MMA News

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

The first season of the HBO series The Last of Us was a massive success. Fans of the original video game loved it, and critics did too. After an extremely long wait, the second season debuted last weekend. The reception to the first episode was generally quite positive. However, there was one scene in the The Last of Us season two episode one that some fans seemingly didn’t quite buy. Specifically, MMA fans.

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.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 15, 2025

Ian Machado Garry believes he had something to do with Shavkat Rakhmonov’s inability to compete for gold at UFC 315. Belal Muhammad is scheduled to put the UFC Welterweight Championship at stake against Jack Della Maddalena on May 10. It was revealed that Rakhmonov couldn’t accept the title fight due to an injury. The UFC ended up pulling Maddalena from a planned UFC London bout with Leon Edwards, so that the UFC 315 main event could be made official.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 15, 2025

Amanda Nunes appears to be heading for a return to the Octagon at some point, and she’d prefer to fight Kayla Harrison. Nunes retired from pro MMA competition after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Irene Aldana on June 10, 2023. Just 10 days later, the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship was vacated. The current titleholder is Nunes’ old foe Julianna Pena.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 15, 2025

One former UFC slugger wonders if Michael Chandler was ever truly UFC material. Chandler is coming off a beatdown at the hands of Paddy Pimblett in the co-main event of UFC 314. “The Baddy” battered Chandler to secure a third-round TKO finish. After the fight, UFC CEO Dana White compared Chandler to late boxing legend Arturo Gatti.

Cole Shelton - April 15, 2025

The UFC was in Miami, Florida, for a stacked UFC 314 card on Saturday. The main event saw the vacant featherweight title up for grabs as Alexander Volkanovski took on Diego Lopes. UFC 314 also saw Paddy Pimblett taking on Michael Chandler in a five-round co-main event fight at lightweight.

Harry Kettle - April 15, 2025

Colby Covington has issued a warning to Paddy Pimblett following their backstage altercation following UFC 314 last weekend. As we know, Colby Covington is a big fan of stirring the pot. He will do anything and everything in his power to get under the skin of his opponents and more often than not, it works. Last Saturday night, he decided to engage in a backstage confrontation with Paddy Pimblett, who had just defeated Michael Chandler in the co-main event of the evening.

Harry Kettle - April 15, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski’s coach has revealed that his student suffered an injury early in his fight at UFC 314. In the main event of UFC 314, Alexander Volkanovski returned to his former glories. In what proved to be an incredibly entertaining fight, ‘The Great’ went to war with Diego Lopes for the UFC featherweight championship. While Lopes had his moments, it was the Australian who managed to get over the line and get his hand raised in victory. For his fans and the MMA community as a whole, it was quite the moment.

Harry Kettle - April 15, 2025

Michael Chandler has broken his silence following his defeat at the hands of Paddy Pimblett at UFC 314. Last weekend, Michael Chandler fell short in his collision with Paddy Pimblett. In fact, it wound up being a pretty one-sided fight. The former Bellator champion was never really in the fight and in the third round, he was beaten and battered to the point where his rival eventually finished him. Now, the big question is this: what’s next?

BJPENN.COM Staff - April 14, 2025

A submission grappling bout for the ages between two-time ADCC World Champion Giancarlo Bodoni and BJJ legend Rafael Lovato Jr. is set to go down when ONE Championship returns to the United States this summer at ONE 173: Denver. On Friday, August 1, the two elite grapplers will face off in a monumental middleweight submission grappling contest inside Denver, Colorado’s Ball Arena.

BJ Penn Staff - April 14, 2025

Mike Perry wants to make one thing very clear: If Conor McGregor ever picks a fight with him, it will not go well for the Irishman. Perry, a UFC veteran, is now the biggest star on the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) roster. He was won all five fights with the promotion, including victories over former UFC champs and title challengers in Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, and Thiago Alves. He also holds the promotion’s ‘King of Violence’ belt.

BJ Penn Staff - April 14, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes beat the heck out of each other over the weekend, but there is clearly nothing but respect between them. Volkanovski and Lopes met in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 314 in Miami. The pair collided for the featherweight belt, which was vacated by Ilia Topuria earlier this year.

BJ Penn Staff - April 14, 2025

Patricio Pitbull came up short in his UFC debut, but he’s already looking to the future. Pitbull is considered one of the greatest fighters in Bellator history — perhaps the best outright. He is a former champion at both lightweight and featherweight. As such, his debut with the UFC was a source of much anticipation.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2025

Jean Silva thinks he should get the next title shot against new champion Alexander Volkanovski. Silva scored a second-round submission win over Bryce Mitchell at UFC 314 in a dominant performance. The Brazilian put on a stellar performance from start to finish, and he will enter the rankings at 145lbs.

Cole Shelton - April 14, 2025

Ian Machado Garry is confident he will be able to beat Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Kansas City. Garry stepped up on short notice to fight Prates on April 26 after the Brazilian was supposed to fight Geoff Neal at UFC 314. It’s a crucial fight for the welterweight division, as the winner could close in on a title shot.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 14, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski is now a two-time UFC Featherweight Champion, but his win over Diego Lopes wasn’t as easy as it looked at times. While Volkanovski was in control for most of the UFC 314 main event, Lopes was never out of the fight. He was popped by “The Great’s” jabs and calf kicks for five rounds, but he had his moments. Lopes even scored a knockdown on Volkanovski, but he couldn’t overcome the experience level of his opponent.