MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 7, 2025

Reigning ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex was ready for a landmark year in 2024. That was up until injury struck and broke the Thai queen’s heart.   Stamp will watch as #2-ranked contender Denice Zamboanga and #4-ranked contender Alyona Rassohyna vie to become the interim champ at ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev this Friday, January 10, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.  

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 6, 2025

Two-weight ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin is out for revenge in 2025.   The Russian knockout artist suffered the first loss of his professional MMA career this past November at ONE 169. He lost his heavyweight crown by unanimous decision to “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane. 

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 6, 2025

Second-ranked women’s atomweight MMA contender Denice Zamboanga’s confidence is higher than ever heading into ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev. And she wants to use it to her fullest extent.   The Filipina meets Alyona Rassohnya for the ONE Interim Atomweight MMA World Title this Friday, January 10, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

Josh Evanoff - January 6, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White has joined Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. It’s no secret that the 55-year-old promoter has been attempting to expand his business portfolio lately. After over two decades as the face of the UFC, Dana White founded the slap-fighting league ‘PowerSlap’ in early 2023. While that promotion has largely received negative reviews, he has no plans of shutting down the league.

Josh Evanoff - January 6, 2025

A bout between bantamweight contenders Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong is being targeted for UFC Seattle. ‘Triple C’ hasn’t been seen since his clash with Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298 last February. The bout was just Henry Cejudo’s second since ending his retirement the previous year to face Aljamain Sterling. Sadly for the former two-weight champion, ‘The Machine’ largely dominated down the stretch of their bantamweight contest to secure a decision win.

Josh Evanoff - January 6, 2025

Over eight years removed from UFC 205, Eddie Alvarez is still frustrated by his loss to Conor McGregor. ‘The Underground King’ was the b-side of one of the UFC’s biggest pay-per-views ever in November 2016. Months removed from a knockout win over Rafael dos Anjos to win lightweight gold, Eddie Alvarez met Conor McGregor. ‘The Notorious’ was in the midst of his sensational run, the reigning featherweight champion and fresh off a win over Nate Diaz.

Josh Evanoff - January 6, 2025

Former UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson has reignited his feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov. ‘The Eagle’ made headlines earlier this month for his controversial comments about Irish MMA. As a former foe of Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s thoughts on Irish MMA were no surprise. According to the former UFC champion, Ireland is no competition for Dagestan when it comes to competing in the cage.

Cole Shelton - January 6, 2025

Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans will soon be fighting one another again. Jackson and Evans fought back in May of 2010 at UFC 114 with Evans winning by decision. The two were linked to fighting each other years before it came to fruition. After the bout, many thought a rematch would happen, but it never happened.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 6, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping believes Jon Jones has played his cards right. It’s no secret that a heavyweight title unification clash between Jones and Tom Aspinall is the biggest fight the UFC can pull off in 2025. “Bones” has said that if he’s expected to collide with Aspinall then he will need a substantial payday. He’s also publicly shown more interest in fighting the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 6, 2025

Much has been made over who Alex Pereira’s next opponent will be, but Magomed Ankalaev’s manager says there is only one option. Pereira is the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion. It’s been clear to fans and experts that Ankalaev is the rightful contender, but there’s been some gamesmanship going on between the two. Ankalaev has insisted that “Poatan” is ducking him, while the 205-pound champion is saying that UFC officials think the top contender is too boring to headline a pay-per-view card.

BJ Penn Staff - January 6, 2025

BKFC President David Feldman is hoping “Platinum” Mike Perry will be back in the ring this March, and there are some interesting potential opponents on the table for the UFC veteran turned bare-knuckle star. Perry recently expressed his frustration about the difficulty he’s had booking his next BKFC appearance, having not appeared in the promotion’s ring since he knocked out fellow UFC alum Thiago Alves last April. His frustration was seemingly compounded after he was “fired” by BKFC part-owner Conor McGregor following his loss to Jake Paul in the boxing ring.

Harry Kettle - January 6, 2025

UFC star Colby Covington has teased the idea of possibly making a move up to the middleweight division. As we know, Colby Covington is a pretty outspoken individual. However, despite some of his controversies, he’s been able to make things tick inside the Octagon throughout most of his UFC career. Unfortunately, losses to Leon Edwards and Joaquin Buckley have set him back in a big way.

Harry Kettle - January 6, 2025

Eddie Alvarez believes that his home city of Philadelphia isn’t a big fan of Jeremy Stephens as KnuckleMania V draws closer. Throughout the course of his career, Eddie Alvarez has always been an absolute warrior. He goes out there and puts it all on the line, and while he doesn’t always pick up the win, he certainly knows how to put on a show for the fans. Beyond that, he’s also been able to capture gold in most of the organizations he’s competed for.

Harry Kettle - January 6, 2025

Former UFC stars Rampage Jackson and Michael Bisping have taken the time to reflect on a crazy previous sparring session they had. In their prime, Rampage Jackson and Michael Bisping were two of the most exciting fighters in mixed martial arts. They trained together and climbed the ranks together, with both eventually managing to become UFC champions. Of course, in order to get to that point, they had to put in a whole lot of hours at the gym.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025

Umar Nurmagomedov’s coach doesn’t understand why Merab Dvalishvili feels his fighter doesn’t deserve his UFC 311 title fight. Nurmagomedov is scheduled to challenge Dvalishvili for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on January 18th. It’ll Nurmagomedov’s first crack at UFC gold. He earned the title opportunity after defeating Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision back in August 2024.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan believes he knows what the holdup is with Alex Pereira’s next title fight. Fight fans who have been paying attention to the light heavyweight title picture can conclude that Magomed Ankalaev is a clear deserving number one contender. Ankalaev hasn’t been defeated since his UFC debut back in March 2018, and it remains the lone defeat of his pro MMA career. More recently, the Russian contender defeated Aleksandar Rakic via unanimous decision to improve his record to 19-1, 1 NC.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025

Michael Bisping isn’t as down on Jamahal Hill as others are following a run-in with Alex Pereira. In late 2024, footage surfaced of Hill and Pereira getting into a confrontation inside the UFC Performance Institute. At one point, “Poatan” suggested that he and “Sweet Dreams” fight inside the cage on the spot. Hill declined to take Pereira up on the offer.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - January 5, 2025

Sean O’Malley has a preference for who he wants the UFC bantamweight champion to be when he’s ready to return. O’Malley lost the 135-pound gold to Merab Dvalishvili back in September. The “Suga” show was outworked by his opponent, who effectively utilized his grappling to get the better of the now former bantamweight ruler. O’Malley was defeated via unanimous decision inside The Sphere in Las Vegas.