MMA News

Harry Kettle - March 20, 2025

UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev has claimed that he’s already accepted a date for his next fight. As we know, Magomed Ankalaev is the new king of the light heavyweight division. He earned that title as a result of his triumph over Alex Pereira at UFC 313 which, while not 100% emphatic, certainly emphasized that he is operating at a brand new level right now – and that he deserves to be wearing the gold.

Harry Kettle - March 20, 2025

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has left an amusing happy birthday message for a Leon Edwards fan. Last year, Belal Muhammad finally reached the top of the mountain. He defeated Leon Edwards to become the new king of the welterweight division, and he did so in a fairly convincing fashion in London, England. Now, he’s preparing to defend the strap for the first time against Jack Della Maddalena.

BJPENN.COM Staff - March 19, 2025

Decorated Japanese kickboxing star Takeru Segawa has cemented himself as an all-time great in the striking realm. But to be undeniable, he feels he has to conquer ONE Championship – more specifically, Rodtang Jitmuangnon. “The Natural Born Krusher” collides with the former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion in a flyweight kickboxing super-fight at ONE 172 this Sunday, March 23, inside Japan’s Saitama Super Arena.

BJPENN.COM Staff - March 19, 2025

Reigning ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai dreams of becoming a two-sport ONE World Champion. To keep that dream alive, he believes he must make his opportunity count at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang. The 25-year-old faces Masaaki Noiri for the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title this Sunday, 23 March, at Japan’s illustrious Saitama Super Arena.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2025

In the main event of UFC London, former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards will take on Sean Brady. Heading into the fight, Edwards is a +130 underdog while the American is a -166 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the welterweight main event. The pros are torn but the majority believe Brady will silence the crowd and beat the former champ.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2025

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has shared his prediction for Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady at UFC London. Edwards is set to fight for the first time since losing his welterweight title to Muhammad when he takes on Brady. It’s an intriguing fight as Edwards is the underdog and Muhammad expects the Brit to lose his second straight fight, and likely get finished in the process.

Josh Evanoff - March 19, 2025

GLORY Kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven has revealed talks are ongoing for a fight against PFL champion Francis Ngannou. ‘The Predator’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a clash against Renan Ferreira in the PFL cage last October. Fighting for the first time since his destructive knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in March, Francis Ngannou handed ‘Problema’ a first-round stoppage loss. The bout was his first time stepping into the cage since his win over Ciryl Gane in January 2022, his final UFC appearance.

Josh Evanoff - March 19, 2025

Cory Sandhagen has no issue with Sean O’Malley getting the next UFC bantamweight title shot. ‘The Sandman’ recently booked his return to the octagon for May in Des Moines. Last suffering a unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov in August, the bantamweight contender will meet former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo next. For his part. ‘Deus da Guerra’ is fresh off a lopsided decision loss to Petr Yan in November. That defeat snapped a three-fight winning streak for the Brazilian.

Josh Evanoff - March 19, 2025

Former UFC title challenger Yoel Romero will make his GFL debut against Gegard Mousasi this summer. ‘The Soldier of God’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a clash with Thiago Santos last February. On the PFL vs. Bellator undercard, Yoel Romero handed the former UFC light-heavyweight contender a unanimous decision loss. At 47 years old, the Cuban fighter has won three of his last four bouts.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2025

The purse structure for TKO boxing has been revealed. UFC CEO Dana White is set to launch TKO boxing alongside Turki Alalshikh, which is something White has talked about for years. White has said it will be much different than other promotions, as they will have their only belt, and their pay structure has been released.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 19, 2025

Tom Aspinall’s father has had enough of Jon Jones. The general consensus is that the biggest fight the UFC can make is a heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall. “Bones” holds the main heavyweight title, while Aspinall is the interim champion. Both men have each had a successful title defense, but they’ve yet to share the Octagon.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 19, 2025

One ex-UFC contender doesn’t see Kayla Harrison fighting at 135 pounds for much longer. Harrison is rumored to be competing for Julianna Pena’s UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at UFC 316 on June 7. Many believe Harrison will be a sizable favorite going into the matchup if that is indeed the plan. Harrison is riding a three-fight winning streak and she only has one lost in her pro MMA career.

BJ Penn Staff - March 19, 2025

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is on one of the best runs in MMA right now, with wins over a host of former champions and undefeated contenders behind him. In a recent conversation with X user @judobetter995, he ranked his five most recent opponents in terms of difficulty.

Harry Kettle - March 19, 2025

Former UFC star Yoel Romero has offered some advice to former rival and pay-per-view opponent Israel Adesanya. As we know, Israel Adesanya is one of the best champions of his generation. He achieved some great things during his reign as UFC middleweight champion, and he also accomplished some wonderful things as a contender.

Harry Kettle - March 19, 2025

UFC star Bo Nickal has become the latest fighter to criticize UFC events taking place at the promotion’s Apex facility. Over the course of the last few years, we’ve seen a parade of UFC shows take place at the UFC Apex arena. It was originally done as a way to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but even after the pandemic came to an end, the promotion continued to use it for fight night cards.

Harry Kettle - March 19, 2025

Former UFC champion Jan Blachowicz plans on taking Alex Pereira’s UFC title rematch away from him at UFC London. For the longest time now, Jan Blachowicz has either been a champion or a top contender in the light heavyweight division. He’s had incredibly close matchups with a lot of fighters around him in the rankings, and that includes Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. He was narrowly beaten by Pereira, whereas he fought to a draw with Ankalaev.

BJPENN.COM Staff - March 18, 2025

Just when a fighter seems unbeatable, along comes a contender who’s ready to usher in a new era. That’s what decorated Japanese striker Kana Morimoto aims to do at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.  “Krusher Queen” challenges reigning ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja on Sunday, March 23, inside Japan’s Saitama Super Arena.  

BJPENN.COM Staff - March 18, 2025

By the time the curtain falls on 2025, former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon wants to join the list of two-sport ONE World Champions. “The Iron Man” squares off with three-division K-1 Champion Takeru Segawa at ONE 172 this Sunday, March 23, in a flyweight kickboxing super-fight inside Japan’s Saitama Super Arena.