MMA News

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

One top contender isn’t sold on Zhang Weili having success at flyweight. Weili has been mostly dominant in the UFC strawweight division. Her two losses to Rose Namajunas are the only defeats Weili has suffered during her UFC run. She has beaten the likes of Joanna Jedrzejczyk twice, Jessica Andrade, Yan Xiaonan, and Tatiana Suarez.

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.

Harry Kettle - April 23, 2025

UFC featherweight contender Movsar Evloev believes the promotion is trying to keep him away from a title opportunity. For the longest time now, Movsar Evloev has been a top contender in the featherweight division. While he may not be the flashiest fighter in the world, he doesn’t need to be. He has been able to grind out wins over a series of top fighters, including the likes of Aljamain Sterling and Arnold Allen. Unfortunately, it hasn’t quite been enough to convince the promotion that he deserves a crack at the title.

Harry Kettle - April 23, 2025

UFC star Kayla Harrison has given her thoughts on Amanda Nunes potentially returning to mixed martial arts. Over the course of the last few years, Kayla Harrison has been on a path to greatness. In addition to her success in PFL, she’s been solid since arriving in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now, she has her sights set on finally claiming gold as she prepares to collide with Julianna Pena for the bantamweight title.

Harry Kettle - April 23, 2025

UFC stars Max Holloway and The Korean Zombie engaged in a light-hearted rematch recently on a KO punch machine. When you talk about featherweight legends, you have to talk about Max Holloway and The Korean Zombie. Both of these men have achieved some incredible things in the world of mixed martial arts and a few years ago, they even squared off in what would prove to be TKZ’s final fight inside the Octagon. It was a fun, competitive fight, with Zombie going out on his shield at the hands of a nasty Holloway knockout.

Harry Kettle - April 23, 2025

Former UFC champion Ilia Topuria has announced that the training camp for his next fight in the promotion has begun. For quite some time now, Ilia Topuria has been one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts. His rise to prominence has been pretty epic, capped off by knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Now, it seems as if he’s set to make his move up to the lightweight division, where he plans on trying to claim a second world title. It’s going to be easier said than done, but given what he’s already accomplished, you can bet a lot of people will be backing him to reach that second mountain.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 22, 2025

Third-ranked flyweight Muay Thai star Kongthoranee Sor Sommai wants to end his rivalry with former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama on Friday, May 2. The rising star meets Nong-O in a flyweight Muay Thai rematch in the main event of ONE Fight Night 31 inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium, where he looks to make a solid statement in his quest for a World Title shot.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 22, 2025

Former ONE Welterweight MMA World Champion Zebaztian Kadestam has delivered an extensive list of knockouts throughout his eight years in ONE Championship. Now he wants to keep that going versus Isi Fitikefu. “The Bandit” meets the Australian-Tongan tussler in a welterweight MMA showdown. This happens at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II on Friday, May 2, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2025

Dan Ige knew he had to go out and perform against Sean Woodson at UFC 314, and that’s what he did. Ige was coming off back-to-back losses, and in the lead-up to the fight, he tuned out all the noise and just focused on his camp. The Hawaiian said he was going to let his fighting do all the talking as he knew this fight was crucial for his career.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2025

Conor McGregor has hinted at the potential opponent for his return to the UFC. McGregor hasn’t fought since July of 2021 when he broke his leg in the trilogy match against Dustin Poirier. He was booked to fight Michael Chandler last June, but an injury to the Irishman forced him to withdraw from the bout.

BJ Penn Staff - April 22, 2025

Israel Adesanya has officially informed UFC executives that he is ready to return to action. In fact, he even requested a specific opponent when he spoke to them. Adesanya is one of the greatest middleweights in MMA history — probably the second greatest behind Anderson Silva. However, the recent years of his career after bumpy. First, he lost the middleweight title to Alex Pereira. While he reclaimed the belt in their immediate rematch, he then lost it again in the first defense of his second reign, suffering a shocking decision loss to Sean Strickland.

BJ Penn Staff - April 22, 2025

Mateusz Gamrot will be back in the UFC Octagon soon. Poland’s Gamrot, a former champion in his home country’s popular KSW promotion, is the UFC’s No. 7-ranked lightweight. He was one of the top contenders for a crack at lightweight champion Islam Makhachev until an upset decision loss to Dan Hooker in his last fight. He has understandably been eager to get back on track ever since, and from the looks of it, he will soon have the opportunity.

BJ Penn Staff - April 22, 2025

Rising UFC welterweight contender Carlos Prates recently received some advice for his next fight from an interesting source: his own mother. Brazil’s Prates is one of the most hyped fighters in his division right now. This weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s return to Kansas City, Missouri, the Fighting Nerds product will take on Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry in a fight that will push the winner right up to title contention.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 22, 2025

A current UFC titleholder doesn’t want to see Ilia Topuria’s move to lightweight become a waste. Topuria recently vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship to move up to the 155-pound division. “La Leyenda” is seeking a shot at Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title. While the potential fight would be lucrative, Makhachev’s team argues that Topuria should have a No. 1 contender fight first.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 22, 2025

A former UFC fan favorite wonders if Paddy Pimblett is making a mistake with his post-fight weight gains. Pimblett’s stock has never been higher following his third-round TKO finish over Michael Chandler at UFC 314. “The Baddy” figures to get a top five-ranked UFC lightweight in his next outing. Some even feel a potential No. 1 contender fight could be in Pimblett’s future.