Kettle - April 24, 2025

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has revealed whether or not he’d fight Islam Makhachev if he came up to 170 pounds. As we know, Belal Muhammad is the reigning, defending champion in the welterweight division. He won the gold by defeating Leon Edwards in what proved to be a fairly one-sided affair. Now, at UFC 315, he looks set to defend his strap against Jack Della Maddalena in what promises to be an entertaining, competitive encounter.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 23, 2025

Former K-1 Champion Yuki Yoza is the latest acquisition for Chatri Sityodtong and ONE Championship, which has amassed one of the strongest striking realms in combat sports. On Tuesday, 22 April, the promotion signed Yoza, inserting him into their talent-rich bantamweight kickboxing division.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 23, 2025

British Muay Thai legend Liam Harrison’s bantamweight Muay Thai showdown with Soe Lin Oo this summer has sparked plenty of talk about retirement. But that doesn’t seem to be the case entirely. “Hitman” meets the Myanmarese monster at ONE 173: Denver on Friday, August 1, at Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena — a contest in which he believes will provide the answer to his fighting future.

BJ Penn Staff - April 23, 2025

Katy Perry has been in hot water from the moment she returned from space, and it doesn’t seem like things will cool down for her any time soon. One of her most recent critics is one of the most controversial fighters in the UFC: Sean Strickland. Perry is an award-winning pop star, known for songs like Roar, California Gurls, Teenage Dream, I Kissed a Girl, and about a dozen other earworms that you’ve been hearing in grocery stores and shopping malls for more than a decade. She was one of six women to participate in Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 mission, which saw passengers fly to the Kármán line, a point in earth’s lower thermosphere that is considered the boundary into space.

Cole Shelton - April 23, 2025

Ian Machado Garry would like to test himself against Islam Makhachev if the lightweight champ moves up to welterweight. Makhachev has been rumored to want to pursue a second belt and has shown interest in going up to welterweight. If the lightweight champ does move up to welterweight, it’s likely he will get an immediate title shot. But, after that, Garry says he wants to fight Makhachev as he wants to test himself against the best.

BJ Penn Staff - April 23, 2025

If you ask Caio Borralho, rankings don’t mean much in the UFC. The UFC has a top-15 ranking for each of it’s 12 divisions. The rankings are decided by a panel of media members, although it’s well established that there are other factors at play.

Cole Shelton - April 23, 2025

Sean Brady will be paying close attention to the UFC Kansas City main event on Saturday. Ian Machado Garry will take on Carlos Prates in the main event in an intriguing welterweight showdown. The winner could be right near a title shot and could perhaps face Brady. Although Brady has taken aim at Garry in the past, he does expect the Irishman to get the win here.

BJ Penn Staff - April 23, 2025

Tai Tuivasa has some work to do if he intends to continue competing in the UFC heavyweight division. Australia’s Tuivasa, 32, has twice had the look of a future heavyweight title challenger in the UFC. He joined the UFC roster in 2017, and after wins in his first three Octagon appearances, looked like he was ready to fight the division’s elite. Unfortunately, he then lost three straight fights, and two by stoppage, which looked like the end of his title ambition.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 23, 2025

A member of the “Fight Wing” section of the UFC Hall of Fame is now hearing that Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall isn’t the next heavyweight title fight after all. Fans have grown tired of waiting for the UFC heavyweight title picture to move forward with an undisputed championship fight. Aspinall has held the interim title since Nov. 2023. Jones and Aspinall have the same amount of title defenses, but their matchup still hasn’t been booked.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 23, 2025

Caio Borralho has shared his assessment of how a potential matchup with Khamzat Chimaev could go. The general consensus is that Chimaev is the rightful No. 1 contender for the UFC Middleweight Championship. The problem is that titleholder Dricus du Plessis reportedly suffered an injury. Borralho hopped on social media to claim that both he and Chimaev have verbally agreed to fight. Borralho wants interim gold at stake.