MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 17, 2025

Rising welterweight MMA star Isi Fitikefu didn’t sign with ONE Championship to make up the numbers. He’s committed to reaching the division’s pinnacle, and he wants to face the very best fighters in the world en route to the top. “Doxz” meets his toughest test yet in former ONE Welterweight MMA World Champion Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II, which airs on Friday, May 2, from Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 17, 2025

British striker Liam Nolan decided to call it a day at the young age of 27 years old following a loss in February 2024. That was, however, until an encouraging call came from ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. Nolan returns at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II on Friday, May 2, as he seeks revenge against Nauzet Trujillo in a lightweight Muay Thai rematch inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 17, 2025

Flyweight Muay Thai star Sean Climaco is currently tackling the arduous process of grief after losing his dad last summer, a frightening part of life that nobody ever truly prepares for. He’s taking it day by day. “The One” meets Akif Guluzada in a flyweight Muay Thai encounter at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II on Friday, May 2, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

Cole Shelton - April 16, 2025

Ian Machado Garry doesn’t think Carlos Prates will dig deep if the going gets tough. Garry is set to headline UFC Kansas City on April 26 against Prates in an intriguing welterweight scrap. Heading into the fight, Garry believes that if he can bring Prates into a dog fight, he will quit as that is who he is as a fighter.

BJ Penn Staff - April 16, 2025

We’ve seen a lot of former Bellator fighters make the move to the UFC over the last few years. From the sounds of it, another fighter is preparing to make that same move. For many years, Bellator was considered the second biggest promotion in MMA. However, the promotion was recently purchased by the Professional Fighters League (PFL). While some Bellator fighters have been successfully integrated into the PFL roster, a great many have expressed dissatisfaction with the a lack of fight offers from PFL brass. That includes decorated MMA veterans like Gegard Mousasi and Corey Anderson. It also includes Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who came up short in his UFC debut against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 314 last weekend. Aaron Pico also makes the list. The wrestler-turned-KO-artist recently signed with the UFC himself, though his debut is not yet set.

Cole Shelton - April 16, 2025

Ilia Topuria is confident his next fight will be against Islam Makhachev. Topuira vacated his featherweight title as he planned to move up to lightweight. The thought was that he would face Makhachev for the belt right away. However, the lightweight champ has said he doesn’t want to fight Topuria and instead believes he needs to get a win first.

BJ Penn Staff - April 16, 2025

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington is known as one of the biggest trash talkers in MMA. Some of his remarks have been somewhat questionable in terms of veracity, and his recent remarks about Hollywood actress Megan Fox definitely fit that bill. Covington recently linked up with streamer N3on, and during their conversation, claimed he got a DM from Fox.

BJ Penn Staff - April 16, 2025

Some hardcore MMA fans may remember Alex Nicholson from his brief stint as a member of the UFC roster. Well, Nicholson has long since left the promotion, but is still competing regularly in combat sports, and his latest fight ended with a little extra drama. Nicholson, a training partner of “Platinum” Mike Perry, debuted in the UFC in 2016, suffering a devastating submission loss to Misha Cirkunov at light heavyweight. He then dropped down to middleweight. In his first middleweight fight, he scored a first-round KO over Devin Clark — one of the best wins of his career. Unfortunately, he was then defeated by Sam Alvey and Jack Hermansson, and was sent packing from the promotion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 16, 2025

Kyoji Horiguchi has no problem fighting Alexandre Pantoja for the right price and prize. Horiguchi and Pantoja are longtime training partners. The two have been able to avoid fighting one another, as Horiguchi had been competing under the Rizin banner. Now that Horiguchi has returned to the UFC, it’s left the door open to fight Pantoja, who happens to be the reigning UFC Flyweight Champion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 16, 2025

Newly minted UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski has revealed why a fight with Movsar Evloev is intriguing to him. Volkanovski silenced the doubters who thought he’d be on the receiving end of a third straight knockout loss. He defeated Diego Lopes via unanimous decision on April 12 to become a two-time UFC featherweight titleholder. The title victory comes after Volkanovski suffered back-to-back finishing losses against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2025

UFC president Dana White has defended the promotion’s decision to book a rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley are set to run it back at UFC 316 on June 7. It will serve as an immediate rematch for O’Malley, who hasn’t competed since his initial loss to Merab. While it wasn’t all one-way traffic, the majority of people believe that the Georgian decisively won the contest. Since then, he’s also successfully defended the strap against Umar Nurmagomedov.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2025

UFC featherweight contender Movsar Evloev has given his thoughts on Yair Rodriguez claiming that he should receive a title shot after UFC 314. For the longest time now, Movsar Evloev has been a top contender in the UFC’s featherweight division. Despite that, he hasn’t really been given his flowers by a lot of MMA fans. Many aren’t that impressed by his style and don’t believe he’s deserving of a crack at the title. However, now that Alexander Volkanovski is once again the champion, you’d have to think he’d be more than happy to give someone like Movsar a shot.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2025

Former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall has admitted that he’s been humbled in the past by training with Tom Aspinall. As we know, Tom Aspinall is one of the most dangerous fighters in mixed martial arts. He is the interim UFC heavyweight champion, and he’s hunting down the undisputed gold which is currently held by Jon Jones. Ever since arriving in the promotion, he has done nothing but impress the masses with the quality and efficiency of his performances inside the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - April 15, 2025

Henry Cejudo believes that had Max Holloway fought Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314, the Hawaiian would have gotten his hand raised. Holloway is 0-3 against Volkanovski, and he was dominated in the third fight, as it was the most lopsided fight of their trilogy. Yet, Cejudo believes Volkanovski didn’t look as good as he once did, which is why he thinks Holloway would have beaten him.

BJ Penn Staff - April 15, 2025

UFC star Islam Makhachev does not want to fight Ilia Topuria — at least, if his friend and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov is to be believed. Makhachev is the UFC lightweight champion. He is also the top fighter in the promotion’s hallowed pound-for-pound rankings. That list also includes Topuria, who is a touch lower down the list.

BJ Penn Staff - April 15, 2025

Sean O’Malley has been training with one of the best fighters in MMA history ahead of his UFC 316 rematch with Merab Dvalishvili. UFC 316 goes down on June 7 in Newark, New Jersey. O’Malley will meet Dvalishvili in the main event.

BJ Penn Staff - April 15, 2025

It’s been a little while since a UFC star appeared on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The wait is over, thanks to a recent visit from former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. Topuria is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, sporting a perfect 16-0 record. He has spent the bulk of his career competing in the featherweight division. In early 2024, he captured the division’s title with a knockout of featherweight legend Alexander Volkanovski. Later in the year, he defended the title with a knockout of another legend in Max Holloway. He was the first man to stop Holloway with strikes.

Cole Shelton - April 15, 2025

Marvin Vettori shared a heartfelt message after his younger brother Patrick Vettori died in a house fire at age 30. According to Italian news station TgCom24, the fire broke at Patrick’s apartment in Mezzocorona. He reportedly had put a pan on the stove but fell asleep on the couch, leading to the accident.