MMA News

Josh Evanoff - January 8, 2025

It appears that Conor McGregor could meet KSI, and not Logan Paul, in the boxing ring next. ‘The Notorious’ hasn’t been seen in combat sports since a stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. As fans likely recall, Conor McGregor broke his leg in the final seconds of the first round of that trilogy bout. While the Irishman promised a return to fighting by the end of 2022, that never came. Instead, McGregor has sat on the sidelines.

Josh Evanoff - January 8, 2025

Robbie Lawler vs. Mike Perry might go down in the BKFC ring later this year. ‘Platinum’ remains arguably the biggest star in the bare-knuckle fighting league. He was last seen in BKFC in April, scoring an impressive first-round knockout win over Thiago Alves. That victory earned him an opportunity to face Jake Paul in the boxing ring in July, where Mike Perry was handed a sixth-round stoppage loss.

Josh Evanoff - January 8, 2025

UFC bantamweight contender Payton Talbott wants a fight with Andrew Tate. The 26-year-old is one of the bantamweight division’s fastest-rising stars. Holding an undefeated 9-0 record inside the octagon, Payton Talbott was last seen in June at UFC 303. There, the young prospect scored a stunning first-round knockout win over Yanis Ghemmouri in seconds. A few months removed from that win, Talbott is set to return.

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2025

Amanda Ribas believes she will earn a strawweight title shot with a win over Mackenzie Dern at UFC Vegas 101. Ribas is set to headline the first card of 2025 in a rematch against Dern. It’s a pivotal fight for the strawweight division as the winner will be closing in on a title shot. But, given the fact Ribas has never faced champion Weili Zhang, she thinks she could get a title shot with a win.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 8, 2025

Michael Bisping feels a move up to the middleweight division would be a tough challenge for Colby Covington. Covington recently stepped up on short notice to fight Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa. Things didn’t go Covington’s way, as he struggled to find consistent success with his grappling. Buckley was able to stuff takedowns and when he did find himself on the mat, it wasn’t for long. Buckley did damage on the feet, leading to a third-round TKO finish after the Octagon-side doctor determined a cut on Covington’s eyelid was too deep for the fight to continue.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 8, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier isn’t so sure that Jon Jones gets $30 million to fight Tom Aspinall. UFC CEO Dana White has guaranteed fans that he will book the heavyweight title unification bout this year. Jones has publicly said that he wants a significant payday in order to accept a fight with the interim UFC heavyweight titleholder. A rumored asking price that longtime UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has heard is $30 million.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 8, 2025

Fourth-ranked ONE atomweight contender Alyona Rassohyna believes she’s on the cusp of achieving her dream of holding gold in ONE Championship.   The Ukrainian standout battles #2-ranked contender Denice Zamboanga for the ONE Interim Atomweight MMA World Title at ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev, this Friday, 10 January, in Bangkok, Thailand, at Lumpinee Stadium. 

Harry Kettle - January 8, 2025

UFC fighter Chris Curtis has revealed the repairs that have been made in his complicated friendship with Sean Strickland. As we know, Sean Strickland is a pretty complex individual. He has done and said plenty of things to frustrate mixed martial arts fans over the years, and he’ll likely continue to do so. For as long as he’s around, he’ll make the masses feel uncomfortable in any way he can.

Harry Kettle - January 7, 2025

A UFC fighter has revealed cashing in his good will to turn down a possible bout with two-weight champion Alex Pereira. When it comes to intimidating fighters, they don’t get much more intimidating than Alex Pereira. Right now, he’s known as a two-weight world champion in the UFC. However, even when he first arrived, people knew what he was capable of thanks to his kickboxing prowess.

Harry Kettle - January 7, 2025

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has reportedly cut their $1 million prize pot for their tournaments. Over the course of the last few years, PFL has worked hard to separate itself from the rest of the pack. One of the ways they’ve done this is by implementing a tournament/league style format in which the winners receive a $1 million prize.

BJ Penn Staff - January 7, 2025

UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira is staying sharp between fights by sparring with one of the best middleweights in MMA at the moment: his fellow Brazilian, Caio Borralho. Pereira shared some footage from his tense sparring rounds with Borralho on social media. As you can see, both men definitely landed some hard shots — a testament to how good they both are.

Cole Shelton - January 7, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White has revealed the full UFC Seattle card which features a key bantamweight bout. The promotion will be returning to Seattle on February 22 for a Fight Night card. Although the card is still several weeks away, White took to social media to share the full fight card, which is a solid card.

Josh Evanoff - January 7, 2025

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has opened up on his decision to join the GFL. The 42-year-old former champion famously retired following a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in early 2019. While Cain Velasquez hoped to have a successful stint in the WWE, injuries and poor booking led to his release in early 2020. Less than two years later, the former UFC champion had his life upended by a first-degree attempted murder charge.

Josh Evanoff - January 7, 2025

Former UFC lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee has opened up on his MMA comeback. ‘The Motown Phenom’ famously retired from fighting following a first-round submission loss to Rinat Fakhretdinov in July 2023. Just one fight into his second stint with the UFC, Kevin Lee decided to hang up the gloves for good. However, like many, many retirements in MMA, this one didn’t stick. Just months after retiring, Lee announced plans for a comeback.

Josh Evanoff - January 7, 2025

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has opened up on his near-brawl with Nate Diaz. The two stars were in Las Vegas for last month’s UFC 311 presser. In the pay-per-view headliner next month in Los Angeles, Islam Makhachev will meet rising contender Arman Tsarukyan. The Russian famously handed the young lightweight a unanimous decision loss in Saint Petersburg back in 2019. However, tensions weren’t high between Makhachev and his next title challenger at the press conference.

Cole Shelton - January 7, 2025

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has shared his prediction for a heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Jones vs Aspinall would be one of the biggest fights to make this year and many hope it will happen. UFC CEO Dana White has said he thinks the fight will happen, and if it does, many would be torn on who would win.

Harry Kettle - January 7, 2025

UFC star Movsar Evloev has made it clear that he wants to hunt down Ilia Topuria – regardless of the weight class. Over the course of the last few years, Movsar Evloev has emerged as one of the primary contenders in the featherweight division. Following his win over Aljamain Sterling recently, the expectation is that he’ll receive a title shot sooner rather than later.

Harry Kettle - January 7, 2025

UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili has been tipped to become the greatest bantamweight all of time sooner rather than later. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is the current king of the bantamweight division. We also know that 135 pounds is one of the most competitive weight classes in all of mixed martial arts, and that’s been the case for a long time now in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As a result of that, we haven’t really seen too many people dominate the division in comparison to others.