MMA News

Josh Evanoff - January 1, 2025

Former UFC women’s strawweight contender Paige VanZant is returning to MMA with Global Fight League. ‘12 Gauge’ has had a rocky last few years. Once a beloved prospect who had Dana White’s approval, the young Paige VanZant rattled off three straight wins to face Rose Namajunas in December 2015. Sadly for the young strawweight, that fight with ‘Thug Rose’ was the end of her time at the top.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 31, 2024

Former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious Johnson keeps a keen eye on all the action in ONE Championship. As a master of his craft, the American legend knows greatness when he sees it. That’s why he holds two-sport, two-division ONE World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in such high regard. Johnson’s admiration was only solidified after witnessing Superlek’s incredible performance in the main event of ONE 168 this past September.

Josh Evanoff - December 31, 2024

The RIZIN ring returned to the Saitama Super Arena earlier today for their annual New Year’s Eve event. Today’s RIZIN: Decade was headlined by a trio of fun title fights. In the main event, Chihiro Suzuki looked to defend his featherweight gold against former champion Kleber Koike Erbst. The co-main saw the return of flyweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi, who faced rising contender Nkazimulo Zulu.

Josh Evanoff - December 31, 2024

Bellator featherweight contender Aaron Pico is officially a free agent. The 28-year-old featherweight has had an interesting career since signing with Scott Coker a decade ago. At just 20 years old, Aaron Pico made his professional debut on the Bellator 180 main card in June 2017. Despite a lot of pre-fight hype, Zach Freeman wound up scoring a first-round submission win over the prospect.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 31, 2024

Kevin Holland believes there’s a path for him to put the current UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad to sleep. Holland has competed at both welterweight and middleweight. He currently calls the 185-pound division his home. Despite being a middleweight at the moment, Holland admits that he believes Belal Muhammad would be an easier fight for him than the reigning 185-pound king Dricus du Plessis.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC star Tatiana Suarez is feeling confident heading into her UFC 312 strawweight title fight against Zhang Weili. At UFC 312, Tatiana Suarez will battle Zhang Weili for the UFC strawweight championship. It’s a moment that many have seen coming for quite some time, largely because of just how dominant Suarez has been whenever she’s been in the cage.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov rated Islam Makhachev at a 4/5 after a recent training session ahead of UFC 311. The great Khabib Nurmagomedov has done some wonderful things in mixed martial arts. In addition to retiring with an unbeaten 29-0 record, he’s also helped train the next generation of superstars. Some are his own family members, and others are his close friends, such as Islam Makhachev.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC welterweight star Ian Machado Garry has dismissed his current position in the UFC welterweight rankings. As we know, Ian Machado Garry is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. He’s young, he’s exciting, and he has great fight IQ. However, in his last fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov, he suffered his first loss in professional mixed martial arts.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 30, 2024

Japanese kickboxing megastar Takeru Segawa has always dreamed of stepping into the ring against Muay Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Finally, that dream will become reality at ONE 172 on Sunday, March 23. The two striking titans will collide in a five-round flyweight kickboxing super-fight inside Japan’s legendary Saitama Super Arena.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024

Taisei Sakuraba hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps at RIZIN: Decade later this week. The young ‘Saku Jr.’ will make his MMA debut on RIZIN’s end-of-the-year show later this week. The bout will be Taisei Sakuraba’s first in the ring, but he’s no stranger to combat sports. His father is the legendary PRIDE fighter and UFC Hall of Famer, Kazushi Sakuraba. ‘The Gracie Hunter’ fought anyone and everyone, often accepting fights against opponents larger, and more experienced than himself.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024

It appears the boxing match between Conor McGregor and Logan Paul is deep into negotiations. ‘The Notorious’ hasn’t been seen in the octagon in nearly four years now. Conor McGregor last faced Dustin Poirier in the summer of 2021, suffering a broken leg in the first round of their trilogy bout. While the Irishman promised a return to the UFC by the end of 2022, those plans never came to fruition.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili wants to be very, very, very active next year. ‘The Machine’ last appeared in the octagon in September, in the main event of Noche UFC. There, Merab Dvalishvili finally got his crack at bantamweight gold, against the hard-hitting Sean O’Malley. Ultimately, the wrestler largely controlled ‘Sugar’, winning the bout by unanimous decision after five rounds of action.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2024

Caio Borralho wanted to share the Octagon with Israel Adesanya in early 2025, but he thinks he knows why that will have to wait. Adesanya will be taking on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Saudi Arabia. The bout will be taking place on February 1st. It’ll be Adesanya’s first fight off pay-per-view since 2018.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2024

One rising UFC welterweight continues to knock on Leon Edwards’ door. Edwards is hoping to start his road back to 170-pound gold on the right foot. He lost the welterweight title to Belal Muhammad back in July, which was a bitter pill for “Rocky” to swallow given he had the Manchester crowd behind him. The UFC will be returning to England on March 22, 2025.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2024

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold believes he knows who could have the edge in the upcoming light heavyweight battle between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Both Prochazka and Hill have held UFC gold, but they’re coming off knockout losses to the current champion Alex Pereira. The two will share the Octagon on the UFC 311 card in hopes of holding on in the 205-pound title picture. For Hill, the path back to a title fight could be easier than for Prochazka, who has been defeated twice by “Poatan.”

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

UFC fighter Colby Covington has reacted to his corner wanting to throw in the towel during his UFC Tampa main event. As we know, Colby Covington took on Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa. Unfortunately for Colby, it didn’t quite pan out the way he had planned. Instead of bouncing back from defeat, he suffered a doctor stoppage loss as a result of a nasty cut on his eye.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

MMA legend Rampage Jackson has detailed what he believes led to the downfall of his iconic career in the sport. As we know, Rampage Jackson is an icon within mixed martial arts. That’s been the case for decades now, as he made his mark both in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and outside of it. Of course, he declined, as is the case with most fighters.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has made some big comparisons ahead of his next fight at UFC 311 Following his win over Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili is now the UFC bantamweight champion. His dominant triumph impressed the masses and, of course, welcomed a lot of intrigue from the rest of the bantamweight division.