MMA News

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has fired back at rival Sean Strickland ahead of the latter’s fight at UFC 312 this weekend. As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is easily one of the top fighters in mixed martial arts today. He’s also, in the eyes of many, the number one contender at middleweight. He looks set to challenge for the belt in his next fight, against whoever wins the UFC 312 main event between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski has given his thoughts on Ilia Topuria wanting to fight Islam Makhachev next instead of him. As we know, Alexander Volkanovski is an absolutely massive fan favorite in the world of mixed martial arts. He had an incredible run as featherweight champion, and he also dared to be great by moving up to lightweight. Now, his former foe Ilia Topuria is attempting to do the same in order to try and become a two-weight world champion.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

Jimmy Crute is eager to be back and fighting in Australia. Crute announced he’d be stepping away from MMA after his submission loss to Alonzo Menifield in July of 2023. The light heavyweight will now return at UFC 312 in Australia, as he says the time is right for him to come back.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

In the main event of UFC 312, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Dricus Du Plessis rematches Sean Strickland. Heading into the fight, Du Plessis is a -215 favorite while the challenger is a +164 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the middleweight fight. The pros expect it to be another close fight, but the slight majority believe it will be Strickland getting his hand raised at UFC 312 to become the new champ.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

Sean Strickland sparred with a lucky fan at the UFC 312 open workout earlier this week. ‘Tarzan’ is currently set to make his return to the cage against Dricus du Plessis on Saturday night. Back for the first time since a split-decision win over Paulo Costa last summer, Sean Strickland will again face ‘Stillknocks’. The former champion famously lost the gold to the South African last January, by a contentious split decision.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval has pulled out of his March return against Manel Kape. ‘Raw Dawg’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since an October clash with Tatsuro Taira. The Japanese contender entered the cage a staggering 16-0, while Brandon Royval was fresh off a win over former champion Brandon Moreno in February. In the main event of UFC Vegas 98, the former title challenger earned a split-decision win.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has reacted to Israel Adesanya’s recent loss. ‘The Last Stylebender’ is fresh off his return to the octagon in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia over the weekend. Back for the first time since a submission loss to Dricus du Plessis last fall, Israel Adesanya faced Nassourdine Imavov. ‘The Sniper’ entered the bout riding a three-fight winning streak, last scoring a decision win over Brendan Allen in September.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

UFC middleweight prospect Shara Bullet is opening up on his health following his loss to Michael Page. The flashy striker returned to the cage in the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia last Saturday night. Back for the first time since a knockout win over Armen Petrosyan in October, ‘Shara Bullet’ met Michael Page. While ‘Venom’ is normally a welterweight, he jumped at the opportunity to face Magomedov.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 5, 2025

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria doesn’t believe Movsar Evloev is deserving of a title shot. Topuria has been observing the 145-pound division and his potential contenders. While the featherweight king would rather move up to lightweight, he’s letting the UFC brass decide what they want to do with him going forward. “El Matador” is rumored to be facing Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch, but Topuria insists he hasn’t signed anything.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

Kevin Lee has issued a scathing response after a video of him getting dropped in sparring went viral. A video went viral on X on Wednesday showing Lee attempting to throw a flying knee and then getting dropped. When this happened is uncertain, and how it got out is also unknown, but the clip clearly showed Lee getting dropped and stumbling from the big punch.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 5, 2025

Brandon Royval will not be facing Manel Kape on March 1st. The pivotal flyweight matchup was set to headline a UFC Fight Night card inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, that fight will have to take place at another time. Royval has revealed that he is injured and will be unable to fight on the contracted date.

BJPENN.COM Staff - February 5, 2025

Surging strawweight MMA star Lito Adiwang is looking to turn over a new leaf in 2025 by showing he has what it takes to hang with the very best on offer.   “Thunder Kid” meets #5-ranked contender Keito Yamakita in a strawweight MMA encounter at ONE Fight Night 28: Prajanchai vs. Barboza.  

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC sensation Terrance McKinney has laid out his plans for the rest of the year following his win at UFC Saudi Arabia. Terrance McKinney is one of the most interesting fighters to watch in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has the kind of “kill or be killed” mentality that is always bound to bring in some new fans. Sure, he doesn’t always get the job done, but you can bet he’s going to be involved in a pretty fun fight every single time he steps into the Octagon.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC champion Dricus du Plessis has praised Alex Pereira as one of the greatest combat sports athletes ever ahead of UFC 312. In the last couple of years, Alex Pereira has blown MMA fans and media members away. He has been on an absolute tear, to the point where he is now known as a two-weight world champion. While he lost his middleweight crown, he’s the current king of the light heavyweight division, and he isn’t planning on surrendering that title anytime soon.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili backs herself to find success against Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312. On Saturday night, Zhang Weili will defend her strawweight gold against Tatiana Suarez. In the eyes of many, this is one of the toughest tests available to the champion. Suarez has spent her entire career impressing the masses, and many felt as if it was only a matter of time before she fought for a championship.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

MMA analyst Chael Sonnen believes Khamzat Chimaev may end up serving as the back-up fighter for the UFC 312 main event. As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is a top contender in the middleweight division. While Dricus du Plessis may be defending the belt against Sean Strickland at UFC 312, we all know ‘Borz’ is waiting for the winner. In addition, many believe he’d be the favorite against either of the two potential champions.

BJPENN.COM Staff - February 4, 2025

This weekend, strawweight Muay Thai striker Ellis Badr Barboza has the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream at ONE Fight Night 28.   The British hitter challenges two-sport ONE World Champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai for the strawweight Muay Thai crown this Friday, February 7, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. 

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2025

Leon Edwards is certain that he is a better fighter than Belal Muhammad. Edwards lost his welterweight title to Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 in July in England. It was a surprising result as Edwards was a sizeable favorite, but Muhammad fought a smart fight to get the win.