MMA News

Harry Kettle - February 8, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena has reacted to Leon Edwards suggesting the middle of the night timing of his fight with Belal Muhammad impacted him. As we know, Jack Della Maddalena is a genuine contender in the welterweight division. He has impressed the masses since arriving in the UFC and now, he has the biggest fight of his career coming up. He will be main eventing UFC London next month, and he’ll do so against former world champion Leon Edwards.

Harry Kettle - February 8, 2025

UFC featherweight Diego Lopes has spoken candidly about who he wants to compete against next in the division. Over the course of the last twelve months, Diego Lopes has emerged as a legitimate contender at featherweight. Following his win over Brian Ortega, many now believe he is on the verge of a title opportunity. It’s happened quickly, but nonetheless, it seems like he’s ready to step up.

Harry Kettle - February 8, 2025

Daniel Cormier has given his thoughts on why he believes Jon Jones should be disqualified from the GOAT discussion. In the eyes of many, Jon Jones is the greatest fighter of all time. He is viewed as the best to ever do it in mixed martial arts, and while there are a few other names that always seem to linger around, ‘Bones’ is at the forefront of most lists. However, some believe that his past indiscretions should rule him out of the running.

Harry Kettle - February 8, 2025

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has teased a return to the Octagon at UFC 315 later this year. As we know, Belal Muhammad is the reigning, defending UFC welterweight champion. He accomplished that goal by defeating Leon Edwards last year, cementing his status as one of the best welterweights of his generation. Some may disagree with that but when you take one look at his body of work, it’s hard to argue against it.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2025

Ari Emanuel has confirmed the TKO Group’s and Dana White’s interest in joining the world of boxing. It’s no secret that the UFC CEO has long wanted to join the ranks of professional boxing. When Dana White co-promoted Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor in 2017, that was just supposed to be the start. After the event, the promoter revealed plans for Zuffa Boxing. Eight years later, it seems that White’s plans may finally come to fruition.

Josh Evanoff - February 7, 2025

Former Bellator featherweight contender Aaron Pico is now a free agent. The once-hyped prospect famously signed with Scott Coker’s Bellator over a decade ago. A former collegiate wrestler, Aaron Pico quickly caught the attention of the MMA world. However, the featherweight was famously upset by Zach Freeman in his first fight back in 2017. The defeat was just the first of three losses Pico would suffer in the first two years of his career.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 7, 2025

Dustin Poirier has an idea of when his retirement fight might be. After suffering a fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev in his final bid for undisputed UFC gold, “The Diamond” made it clear that he will not be climbing his way back up the ladder. With 40 pro MMA fights under his belt, Poirier contemplated retiring if he wasn’t given an enticing fight offer.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 7, 2025

The UFC 312 weigh-ins have wrapped up, and fans will be happy to know that the marquee bouts have been made official. Of course, that includes the UFC middleweight title rematch between 185-pound champion Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland. In their first meeting back in early 2024, du Plessis took the gold from Strickland via split decision. Can Strickland regain the middleweight prize?

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2025

UFC 312 has lost a fight just minutes before weigh-ins today, dropping the official fight card to 12 bouts this weekend. In the Ultimate Fighting Championship, we see the best fight the best in mixed martial arts. More often than not, the bouts that are booked will hold together and will lead to an incredible evening of action. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case, and it isn’t uncommon for fights to fall through – even incredibly close to fight night itself.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2025

UFC champion Dricus du Plessis has responded to the rumor that Alex Pereira hates him, which stems from Sean Strickland saying that he “harbors hate”. Alex Pereira is an absolute machine and we all know that to be true. Some days, it doesn’t even seem like he’s human. He’s the kind of fighter who comes along once in a lifetime, and when you package it all together, he takes the appearance of perhaps the biggest star in mixed martial arts right now.

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2025

The fighter who dropped Kevin Lee in sparring has given his reaction to footage of the incident leaking online. As we all know, the real hard work in the world of mixed martial arts goes on in the gym. While we all get to see what happens inside the cage, there’s an incredible amount of preparation that goes into it behind the scenes. That’s the same for everyone – including former UFC star Kevin Lee.

BJPENN.COM Staff - February 6, 2025

Fans have certainly not forgotten the bantamweight Muay Thai banger that took place the last time Felipe Lobo and Saemapetch Fairtex went toe-to-toe.    The duo will meet in a highly anticipated rematch at ONE Fight Night 28: Prajanchai vs. Barboza. The event airs this Friday, February 7, from inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. 

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2025

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz has announced his retirement from MMA. Cruz was supposed to fight Rob Font in the co-main event of UFC Seattle. However, it was revealed he suffered an injury on Wednesday which forced him out of the bout.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2025

UFC flyweight contenders Manel Kape and Asu Almabayev will headline an Apex Fight Night in March. ‘Starboy’ was originally slated to meet Brandon Royval in the main event of UFC Vegas 103. For his part, ‘Raw Dawg’ is riding a two-fight winning streak, comprised of victories over Tatsuro Taira and Brandon Moreno. Meanwhile, Manel Kape is fresh off a third-round knockout win over Bruno Gustavo da Silva in December.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2025

UFC commentator Joe Rogan passed on an interview with Kamala Harris to watch Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway. While the 57-year-old is still one of the faces of the UFC, Joe Rogan’s reach has transcended MMA. Over the last few years, he’s taken a heavy interest in American politics. Since 2015, Rogan has had on several prominent political commentators and politicians, everyone from Bernie Sanders and Kyle Kulinski to Matt Walsh and Tulsi Gabbard.

Josh Evanoff - February 6, 2025

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ recent announcement has nothing to do with fighting. ‘Bones’ hasn’t been seen in the octagon since his title defense against Stipe Miocic in November. Well over a year after winning UFC heavyweight gold with a submission win over Ciryl Gane, Jon Jones faced the 42-year-old former champion. With Tom Aspinall watching cageside, the light-heavyweight great dominated.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2025

In the co-main event of UFC 312, the women’s strawweight title is up for grabs as Weili Zhang defends his belt against Tatiana Suarez. Heading into the fight, Zhang is -113 while the challenger is also -113 as the title fight is a pick’em on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the strawweight title fight. The pros believe Suarez is destined to be a champ and will defeat Zhang as they think her wrestling and strength will be too much for the strawweight queen.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 6, 2025

One high-level UFC contender believes Tatiana Suarez will dominate Zhang Weili in their title fight. Suarez will challenge Weili for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship this Saturday. The two will collide inside the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia in the co-main event of UFC 312. Weili will be looking for her third successful title defense in her second run with the 115-pound gold. This will be Suarez’s first crack at UFC hardware.