MMA News

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

Dan Ige is hoping to face Patricio Pitbull next time out after he returned to the win column at UFC 314. Ige scored a third-round TKO win over Sean Woodson to snap his two-fight losing skid. On the same card, Pitbull made his debut, and he suffered a decision loss to Yair Rodriguez. Although Pitbull isn’t ranked and is 0-1 in the UFC, Ige feels like it’s a big name for him to fight next, and it would be an exciting fight for the fans.

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.

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

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.

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

UFC fighter Michael Chandler has responded to Conor McGregor teasing the idea of them finally setting their feud inside the Octagon. For the longest time now, Michael Chandler has been chasing down a fight against Conor McGregor. In the time that it’s taken for them to first start teasing it we’ve seen a season of them coaching against each other on The Ultimate Fighter, the fight get booked and cancelled, Chandler fighting twice, and Chandler losing twice.

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

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.

BJ Penn Staff - April 22, 2025

If Logan Paul ever competes in the UFC, he will do so with the confidence of Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer. Paul, 30, got his start as a social media influencer. However, he has some experience in high school wrestling. He has also competed in boxing quite extensively, most notably going eight rounds in a 2021 exhibition with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. He also dominated BJJ specialist Dillon Danis in a 2023 exhibition, ultimately winning by disqualification due to his opponent’s unsportsmanlike conduct. While that’s the extent of his combat sports experience, he is also one of the biggest stars on the WWE roster right now.

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

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.