MMA News

Josh Evanoff - January 24, 2025

Conor McGregor has confirmed the UFC shot down his planned boxing match against Logan Paul. ‘The Notorious’ hasn’t been seen in action since his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier in mid-2021. That night saw Conor McGregor snap his leg in the final seconds of the first round, in a brutal injury. While the Irishman promised a return to the cage by the end of 2022, that return never came. Even when McGregor booked a comeback fight against Michael Chandler last year, he withdrew due to injury.

Josh Evanoff - January 24, 2025

Former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson has finalized a deal with the Global Fight League. Fans are now just hours away from seeing the inaugural Global Fight League draft. Founded by Darren Owen, the team-based MMA league hopes to start holding events in April. Ahead of the draft, the GFL has signed several high-profile former UFC stars such as Tyron Woodley, Paige VanZant, and Luke Rockhold.

Josh Evanoff - January 24, 2025

Former UFC title challenger Nate Diaz got a good laugh seeing Conor McGregor run into the Paul brothers. ‘The Notorious’ has been publically in talks for an exhibition boxing match against Logan Paul for months now. Having not competed in the UFC for nearly four years, Conor McGregor wanted to end his layoff with a glorified spar with ‘The Maverick’. While Jake Paul is the more experienced boxer of the two, Logan currently holds a win over the Irishman’s teammate, Dillon Danis.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 24, 2025

Israel Adesanya believes it’s only a matter of time before he trains with his former rival Alex Pereira. Adesanya doesn’t anticipate ever fighting Pereira again. The two fought twice under kickboxing rules and two times under the UFC banner. Pereira is 3-1 in total against Adesanya, but “The Last Stylebender” got the last laugh when he knocked “Poatan” out cold in their final meeting.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 24, 2025

Alexander Volkanovski has an idea of when he’d like to return to the Octagon. After a rough end to 2023, things weren’t much better in 2024 for the former UFC featherweight champion inside the Octagon. Volkanovski suffered a head kick knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and then went on to lose the featherweight gold to Ilia Topuria via another brutal KO.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 23, 2025

Surging strawweight MMA star Lito Adiwang could kickstart his 2025 campaign by breaking into the division’s top five.    The Filipino star meets #5-ranked contender Keito Yamakita at ONE Fight Night 28: Prajanchai vs. Barboza on Friday, February 8, at Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.  

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2025

Shara Magomedov has fired back at Michael Page ahead of their February 1 fight at UFC Saudi Arabia. Page is set to move up to middleweight to face Magomedov in the co-main event in an intriguing bout. Heading into the bout, Page did an interview with Michael Bisping and vowed to bloody up his opponent.

Josh Evanoff - January 23, 2025

Cory Sandhagen wants a fight against former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. ‘Sugar’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a September title defense against Merab Dvalishvili. The bout was Sean O’Malley’s second defense of bantamweight gold, having scored a decision win over Marlon Vera last April. Ultimately, ‘The Machine’ wound up outwresting the champion en route to a unanimous decision win in the main event of Noche UFC, ending the striker’s title reign.

Josh Evanoff - January 23, 2025

Alex Pereira didn’t enjoy seeing Jamahal Hill’s loss at UFC 311 over the weekend. ‘Sweet Dreams’ returned to the octagon on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since being knocked out by Alex Pereira at UFC 300 last April, Jamahal Hill met Jiri Prochazka. The latter had also suffered a stoppage loss to ‘Poatan’ in his most recent bout, having been knocked out last June on short notice.

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2025

Renato Moicano got paid to step up on short notice at UFC 311. On a day’s notice, Moicano stepped up to face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. Moicano was originally supposed to fight Beneil Dariush on the card but ended up getting the short-notice fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 23, 2025

An ex-UFC bruiser doesn’t believe Arman Tsarukyan should be punished by Dana White after his removal from the UFC 311 card. Tsarukyan was expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. During the weigh-ins, White revealed on social media that Tsarukyan pulled out of the fight due to a back injury. Makhachev ended up submitting replacement opponent Renato Moicano in the first round.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 23, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has been on a tear, and Ray Longo believes the UFC played a significant role. Dvalishvili is the reigning UFC bantamweight champion. He’s fresh off his first successful title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311. The 135-pound titleholder displayed his elite conditioning and grappling to outlast the challenger after five rounds of action.

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2025

Conor McGregor appears to be truly interested in wanting to box the Paul brothers and KSI. McGregor and Logan Paul were rumored to box in India, which Dana White then shut down. But, on Monday while McGregor was at Trump’s Inauguration, he was in a van alongside the Paul brothers who have both called him out. While talking to them, the Irishman said he wanted to slap them and called it a little side job before his return to the UFC.

Josh Evanoff - January 22, 2025

Former Bellator champion Patricky Pitbull has parted ways with the PFL to sign with the GFL. The 39-year-old Brazilian has seen better days. Patricky Pitbull, much like his brother, Patricio Pitbull, hoped for success after joining the PFL in late 2023. Bellator was famously bought out by the Donn Davis-led company that fall, which retained all of its talent. In 2024, the older Pitbull brother entered the lightweight tournament.

Josh Evanoff - January 22, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has buried the hatchet with Israel Adesanya. ‘The Reaper’ and ‘The Last Stylebender’ famously have had two clashes for UFC gold. They first met in late 2019, in Robert Whittaker’s first title defense. Over a year after going to war with Yoel Romero for five rounds, the champion met interim champion, Israel Adesanya. In Whittaker’s absence, he scored a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum to claim interim gold.

Josh Evanoff - January 22, 2025

Jeremy Stephens is still hoping to score a showdown with his BKFC boss, Conor McGregor. ‘Lil Heathen’ is one of the many, many former UFC stars who’s headed for the bare-knuckle boxing ring. Jeremy Stephens signed with David Feldman’s BKFC in late 2023, scoring a stoppage win over Jimmie Rivera in his promotional debut. The following September, he scored a unanimous decision victory over Bobby Taylor in Salt Lake City.

Cole Shelton - January 22, 2025

Payton Talbott issued his first statement after his stunning loss to Raoni Barcelos at UFC 311. Talbott entered the fight as the biggest betting favorite on the card and many expected him to cruise to a win. However, Talbott was dominated in all three rounds to lose by decision which was his first career loss.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 22, 2025

An ex-foe of Jon Jones thinks the reigning UFC heavyweight champion should have the top pound-for-pound distinction over Islam Makhachev. The pound-for-pound argument continues within the MMA community. Those who believe Makhachev, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, deserves the number one spot argue that he has been more active as of late than “Bones.” Those who argue in favor of Jones are factoring in his longevity as an elite MMA titleholder.