MMA News
WATCH | Robert Soldic scores early KO of the Year contender in ONE Championship
BJ Penn Staff - February 20, 2025
Roberto Soldic delivered an early frontrunner for 2025’s Knockout of the Year honours at Thursday’s ONE Champions 171 in Doha Qatar. Soldic, from Croatia, is a former two-division KSW champion. He has long been considered one of the top MMA fighters outside the UFC. He signed with ONE in 2022, and was widely expected to make a run at the promotion’s welterweight title, but quickly ran into trouble. First, he suffered a brutal groin shot in his debut fight with future PFL contender Murad Ramazanov. That one ended in a no contest. Then, in his second fight, he suffered a devastating knockout loss to Swedish finisher Zebaztian Kadestam — in a fight he seemed to be winning up until the finishing blow.
Ex-UFC fighter believes Jon Jones will retire instead of fighting Tom Aspinall
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 20, 2025
One retired UFC fighter is of the belief that it’s more likely that Jon Jones retires. Jones is a surefire Hall of Famer down the road, but many are wondering if he will return to the Octagon for a UFC heavyweight title unification bout against Tom Aspinall. “Bones” hasn’t committed to his next move and has publicly shown more interest in a fight with 205-pound champion Alex Pereira instead of the interim heavyweight titleholder Aspinall.
Michael Chandler reacts to Dana White announcing Paddy Pimblett fight for UFC 314
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 20, 2025
Michael Chandler is fired up to share the Octagon with Paddy Pimblett. This past Wednesday night, UFC CEO Dana White announced a slew of marquee fights scheduled for the coming months. One of the bouts made official is a lightweight tilt between Chandler and Pimblett. That fight will take place on the UFC 314 card on April 12th. Headlining the card will be a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.
Brendan Allen questions Dricus du Plessis' UFC resume
Harry Kettle - February 20, 2025
Top UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen has questioned the legitimacy of the resume put forward by Dricus du Plessis. As UFC middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis has already achieved some incredible things. He’s enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the division, which has included victories over the likes of Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.
Henry Cejudo teases possible return to UFC's flyweight division
Harry Kettle - February 20, 2025
Henry Cejudo has teased the idea of a return to where it all began for him – the UFC’s flyweight division. As we know, Henry Cejudo has achieved a great deal in mixed martial arts. He’s also done a lot in combat sports as a whole, dating back to his gold medal days at the Olympics. Now, however, the veteran fighter is attempting to vault his way back into another title opportunity, which will be easier said than done.
Henry Cejudo is embracing underdog role against Song Yadong at UFC Seattle
Harry Kettle - February 20, 2025
UFC legend Henry Cejudo has said that he’s embracing his underdog role against Song Yadong this weekend at UFC Seattle. As we know, Henry Cejudo is one of the most successful fighters in UFC history. He is one of the few competitors who has held two belts in two different weight classes, and while that was many years ago, the veteran is still competing at an elite level – despite losses to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.
Jonathan Haggerty insists Superlek would be in for "long night"
BJPENN.COM Staff - February 19, 2025
ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty believes there’s still more to come of his rivalry with two-division king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the future. “The General” returns to action this Thursday, February 20, in the co-main event of ONE 171: Qatar inside Doha’s Lusail Sports Arena. There, he defends his kickboxing gold against #1-ranked contender Wei Rui.
Three fights at ONE 171: Qatar that fans shouldn't miss
BJPENN.COM Staff - February 19, 2025
ONE 171: Qatar is almost here, packed with a superstar-filled card from the opening curtain to the headline attraction. All the action comes to a head this Thursday, February 20, inside Doha, Qatar’s Lusail Sports Arena. There, over a dozen bouts across four combat sports disciplines take centerstage in ONE Championship’s return to the Middle East.
Dana White announces stacked UFC 314 card including featherweight title fight
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
UFC CEO Dana White has announced some key fights for UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, Florida. White went on Instagram Live and announced the card would be headlined by a featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes as Ilia Topuria has vacated the belt.
Pro fighters make their picks for Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
In the main event of UFC Seattle, former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo takes on Song Yadong. Heading into the fight, Cejudo is a +220 underdog while the eighth-ranked bantamweight is a -295 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the bantamweight main event. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Song Yadong will get his hand raised and beat Henry Cejudo, likely by decision.
Rob Font reveals Raul Rosas Jr. was originally targeted to replace Dominick Cruz at UFC Seattle
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
Rob Font went through a couple of opponents after Dominick Cruz withdrew from their UFC Seattle fight. Font was supposed to take on the former bantamweight champ, but a shoulder injury knocked Cruz out. After Cruz pulled out of the fight, he said the original opponent offered was Raul Rosas Jr., but that didn’t come to fruition.
Aaron Pico vows to never fight for PFL again due to feud with Donn Davis: "I haven't been able to work!"
Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2025
Hard-hitting featherweight star Aaron Pico never wants to fight for the PFL again. The 28-year-old is hitting his prime right now, having won nine of his last ten bouts. He was last seen in the cage at the PFL vs. Bellator event last February, scoring a first-round knockout win over Henry Corrales. While Aaron Pico hoped to book a title fight against Patricio Pitbull next, that bout never came to fruition.
Caio Borralho calls for title eliminator against Nassourdine Imavov next: "Running to the title"
Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2025
UFC middleweight contender Caio Borralho wants a fight with Nassourdine Imavov next. ‘The Natural’ is quickly rising up the UFC’s 185-pound rankings. Last August, the hard-hitting Brazilian received the biggest test of his career, in the form of a Fight Night main event against Jared Cannonier. There, Caio Borralho passed the test with flying colors, hurting ‘Killa Gorilla’ several times en route to a unanimous decision win.
Muhammad Mokaev reveals he rejected offers from PFL and ONE Championship to focus on UFC return: "They called me"
Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2025
Undefeated flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev is still focused on a return to the UFC. ‘The Punisher’ became one of the UFC’s most-hyped prospects at 125 pounds starting in 2022. Holding an undefeated 6-0 record, Muhammad Mokaev quickly notched wins over the likes of Charles Johnson, Tim Elliott, and Alex Perez. His winning streak earned him a crack at fellow contender Manel Kape last summer at UFC 304 in Manchester.
Dricus Du Plessis says Khamzat Chimaev fight cements his legacy even though he isn't a "boogeyman" anymore
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t think Khamzat Chimaev is the boogeyman people think he is. After Du Plessis defended his middleweight title with a decision win over Sean Strickland, the expectation was he would face Chimaev next. It’s an intriguing matchup as many view Chimaev as the boogeyman, but he doesn’t think that is the case.
Caio Borralho reacts to Sean Strickland being at odds with coach Eric Nicksick
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 19, 2025
Caio Borralho has weighed in on the Sean Strickland situation with his coach Eric Nicksick. Many fans were surprised by how critical Nicksick was of Strickland during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. The Xtreme Couture head coach clearly felt Strickland’s effort in his rematch against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 312 was uninspired. Nicksick went as far as to say he trains world champions and Strickland needs to decide what he wants to do going forward.
Michael Bisping makes bold prediction for Alexander Volkanovski's next UFC fight
Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 19, 2025
Michael Bisping has an interesting prediction for Alexander Volkanovski’s next fight. Volkanovski was last seen in the Octagon back in February 2024. Volkanovski lost the UFC Featherweight Championship to Ilia Topuria via second-round knockout. It was the second KO loss for Volkanovski in the span of four months. Fight fans are happy to see that “The Great” has taken a year off to regroup.
Steve Erceg explains why he's so excited to fight Brandon Moreno
Harry Kettle - February 19, 2025
UFC flyweight contender Steve Erceg has explained why he’s so excited to battle it out with Brandon Moreno in his next fight. Since arriving in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Steve Erceg has been on quite the rollercoaster ride. Following a 3-0 start, he managed to vault himself into a title fight against Alexandre Pantoja. The two battled it out at UFC 301, and unfortunately for Steve, he came up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision defeat.